Sondre Holst Enger (IAM) again proved that he is one of the biggest puncheur talents by claiming an impressive victory in the final stage of the Tour of Croatia. The Norwegian made a powerful acceleration on the short final climb to come around Edward Theuns (Trek) and take his second win for the IAM team. Matija Kvasina (Synergy Baku) finished safely in the bunch to secure overall victory with Jesper Hansen (Tinkoff) in second and David De La Parte (CCC) in third.

 

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Matija Kvasina targets victory in Azerbaidjan after big win in Croatia

Matija Kvasina has won the overall title in the Tour of Croatia. The Croatian, riding for the Synergy Baku Cycling Project, moved in to the race lead on the fourth of six stages and the team successfully brought him to today’s finale.

 

The whole team’s hard work and efforts were reflected in its winning the team ranking in the race.

 

“Yesterday I had an emotional day with the team time trial to keep the lead and today the team fought really hard and used their last legs to defend this lead,” Kvasina said. “I am happy for them and will be forever grateful. Now I need to take some rest mentally, not physically, as I am really ready for the Tour d’Azerbaidjan next.”

 

Today’s closing stage was 158.5km from Sveti Martin to Zagreb, The top Baku finisher was none other than race winner Matija Kvasina,who finished as 21st, 17 seconds behind winner Sondre Holst Enger of IAM cycling. The team spent the day protecting its leader and controlling the race.

 

The team’s next big race will be its season highlight, the Tour d’Azerbaidjan. The Tour team is expected to be selected from the eight riders in Croatia, all of whom have shown they are in top form.

 

Kvasina, 34, set the cornerstone for his overall victory when he finished second in the race’s Queen stage on Friday. He was in a lead group on the long final climb up to the mountaintop finish, and although he finished 28 seconds behind the stage winner, it was enough to move him into the race lead by 19 seconds.

 

On Saturday, the whole team put in a very strong performance on a wet and rainy day to finish fourth in the team time trial. The time of 50.07 was only 31 seconds behind the winning WorldTour team Tinkoff, and increased Kvasina’s lead to 32 seconds.

 

“Whilst Matija took the jersey in the mountains, the race lead was further confirmed in our defence at the team time trial stage where the guys rode out of their skins to keep at bay the challenge from the World Tour teams and their high level,” said team manager David McQuaid. “We have a good group and this is testament to all.”

 

“Finally, we are particularly happy for Matija, a new addition to our group and a rider who gives a lot to his cycling. We will no doubt see more from Matija this season. For now he should savour this homeland victory.”

 

Sondre Holst Enger: It was a clever mix of tactics and explosiveness

Sondre Holst Enger took the victory in commanding fashion.  The sprinter proved his power on the sixth and final stage of the Tour of Croatia.

 

“The final climb was steep,” the young Norwegian rider explained.  “I am an explosive rider, and so my strengths were well suited to this incline.  I had to wait until the last moment to produce my top effort.  This victory was a clever mix of tactics and explosiveness.  Fortunately, my teammates were around me the entire day.  This is what allowed me to be still pretty fresh by the foot of the last climb.”

 

“We resolved to work for Sondre Holst Enger,” explained Lionel Marie, directeur sportif alongside Eddy Seigneur.  “It was a demanding final with a 700 meter long cobbled climb that had 10% ramps.  We knew the terrain could be favorable to him.  Sondre is a good circuit rider. He is a young man who has a lot of qualities, which he readily proved again today.  This was a tough victory.  He attacked at the base of the climb and caught Edward Theuns. Sondre was not intimidated by the Trek rider.”

 

Taking the role of road captains, the IAM Cycling sprinters Leigh Howard and Jonas Van Genechten gave full support to their designated leader. 

 

“They protected me and stayed with me throughout the stage,” Holst Enger explained.  “They were giving me tips on how to conserve my energy.  At the start of the final circuit, Leigh told me to stay in a front position so I would not risk getting trapped.”

 

It is the fifth win for IAM Cycling this season.  Sondre Holst Enger’s victory ends a two month drought for the Swiss professional team.  The last win for the squad came thanks to Leigh Howard at the Clasica Almeria.

 

“The boys gave 100% of themselves the whole week,” Lionel Marie continued.  “That is an undeniable fact.  They were dedicated and committed to their work as a well-functioning team. Pirmin Lang, Marcel Aregger, Simon Pellaud, and Jonathan Fumeaux all fulfilled their roles perfectly as teammates.  But if we want to be really effective in the sprints, we are still missing two experienced experts to launch Matteo Pelucchi.  This is a question we can now calmly address ahead of the Giro.”

 

Tinkoff laments stage 2 crash after second place for Jesper Hansen in Croatia

After taking victory in yesterday’s Team Time Trial, Tinkoff started the final stage of the Tour of Croatia on a high. At the start of the day, Jesper Hansen was second in the GC and 32 seconds down on the GC leader, and while the final stage was expected to end in a bunch sprint, the race wasn’t over. After a hard-fought race, and having taken eight seconds off the race leader, Hansen finished the day with the bunch, ending the Tour in second position.

 

The final day of the Tour of Croatia was a flat one – more suited to the sprinters than the GC contenders, but this didn’t stop Tinkoff trying to take some crucial seconds from the GC leader. The 177.5km stage started in Sveti Martin and made its way south to Croatia’s capital city, Zagreb. The flat parcours encouraged breakaways and as expected, these came soon after the start. It was going to be hard to find the time to challenge for the GC lead, but this was never going to stop the team from trying.

 Breaks came throughout the stage and as the finish drew near, more riders went to try and take their chance for glory, but it was going to be hard to create a big enough gap to be confident it would stick, as the sprinters’ teams began massing towards the front.

 

Technical Co-ordinator, Ivan Basso, saw the effort the team had to make on the fast course.

 

“It was a really fast day today and the boys had to do a lot of work in the first part of the race to protect Jesper as the bunch split into different groups on a few occasions, so they had to close some gaps and stay at the front. Everyone rode together and pushed to stay in the first group so it was good to see the commitment.”

 

With 2km to go and on the final lap of the Zagreb city circuit, the breakaway group of two was just hanging on to the front, but the peloton was looming behind and caught them under the flamme rouge. With a treacherous final few hundred metres, featuring both a cobbled section and tram lines waiting to catch an unwary wheel, Tinkoff were there at the front, and while everyone managed to stay upright, it was a last ditch attack that won the stage, and not the bunch sprint as expected.

 

Crossing the line with the same time as 15th-placed Jay McCarthy, Hansen finished the stage in 18thposition, managing to take eight seconds from the race leader on the final stage, holding on to second place in the GC overall. From the finish, Basso looked at how the final few kilometres unfolded. “

 

We arrived into the last circuit with all the guys at the front, splitting up the work so everyone knew what they had to do to bring Jesper into a good position for the finish so he could try something if he had the opportunity but this didn’t come. He did his best and can be very happy with his second place. If we look back and analyse the race, without being involved in the crash early in the week he probably would have won here.”

It was a week of incredible team efforts, top ten finishes and a stage win in the Team Time Trial. Basso was thrilled with the performance of the team over the last six days.

 

“Overall we are more than happy, not just with Jesper’s second overall, but when you win a team time trial in any race it’s a real victory for everyone involved in the team, so it was great to share this, and both myself and Jan Valach are very pleased with the team’s performance this week.”

 

Edward Theuns after second place: The plan was to work for Nizzolo

Edward Theuns opened a significant gap on the cobbled uphill climb that ended the final stage in the Tour of Croatia, and a team's fourth victory appeared imminent until Sondre Holst Enger (IAM Cycling) came around in the last meters to steal the win.

 

Trek-Segafredo assisted in pulling back the breakaway, which was only caught at the bottom of the one-kilometer finish hill, and Giacomo Nizzolo attacked immediately while Theuns came from behind in a burst of speed. It was again perfect teamwork, but a stronger Holst Enger spoiled the win.

 

"It was the plan to get Giacomo (Nizzolo) there, but I couldn't reach the front because it was going really fast and it was a technical finish," explained Theuns. "It was too late to help Giaco, so then I tried to go from far. But I was a little bit too far back at the start of the climb – around 15th-20th position – and I went maybe a little bit too early, but I felt I had to go. I thought I had it, and then one guy passed me."

 

Director Dirk Demol, explaining the team tactics in the tricky stage, added: "The final in the road book was a bit unclear, and the finish was harder than we expected. The last 600 meters were on cobblestones, and luckily it was dry. Our plan was to go for Giacomo, but if he felt it was too hard then we also had Edward. In the end, you can see how well the team works together; Giacomo was able to work for Edward, who almost got the win."

 

The 177.5-kilometer race ended with two laps of a 5.4km finishing circuit in the city center of Zagreb on narrow and technical roads making the chase to the five-man breakaway difficult. The escapees stubbornly held a gap that looked like it might hold to the end. With the finish uphill too tough for the pure sprinters, Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) came to the front to pull in the final kilometers, until the big engine of Gregory Rast took over and closed the pursuit, catching the final three men back just as the final climb began.

 

"Greggy did a great job because he brought back the last three riders of the breakaway in the last kilometer," continued Demol. "Edward was coming fast and started the sprint early, and he said he felt powerful and did not blow up. He was surprised that he was caught by Holst Enger, but that's racing."

 

Giacomo Nizzolo was the first to attack at the bottom of the climb. His fierce acceleration helped open the road for a fast-charging Theuns, who opened a sizeable gap and rounded the final corner in the lead. He appeared on his way to the win when the Norwegian unexpectedly came around him in the final 50 meters.

 

"It's a finish that really suits me. It's a pity to get second, but I tried," Theuns said. "Giacomo and I didn't have a chance to talk in the last kilometers it was so hectic. Giaco was in good position in the front, and I think he just tried to go since he was there, and then I came from behind and tried to go on the outside because I had some speed. I know in this kind of finish I am really strong and have the power to make a gap. But one guy was stronger and passed me.

 

"For me, I am happy with the result. I would, of course, be happier if I could win, but I gave it a go. I think we can be very satisfied with the Tour of Croatia."

 

 

Trek-Segafredo finished the six-day tour with three stage wins and Giacomo Nizzolo secured the points jersey while Riccardo Zoidl claimed first in the mountains competition.

 

"After six stages and three wins and two times in second, and the mountains jersey and points jersey, we are going home with a good feeling," agreed Demol. "We have four riders (Giacomo Nizzolo, Riccardo Zoidl, Eugenio Alafaci, Boy Van Poppel) that are going to the Giro, which starts in 11 days, and I believe this was good preparation – long stages, mountains, a bit of everything. Also, we got the results which are good for the morale. They are ready."

 

Good results for Bardiani in final Giro d’Italia test

Bardiani-CSF has finished the racing program for April with the sixth and last stage of Tour of Croatia. During the short stage race, the #GreenTeam riders stood out with gutsy performances that gave the proof of the good form.

 

During the first three days, Nicola Ruffoni and Nicola Boem were the most competitive riders of the team. Ruffoni took three top ten results in bunch sprints - 7th in stage 1, 7th in stage 2 and 5th in stage 3.

 

Boem, who targeted breakaways and the KoM jersey, did a strong performance in stage 2 and 3 thanks to long-range attempts and kept the leadership of the climbers ranking for two days until the queen stage. Boem took also eighth place today and enough points to reach Zoidl as KoM ranking leader. Unfortunately, the best GC result for the Austrian rider gave him the final jersey.

 

In stage 4 Alessandro Tonelli and Enrico Barbin were the protagonists for the team. Tonelli searched for glory with a long breakaway, caught by the peloton at 15 km to the finish, while Barbin took the top result on the line, 18th. The day after, Bardiani-CSF rode a long and tough team time trial, placing 21st with the time of 53’56”, 45.1 km/h average speed.

 

Today Barbin, 17th, took the top result for Bardiani-CSF.

 

Another top 10 result for ONE Pro Cycling in Croatia

The race headed towards an open part of the course after 75km allowing riders to jockey for position, but a sudden narrowing of the course gave the front of the bunch a technical advantage and they immediately increased the pace splitting the peloton in the process. Under pressure, five groups formed straight away as the break was shut down. For ONE, Marcin Bialoblocki, Karol Domagalski and James Oram found themselves in the front part of the peloton whilst Richard Handley and Josh Hunt were behind the split in a group of around 40 riders. A 35km chased ensued with the gaps between each group opening up to around 2 minutes.

 

With Richard Handley’s top GC place at stake, ‘The Machine’ Bialoblocki was sent back to help Handley back into the peloton. Following instruction from Head Sports Director Matt Winston, Bialoblocki sat up and dropped back into Handley’s group before taking to the front with Joshua Hunt to help Handley return safely to the main peloton.

 

Eventually the race settled down whilst the peloton re gathered on the run into Croatia’s Northwestern capital of Zagreb. However not resting for too long, a group of six riders made a tactical move managing to break free and steal a small advantage before being caught on a brutal finishing circuit with around 5km to go.

 

Karol Domagalski was feeling strong and the team positioned themselves to deliver the Polish powerhouse to the bottom of a steep 600 metre cobbled climb. Domagalski hit the bottom of the climb in 25th position and surged up the difficult ascent to claim 9th place on the line.

 

After the earlier scare when Richard Handley got caught behind the split, great teamwork and a strong finish by Handley meant he held his 14th position on General Classification while Domagalski took 20th overall and Kiwi James Oram 21st.

 

The team will travel back to the UK where ONE Pro Cycling will focus their attention on the second edition of the Tour de Yorkshire starting on Friday 29th April.

 

Late puncture takes Reinardt van Rensburg out of contention in Croatian

The Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka riders were focused on winning today's final stage with Reinardt Janse van Rensburg being the protected rider for the day. The African Team rode from the front all day and really put the pressure on the other teams, even causing a few splits in the crosswinds during the early part of the stage. 

 

Everything would eventually come back together as the race reached the finishing circuit in Zagreb. It was a technical circuit with narrow roads, a fair amount of road furniture, tram lines and a cobbled 1km climb to the finish. It was the ideal finish for Janse van Rensburg and the African Team really took charge leading into the final.

 

After some stellar work by Bernie Eisel and Mark Cavendish in the final 5km of the stage, the race was all set to be decided by a small group sprinting up the final climb. Disaster then struck for the African Team. At 2km to go Janse van Rensburg came to a halt with a double puncture. Unfortunately, that was the end of the hopes for the stage win after the team had worked incredibly hard up until that point. Nevertheless, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka come away from the Tour of Croatia with a stage win and some good form as the riders look to the upcoming Giro d' Italia and the Amgen Tour of California now. 

 

Sports director Alex Sans Vega said:

“We knew it was going to be a hard day with the wind blowing quite a bit and the final circuit also being quite difficult. We rode hard today and split the race in the wind at around kilometer 60. The wind was blowing harder in the beginning than at the finish so later on it all came back together. We were working well at the front, controlling the race.

 

”Our guys were riding for Reinardt as it was a good circuit and final for him. Unfortunately, he hit a hole and flatted both wheels. Then it was all over for us, with no chance of a result. It is a real shame because the guys did a really good job today.

 

”In all it has been a good week for our team. We won a stage, came 2nd and 4th in others and the guys were also able to get some good mileage in the legs before the Giro and Tour of California.

 

Novo Nordisk surprised by tough circuit in Croatia

The course for Sunday’s final stage of the Tour of Croatia was a mostly flat one, so with no riders in competing for the GC, Team Novo Nordisk looked to put sprinters Andrea Peron (ITA) and Martijn Verschoor (NED) in position for the final sprint.

 

The early part of the stage was beset by challenging crosswinds, which forced several splits in the peloton and made for slightly disorganized racing, but the riders were back together as the race approached its final circuits in Zagreb.

 

“Today was a hard day because of the wind,” Team Novo Nordisk rider David Lozano (ESP) said. “Andrea and Martijn were our guys, since they have more skill to ride on the crosswinds and are able to arrive with fresher legs.”

 

Following the race’s final circuit, the group faced a precarious few hundred meters to the finish line, which included a cobbled climb and tram lines.

 

“No one expected it was going to be that hard to get over,” Lozano said, “and when I saw Andrea sliding back, I did what i could, but was too late. Still, it’s good we finished all eight riders. We are definitely improving our form for upcoming races.”

 

“Our riders did an amazing job in all the wind to keep Andrea and I in the front of the peloton,” said Martijn Verschoor. “But the finale was incredibly treacherous with the tram rails, so we decided to forgo the risk so we can arrive strong and without injuries for Tour of California in a few weeks.”