"He's like Messi"

Samu Sánchez did not mince his words when asked to rate Igor Antón and his chances of winning next year's Vuelta by El Correo yesterday. The Olympic champ, ever the gracious one, even compared his younger compatriot with a certain Lionel Messi. "He's a 'crack', he's a monster", Samu said. "He's able to do things that nobody else can. He's similar to Messi. In some races it might look like he's struggling, but then suddenly he leaves them all trailing in his wake. That's Igor. He's a climber, and this year's Vuelta is for a climber. He could already have won the race in 2010. He was superior to the rest. The third week, the most difficult, was still to done, but he would have gone on to take an unsurmountable lead."