BILBAO VICTORIOUS ON FINAL STAGE OF DEUTSCHLAND TOUR AS ZAMBANINI 3RD ON STAGE 9 AT LA VUELTA
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| Pello Bilbao ended the Deutschland Tour in emphatic style, winning the final stage to cement his second place in GC while winning the Points Jersey too. |
| It came down to a reduced bunch sprint in Stuttgart, as riders took on a challenging 186km course tackling 2,500 vertical meters. The pace was ferocious all day, with only 11 riders in the main group chasing down the day’s breakaway. |
| With 4km to go, the breakaway was caught, and in the final, Bilbao was well positioned in the last corner and kicked with 200m to the line to take the victory: “A victory was the best way to finish the race”, Pello Bilbao comments. “We knew it would be difficult to fight for the overall, as 30 seconds was a big gap for this kind of final circuit. But we were feeling confident in fighting for the stage victory today. |
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| I’m not a sprinter, but everybody arrives with tired legs and little energy at the end of races like this. I felt confident, and I just fought for a good position. I knew the guy from Wanty was fast. I let him take advantage in the last corner, so he could help me to launch the sprint. In the end, I just went, opening the sprint on my own and then sprinting full gas in the last 200m.” |
| The Spanish rider also secured second place overall, finishing 22 ″ behind the winner Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) and also winning the points classification green jersey. “The team did super work this week. We didn’t start this stage race the best way with Phil’s abandon. I also was involved in a minor crash, and in the first days, I was not feeling perfect, but yesterday the guys were impressive. They let me in the proper position to fight for a stage victory but finishing it was impossible. Finally, I took it today. Thanks to all my teammates for all the job they did”. |
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| Enrico Poitschke, Bahrain Victorious Sports Director, adds: “We expected a very hard stage, and we tried to go in the breakaway with Filip or Jonathan, but it was too hard, the guys tried everything, but it was impossible. The race was so fast from the beginning, and we were always with Pello and Hermann in a good position, never in trouble, following team Ineos. On the final circuit, we concentrated on staying in the front to avoid crashes, and in the end, we tried to win the stage, as Pello felt good. The stage was so hard that nobody could attack the last few kilometers. The breakaway was caught with 4km to go, and then Pello made a fantastic sprint and won the stage. Big thanks to the whole team, and congratulations to all, especially to Pello for victory and 2nd in GC. We are very happy with the result”. |
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| And while Pello was winning again, back in his home country of Spain, young Italian Edoardo Zambanini produced a breakthrough performance on one of the toughest mountain stages of this year’s Vuelta a España. |
| The Bahrain Victorious neo-pro fought hard from the start to make it into a breakaway which took over 40kms to form. Alongside him were 8 other riders, all vastly more experienced than him, and together they made it over 4 categorised climbs before the final brutal ascent up the ‘Alto Les Praeres’. |
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| Beaming after crossing the line in 3rd place, ‘Zamba’ reflected on his day in the sun: |
| “I suffered a lot, but I timed it right, jumped in the breakaway, and did my job. The rhythm was good; sometimes, some of the guys didn’t do turns on the front, but we worked together.” |
| The 21-year-old was only beaten by Louis Mentjes, already a multiple winner at Elite level, and former U23 World Champion Samuele Battistella. Behind him in 4th was race leader Remco Evenepoel. |
| The last 5kms saw huge crowds on the roadside, averaged 12.9% gradient, and maxed out at 24% in places, but Zambanini revelled in it all! |
| “The last climb was really really nice, the crowds too. I suffered much less thanks to them… it’s amazing. I really liked the steep parts of the climb. I tried to do my own race and not follow others, and then I just gave it all until the finish line.” |
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| The last time La Vuelta finished at Les Praeres, Alejandro Valverde finished in 3rd. With the legendary Spaniard riding his 32nd & final Grand Tour here, his ‘palmares’ would also be something for our young rider to emulate. With four more mountain stages between now and Madrid, Edoardo is sure to have more opportunities, and whatever happens, he is savouring every moment of the biggest race of his career so far. |
| “For sure I’ll try again because today I really enjoyed the stage and the race too. Being here at La Vuelta is a dream; I’m so so happy. Thanks to all the team who support me all the time, and to my teammates. I’m very very happy to be here”. |
Bravo Zamba!
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| (All pictures can be used for editorial and non-commercial usages only and are copyright @Sprintcycling @TeamBahrainVictorious) |
