Everyone for themselves
21/11/2024The third stage was expected to be the most beautiful of all those that make up the route of the NEOM Titan Desert Saudi Arabia. A route that ran between ancient canyons and dunes that look straight out of a movie. It has been also one of the most fun and demanding in the history of the race.
The first half of the course moved through sectors that have already been seen in previous stages: rocky and gravelly areas that could force some Titans to take their foot off the ground.
Up to the halfway point, 11 riders opened the way for the rest of the peloton. Among them were the two leaders, Luis León Sánchez and Tessa Kortekaas; the rest of the favorites for the men’s GC and a Peter Sagan who was enjoying the stage like a child.
After that the chaos began. The race became an everyone for themselves, as the favorites have been certifying their arrival at the finish line. There were stretches of wide canyons with lots of tracks, sandy sections that everyone tackled as best they could and many alternatives in the lead.
From there emerged two riders in the lead: Jorge Lamiel and Álvaro Galindo. Lamiel was the one who eventually took the victory. The rider from Teruel is already a well-known rider in the Titan World Series. This year, in Morocco, he won his first stage victory in these races.
After Lamiel and Galindo, the riders continued to arrive at the finish line in an almost continuous trickle. The fifth to do so was Luis León Sánchez, who survived the dreaded dunes and retained the leader’s red jersey with a wide margin over his rivals.
TESSA, METERS AWAY FROM HISTORY
What happened in the women’s race is neither unexpected nor surprising. Perhaps it was the way it all happened. Or maybe it is that we have lost the ability to surprise with a Tessa Kortekaas who only knows how to do crazy things on a mountain bike.
The Dutchwoman came in as the first woman and ninth overall. Her best absolute result after the tenth she achieved yesterday.
Today, the Cannondale ISB Sport rider stayed ahead with the leaders until the halfway point of the race. In and out of that insane pace at the front, but feeling like one more among those historic names of cycling that are Peter Sagan, Luis León Sánchez or Haimar Zubeldia.
Precisely the former Italian rider is right now behind Kortekaas in the GC, who is already ninth also in the accumulated time of the three stages.
But this cyclist is looking for a finishing touch, an icing on the cake that can be completed tomorrow. The day when Tessa Kortekaas can become the first woman to win five Titan World Series races.
