Portuguese elite road champion Manuel Cardoso (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) went on to show his great quality within the sprinters’ elite by taking the fifth place in the Trofeo Palma de Mallorca, the usual opening in the 19th Challenge Ciclista in the Balearic Islands, over 116 kilometers in the up-and-down circuit alongside Palma’s coastal boulevard. Cardoso went a step short to enter a top-class podium crowned by Australian Robbie McEwen (Katusha), who impressed with his top speed to beat Spaniards Koldo Fernández de Larrea (Euskaltel) and Óscar Freire (Rabobank). The Portuguese champ could not pay their teammates back with the great work done by the squad on launching him in the last lap, letting Cardoso into the very best position in the field to fight amongst some of the best fastmen in the international peloton. “Maybe they ran it too fast,” team’s sport manager Joxean Fernández Matxin said, “but that’s just a result of the will to do well they have, and that’s good to happen. Everyone’s looking very much forward to achieve important things.”
The race went under a rushing pace all over the day –the average speed was over 49 km/h- and had no real breakaways, the peloton always under control of the teams with sprinters. The classic also marked the debut by the team’s youngest athlete: Italian Fabio Felline, just 19. Tomorrow will see the Trofeo Cala Millor be raced over a relatively flat course of 172.4 kilometers, with another hopeful taking up riding in Gold colors: Briton Tom Faiers. The stage is expected to be another good chance for Manuel Cardoso to succeed in what’s expected to be a mass sprint, with Brändle, Celis, Corti, Gutiérrez Gutiérrez, Gutiérrez Palacios, Merlo, Vitoria and Walker helping him to do so.

CLASSIFICATIONS:

Trofeo Palma de Mallorca (UCI 1.1), 116 km.
1. Robbie McEwen (Team Katusha) 2h21’16”
2. Koldo Fernández de Larrea (Euskaltel) s.t.
3. Óscar Freire (Rabobank) s.t.
4. André Schulze (PSK Whirlpool) s.t.
5. Manuel Cardoso (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
(…)
11. Michele Merlo (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
90. Vidal Celis (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
152. Fabio Felline (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) a 11”
173. Alberto Benítez (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) a 19”
174. Johnnie Walker (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
181. David Gutiérrez (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
186. Markus Eibegger (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
187. David Vitoria (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.
191. Aitor Pérez Arrieta (FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI) s.t.

Articoli correlati / Related posts:

1. F-S-F again a big force in the Majorcan Mountains FOOTON-SERVETTO-FUJI keeps being the leading actor in the 19th Challenge Ciclista a Mallorca, which covered its fourth act today with...
2. Cardoso looks forward to the future Portuguese elite road champion Manuel Cardoso (Paços de Ferreira, 1983) gave Footon-Servetto-Fuji its biggest piece of success up to date...
3. Samuel Sanchez fa suo il Gran Premio Llodio Samuel Sanchez della Euskaltel vince la 60° edizione del Gran Premio Llodio battendo in volata David De La Fuente (Fuxj...