| PELLO BILBAO 3RD AT GP KANTON AARGAU |
The Swiss campaign opens with a podium for Bahrain Victorious, as Pello Bilbao took a brilliant podium result at the one-day race Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau in Leuggern, won by Thibau Nys (Trek-Segafredo), who beat Marc Hirshi (UAE Team Emirates) 2nd and Bilbao crossing the finish line in 3rd on the uphill sprint finish.
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The challenging 175.3 km course opened with four laps of an 8.1 km flat circuit, in which the day’s breakaway formed almost right after the start. The seven attackers couldn’t stay away in the second part of the race, which featured seven laps of a 20.2 km circuit, including a challenging ascent, the Rotberg (6.95 km at 3.9%). The climbing section and the high temperatures contributed to making the selection.
Towards the final, some riders tried to attack, like the young Fisher-Black, who was caught with 18km to go. All other attempts to go solo were neutralised by the selected group of the strongest riders in the final lap. Three of our riders, Pello Bilbao, Gino Mäder and the newcomer Antonio Tiberi, were part of the front group that contested the punchy uphill sprint finish in Gippingen.
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| “This kind of final suited me well”, Pello Bilbo explained. “Yesterday, when we came to recon the course, I immediately thought that it was a nice circuit and I was going to enjoy today’s race. It was like that. Obviously, I hoped to go for the victory. But in the end, 3rd place is also good for me. |
It was my first appearance in this race, so jumping onto the podium was nice. I felt I had good legs, but these young guys were coming super strong.”
The Basque rider was back to racing after a long rest and training after Liège-Bastogne-Liège to start warming up ahead of the Tour de France. “The most important thing is that feeling is on the right way for the big goals that are coming up”.
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GP Kanton Aargau also saw the debut of Antonio Tiberi. The Italian rider finished with the leading group, 10 seconds behind the winner. Also, Gino Mäder did well in his return to racing and home race, as he could stay with the strongest riders and took a top 20 result (+6”).
The signals are good ahead of the Tour de Suisse, starting this Sunday with an individual time trial. |
| (All pictures can be used for editorial and non-commercial usages only and are copyright @Sprintcycling @TeamBahrainVictorious) |
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