Castroviejo rewarded at last

ITT Spanish championship

After two consecutive silver medals, Basque powerhouse wins the Spanish TT title with a convincing performance over Luis León Sánchez in Bembibre, León. Plaza takes bronze - all five Movistar riders within best seven

He was 6th in 2009 -aged just 22-, 5th a year later and silver medallist in the last two editions. No one had made such efforts to get onto the highest step of the podium, and eventually, Jonathan Castroviejo has been able to achieve his goal of becoming Spanish time trial champion. The Movistar Team rider grabbed the ‘rojigualda’ jersey after a hard 44-kilometer course in Bembibre (León), showing pure class and constance from the very first intermediate time, where he already bested his main rival and winner of the last two editions of the event, Luís León Sánchez (BLA), by ten seconds, which he increased in the second part of the TT to end up triumphant by 45 seconds.

The festival by the telephone squad did not end there, as a regular Rubén Plaza proved again his brilliant fitness level before the Tour to claim the bronze medal. The rider from Ibi in Alicante, always few seconds ahead of Ion Izagirre (EUS) -the only able to contest the blue domination, is back on the podium of the National road champs after taking silver in 2006 and 2008. Also Alejandro Valverde performed well in his last time trial before the Tour, the telephone squad’s leader finishing 5th -only few hundredths of a second behind Izagirre) and 17 seconds off the final podium for a boost into his confidence.. Eloy Teruel (6th) and Jesús Herrada (7th) completed the oustanding performance from Movistar Team, with all five riders withn the top seven.

REACTION:

Jonathan Castroviejo: “I found myself really strong all day. I had finished twice second in the last two years but I came in better physical condition to this year’s race, with the only goal of winning the race. It was a beautiful course and a technical one – you had to distribute your energy well over it. There was a steady climb in the beginning and you couldn’t give everything there. Then, there was much wind halfway through the course and it made it harder – it was the crucial point to win or lose, because the final part was almost downhill, and a matter of keeping the gaps. I had all references I needed and knew that I had to keep calm into the climb. I did and came through it with the same time as ‘Luisle’ – since that point, I kept taking time on him. After my TT in Dauphiné, I was quite confident, and I proved today my condition was good. I’m feeling well these days and I hope to do well in the Tour.”