MADRID, 13 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish cyclists Erik Martorell, Álvaro Navas, Beñat Garaiar and Joan Martí Bennassar have broken this Saturday – early in the morning in Spain – the national record in the track team pursuit event, stopping the clock at 3:58.773 during the Cup of the Nations.
The Spanish quartet closed the first day of this competition, which is being held in Milton (Canada), with the good taste of the record in their mouths. The new record improved the one that had been in effect since the 2012 London Olympic Games, where Eloy Teruel, David Muntaner, Sebastián Mora and Albert Torres clocked a time of 3:59.520.
The record helped Martorell, Navas, Garaiar and Bennassar finish the qualifying phase in tenth place, two seconds away from entering the cut of the eight best countries. Meanwhile, the female quartet made up of Ziortza Isasi, Laura Rodríguez, Eva Anguela and Marina Garau achieved a time of 4:29.564 in their qualifying round, also finishing in tenth position, about four seconds behind the cut set by Japan.
The team competitions continued with the speed qualifying phase, in which Pepe Moreno, Esteban Sánchez and Ekain Jiménez were eleventh with a time of 45.159. The day was completed for Spain with the dispute of the individual eliminations, for both men and women, in which Erik Martorell and Laura Rodríguez participated.
Martorell, who won silver in Milton last year in the scratch, here showed solidity during the elimination to finish fourth, surpassed by a few centimeters in the last elimination when entering the medals was at stake. Rodríguez, for his part, made use of his good placement and skill throughout his elimination to reach sixth place in the final.