Saudi Tour Stage 1. Manuele Boaro battles through crosswinds in desert of Saudi Arabia

13:25, 5 February 2020

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM The first day of the Saudi Tour was earmarked by crosswinds but Manuele Boaro and his teammates battled through the desert of Saudi Arabia and closed the gap to a late breakaway on the line, with Boaro taking 18th place, the press service of Astana Pro Team informs.

The first edition of the Saudi Tour started Feb 4 with a 173-kilometer long flat stage and took the riders from the Saudi Arabian Olympic Committee to Jaww. The day’s breakaway enjoyed a maximum gap of seven minutes before the peloton pulled it back down to within touching distance with 60km to go as echelons were formed by the wind of the Saudi desert. Manuele Boaro managed to stay in the first group of the race and later teammate Zhandos Bizhigitov was able to bridge across. Shortly before the finale, Hernando Bohorquez and Artyom Zakharov joined their teammates at the front.

In the final kilometers the race had its showdown and for a moment, it looked like four late escapees could make it to the finish line. In an exciting sprint, the breakaway was caught and Rui Costa took the win. Manuele Boaro was the first Astana Pro Team rider across the finish line, finishing in 18th place.

The second stage of the Saudi Tour will take the peloton from the famous Sadus Castle to Riyadh over 182 kilometers on Feb 5.

XDS Astana Team Sport