Brussels Cycling Classic. Davide Ballerini if 4th in thrilling sprint
10:30, 8 September 2019
NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM After a hard race over 191 kilometers with start and finish in Brussels, it all came down to a sprint of a reduced group. Six riders finished within the length of a wheel from each other, with Astana rider Davide Ballerini finishing fourth behind winner Caleb Ewan, the press service of the team informs.
With 70 kilometers to go, Astana riders Magnus Cort and Laurens De Vreese attacked to make it a hard final. De Vreese was able to bridge the gap with the early breakaway together with a few other riders, and when his group got caught in the final 10 kilometers, the peloton was already split into multiple groups. Davide Ballerini was close to the podium but finished centimeters behind Pascal Ackermann and Jasper Philipsen, who finished second and third.
«Today, I was in a perfect position for the final sprint. It was a hard race and I was still feeling good. I gave it my all in the final sprint, and I immediately knew that it was all very close. I pushed as hard as I could in the final meters, but in the end, this was just not enough for the podium. That’s too bad, but still, I’m satisfied with the race today. The feeling was good and it made me more confident about the upcoming races in Canada,» said Davide Ballerini