Fourth place on the sterrato of Primošten for Albanese
CRO Race (2.1)
Stage 3: Sinj – Primošten (157km)
The very hard final 800 metres of the third stage of the CRO Race showed Albanese’s worth in such finishes, increasing his performance and taking advantage of the support of his team-mates during the day.
EOLO Kometa came out motivated by the opportunity of today’s stage. Mark Christian gave the team a leading role in the early part of the day, filtering into a seven-rider breakaway that never had a real chance of winning, but rode the seaside terrain of the stage sharing efforts.
The peloton’s encouragement was noticeable at the head of the race and Christian himself tightened the breakaway on one of the last steep climbs before the finishing climb. Neutralised with 15 kilometres to go, it was Albanese’s turn to go with him and set him up for the ascent of the Primošten wall.
The final stage was a trap with a wall with ramps above 18% where Albanese arrived well placed thanks to the work of his teammates. At a steady pace, taking advantage of the most demanding sections, he made progress on the tough concrete ramps until the asphalt returned and he got into the sprint to finish in fourth position. The race overall now sees the Italian in fifth place, 16 seconds behind leader Milan (Bahrain).
Vincenzo Albanese: “The team did a spectacular job, and thanks to them I managed to start the last climb in perfect conditions. I feel very well and I was aware that I could arrive with the first ones, even knowing that the last meters were too hard for my characteristics. I am very satisfied with this result, because of the 3 riders who have beaten me, one has won the Tour and the other the Milano Sanremo. There are still good opportunities and I would like to do my best even in the general classification”.
Coppa Agostoni (1.1)
Lissone-Lissone (193km)
The boys who tried: first with Montoli who looked for the breakaway, then with Sevilla who was the protagonist of the breakaway of the day able to reach 8 minutes lead over the group. A storm then hit the group, wetting the powder of the boys in blue: bravo to Bais, who arrived with the group of the first chasers.
Biagio Conte: “I can’t say anything to the team and the attitude the guys had. Unfortunately, Fortunato did not have a good leg, and the downpour we caught penalized him. I’m happy with what Bais and Gavazzi did who is growing in condition, I’m happy for the courage of Sevilla who went on a breakaway as we asked him to, and for Montoli and Pierobon who had their experience among the Pro”.
Sprint Cycling & Maurizio Borserini
