Gibbons 5th in Murcia, Molano top-10 from breakaway in Giro

Following a strong run of form, Ryan Gibbons ended a long block of racing with 5th place at the Vuelta Murcia (1.1) today in Spain.

The African Champion, who claimed his first victory for UAE Team Emirates recently at the Trofeo Calvia in Mallorca, stayed with the main favourites over the final Cat.3 climb to sprint home behind solo stage winner Antonio Jesus Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi).

The rain in Murcia made conditions very challenging over the 192km course from Los Alcazares to Alcantarilla with almost half the field not completing the race.

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Stage 15 of the Giro d’Italia from Grado to Gorizia (147km) started with an unfortunate incident, with a crash causing the race to be stopped for several minutes shortly after the flag was dropped. Alessandro Covi was involved though suffered only very minor injuries and was able to continue, while three riders from other teams were forced to abandon the race as the peloton briefly crossed the border into Slovenia.

When the racing resumed, Sebastian Molano infiltrated the breakaway of the day, though later found himself out of contention on the final climb 14km from the line. Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos) was first home with Colombian sprinter Molano leading the third group to take 9th place in the wet finish in Gorizia.

Molano : “The hill was a little bit too much for me and it had me on the limit. I gave my best out there but other teams had numbers and stronger climbers which made it tricky. Luckily we were all okay after the big crash early in the stage. I hope all the riders affected are okay. We’ll keep hunting for another stage victory.”

Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers) continues to lead the race with Davide Formolo now moving up to 14th at 9’52’’. Tomorrow stage 16 takes the riders from Sacile to Cortina d’Ampezzo (212km) and features a fearsome 5700 metres of climbing.

Vuelta Murcia results:
1. Antonio Jesùs Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 4:42:19
2. Angel Madrazo (Burgos-BH) +19”
3. Gonzalo Serrano (Movistar) s.t.
5. Ryan Gibbons (UAE Team Emirates) s.t.

Giro d’Italia Stage 15 results:

1. Victor Campenaerts (Qhubeka-Assos) 3:25:25
2. Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix) s.t
3.Nikias Arndt (DSM) +7’’
9. Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) 1’02’’

Giro d’Italia General Classification after stage 15:

1.Egan Bernal (Ineos-Grenadiers) 62:13:33
2. Simon Yates (BikeExchange) +1’33’’
3.Damiano Caruso (Bahrain-Victorious) +1’51’’
14. Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) +9’52’’