Gabriele Raccagni fifth on the first stage in Volta a Portugal do Futuro
The Volta a Portugal de Futuro started with the bad news that Martín Barrero wasn’t able to start the race at the last minute due to illness. Without being able to call a new rider because of the lack of time, the under-23 team started with six riders in the race. Gabriele Raccagni finished fifth in a first stage in which the breakaway was successful and reached the finish line ahead of the bunch.
The stage started with a high pace as the first intermediate sprint of the day was located at kilometre 9. After several unsuccessful breakaway attempts, a trio managed to open up an advantage and escape from the bunch. The three riders were ahead of the big group throughout the stage, reaching a maximum distance of 9’50”. One individual rider tried to chase them down, but could only get as close as six minutes and was neutralized.
The peloton kept up the pace in the final part of the stage, but it was not enough. The three breakaway riders were fighting for the win. Gabriele Raccagni was second in the bunch sprint and fifth in the stage classification.
“There was a breakaway from the start as in many other races. The bunch let the riders go and they took minutes over a bunch that was riding very wide on the road due to the head wind. I thought that there were going to be teams that were going to control the race. With 50 kilometres to go, the breakaway was 10 minutes ahead and nobody reacted. We have a team of climbers here, except for Raccagni, who can do it fast in a sprint, but he wasn’t the main favorite. I put two riders to work and we have taken almost nine minutes off, but it was not enough”, explained Rafael Diaz Justo at the end of the first stage in Portugal.
Gabriele Raccagni was the team’s best rider at the finish in an atypical stage: “at the start there was a breakaway with a big gap and the wind was coming from the front. We started to work to cut the gap, but they had 1’20”. I sprinted because I knew I was fast, but I was too long, a rider passed me and I was fifth. Tomorrow I’m going to work for the climbers and we’ll try to win the race”.
