Tarragona native Edu Prades has confirmed a sensational season for Basque team Euskadi-Murias.
With final victory during the Tour of Turkey, part of the World Tour, the maximum expression of professional cycling, rounding off a notable performance for Euskadi-Murias, with its début during La Vuelta, Óscar Rodríguez’s historic stage win in La Camperona and the win by Prades in Turkey.
It’s perhaps easier to explain the scale of Eduard Prades’s superb victory by looking at his rivals: nine World Tour teams, with budgets that Euskadi-Murias could only dream of, such as Astana, Bahrain-Merida, BMC Racing Team, Bora-Hansgrihe, Quick Step, Katusha, Team Sunweb, Trek-Segafredo or UAE Team Emirates, all competing for the very same trophy that Prades was able to raise from the top spot on the podium.
Neither could superclass riders such as Ulissi, Nicholas Roche, Lutsenko or Haasable equal the strength exhibited by the Euskadi-Murias cyclist. A heart-stopping finish With a thrilling and spectacular final during the sixth and final stage to Istanbul, Prades was second to cross the finish line behind Sam Bennett (BOH), where thanks to a time bonus and the placings achieved overall victory in the general classification.
The team managed by Rubén Pérez in Turkey demonstrated a bravery that was ultimately rewarded. The day’s breakaway ended less than seven kilometres from the finish and included another Euskadi Murias rider, Beñat Txoperena. The Basque team played its cards well for the final, where Prades tied with Lutsenko on time but won overall on placings. Today he was second to cross the finish line but edged out Lutsenko thanks to a time bonus.
The team is jubilant. And with good reason, their performance has been spectacular and confirms the robustness of Jon Odriozola’s team.