UAE Tour Stage 5: Malucelli hits the podium as Astana holds strong
Stage 5 of the UAE Tour concluded with a bunch sprint, where XDS Astana Team rider Matteo Malucelli finished third, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing the team's press service.
It is reported that at the two previous sprint stages, the rider had finished 4th and 6th.
“Today we had a very good stage. The team was always at the front, even though it wasn’t easy, and my teammates did a fantastic job. I felt their support at every moment of the race. In the finale, Alessandro Romele and Gleb Syritsa were simply perfect and executed the plan 100%. I started my sprint from Jonathan Milan’s wheel, just as planned, but once I hit the wind, I realized it wouldn’t be enough this time. Milan was the strongest today. In any case, I’m really happy with how the team performed and with how the sprint unfolded overall. Yes, it’s third place today, but let’s see what happens on Sunday,” said Matteo Malucelli.
There were no changes in the General Classification of the UAE Tour: XDS Astana Team rider Harold Tejada remains third overall. Tomorrow features the decisive mountain stage with the climb to Jebel Hafeet.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that XDS Astana Team and Laboral Kutxa–Euskadi Women’s Team announced cooperation.
