Titan Desert 2020 final stage. Josep Betalú and Silvia Roura 2nds on the podium
The most numerous team in the camp takes two stage victories and two second places overall. Congratulations, Josep Betalú and Silvia Roura.
Miguel Induráin and his son finish the race enjoying and suffering in equal parts and his ambassador, Clàudia Galicia, wins the women’s classification by prevailing in the five stages.
El Toyo, Almería. 11/06/2020
A team has marked the historic 15th edition of the Titan Desert. It is the KH7 Logifrio team, the largest in the peloton, with 32 riders and captained by the winner of the Tour of Spain, Melcior Mauri.
And is that many names have shone with their own light. Josep Betalú, the only cyclist who accumulates four consecutive victories in the Titan Desert, has been in second position after a spectacular battle in all the days with the, ultimately champion, Sergio Mantecón. The cyclist from Amposta crossed the finish line first in two of the five stages and only 44 seconds separated him from the final victory. Oriol Colomé and Iván Díaz, his loyal squires, always appeared among the top positions, who ended up setting an excellent performance, classifying in 8th and 13th place, respectively.
In girls, the leading role has multiplied. In the first place, the KH-7 ambassador Clàudia Galicia has taken all the stages and the highest position on the podium. From day one she has dominated the race and crossed the finish line excited, crying. His history with the MTB began in 2013 in that race, when he debuted in a cyclist test and achieved victory. He repeated his triumph in 2014 and in 2020 he comes to say goodbye to the sport that has given him so much by closing the cycling circle.
Second place went to the combative Sílvia Roura. The young KH7 Logifrio rider has shown that her victory in January in the Titan Series Saudi Arabia was not a overnight flower and has reached second place on the podium beating the double winner in 2016 and 2018 Ramona Gabriel. While the other two girls, Marta Ballús and Gemma Rossell have also become finishers.
This historic 15th edition of the Titan Desert will also be remembered for the participation of the best cyclist in history, Miguel Induráin. The Navarrese cyclist has raced in the team with his brother-in-law and his son. He has enjoyed the experience, the coexistence in the camp, but he has also suffered from the more technical areas when the route got complicated.
From KH7 Logifrio they congratulate all the team members. A group that has worked in sync at all times, helping each other in this adventure and that has shown that together they go further. Thank you Jorge Salinas, Marc Rovira, Fernando García, Teófilo Chacón, Jesús Antonio García, Melcior Mauri, Silvia Roura, Sylvain Chavanel, Miguel Indurain, Miguel Indurain López, Genís Zapater, Arturo Pujol, Iván Granizo, Antonio Rodriguez, Carmelo López, Oriol Colomé , Josep Maria Gómez, Jaume Gelonch, Roger Gelonch, Gabriel García, Salvador Avellana, Gemma Rosell, Eduard Balart, Vicenç Gimenez, August Pascual, Josep Betalú, Ivan Diaz, Bertrand Gazeau, Sergi Escobar, Phililpe Port, Marti Sola, Marta Ballús, Robert Figuerola, Joan Guinovart, Joan Pelaez, Emilio Berdú, Carles Gutierrez, Anna Corollo, Marc Soteras, Mónica Estrella for making this trip possible.
Clàudia Galicia: «A Titan is always an adventure, this era is new for everyone but I have lived it as a pure adventure. She was totally alone without equipment, she also had to go on the track and I never follow tracks. In the first two stages I had a pretty bad time because I was very, very alone, but then I have already found my group, known people and I have been able to shoot in groups, so for me it was a tough Titan. I felt good, very strong, very regular but it was not easy. The fact of going without equipment, having to wake up all the time, sometimes costs. Today I also suffered in the last 10km before the finish line, but the strong headwind was difficult, and I was totally alone in the boulevards but with a smile because I knew I already had the victory. A tough, epic Titan, at the same time very, very beautiful, and very happy to have come. I started mountain biking in 2013 and have come to the Titan Desert 2020 to close a circle.
Josep Betalú: «Someday I had to lose. I have found a very good rider like Sergio and I would be worried if he lost against a less fit rider. We will be left with the uncertainty of what would have happened in yesterday’s stage if the stage had not been neutralized. Today I attacked him going up, down, everywhere, but he managed the race very well. Sergio has told me that it has been a pleasure to race with me and that it makes me taste his victory better. Anyway, I’m happy
If Sergio comes to the next Titan Desert I will want revenge. I hope I can come and take a fifth Titan Desert, even if it is not consecutive, it would be something that nobody has achieved. For now I’m going to calm down and think, to move on.
Miguel Induráin: «Many months later I can finally say that the Titan Desert is a reality. It has been more than a year that we talked with Melcior Mauri about living this experience with my son and my brother-in-law and after the Morocco edition was suspended we have been able to come to Almería. In the camp people live together and experience the race in a different way and on the route, I have enjoyed in many moments, but in others, with the sand, I have had a bad time ».
