Diego Montalvo wins the seventh stage and Steven Haro is virtual champion of the Tour of Ecuador | Other Sports | sports

A tight definition left Diego Montalvo as winner of the seventh stage of the Cycling Tour to Ecuador, which with the order of arrival in Cayambe has Steven Haro as virtual champion, of Team Pichincha.

Montalvo pressed at the end to win the mountain prizes, “A classification that I was not looking for, but that leaves me calm because of what I have achieved,” said the Saitel rider, and one of the most combative of the race.

In the fight for the general, Haro managed to keep the yellow jersey, despite “an ambush” from the lot of favorites, as the imbabureño commented at the finish line. To win the title of the 38th edition of the national round, the leader of Team Pichincha must stay in the squad this Wednesday, in a circuit that closes the test in Quito.

The stage was decisive and was planned by the group of optioned to the title, that with Byron Guamá and Anderson Paredes At the head they broke the peloton, a demanding job from the Best PC, which put their riders back in contention for the overall.

Raffled on Black bus, mountain award for Brayan Obando (Eagle Bikes), the riders of the continental team took control of the day, Guamá led a breakout of 13 runners, that with Sebastián Novoa they took the flying goal in La Paz, from where they started a risky and dizzying descent to the Juncal.

At an average of 90 kilometers per hour, the section ended with a spectacular fall what left Burbano was knocked out. José Casanova, his teammate in Team Sin Fronteras, also fell with the Carchense rider, in addition to Guamá, who despite the bruises managed to rejoin and return with the escaped.

With the abandonment of Burbano, whose first diagnosis was a clavicle fracture, the escape had Paredes, virtual leader with a group that in the Cañaverales sector had a difference of 2 minutes with respect to the lot.

The exit was Burbano also left vacant the red dotted jersey, which was handed over to Diego Montalvo, winner of the mountain award at the entrance to Ibarra.

Montalvo (Saitel) jumped from the breakaway group and with Lenín Montenegro he was able to achieve a difference of 1 minute 55 seconds in relation to the group of Paredes and Guamá, and 5 minutes 40 seconds with the yellow jersey lot.

The last scoring ascent of the lap was in the Altos del Cajas, where the Goat Montalvo consolidated his performance to look like king of the mountain in the 2021 edition.

In the final stretch, Montalvo went on a getaway with Lenin Montenegro and the definition was given in a sprint, with more arrests for Saitel, who entered the Pedro Moncayo park triumphantly after 4 hours 38 minutes 26 seconds, from the start in Tulcán.

Montenegro (Movistar) took second place, third on the day was Brayan Obando, from the Eagles Bike.

From behind, Haro cut a difference of 4 minutes, for in the general calculation to have behind Paredes at 1 minute 18 seconds and Guamá at 2 minutes 15 seconds, a difference difficult to overcome on the final day.

The 38th edition of the Vuelta al Ecuador closes this Wednesday with a 100-kilometer circuit in Quito, which will end at the monument to the Middle of the World, the scene that will crown the new champion of the main national cycling event. (D)