With a great finish, the Costa Rican cyclist Sebastián Brenes, of the Central American Regional Team, won Friday the fourth stage of the XIX Tour de Panama. Despite the victory, Gabriel Rojas Campos (7C Economy Lacoinex) remains as leader of the individual general classification.
The stage, of 128 kilometers, was disputed in the beautiful landscapes of the Costa Abajo, in the province of Colon. Brenes won the sprint at the Sherman facilities, beating national cyclists Bredio Ruíz and Franklin Archibold, both from the Panama es Cultura y Valores team.
A total of fourteen cyclists took part in the stage, among them Gabriel Rojas Campos, who continues to wear the leader’s jersey. The group completed the course in 2 hours, 55 minutes and 46 seconds. The day began with a controlled start from the Colon Free Zone, where the starting flag was given by Luisa Napolitano, manager of this important emporium on the Caribbean coast.
During the journey, there were several escape attempts, with Christofer Jurado (Panama is Culture and Values) standing out among the most combative. However, the 7C Economy Lacoinex team, to which leader Rojas Campos belongs, neutralized all the attacks.
Rojas Campos, 24 years old, in addition to maintaining the lead, was crowned champion of the mountains by scoring nine points, with only two stages to go.
After four days of competition in the Tour de Panama, Gabriel Rojas leads the general classification with an accumulated time of 8 hours, 2 minutes and 46 seconds. His escorts are also Costa Ricans Luis Aguilar (7C Economy Lacoinex), 56 seconds behind, and Joseph Ramírez (Accipal Rally Costa Rica), 1 minute and 55 seconds behind.
The best Panamanian in the classification is Franklin Archibold, who occupies the sixth position, 5 minutes and 10 seconds behind the leader. Meanwhile, the winner of the stage, Sebastián Brenes, is in eighth place, 6 minutes and 5 seconds behind Rojas Campos.
The banks of the Panama Canal, the Atlantic Bridge, the beaches and the historical points of Colon were witnesses of the arduous effort of each rider in this demanding day. This Saturday will be the fifth and penultimate stage: an individual time trial of 25.9 kilometers, starting in Sherman, going to the Atlantic Bridge and returning to Sherman. The stage will start at 9:00 a.m.
Source: FEPACI