Arredondo Climbs to Stage 2 Win in Tour de San Luis 2014
In the first mountain stage of this year's Tour de San Luis the racing culminated in the final meters when Arredondo overtook Team BMC Racing's Peter Stetina on the 4.8 kilometer climb to the finish line and rode to victory just three seconds ahead of Stetina, Team Movistar's Nairo Quintana Rojas and Stetina's teammate Darwin Atapuma.
"I’m happy, it was a tough stage but I was able to win. I want to thank my team for the great work they did today and send a hello to my people in Colombia," Arredondo told reporters after crossing the finish line. "In the last months I've trained hard and been very focused on winning for the team to thank them for their trust in me. I didn't realize how strong I was. You have no reference in the winter and there are many WorldTour teams for the race here in Argentina."
The hostilities started after just a few kilometers of riding when a five man breakaway group escaped from the main peloton. The hopefuls were Argentinians Cristian Martinez and Jorge Giacinti of Team San Luis Somos Todos, along with Sebastian Trillini of Seleccion Argentina, Sebastian Tolosa of Buenos Aires La Provincia and the Chilean Jonathan Guzman of Seleccion de Chile.
The five man group worked hard in the hot weather conditions. Despite their hard work, however, they were reeled back in by the main peloton before they reached the finishing climb. Shortly after the peloton had entered the final climb, Arredondo and Stetina attacked and escaped from the peloton and managed to stay away from a chase group which was formed on the climb.
By finishing in 15th position in today's 170.6 kilometer stage, Gaimon extended his overall race lead and now has a 1 minute, 47 seconds advantage over Marc De Maar of Team UnitedHealthcare. Team GreenEdge's Christian Meier is 3rd overall, 03:56 behind Gaimon.
Gaimon wasn't reluctant when it came to thanking his teammates for their support in today's stage. "The team was amazing today. From Ben and Nate riding the front, to Janier getting ice and Tyler helping with position, to Tom escorting me up the climb. The whole team helped me all day and the result was one of pure team work. I'm happy and proud to repay everyone for all their work and faith by keeping the jersey for us, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to do so."
When asked to comment on his 2nd place finish in today's stage, Stetina was fast to direct attention to his goals later this season. "I’ve got some new motivation this year," Stetina explained. "I’ve been working on the climbs. I’m disappointed that I didn’t win the stage, but my goals are later in the year. The Tour of California and to help Tejay (van Garderen) at the Tour de France. My goal is to make the Tour team."
