An explosive final was waiting for the riders this Saturday at the end of the Trofeo Pollença – Andratx (1.1, 29/01), the penultimate race of the Mallorca Challenge. With a ramp of 2.5 kilometer averaging more than 8 per cent, the punchers received a great opportunity to show themselves and once more Belgian rider Kobe Goossens distinguished himself by taking ninth place and his third top ten in three days.
The riders directed by Aike Visbeek and Pieter Vanspeybrouck again took the initiative in this hilly classic. First, by controlling the gap to the early breakaway of eleven riders which was caught with 80 kilometer to go. The race scenario was then unpredictable until the final climb, as multiple breakaway attempts never lasted for a long time. Also Jan Bakelants and Loïc Vliegen followed the moves in the second race half.
A reduced bunch of forty riders started the final two uphill kilometers together and Goossens was once more among the better riders. His teammate Biniam Girmay finished 19th and was invited to the podium as the best U23 rider.
Jan Bakelants, Biniam Girmay Hailu, Alexander Kristoff, Andrea Pasqualon, Adrien Petit and Kévin Van Melsen are the seven selected riders to conclude the Mallorca Challenge with the Trofeo Playa de Palma this Sunday. In this fifth race around the capital, the sprinters will face the Coll de Sa Creu (9.1km at 3.2%) 35 kilometer before the finish.
« It’s the third good result in a row for Kobe and I think he could have finished closer to the podium if he started his final effort a little later. I’m convinced that we will see him often this season when the road goes up, we clearly saw this week that he has made a big step forward. He always started the climbs in a good position thanks to the support of his teammates. The fact that five of our riders were present in the final of such a difficult race shows the quality of our group. This is good for the confidence! »
