Inabe, Tuesday 22nd May - "This victory is for Yukiya, who crashed today," says our stage winner Grega Bole in the finish. "He showed his performance and that he is a big person who helped all day for me, so I must say this victory is for him and for all my teammates who really worked for me."
With Grega Bole wearing the leader jersey, Team Bahrain-Merida controlled the race whole day. Yukiya and our teammates pushed a lot in the climb with a good tempo. In the last 2 laps, we pushed a little more after the downhill by taking the advantage of the side wind, where we made a selection of the bunch. Grega out-sprinted Marco Canola(Nippo - Vini Fantini - Europa Ovini) and claimed the victory of the day. He's now the leader of general and points classification.
"We are really happy, as a team we did a very good job today. I must say a really 'thank you' to my teammates. They did a really good job, especially Yukiya. I don't have any words, he showed his performance, and he's a very great friend and a big person."
After touching wheels at the beginning of the stage, Yukiya still made it to finish the race. He was then transported to the hospital by ambulance accompanied by the team doctor Marjan KoršiÄ. Additional information and details will be known later of the day, and we all wish him a fast recovery.
(All pictures attached can be used for editorial and non commercial usages only and are copyright protected – © Team Bahrain-Merida)
;