Frederico Figueiredo, from Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor, won the fifth edition of the Aldeias do Xisto Classic, a 144.8km race, between Sobral de São Miguel and Ferraria de São João, where the finish line coincided with a mountain prize. Luís Gomes, from Kelly-Simoldes-UDO, won the Jogos Santa Casa Portuguese Cup for the second consecutive year.
The demanding ascent to the finish line – 5.4km with an average gradient of 7.2% – and the need to preserve strength for the Cup, led the squad to race cautiously. As a result, there were few teams interested in creating a large lead.
The race was eventually enlivened by three outliers, each of whom rode in solitary. The first to stand out was Bruno Silva from Tavfer-Mortágua-Ovos Matinados, who was ultimately to end up back amongst the group before reaching the two mountain prizes placed at the intermediate point of the stage.
Keeping a close look on the climbers' classification, Rui Vinhas, fromW52-FC Porto, set his sights on the next runner. Overtaking in the climbs of Armadouro and Pampilhosa da Serra, he would end up securing the overall mountain victory. His advantage, which reached around two minutes, vanished and this lead was also extinguished.
Tiago Machado, from Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista, made his attempt soon after catching up with the Porto racer. From this point on, the race was very tight. With not more than a minute separating the athletes. The Famalicão racer still reached the final climb slightly ahead but could not resist the pressure coming from behind.
Frederico Figueiredo, José Neves (W52-FC Porto) and Henrique Casimiro (Efapel Cycling) took the lead. The Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor racer pulled out in front several times, but the decisive one came 300 metres from the finishing line. Knowing he was upwind, he went all out at the most difficult time for everyone and set himself apart as the strongest. He crossed the finish line in 3h45m19s. José Neves finished six seconds later and Henrique Casimiro twelve.
"I tried to toughen the climb as much as possible, because it wasn't very hard, given that it had some steep parts, but also some very fast parts. At 300 metres from the finish my team staff warned me that there was a headwind and it was a very steep section. I took full advantage of this advice and managed to surprise José Neves and Henrique Casimiro. I want to thank the work of my team, especially Fábio Costa, who was exceptional. I am very happy for this first victory, and I want to thank the sponsors that have allowed us to keep going", said Frederico Figueiredo.
Luís Gomes, going at his own pace, managed to get the fourth position, 36 seconds behind the winner. It was also a victory for him, as this place guaranteed him the Jogos Santa Casa Portuguese Cup. Daniel Freitas, from Rádio Popular-Paredes-Boavista, finished the Cup in second and Rafael Silva, from Efapel Cycling, in third.
"This win is a very good sign, because it's an award for the best performing athlete and it means I've been achieving good positions throughout the races, even though I got off to a bad start, because I was in a crash in the Opening Race. Today I started the race in fifth place overall, aiming to reach the top three. This Classic was a test for me, to see how I would ‘hold out' among the climbers. It went very well. It was impossible to reach the top three, but I was fourth and won the Cup, which is very important for the team", explains Luís Gomes.
The Aldeias do Xisto Classic didn't change the overall classification of the Under-23 Cup. The victory belonged to Pedro Silva, from Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor, followed by teammate Afonso Eulálio and João Macedo, from LA Alumínios-Credibom-Marcos Car. Glassdrive-Q8-Anicolor won the Portuguese teams Cup.
