Modolo clinches Poland stage win

dubai — Sacha Modolo gave UAE Team Emirates a stage win at the Tour of Pologne in Poland and in doing so broke into the General Classification (GC) top three.

The Italian sprinted to victory in what was a closely fought battle across the 142km course, from Tarnowskie Gory to Katowice, with the Venetian sprinter prevailing over Danny Van Poppel (Sky), whose second place finish made him the new leader in the General Classification

Commenting on his stage win, a euphoric Sacha Modolo said: “It was a much needed victory. It’s been a month and a half since I last raced, but I have been training well in this period. I’m a bit surprised because I didn’t feel so great and so today I didn’t think I could put in such a performance.

“Fortunately however, not all days are the same. Fast arrivals like these aren’t usually my forte because you need a lot of power, while I prefer sprints which are a bit more challenging. Today I could count on Ferrari and a fantastic team that helped me choose the right time to take off. I dedicate this fantastic victory to all of them and to my girlfriend’s father, who had an accident on his racing bike today.”

Sports manager Orlando Maini said: “After yesterday’s less than perfect sprint, we tried to tweak the tactics. I have to say that the guys perfectly executed the direction given and I’d like to congratulate them wholeheartedly. Tomorrow we will get the chance to play some other important cards, considering the four categorised climbs and the final stretch with gradients of up to 17 per cent. We have at least three men who can do well: Rui Costa, Conti and Ait El Abdia.”

The third stage, covering 161 km from Jaworzno to Szczyrk, has four categorised climbs which will be a serious test of riders’ legs.