Voltao ao Alentejo victory yet to sink in for Carlos Barbero

Image 1 of 4

The 22-year-old Euskadi rider Carlos Barbero won his first overall race by taking out the UCI 2.2  Volta ao Alentejo in Portugal after a tussle with Eduard Prades (OFM) who finished just 10 seconds behind the Spaniard. Barbero didn't win a stage in the five-day race but was second on the 159km Stage 4 from Odemira to Santiago do Cacém and the extra seconds on the finishline ensured his win. He was also second on the 205km Stage 3 to from Sousel to Montemor-o-Novo

"I can't believe already that I could win this race, I think it will take me few days to realize what I did," Barbeo said.

Barbero extended his thanks for all the efforts that his team put in for the week to deliver him to the top step of the podium. The next placed Euskadi rider was 25-year-old Miguel Minguez, who spent four years racing with Euskadi-Eskatel at WorldTour level, down in 28th place just over 2:00 minutes behind Barbero.

"Sometimes the only thing that people see is the highest part of the iceberg, but there were a strong team keeping this iceberg solid and stable during the whole race," Barbero said.