Samuele Battistella Claims Second Place in Volta ao Algarve Uphill Finish
Astana Qazaqstan Team’s Samuele Battistella sprinted to a second place in the uphill finish of Stage 2 in the Volta ao Algarve. Battistella and Hayter were leading the sprint but were overtaken by David Gaudu in the final move. Gaudu clinched the stage victory and secured the leader’s jersey.
“The final 7.5-kilometer uphill were not so steep. My plan was to try to stay in the wheels and to sprint. I made a mistake and started my sprint too early, with 300 meters to go. With that headwind, that was really too early. The legs were blown up when we approached the finish line. In earlier sprints, I’ve started often too late and was then boxed in, that’s why I decided already this morning to start the sprint first. Unfortunately,” – explained Samuele Battistella.
Battistella is currently in 12th place in the General Classification, trailing the new yellow jersey David Gaudu by 29 seconds.
“I have no GC ambitions any more after my 28 seconds loss due to yesterday’s crash at 12 kilometers from the finish, but the legs are good. We can still do something in the coming stages,”– concluded Samuele Battistella.
Photo credit: @Gettysport
