An escape frustrates the victory of the volata in a stage where Moschetti finishes ninth
Tour of Hungary
Stage 3: Cegléd-Hajdúszobosló (206 km)
In the third stage of the Tour of Hungary, a day with Alberto Contador in the caravan, the Italian sprinter Matteo Moschetti could not defend his victory this Thursday after the Ukrainian cyclist Andrii Brataschuk avoided the sprint with a lesson of perseverance. The Team Novak rider, who was involved in the day’s breakaway, did not give up when the pack, led by the Polartec-Kometa and CCC riders, substantially reduced the income of the trio who had been leading the race for many kilometres. With less than three to go before the finish, Brataschuk insisted on his own and ended up triumphing by a whisper. In the sprint of the group, with two seconds remaining, Matteo Moschetti finished the day ninth.
Three riders, the Hungarian Daniel Dina (Pannon Cycling Team), the Slovenian Martin Mahdar (Dukla Banska) and the aforementioned Brataschuk, would consolidate a break in the longest day of this edition of the Magyar race. Fifty kilometres from the finish line, they were rolling with almost a six-minute margin, an income to which the work of the Polartec-Kometa would soon begin to be reduced in time, and the Polartec-Kometa began to become insistently involved in this work a few kilometres later; work in which the Sangemini and the CCC also contributed their grain of sand. The trio, who planted themselves within the last six kilometres with 50 seconds, saw their lead reduced in a frantic manner. Brataschuk considered that there was still room for improvement. Within the last three kilometres he rekindled his pace and began a pulse in which he will triumph over the pack.
Matteo Moschetti, well placed in front of the Volata, riding in fourth-fifth place in the last two laps before the final straight, a straight of about 300 metres, will be involved in the finish until Brataschuk celebrates the success, when he lets himself go slightly. The cyclist from Lombardy, in front of the second place of the still leader Manuel Belletti (Androni), gives up the green jersey of the classification the points, of which he will continue this Saturday being the bearer for protocol reasons. In general, Moschetti is in second to fifth place. The Tour of Hungary is a day-to-day event.
This Saturday will be the most complex orographical stage of the race, a 182 km stage between Karcag and Miskolc in which the riders will have to face the ascent of the Bukkszentkereszt (659 metres, 8 km at 5% on average). Its summit is just under 30 kilometres from the end. Isaac Canton, involved in the fight for this ranking, also has an important scenario ahead of him.
(automatic translation, sorry for mistakes)
