CYCLING – TEAM Bahrain Victorious rider Zak Erzen claimed a solid top 10 finish yesterday in the fourth and penultimate stage of the 48th Vuelta a Burgos in Spain.
Erzen was amongst a large group who battled for the win in a furious sprint at the end of the 178-kilometre leg.
Matthew Brennan of Team Visma-Lease a Bike triumphed in four hours one minute and 12 seconds, with Erzen not far behind in ninth with a similar mark.
The Slovenian was joined by his Bahrain Victorious teammates in making a strong push for top places.
Spaniard Pau Miquel was 30th in the stage while Dutchman Mathijs Paasschens came 49th.
Briton Oliver Stockwell ranked 103rd while Portuguese Afonso Eulalio ranked 134th and Dutch Max van der Meulen 139th as the squad’s last finisher.
Spaniard and hometown hero Pello Bilbao did not compete yesterday.
He was part of a crash in the closing kms of stage three, sustaining multiple abrasions, the team said.
He is expected to make a full recovery.
The elite men’s road race now heads into its concluding leg today, to be held across 137km.
It will mark the end of 842km of racing with a total elevation gain of approximately 12,000m.
Meanwhile, Bahrain Victorious’ Alec Segaert finished 20th yesterday in the fifth stage of the 83rd Tour de Pologne.
The Belgian was the squad’s leading performer yesterday.
Colombian Santiago Buitrago finished 24th, Italians Alessandro Borgo and Edoardo Zambanini were 38th and 39th, respectively, Slovenian Roman Ermakov was 61st, his countryman Matevz Govekar finished 116th, and Italian Daniel Skerl finished 132nd.
Buitrago stayed in 20th on the GC as Bahrain Victorious’ best rider so far, while Skerl dropped three spots to 10th in the points rankings.
The seven-stage elite men’s road race continues today with the sixth and penultimate leg, covering a distance of 125.5km.