Sam Welsford sprints to 3rd place in Croatia

The second stage of the Cro Race was short. At just 114 kilometres long, the day offered plenty of action. Echelons, steep short kickers, valuable bonus seconds and a thrilling finale – it had it all. At the end of the day, Sam Welsford finished in 3rd place, but more would have been possible. DS Heinrich Haussler analyses the day:“There was a echelon in between. The guys rode attentively and so there were six of us in the first group. Sam was up front and that was the first signal that he had very good legs today. When everything came together again and Sam also rode the two kickers very well, we decided to go 100% for the sprint.” “In the final, our GC guys positioned him in the best possible way. Sam had a lot of momentum in the last 300 metres. Unfortunately, he got boxed in on the side he chose. So he couldn’t finish his sprint. If he had had a clear run, a better result was in reach. It was a very good effort from the boys – it’s a shame that it wasn’t rewarded with a stage win.”