09 Jul SECOND PLACE OVERALL IN THE ANDORRA EPIC
The male pair formed by Sergio Mantecón and José Mari Sánchez, made us spend a exciting week, disputing until the last day the victory in the Andorran race. The riders showed a great fit that made them complete four stages at the highest level, standing out above the rest in the queen stage where they took the gold.
Marked on the calendar as one of the most important races for the team to compete in, the Andorra Epic foreshadowed an intense week of pure bike marathon. 4 days, 4 stages, and teams racing in pairs, as the purest style of the races that are part of the Epic Series.
On the SCOTT Cala Bandida team, the men’s pair consisted of Mantecón and José Mari Sánchez, who was motivated after winning the Spanish XCM Championship. Aware of their good moment, the two went out contained to test their rivals, but it was already in the first stage where they showed their credentials and took a creditable fourth place.
Stage 2 started with ambition on the part of several leading pairs, who lost time when they got lost on a detour and had to make a comeback. The SCOTT Cala Bandida riders fought their way up to third place and made it to the podium.
It was on stage 3, the so-called queen stage, that crowned them and made them definitive candidates for the overall. From the beginning of the race, they had good legs and imposed a pace that no other pair could reach. They finally crossed the finish line more than 1′ ahead of their pursuers and left everything at stake for the final stage.
The last day was a head-to-head battle between the BUFF-Megamo team formed by Hans Becking and Wout Alleman, and SCOTT Cala Bandida. That is to say, between the overall leaders and their closest pursuers who had the challenge of cutting a little more than 1′ gap to overtake them in the standings. The battle lasted the whole stage and kept the excitement going until the finish line.
In the end, the Blues took home second place in the general classification, two stage podiums
and the satisfaction of having had a great race.
