Hello and welcome to the National Championships for Mexico and Paraguay. A cobble route lies ahead for the two Spanish speaking nations, with the winner most likely coming from the break again.
Almost half of the 9 man peleton attacked at the beginning of the stage, forming an entirely Mexican break up the road. Serafin José Blanco (MUS), Ignacio Jesus Prado (LSE), Ignacio Sarabia (VDL) and César Vaquera (AZT) were all present, making it an interesting mix up to contest the Mexican Championships.
The only thing we were missing was a Paraguayan attack and that came with 20km to go, and we got our answer in the form of German Anibal Orue (AZ2). With no response from those behind, he would wrap up the Paraguayan title right there.
Back to the Mexican breakaway, and Prado would make his move first in the bid for NC glory. He would be brought back very quickly, but a second acceleration would be enough to give him a healthy gap with just under 10km remaining.
The Löbauer rider’s gap was never under 30” as he pressed hard to take the victory, as first Blanco and then Vaquera worked to pull back the lead rider. However, he wouldn’t be caught and took the plaudits from the crowd at the finish.
Onto the Time Trial and whilst Mexico looked a foregone conclusion, it was looking like a close affair in the Paraguayan TT.
First up was the Mexican race, and as predicted pre-race it was a comfortable victory for Flavio De Luna (WCC), who finished 1’12” ahead of Bernardo Colex (VDL) and a further 29” ahead of Ignacio Sarabia (VDL).
Paraguay though wasn’t so simple. Road Race Champion German Anibal Orue (AZ2) was up against teammate Samuel Coronel, and despite being slightly stronger in the discipline (not much stronger, but it should be enough), we think he left too much out on the road yesterday. Down at every split, Orue would miss out on being the double champion by 12”, as Coronel would ride fantastically to take the TT crown.
Ignacio Jesus Prado
German Anibal Orue
