Alessandro Borgo claimed an impressive third place on his debut at the Bretagne Classic – CIC, the French one-day WorldTour event. The 21-year-old Italian crossed the finish line just a few seconds behind Alex Aranburu (COF) and Alexander Kamp (UXM), who had been part of a leading group that formed with five kilometres to go. Borgo once again demonstrated his potential in the Classics, securing a WorldTour podium in Brittany.
Team Bahrain Victorious showcased strong teamwork throughout the Bretagne Classic – CIC. As the race became increasingly hectic approaching the final circuits, Robert Stannard joined a chasing group, while Edoardo Zambanini and Matej Mohorič led the peloton in pursuit of the attackers at a crucial moment. Their efforts helped put protected leader Borgo in position to make his move and fight for the podium.
Alessandro Borgo said:
“I’m super happy with this result. We had a strong team and were open to different options, with me as the leader for the finale, so I was mentally ready to fight for the result. After last week’s Renewi Tour, I believed I could get a good result. The team’s goal was a top 10, but I wanted more.
“With 5 km to go, on the final climb, I followed the best riders. When we were reduced to around 15 riders, I realised that winning could be possible. I felt good and knew I was one of the fastest riders in the group.
“With 2 km to go, Aranburu attacked, but nobody wanted to close the gap. We were looking at each other. Then Kamp attacked as well, and again nobody chased. With 600 metres to go, I launched my sprint and my rivals couldn’t catch me, so I could enjoy third place.
“It’s a very valuable result and confirms that I’m feeling good at this point of the season. The team gave me the opportunity to be the leader for the fourth time this year, and every time I’ve finished in the top five. I’m very happy about that too, and now I’m looking forward to the next goals.”
Bahrain Victorious Head Sports Director Gorazd Štangelj was pleased with the team’s performance:
“We missed a few moves during the race, which meant we were often a little late to react. Fortunately, everything came back together towards the end, and Borgo was in the right move at exactly the right moment.
“Unfortunately, the leading group did not work together particularly well and the pace dropped, allowing attacks to come from within the group. Alessandro was arguably the strongest rider in the break, but third place was ultimately the best result he could achieve. We are nevertheless very happy with the podium.
“Overall, it was a great result for the team. I am very pleased with the outcome, although we did spend much of the race playing catch-up. We were a little too late on several occasions, found ourselves having to react, and perhaps took a few too many risks. That said, to come away with third place is a very positive result.”
Meanwhile, in Spain, Santiago Buitrago took the lead in the mountains classification at La Vuelta after Stage 9, from La Vila Joiosa/Villajoyosa to Alto de Aitana – Costa Blanca.
The Colombian joined the day’s large breakaway alongside teammate Attila Valter and took maximum points on three consecutive classified climbs (Puerto de El Miserat, Puerto de Tollos and Puerto de Tudons) collecting 18 points and moving to 29 points in the KOM classification.
Buitrago said:
“Today was the final stage of the first week. Our objective was to get in the breakaway and fight for the stage, and I think we achieved that. It was a very hard stage and it has been a very hard week. We managed to get into the break with Attila, who helped a lot.
“In the end, there wasn’t much collaboration in the group, so I tried to go with a few riders. Personally, I really wanted to fight for the stage. After everything that has happened, I really need a win. But having the mountains jersey now is a nice reward for the work.
“Now we’ll try to defend it as much as possible. I’m happy to reach the first rest day with this jersey, and we’ll try to defend it all the way to the end.”
Sports Director Franco Pellizotti added:
“Today was the stage before the first rest day, and it was super hard with a very fast start. I think the riders rode really well again. They fought for the breakaway, for the stage, for the KOM jersey and for the GC with Jakob.
“In the end, the result wasn’t super, but the commitment from our guys was 100%. We can be happy because Santi is leading the mountains classification and Jakob is still 10th overall.
“We also tried to win the stage with Santi, but it was difficult because Decathlon pushed very hard from the peloton. We came close, and for sure in the next days we will try again for a stage win.”
La Vuelta now heads into its first rest day on Monday, with racing resuming on Tuesday with Stage 10.
