Spanish nationals: Gutiérrez wins women's road race

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Sheyla Gutiérrez claimed today her first senior Spanish national championships in Soria, a small city in the midst of the Iberian plateau.

The 23-year-old cyclist, now in her second season riding in the international peloton with Cylance Pro Cycling, was the best on an uphill finish in a close contest with Mavi García (Bizkaia-Durango), who couldn't manage to defend her Spanish national crown successfully.

Ale-Cipollini's Ane Santesteban, who raced here with the Basque regional team, netted the bronze medal, while Lointek Team's Alicia González claimed the U23 title.

This is Gutiérrez's maiden national title as a senior rider after being U23 champion five times: three on the Road Race and two on the Individual Time Trial.

"The course really suited my abilities, with a final one kilometre hill that was ideal for a rider with a good kick like me,” said the winner in the aftermath of the race. "I was on a really bad streak but luckily I have been able to overcome everything and triumph. I deserve this victory."

How the race unfolded

The Women peloton is small in Spain. That means bounds are tight as everyone know each other maybe a bit too well, and that leads to slow, tactic races in which the bunch seem to crawl for kilometres waiting for someone to take the initiative.

This happened today in Soria: the first two hours of race happened without anything happening. "Bizkaia-Durango has been so dominant this season that we all have been keeping our cards close to our chests, expecting them to shake the race anytime," explained Belén López, an expert rider who dared to attack a couple of times trying to terminate the apparent truce only to find no one was keen to echo her aggression.

Then the second part of the race arrived - and with it began the race itself. The women had to give three laps to a 20-kilometers circuit that featured different short climbs, with an especially sharp one in the last kilometre to spice things up and eventually decide who was to claim the national title.

"I attacked with 40 kilometres to go because the whole bunch had given us the full responsibility to respond and control every skirmish and even our two designated leaders, Mavi García and Lorena Llamas, were being forced to move themselves," explained Oyarbide after the race. "Therefore, I decided to attack and took the effort as a time-trial while it lasted - another ITT, after the one I did yesterday! Now I'm shattered," Oyarbide claimed with her usual, wide smile.

The Basque team, led here by Alé-Cipollini's Ane Santesteban and Lointek Team's Eider Merino, set the pace in the peloton to control Oyarbide's breakaway and eventually neutralize her with 5 kilometers to go. It was then that Belén López made a final attempt to sneak away, quickly shut down by a bunch that was ready to tackle the final, decisive climb.

Santesteban was the first to attack. "I accelerated from the bottom of the climb, trying to render it as hard as possible," the Basque rider recounted in the aftermath, "but both Mavi and Sheyla were too strong." Indeed, both riders reached the summit together, with Gutiérrez being the fastest in the short descent to the finish line.

Gutiérrez's victory inspired a feeling of content amongst the knowing attendants. Oyarbide, par example, stated: "Even if it is disappointing to see Mavi couldn't reclaim the title, I'm really happy for Sheyla. She has really stepped up this couple of seasons and deserves this victory."

Oyarbide's words are just a sample of those expressed by almost every rider around. The joy doesn't come only from sporting reasons, but because it meant some cheerfulness for Gutiérrez and her family after the different health problems and heart strokes suffered by her aunt Begoña Ruiz, who is herself a prominent figure in the Spanish women's cycling scene. Ruiz was indeed greeted as much as Gutiérrez was. After all, it's a small peloton with tight bounds.

Gutiérrez was, of course, happy to dedicate this victory to Ruiz. "This victory is for my aunt Begoña. I'm so glad she is alive and well to see me win this," she said with a tear in her eye.

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