Colombian Fernando Gaviria was involved in a controversy during the final sprint of Milano-Turin: “I’m happy not to have fallen”

Fernando Gaviria He was one of the big favorites for Milano – Torino and although he was present in the final sprint, he couldn’t overcome the Dutch rider in the last meters. Arvid de Klein who took the win for the Tudor Pro cycling team. The Colombian took second place and added his sixth podium so far this season with the Movistar team.

In social networks it was opened a debate on what happened in the final meters of the Italian race as some people felt that the Dutch rider closed in and drove Fernando Gaviria against the safety barriers which prevented him from finishing the race and to fight for victory.

In the final sprint, the two riders were leading the race, Kleijn on the left side and Gaviria on the right, although the Colombian tried to pass him, the rider from the Tudor Professional Cycling Team he closed a little and that prevented the Colombian from overtaking him. Although the footage doesn’t show any sort of intention on the Dutchman’s part, there are those who question his behavior in the final meters of the race.

Here are some of the comments from users on social media:

– “Closing moment of the rider of (Movistar Team) Fernando Gaviria, in the last meters of the sprint in Milan Turin “which could have ended in tragedy”

– “De Kleijn is deliberately closing Gaviria. Does he deserve the disqualification?

– “What a pity, Fer Gaviria had the legs to win the Milano Torino, but he couldn’t pass it to Arvid De Kleijn in the last 50 meters. Looking closer, are they locking up the Colombian or not?”

The Colombian cyclist has a nice gift for his first season with the The Movistar team And although the only victory he consolidated with the Spanish team was stage 4 of the Vuelta a San Juan, the Antioquian cyclist obtained three second places (stage 2 – San Juan, stage 5 – UAE Tour and Milan – Turin) and was present on six podiums.

After what happened in the Italian race, Fernando Gaviria spoke about Arvid de Kleijn’s victory and downplayed what happened in the final meters. The Movistar team cyclist even assured that he was happy not to have fallen and that he is now aiming for his next challenge of the season: Milan – Sanremo.

“For someone who only had two days to recover from a difficult Tirreno-Adriatico, I felt pretty good. I would have liked to feel a bit better to do a better sprint, but I’m glad I don’t fall and I was on the podium” assured Fernando Gaviria to Eurosport/GCN.

During a press conference, the Colombian cyclist spoke about the Dutch rider’s victory and said that it was, “a fun sprint”, lots of turns; lucky not to fall. Nothing to say about the arrival; De Kleijn won, congratulations to him and the Tudor Pro cycling team. Experiences like Milan-Turin are new for the team; positive and negative things every day. We will build”.

Finally, Fernando Gaviria underlined the importance of having finished the race in optimal conditions and underlined that, “We don’t fall and we did a good job. Every day there is something positive and negative in the work of colleagues; I can’t demand them at this point because this effort is something new for everyone.”

The next big challenge for the Colombian cyclist will be Milan – San Remo, which will have a route of 294 kilometers and will include the participation of great riders such as Mathieu Van der Poel, Jasper Philpsen, Mark Cavendish, Pello Vilbao, Damiano Caruso. Sam Bennett, Nelson Powless, Magnus Cort, Filippo Ganna, Elia Viviani, Wout Van Aert, Julian Alaphilippe, among others.