News | Gp Città di Lugano • June 9, 2019
UAE Team Emirates Double-Up at GP Lugano
Victory for Ulissi, podium for Riabushenko and strong return of Aru
It was all smiles for UAE Team Emirates at the GP Lugano, as the riders took on 179.2 km on a course featuring two short climbs before the finish by the lake in Lugano.
The decisive move was made on the penultimate lap of 8 and featured all the main hitters: Diego Ulissi and Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) attacked on the climb of Agra, later being joined by their teammates Aleksandr Riabushenko, Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Merida) as well as Giovanni Carboni (Bardiani-Csf) and Patrick Schelling (Team Vorarlbeg).
The group started the last lap with a twenty-eight second gap on the peloton as Ulissi and Nibali moved away on the climb of Agra. They would eventually regroup before teamwork between Riabushenko and Ulissi ensured a winning performance.
“Finally I managed to win the GP Lugano, after so many attempts. I live in Lugano, so this has become my home race. This victory is particularly sweet – Ulissi explained – Our team was perfect , first in controlling the break of six guys who led the race in the initial laps, then to move with precision in the decisive moments.
Riabushenko was fantastic in supporting me in the final, this one-two is a really great moment for our team.
I’m glad that I made the most of my good condition: I finished the Giro in good shape and I was able to race at my best “.
The winning day for UAE Team Emirates was completed by Tadej Pogačar‘s 7th place and Fabio Aru‘s 12th place.
The Sardinian climber returns after a long lay-off since surgery to his iliac artery and has already shown promise, even trying a few uphill attacks in the closing laps. Aru was pleased with his ride : “I am very happy both for the results achieved by the team, and for my own performance.”
With numerous riders in the race coming out of the Giro d’Italia, the pace was high, but I felt at ease and I paced myself well. Now I will go back and see with the team which will be the next race, but the feelings are good “.
Final Results:
1 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
2 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
3 Matej Mohorič (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
