17 Feb 2019

Sosa seals second in Colombia

Related riders

Tour Colombia Stage 6: El Retiro – Alto de Palmas, 173.8km

Ivan Sosa put in a superb climbing performance to finish a close second overall at Tour Colombia following a thrilling final day.

Fans lined the Las Palmas summit as the general classification contenders went head to head. As the attacks launched both Sosa and Egan Bernal found themselves in an elite front group. 2018 winner Bernal worked hard to support Sosa, who followed the late acceleration of Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana).

The pair marked each other in the fight for the overall victory, almost coming to a halt on the steep slopes heading into the final kilometre. The drop of pace allowed Nairo Quintana (Movistar) to regain contact before pushing clear to win the stage.

Sosa was able to out-sprint his rival Lopez to take second on the day, but was not able to take enough time or bonus seconds to overhaul his compatriot. Lopez claimed the overall by just four seconds over Sosa, with Bernal elevating himself into fourth overall with a selfless ride.

Key moment

Bernal was key in helping bring Sosa back to the fore after both he and Quintana were brought to a halt briefly following a collision with a fan. Bernal buried himself to bring his young teammate back into the mix.

Earlier it was Jonathan Castroviejo who led the team on to the slopes before Chris Froome took it up. Sebastian Henao and Jhonatan Narvaez set a strong tempo before the attacks began.

Stage six result:

1. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) 3:57:19
2. Ivan Sosa (Team Sky) +8"
3. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) s.t.
4. Egan Bernal (Team Sky) +16"
5. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First) +1:01"

Overall standings:

1. Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana)
2. Ivan Sosa (Team Sky) +8"
3. Daniel Martinez (EF Education First) +42"
4. Egan Bernal (Team Sky) +54"
5. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) +1:04"