Designated team leader was angry after giving up time to his rivals
Dropped on yesterday’s final climb and appearing at first to be out of shape, the Sky team have said that their leader for the Vuelta a España, Sergio Henao, was actually affected by not eating enough.
The Colombian rider slipped back on the final climb of the Alto Do Monte Da Groba and finished only sixtieth, crossing the line two minutes and 41 seconds back.
“That was just a hunger flat,” director sportif Nicolas Portal said prior to today’s start of stage three. “When I saw him getting dropped, there were sixty riders left and I was surprised to see him off the back.”
Henao is the designated top rider for the squad in the race, with the GC specialists Chris Froome and Richie Porte instead choosing to ride the USA Pro Challenge, and Bradley Wiggins having put on weight and no longer targeting three week events.
His weakness yesterday impacted on his chances for the overall classification, dropping him down to 49th overall and handing his rivals a handy time advantage. Rigoberto Uran is best placed of the team overall, sitting 22 seconds back this morning in sixth place. Henao is 49th, two minutes 49 seconds behind the race leader Vincenzo Nibali.
Portal said that Henao realised right away that he had made an important error, and wanted to make amends. “When he got into the bus, he was furious, he said he wanted to attack today but we calmed him down,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything.
“He’s the leader of the team because he’s got a great future. We won’t modify our plans after stage two.”
Henao’s tough start to the Vuelta continued today when he punctured early on and then crashed just outside sixth kilometres to go. He didn’t appear to be badly hurt, however, and was able to chase back on.
The Colombian finished ninth overall in last year’s Giro and then went on to place fourteenth in the Vuelta a España.
This year he won a stage of the Volta ao Algarve, placed second in La Flèche Wallonne and the Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana and took a stage plus third overall in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.