Luisle’ dresses up as a mountain biker

It’s never too late to learn something new. At almost 41 years old, Luis León Sánchez continues to learn and improve as if he were an U23. 

He proved it today, in the second stage of the Škoda Titan Desert Almería 2024: the UNIVERSAE stage. If in his debut last year ‘Luisle’ showed himself as a very strong cyclist in the climbs and in the less technical areas, in this edition he has become an excellent downhill rider in areas that seem more intended for pure mountain bikers.

The day featured a climb up the Loma del Perro at the halfway point of the stage. There, a group of three riders took the lead: Riccardo Chiarini, ‘Luisle’ and, wearing the leader’s jersey, Luis Ángel Maté.

From there to the finish line, the race went through purely ‘ Titan’ terrain: track following, technical descents and some wadi. The areas in which the GESA Sports rider was usually worse, but in which this time he was able to open a gap with his pursuers.

Thus, Luis León Sánchez arrived first at the Circuito Costa de Almería and is the new leader of the race. Behind him came the Italian Cannondale ISB Sport rider, who remains in the fight for the red.

Luis Ángel Maté moves away from the lead after a stage in which he has not been physically well. The ‘Lince’ will try to recover tomorrow to keep the throne he achieved last year in the Škoda Challenge of the Alto de Velefique.

Tessa Kortekaas, however, has always descended well, always climbed well and has always been the best rider in the women’s peloton.

What seems unbelievable when talking about a rider of this level is that there are still things that she criticizes about herself or points of improvement that for her are obvious. Today she acknowledged that she still doesn’t feel 100% fit and that she always goes from less to more. The best is yet to come.

The Dutchwoman based in Lanzarote has been the leader of the women’s GC throughout the stage and has crossed the finish line among the top 30 riders of the 500 that make up the peloton. Today she has once again demonstrated her incredible performance in Titan World Series races.

The Cannondale ISB Sports rider is already more than 24 minutes ahead of her immediate pursuer, the Andalusian María Esther Maqueda, and, once again, she is competing against herself. No one else.

Tomorrow she has the opportunity to show her form again in the Strava verified segment at the top of Velefique. That Škoda Challenge of which she is now queen of the mountain with a time that she undoubtedly candidates to improve.