The tears of victory of Jesús Herrada

“Water, water!” pleaded the dehydrated Jesús Herrada, a Cofidis cyclist, sitting in a gutter, unable to hold back the tears that were pouring out.

From his team they came to hug him, to pat him on the back, some kisses, and also affectionate slaps.

But he, crying inconsolably, could barely say a word, aware that in the previous stage he bumped into the asphalt, a blow that scared him, but did not knock him down.

“It has been a hard day and very fast.

It was difficult for us escapees to open a gap, but we have understood each other well and we have achieved it”, he released with pride.

It was not for less because he and four other cyclists escaped at kilometer seven and, warriors on two wheels, withstood the pack's efforts to dispute the final sprint, already at kilometer 190. "I knew they were all fast,

but we were very tired, so I had to have clear ideas and think carefully about the moment of the attack”, he acknowledged.

And well he did.

Wright tried to tackle with 400 meters to go and held the lead until the last pedal strokes, but Battistella (Astana) passed him on the right, when he seemed all set for sentence.

But Herrada, immune to discouragement, gasps of pride, shook the bicycle and, with a final blow to the kidney, took the laurel, almost with

.

After a devastating day on Thursday, of dense fog and impertinent rain on the ascent to Pico Jano, where the Belgian Remco Evenepoel (also Enric Mas, the slipstreaming shadow) made it clear to Roglic that this Vuelta would not be easy, Well, he took 1m 22, yesterday's stage from Camargo to Cisterna seemed propitious for a massive arrival.

That was what the Trek-Segafredo team tried with all their might, who wanted to crown Mads Pedersen once and for all, three times second so far in the Vuelta.

"I want to win," the sprinter shouted before the stage.

But the escapees and Herrada had other plans, and would tell another story.

👏👏👏 @ jesushl90 WIN IN TANK!

🚴‍♂️ Huge Cofidis cyclist to add the second Spanish win in this @lavuelta #LaVuelta22 pic.twitter.com/44ItEJkLIs

– Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) August 26, 2022

One that began when the stage curtain opened, when six cyclists attacked —Battistella (Astana), Wright (Bahrain), Jesús Herrada (Cofidis), Goldstein (Israel), Sweeny (Lotto) and Janssens (Alpecin)— to test the crushed

It did not seem possible, because the Trek, as it did in Laguardia, when it put watts and more watts in the double ascent to Alto del Vivero, pressed the turbo button again when reaching the port of San Glorio, first category, 22, 4 kilometers at 5.5% average gradient.

And the platoon, as if it were an ice cream that melts in the sun's rays, was discounting troops.

Remarkable, of course, the sprinters.

First Merlier (Alpecin), Lap to forget his until now because he was supposed to be the fastest;

then Ackermann (UAE);

then McLay (Arkea);

and finally Sam

Bennett.

But this one, combative, knowing that he would not be speedy, was able to rejoin the peloton on the descents.

From the vanguard, Pedersen worried, because he was no longer so sure that the checkered flag of Cistierna awaited him with open arms.

There would be battle.

Or not, because the fugitives still had the engine running.

Now without Goldstein, the escapee who ran out of steam before time, the five cyclists in the lead put their hearts and legs into it, busy maintaining that minute lead they had with 11 kilometers left.

The Arkéa, BikExchange, Bora and Trek teams tried to close the gap, but it was impossible.

"With three kilometers to go, the references were good and we thought that we would almost certainly arrive", analyzed Herrada, who was clear about the recipe for victory: "It was by legs, by insisting until the line".

And the tears came, also the dedication of success to his partner, who is celebrating his birthday this Saturday.

“I cried because it was letting go of all the tension I've had these days, I got emotional and expressed it like that, without words,” he agreed.

But his victory, with that kidney injury, as he did in 2019 when he won another stage in the Vuelta,

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