The 24-year-old scored his first podium of the season in a UCI race.
One week after claiming the win at the Grote Prijs Vermarc, Alvaro Hodeg was again involved in the business end of the race – the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a Andalucia, which after three demanding days in the hills, finally gave the sprinters an opportunity to take center stage, as they travelled from Baza to Cullar Vega, over 182.9 kilometers.
Seven men moved clear from the peloton, putting three minutes between them and the field, but several teams took over pace-setting duties and made sure of bringing them back. Ian Garrison did a tremendous job for the Wolfpack, his effort being decisive in the escapees being overhauled in the closing kilometers of the race.
Shane Archbold and Stijn Steels then stretched out the bunch on the flat roads of southern Spain, before Bert Van Lerberghe came to the front, showing a superb instinct as he navigated the peloton with Alvaro Hodeg in his wheel. The Colombian was a bit closed near the barriers before unleashing his acceleration, and despite a great turn of speed, all he could do in these conditions was take runner-up behind André Greipel (Israel Start-Up Nation), a result that underlines the strong condition he came into the race with.
Photo credit: ©Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno / Getty Images
