Tough racing in Poland, Kluckers wins in Cessange
Monday, the day after the Tour Bitwa Warszawska and the national race in Cessange. From tough racing on dangerous gravel sections to taking a solo win on home soil...
The Tour Bitwa Warszawska summarized
The Polish race started last Wednesday with a very short prologue in the streets of Warsaw. Logically, gaps between the riders were small and both Patrick Haller and Emil Lindgren set a solid time that was just four seconds slower than the stage winner, putting them in respectively fourteenth and seventeenth position on the day. On the second day of the race, the peloton hit gravel sections that were often dangerous. Nevertheless, the battle was on and one could still find three Leopard riders in the main group that crossed the line, setting themselves up for a good overall result. However, because of the unsafe conditions, multiple sports directors asked for a neutralization of stage two, which happened. On the remaining two stages, more difficult racing was on the menu with again a lot of gravel roads and dust. Leopard had Patrick Haller in the attack, but also suffered many flat tires, which caused that only Jan Maas was able to keep himself in the top ranks of the GC. The Dutchman finished the race as first Leopard rider in fifteenth position.
Result Tour Bitwa Warszawska (UCI 2.2)
1. Oscar Riesebeek – Alpecin-Fenix
15. Jan Maas (NED) + 0'51"
43. Filip Maciejuk (POL) + 9'55"
62. Colin Heiderscheid (LUX) + 14'47"
65. Emil Lindgren (SWE) + 15'09"
71. Patrick Haller (GER) + 16'31"
DNF. Szymon Rekita (POL)
The race in Cessange summarized
Meanwhile in Luxembourg, a national race took place with four Luxembourgish Leopard Pro Cycling riders - Arthur Kluckers, Loïc bettendorff, Misch Leyder, Ken Conter & Cédric Pries - at the start line. The race in Cessange was 90 kilometers long, divided into nine local laps of 10 kilometers each. During the race, the Leopard riders were active, setting a high pace and positioning themselves in the groups that tried to jump away. In the beginning of the final lap, the opportunity was there for Arthur Kluckers to attack and no one saw him back after, claiming a solo victory!
Next race?
21-23.08 | National Championships
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(c) Tour Bitwa Warszawska & Stéphane Guillaume
Arthur Kluckers, race winner in Cessange
"Of course, I can say that I am happy with this win. It surely is a good indication of my shape at the moment. It also boosts confidence with the National and European Championships coming up. The plan was to start my day with a small training sessions beforehand, since the race was only 90 kilometers long. Afterwards, I would do the race, in order to simulate the distance of the upcoming races. During the race, the pace was quite high, but we kept it more or less controlled. As soon as I had a gap after my attack, I had to push through in the headwind and use all of the tailwind on the way back to the finish line. Luckily, I was able to keep my advantage and take the win."
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