CapoVelo.com - - UCI WorldTour 2018 Update
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UCI WorldTour 2018 Update

photo credits @ La Gazzetta dello Sport and QuickStep Floors

– What happened? –

A daring late attack by Vincenzo Nibali in Milano-Sanremo has captured the Bahrain-Merida rider Italy’s first victory in La Primavera since 2006. The Sicilian star shot away on the Poggio climb and fended off the peloton for a narrow but convincing victory. Second was Caleb Ewan (Mitchelton-Scott), with French National Champion and 2016 Milano-Sanremo winner Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) rounding out the podium.

“I attacked, but when my DS told me I had a 20-second lead, I was surprised and I knew I just had to ride,” a euphoric Nibali, already a double winner of Italy’s other Monument, Il Lombardia, said afterwards.

Former road race UCI World Champion Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) saw off Italian rival Damiano Caruso (BMC Racing Team) to claim Tirreno-Adriatico by 24 seconds, with his Sky team-mate Geraint Thomas completing the podium in third. The race leader since stage five, Kwiatkowski kept Caruso at bay in the final 10 kilometre time trial at San Benedetto del Tronto to become Poland’s first ever winner of The Race of the Two Seas since its inception in 1966.

Following Milano-Sanremo, Daryl Impey (Mitchelton-Scott) continues to lead the UCI WorldTour rankings with 833 points. Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) has gained two places to move into second, with 613 points. Tiesj Benoot (Lotto-Soudal) drops one spot to third, with 586 points, whilst Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) moves up 65 places into fourth.

– What’s next? –

  • Volta Ciclista a Catalunya (ESP)  Monday March 19th – Sunday March 25th
  • Record Bank E3 Harelbeke (BEL)  Friday March 23rd
  • Gent-Wevelgem (BEL)  Sunday March 25th

– Focus on Enric Mas –

Often hailed as the new Alberto Contador, 23-year-old Enric Mas certainly knows the recently retired Spanish champion very well. When an amateur, Mas rode in the double Tour de France winner’s Foundation team in Contador’s home town of Pinto, Spain. The Mallorca-born rider then turned pro with the Continental outfit Klein-Constantia in 2016, before joining Quick-Step Floors and the UCI WorldTour league in 2017. One season highlight came during the Vuelta a España when he broke away alongside Contador en route to the summit finish of the Alto de L’Angliru, where Contador took the final triumph of his career. But as Mas said last year, “I don’t want to be the next Alberto Contador, I want to be the first Enric Mas.”

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