Astana's Conci places third in final stage of Giro d'Abruzzo
XDS Astana Team rider Nicola Conci, racing alongside the young riders of XDS Astana Development Team at Il Giro d'Abruzzo, claimed third place on the final stage of the Italian stage race, Qazinform News Agency cites the team's press service.
The 182-kilometre final stage started in Silvi and finished in Controguerra. Conci came in third on the day, moving up to fourth place in the final standings, while Diego Ulissi finished eighth overall. XDS Astana Development Team also won the team classification, taking the top spot in the final team standings.
"We just wanted to try something today, and I think we did really well. Vlad (Bashlykov) did a great job before the climb, and then Pietro (Galbusera) and Ludovico (Mellano) set a very high pace on the climb, just before the kicker at 40 kilometres to go, where we knew something could happen. Diego (Ulissi) and Matteo (Scalco) covered some of the attacks, and then, with 40 kilometres to go, I went full gas on the kicker and got away with two other riders. We worked well together. I was feeling really good and thought I could have a strong sprint, but when I started sprinting, I got a full cramp in my left calf and couldn’t sprint. That’s a shame because I think I had the legs to do much more. In the end, we started looking at each other and lost around a minute over the final two kilometres, so I finished fourth overall. I just wanted to fight for a really good stage result, and I think I could have done it, but the cramp came as soon as I started sprinting and I basically had nothing left," said Nicola Conci.
Earlier, XDS Astana Team rider Matteo Malucelli claimed his third victory at the Tour of Taihu Lake in China, winning Stage 4 of the multi-stage race.