Barredo Breaks Through at San Sebastian

Carlos Barredo celebrates the biggest win of his career. Photo - Watson

Aboard his S-Works Tarmac SL2, Barredo was one of the day's main protagonists, attacking on the two final decisive climbs and then breaking clear of an elite group of favorites to out-sprint Roman Kreuziger to claim his most dramatic victory to date.

"I cannot believe it. To win a classic is like a dream," Barredo said. "Last year, I won a stage at Paris-Nice, and I was close to another win at the Tour de France, but this win is the most important of my career and gives me some guarantees looking to the future."

The 28-year-old Barredo hails from nearby Asturias, another one of Spain's soggy regions along its verdant northern coast, so he's used to racing on wet roads. His acumen on slick roads paid off handsomely as rain and wind pelted the pack in the late hours of the race.

"We studied the forecasts (Friday) and when we woke up and it looked like rain, I told the mechanics to lessen the pressure on my tires a little bit because if it rains, I am going to make my move on the descents, because all the favorites wouldn't want to risk so much," Barredo explained. "I was good in this race two years ago, so I knew I could do well. In the past, I often paid for watching my rivals. Today, I decided to make the race and not worry about anything else."

Barredo's aggressive tactics paid off, but he paid for it as well, skipping to the ground on the dangerous descent off the Category 1 Alto de Jaizkibel. Despite the scare, he wasn't injured and quickly remounted to go straight back on the attack.

Barredo let loose on the day's final obstacle, the Cat. 2 Alto de Arkale with 16km to go, bringing with him French rider Pierrick Fedrigo, who he promptly dropped on the descent.

Compatriot, Luís León Sánchez, latched on, but other chasing favorites caught the wheel in the closing kilometers. When Czech rider Roman Kreuziger unleashed an attack with 2km to go, Barredo followed the move and then nipped him at the line for the victory.

"Fedrigo went with me on the climb, but I risked it on a few curves and lost him on the descent. The others caught Sanchez and me, and then Kreuziger attacked. I went after him and the others stayed back," Barredo recounted. "Opportunities like this present themselves only a few times in life, and you have to take advantage of them."

The victory meant even more for Barredo, who joined Quick Step in part for his love of the one-day classics. His dream is to win a race like Liège-Bastogne-Liège or Fleche Wallonne, and his victory Saturday will only fuel those ambitions.

"When I came to this team, Paolo Bettini was the big captain, and I learned so many things from him. I tried to be as close to him as possible in any races we did together," Barredo said. "This year, I had a lot of problems to be in shape for the spring classics, because it was one thing after another, but what I did today helps me to forgot all that."

Barredo was quick to thank his Quick Step teammates, who helped protect throughout the opening four hours of racing before arriving to the decisive Jaizkibel climb in the final hour. The team did the heavy lifting to keep Barredo at the nose of the action until the decisive moves went down in the race.

"I want to thank my team, which helped me throughout the race. It means a lot to us, because this year's Tour de France didn't go as we would have liked. But, we're professionals and we kept up our morale and knew if we kept fighting, the wins would come," Barredo said. "Now I am going to rest a little and prepare for the Vuelta a España. I don't want this to be a one-shot deal, but rather the beginning of several good performances."

Learn more about Carlos Barredo & Team Quick Step at I-Am-Specialized.com.