The traditional and renowned gaucho race, the 41st edition of the Vuelta a San Juan 2026, began this Friday in Santa Lucía, with a victory for Argentinian Kevin Castro of the Diberbool team. Inclement weather led the organizers to modify the format of the opening 7.6-kilometer stage.
Castro, 26, took the prologue victory and became the first leader of the San Juan race. Second place went to Tomás Moyano (Municipality of Santa Lucía), while third place was secured by Gerardo Tivani (Municipality of Pocito).
After the presentation of the participating teams at the start/finish line, at the intersection of Tomás Edison and Colón streets, the 161 registered riders competed in six heats of three laps each. Five qualifying heats were held, with the top three finishers from each heat advancing to the final, which consisted of a 7.6 km lap.
At 8:32 PM, as the first drops of rain began to fall, the first heat got underway. After 29 minutes and 54 seconds and 22.8 km covered, it was won by Tomás Moyano (Municipality of Santa Lucia-Gremios por el Deporte), followed by Nicolás Tivani (Municipality of Pocito) and Marcos León Rodríguez (Diberbool). All three qualified for the final.
After a short break, the second heat started at 9:08 PM. Due to inclement weather, the race officials decided to change the format: To protect the cyclists, qualifying heats 2, 3, 4, and 5 were reduced to a single lap of the circuit (instead of the planned three), and the final race, featuring the top 15 cyclists, was scheduled to be two laps (instead of the planned three). Lisandro Bravo (Chimbas Te Quiero) won the second heat; Gerardo Tivani (Municipalidad de Pocito) finished second, and Kevin Castro (Diberbool) third.
Cristóbal Báez Muñoz (Plus Racing Cycling Team) won the third heat; Hugo Ruiz Calle (SEP San Juan) finished second; and Héctor Dinamarca (Selección Chile) finished third, with all three qualifying for the final. In the fourth heat, Marcos Méndez (Diberbool) took first place, and Leandro Velardez (Municipalidad de Pocito) finished second. 3rd Omar Azzen (Portal Santa Lucía). Fifth heat: Victory for Francisco Kotsakis (Plus Racing Cycling Team); 2nd Ramiro Videla (Fuerza Activa); 3rd Adrián Díaz (Portal Santa Lucía).
After the five qualifying heats, the top fifteen riders completed the circuit once (7.6 km). Race officials had to adjust the number of laps again because the rain intensified at 10:00 PM.
The victory went to Kevin Castro (Diberbool); second place went to Tomás Moyano (Municipality of Santa Lucía), and Gerardo Tivani (Municipality of Pocito) finished third.
With his first-place finish, Castro leads the overall standings and will wear the leader’s jersey. After receiving the award, he said: “The truth is, I’ve started off really well, on the right foot, so what could be better than wearing the leader’s jersey tomorrow? It’s a dream come true, honestly, I hadn’t even planned it. And for it to happen this way has me very motivated, so we’re going to keep going for what’s next in this race. Expectations are high, we have a good team, so we’re going to keep working to keep everyone well-positioned in the general classification, and for me, to focus on the stages.”
The South American race continues this Saturday with the first road stage, a 138.5-kilometer route finishing in front of the Aldo Cantoni Stadium. A total of 10 stages will determine the successor to Argentine Nicolás Tivani, last year’s winner.
Source: https://sisanjuan.gob.ar