VF GROUP BARDIANI-CSF FAIZANÈ: ZANONCELLO NARROWLY MISSES VICTORY AT THE TOUR OF HAINAN, SECOND PLACE FOR THE ITALIAN SPRINTER.
Second place for Zanoncello in the fourth stage of the Tour of Hainan, finishing behind only Aaron Gate. In the breakaway of the day, a determined Manuele Tarozzi.
Great race performance by VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizanè in the fourth stage of the Tour of Hainan. Enrico Zanoncello secured second place in the sprint, finishing just behind Australian Aaron Gate. For the rider from Verona, this marks his sixth podium finish of the season and his third in the Chinese races. The team remained active throughout the race, particularly with Faenza’s Manuele Tarozzi, who, after winning the intermediate sprint in Qifang Town, was caught by the peloton towards the end of the stage.
Here are Zanoncello’s words: “I had marked this stage as one of the most favorable for me. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as I hoped, but I managed another podium finish. Burgos-BH did a great job throughout the day. In the final sprint, I lost a bit of control before the last corner, dropping a few positions. However, the pace was high, and I managed to come back and overtake almost everyone, except Gate.”
Manuele Tarozzi commented: “On the first climb right after the start, many tried to attack, including us, but at the top, the group was still together, so we had to start over. I think everyone was tired because although Burgos tried to control the race all day, the other teams didn’t make any strong moves. At one point, I managed to break away with three others, but we weren’t given much space, and by the intermediate sprint, we had a 50-second gap. We saved some energy for tomorrow’s stage, which will be very challenging. We’re happy with the result and will see what happens tomorrow.”
The team’s highest-ranked rider and the top Italian in the general classification is Filippo Magli, currently in fifth place, 36 seconds behind Aaron Gate.
RESULTS – STAGE 4:
1 GATE Aaron (Nzl) Burgos – BH 3:33:39
2 ZANONCELLO Enrico (Ita) VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè s.t.
3 DUPONT Timothy (Fra) Tarteletto – Isorex s.t.
4 MUDGWAY Luke (Nzl) Li Ning Star s.t.
5 FERNANDEZ Miguel Angel (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma s.t.
6 SMIRNOV Ivan (Rus) Astana Qazaqstan Team s.t.
7 JAIME Alex (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma s.t.
8 DELETTRE Alexandre (Fra) St Michel – Mavic – Auber93 s.t.
9 VOOGT Niek (Ola) Parkhotel Valkenburg s.t.
10 LYU Xianjing (Chn) China Glory – Mentech Continental Cycling Team s.t.
GC:
1 GATE Aaron (Nzl) Burgos – BH 10:30:02
2 PAREDES Wilmar (Col) Team Medellín – EPM 0:31
3 MULUBRHAN Henok (Eri) Astana Qazaqstan Team 0:33
4 RAILEANU Cristian (Rom) Li Ning Star 0:35
5 MAGLI Filippo (Ita) VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè 0:35
6 JAIME Alex (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:35
7 DIAZ Josè Manuel (Mon) Burgos – BH 0:35
8 DELETTRE Alexandre (Fra) St Michel – Mavic – Auber93 0:36
9 KUDUS Merhawi (Eri) Terengganu Cycling Team 0:37
10 LÓPEZ Jordi (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 0:37