Molano takes glory with Sicilia victory

Sebastian Molano took a thrilling win on stage 1 of the Giro di Sicilia (2.1) in Italy today, after a team sprint lead-out which saw the 26-year old delivered perfectly to the line.

The technical run in on the 179km from Avola to Licata meant Molano would need to keep his cool until the very last moment when great work from Maximiliano Richeze, who would finish on the podium in 3rd, launched him to a perfectly timed sprint victory.

Earlier in the stage a group of 3 riders built a lead of 8 minutes, but thanks to the work of Cristian Muñoz and Joe Dombrowski the UAE led peloton reeled them in with 14km to go. Good team riding from Brandon McNulty and birthday boy Alessandro Covi meant the team were at the head of the race throughout the last 10km.

A late attack from Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa) looked like it may disrupt the sprinters options but a confident display from the Emirati squad saw Molano come around the Italian in the dying metres to take his 3rd win of the season and the 30th win of the season for the team.

Molano also claims the lead in the Overall Classification and will wear the leaders jersey for stage 2 tomorrow from Selinunte to Mondello (173km).

Molano: “The team did amazing work all day in controlling the race. The finish suited me well and suited Richeze also who gave me the perfect leadout. In the last metres we knew we had to be in the lead with all the corners so I’m really pleased it worked out well and thankful to all the team , my family and everyone who has supported me. Tomorrow looks like it could be a good finish for me again so we’ll try and go for win number two.”

Giro di Sicilia stage 1 and GC

1. Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates) 4h37’21 “
2. Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa) s.t
3. Maximiliano Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) s.t