UAE Team Emirates rider Sebastian Molano clinched victory on stage 4 from Martigné-sur-Mayenne to Laval (180km) on the final day of the Boucles de la Mayenne in France.
The stage started in unfortunate circumstances as Finn Fisher-Black was forced out with a suspected broken femur after a crash in the opening 15km. The young Kiwi had shown excellent progression during the race, sitting 6th overall and wearing the white jersey.
In the sprint Molano was guided by Oliviero Troia into the final kilometre where he came from behind to overtake his rivals in the closest of photo finishes.
Molano said, “I’m really happy with this win, the team worked well and Olly got me in a great position in the final to dispute the sprint. We came here looking for a win so to take it today was important for us. We started the stage on a bad note with the crash of Fisher-Black. He took a hard fall and we wish him the best.”
Intense racing
The Giro d’Italia also came to an end in Verona with the victory of Alessandro Covi yesterday fresh in the memory.
After three weeks of intense racing which began in Budapest and crossed the length of Italy, the Corsa Rosa finally came to a conclusion after a dramatic month of racing for UAE Team Emirates.
Fabio Baldato (Sports Director), “On balance we can say overall that this Giro has ended in a positive way. Thanks to the brave and impressive display yesterday from Alessandro Covi we were able to enjoy a spectacular stage where he really put on an amazing show, taking the Cima Coppi in the process. Obviously we were wounded with the forced abandon of Almeida. Joao along with the whole team had worked so hard towards his overall ambitions and to have it cruelly shut down in the final days was a tough blow but he is a young rider and we know he will have many more chances in the future. Overall, we go home with a nice feeling from the victory of Covi and look ahead to the next races.”
Orlais Aular Sanabria (Caja-Rural) s.t
Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) s.t
Boucles de la Mayenne general classification after stage 4
1.Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) 16:40:22
2.Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R-Citroen) +3’’
3.Alex Aranburu (Movistar) +6’’
