UAE Team Emirates eye improved show

dubai — Team Sky’s Sergio Henao held on gamely to clinch a thrilling overall victory in ParisNice by just two seconds from Alberto Contador even as UAE Team Emirates’ Diego Ulissi finished seventh.

Consistent and remarkable performance was displayed on part of the UCI World Tour team, UAE Team Emirates, who are now looking ahead to enhancing their performance for the remainder of the season.

Diego Ulissi was pleased with his showing. “Paris-Nice was an interesting test of my ability. I’d previously consistently participated in Tirreno-Adriatico across several years, and I wanted to test my form in a different kind of race this year so I chose Paris-Nice. I was aware that the early stages would be difficult and challenging and would possibly thwart my aims for a general classification. That proved true in the first stage but I believe that this experience was imperative in preparation to my participation in this year’s Tour de France.”

“In the final three stages, the

I wanted to test my form in a different kind of race this year so I chose Paris-Nice Ulissi, Team

one which were more suitable for my skills, I tried to attack. However those attempts didn’t yield the results I was looking for, but it did prove to me that I was in good form and I can now focus on continuing my training ahead of Milan San Remo. It is a race that is demanding and I plan to launch a few attacks on the hills in the final part of the course,” Ulissi commented.

Riding alongside Ulissi in ParisNice was his UAE Team Emirates’ teammate Benjamin Swift who is looking forward to returning to compete in Milan-San Remo this coming Saturday, which he has developed an affinity with over three starts, placing third in 2014, 13th in 2015 and second last year to Arnaud Demare (FDJ).