XDS Astana rider Basset claims second place at Rhodes GP

The one-day race has a distance of 179,7 kilometers and is held on the island of Rhodes, Greece. Pierre-Henry Basset was actively reacting to all the attacks during the race and managed to be in the breakaway which reached the finish without being caught, he was second in the final sprint.

“It was a very fast race. The route and today's strong wind made the race very tough. During the crosswind section, we followed all the attacks, and at one point, Gustav (Wang) and I found ourselves in a break. After a few kilometers, some guys started attacking in the break and we just kept following them. In the final, I followed an attack from a rider from the team that won the race. After that moment, we were only three at the front, and we kept pushing until the finish. I lost in the sprint against him, maybe I should have started my sprint first, but that's how it is. I will try again next time.I can’t finish this message without thinking of Alex (Vinokurov jr.), who crashed during training this week. This second place is for him. And thanks to the whole team, we had a really good day,” said Pierre-Henry Basset.

“We were planning to achieve victory today, however, the race situation was quite chaotic. We needed to adjust our race plan because after the climb on the first part of the route, it was clear that we would not make it to a bunch sprint today with our sprinters. There were plenty of attacks and strong headwind which changed everything, so we played it differently. I am glad about Basset's first podium for our team and the way he and Gustav raced today,” added the team Sports Director Alexander Shushemoin.

Another XDS Astana Development Team rider Gustav Wang placed himself in a solid fourth place.

Earlier, it was reported that XDS Astana Team is going to take part in the UCI WorldTour classic race Strade Bianche, which will be held on March 8th in Italy.