Geneva: UAE Team Emirates won its first Team Classification of the season in Switzerland’s six-stage 685-km Tour de Romandie on Sunday.
Rui Costa finished third in stage one, followed by a fifth and eighth place finish for him and Dan Martin in stage three. Costa again finished fourth in stage four before Roberto Ferrari’s third place finish in stage five.
Costa finished fifth in the General Classification, while Martin came tenth.
“It was a very hard week, above all for a sprinter like me,” said Ferrari. “We raced well as a team and I wanted to end the stage with a good result. I would have preferred to win, but to get on the podium partially satisfies my personal ambitions.”
UAE Team Emirates sports director Simone Pedrazzini added: “We finished the Tour de Romandie well, even if we lived through some hard times.
“Our riders came here ready. Despite not winning a stage or the overall classification, we take home two third places and had two riders in the top 10. It was a great show for the team to win the Team Classification too. Now let’s hope that this race ends the bad luck we’ve been having this season.”
Martin agreed: “I came here in good condition even if I was a little tired after the classics. It was a good week in view of my season’s goal, the Tour de France. As a team, we’re happy with the overall classification, and thrilled that we were able to get on the podium as the best team.”
Elsewhere, all eyes are on Alexander Kristoff as he heads to the Eschborn Frankfurt on Tuesday as the favourite having won the 200-km one-day race three times in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
“I think the race will be difficult for me to win this year as the course will be shorter and more demanding,” said Kristoff. “However, I have a good relationship with Eschborn-Frankfurt and I’d love to make history by becoming the first ever rider to take the top spot four times in a row.”
For more information visit UAETeamEmirates.com.
