Covi shows fine form in Sicily

After two wins from two stages courtesy of Sebastian Molano, the strong streak of UAE Team Emirates continues at the Giro di Sicilia with Alessandro Covi coming close to victory today, taking 2nd place on the hilly transfer on stage 3 from Termini Imerese to Caronia (180km).

In the closing stages, it was Brandon McNulty who hit out for home with 1.5km to go to soften things up for Covi, who stayed in the wheels of the Movistar train right until the final metres, with former World Champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) holding off for the victory.

Covi now sits 2nd overall on GC behind Valverde and will wear the white jersey as leader of the young riders classification.

Tomorrow stage 4 will take the riders from Sant’Agata di Militello to Mascali (180km) with two categorised climb to tackle.

Covi: “I’m pleased but really I would have liked to have taken the first victory as a professional today.
In the sprint maybe I should have hit out a bit earlier before the 2 corners in the last 100m but saying it now doesn’t change the result and it’s still a good second place behind a great champion like Valverde.Big thanks to my teammates and to the team who trusted me today.”

Stage 3 results
1.Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 4:42:29
2.Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
3.Jhonathan Restrepo (Androni-Giocattoli) s.t

General classification after the 3rd stage
1.Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) 13:45:18
2.Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) +7’’
3.Jhonathan Restrepo (Androni-Giocattoli) +9’’