Serrano’s breakaway, Double’s attack, Fabbro’s 5th place in Czech Tour’s second stage

After yesterday’s flat start, which was not among the objectives of a Team Polti Kometa that came here primarily for the mountains, the squad led by Giovanni Ellena and Biagio Conte took control in various moments of the second stage of the Czech Tour.

In the initial part of the race, filled with many short climbs towards the peaks of the Beskid Mountains, it took almost one hundred kilometers for a quartet of breakaway riders to form. Among them was Javier Serrano who, after finishing 21st in the sprint in Ostrava, wanted to help the team by being part of the day’s action.

As expected, the situation exploded on the two ascents of Pustevny. On the first one (40 km from the finish) while Erik Fetter completed his valuable work for his teammates Paul Double attacked solo and passed all the escapees, cresting the top alone.

Thus climbing to third place in the KOM standings, the 28-year-old Englishman was caught after the subsequent descent and a group of about fifty riders started the last Pustevny together. There another Polti Kometa climber, Matteo Fabbro, emerged: after maintaining a good pace with the support of Germán Gómez, Andrea Garosio and Double himself, the 29-year-old from Friuli finished 5th in the uphill finish (won by UAE’s Hirschi) and is now 6th in the GC.

The cover photo of the article comes from the official channels of the race, while the images in the gallery above are from Sprint Cycling Agency

Fabbro: “We worked perfectly in a rather nervous stage, and I’m happy with the feelings I had on the final ramps. Now we need to consolidate our position and performance over the weekend when we’ll face many other slopes.”

Double: “Honestly, when I accelerated I hoped someone would follow me. Once I found myself alone, it was smarter to wait for the peloton. With the energy saved, I achieved a good 20th place and am still able to fight for both personal and team goals.”

Serrano: “These days I feel particularly good and felt like testing myself in the sprint yesterday, even though I’m not a pure sprinter, and going on a breakaway today, trying to stay with Paul when he came from behind. Let’s keep going!”

Sport Director Ellena: “Czech Tour’s level grows year by year, but we always respond positively. It’s been a challenging course, but everyone managed their role and legs in the best way.”