Maestri, courageous in the breakaway that opens Mallorca
In cold weather, with the rain soaking the roads and the riders, Mirco Maestri was in charge of showing the strength of EOLO KOMETA. Present in the breakaway from the initial kilometres, he was able to withstand the different situations of the race and once dropped, fight the sprint of the main bunch.
Mirco Maestri played a good role in the Trofeo Calvià, the race that opened the Challenge of Mallorca and that with its steep course demanded a great physical effort from all the cyclists. The five climbs were the scene of attacks and more attacks looking to break the race. Maestri showed his class, withstood the attacks and tried to follow the counter-attacking movements.
In the final straight, along with seven other riders including Julian Alaphillippe (Soudal QuickStep), the hostilities returned and our brave Italian had to give way to the main bunch. In that group, he didn’t lose the concentration and got into the sprint fight to reach the top-20 at the finish line with Mattia Bais.
Mirco Maestri: “It was quite a hard stage, I tried to anticipate because I knew that the terrain after was very demanding for me. In the final part, I tried to hold on as long as possible and to fight for a good place in the sprint of the second group in which I arrived. It’s a pity, because I was close to getting a good result, but seeing how the race went, I’m happy with my performance and I gave my best”.
Jesús Hernández: “The strategy has been fulfilled. We wanted to be in the breakaway and we knew that the bunch was going to break at around kilometre 65, in Sóller. Mirco was at the front group, showing his quality and commitment, as well as very good legs. He was able to hold on until 20 kilometres to go with Alaphillippe and the rest of the favourites. When the pace changed again at the front, he was dropped and caught by a group that included Mattia Bais and Rivi, although he was cut off by a fall in front of him. We know that in a head-to-head with the big teams we can’t achieve great results. That’s why we’re going to move away, look for the lead every day and I’m sure we’ll be able to be in the fight”.
