"This is a victory for the fans and sponsors": Miguel Angel Lopez dedicates stage 5 win in Vuelta a San Juan to the ones who helped him during tremulous times

Miguel Angel Lopez took the Queen stage in Vuelta a San Juan. The Colombian rider after being on the spotlight for the negative reasons over the recent months showed that he can still perform well. He gave his new Team Medellín~EPM their first win of the season against strong competition like Sergio Higuita, Egan Bernal and Remco Evenepoel.

"I have to thank my teammates. We worked well together today. It could have been a dangerous day today too, but we rode very attentively. This is a victory for the fans and sponsors. I also have to thank my wife and children", stated Lopez in the post-race conference after conquering Alto de Colorado.

His team worked at the beginning of the climb and Lopez retributed their work and confidence with a win. Being very low profile until the last 6 kilometers where he attacked for the win. With this win Miguel Angel Lopez takes also the lead in the general classification of the race 30 seconds ahead of Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and 44 seconds ahead of Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe).

"I was still a bit far at the foot. However, I let the guys ride up front to make the race hard. Fortunately, I also started to feel better and better.", concluded the Colombian about his feelings on the bike during the stage.

There will be 2 more stages in Vuelta a San Juan, but both are mainly flat and expected to end in sprint. So Lopez has made a crucial step to get the general classification of the race and give his team another moment to celebrate.