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PELLO BILBAO 5TH IN SAN SÉBASTIÁN ON STAGE 2 OF TOUR DE FRANCE
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Pello Bilbao impressed on home roads as he took a top-five finish on Stage 2 of the Tour de France in a reduced sprint. The Basque rider tried to escape the group of 24 riders, featuring most of the GC big hitters and the sprint favourite out of the reduced bunch, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).
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With Van Aert in the group, Bilbao launched a brave attack with 9km to go but was brought back by the group with 5km to go, as Jumbo Visma took control, looking to set up victory for Van Aert. However, Victor Lafay (Cofidis) launched an early sprint from 1km to take the victory.
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Pello Bilbao didn’t quite have the legs for the sprint but was pleased with his overall performance: “This was a movement that was planned from the beginning of the stage. Already last week, when we came to check the last kilometres of the stage, I did two times this descent, and I was feeling confident today. The plan went right. The only problem was that Jumbo had clear ideas and had four riders to control, so with the strong wind in the face, it was difficult to arrive to the finish line. |
Anyway, I tried also in the last sprint, and I took the right wheel with Tadej, but yeah, not really the best legs for the sprint, but I wanted to try and give everything, and I’m really motivated to continue fighting as we will have other great opportunities for sure.”
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Mikel Landa and Jack Haig also impressed, finishing in the first group. After two challenging stages, Landa sits 9th in the GC. Stage 3 from Amorebieta-Etxano to Bayonne has been extended by 6.1 kilometres to avoid road furniture
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| © Photo Sprintcycling @TeamBahrainVictorious) |
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