Jack Haig secures 3rd place

The riders from the breakaway got to fight for the glory in the last stage of the Tour of the Alps. Meanwhile Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS focussed on securing the 3rd place on GC for Jack Haig. Still, two riders of the team infiltrated two consecutive breakaways with first Hermann Pernsteiner and then Edoardo Zambanini - the latter on his 22nd birthday.

After four stages and 12,000 meters of ascending, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS had already racked up a number of podiums and top 10 results. Santiago Buitrago had been wearing the best climber’s jersey for one day, and Jack Haig was sitting in 3rd on GC - only 28. seconds off the leader but an even more scant 8 seconds ahead of his next chaser. So as for the conclusive stage from Cavalese to Brunico, plenty was at stake. While this stage was relatively short at 144.5 kilometres, it put the riders to a proper test with a combination of 3,000 meters of ascending in total and wet and cold weather conditions.

Despite the narrow time gaps, the conclusive stage was up for grabs for attackers from the start. First, 15 riders went up the road on the Passo Lavazè as the day's first hard climb, with Hermann Pernsteiner flying the colours of Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS. But after this group had been brought back by the peloton, another 23 riders attacked in two successive waves. On what was his 22nd birthday, Edoardo Zambanini also managed to slip into this breakaway, but he could not match the pace of the strongest climbers on the steep ramps of the Rio Mulino climb. So he decided to drop back to the group of GC contenders. Jack Haig crossed the finish line in this group, thus securing his 3rd place on GC.

Next Sunday, the one-day race Liège-Bastogne-Liège will be raced in the Belgian Ardennes. Coming from a 3rd-place finish at Flèche Wallonne, Mikel Landa is heading into the fourth monument of the cycling season with quite some ambitions. With Wout Poels, Team BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS has a rider in its ranks as well who has already won this very race. Add the likes of Yukiya Arashiro, Pello Bilbao, Santiago Buitrago and Matej Mohoric to the mix, and you know that the team is ready to perform on Sunday.

46TH TOUR OF THE ALPS, FINAL OVERALL STANDINGS
1. Tao Geoghegan Hart, GBR, in 19:29.50 hours 
2. Hugh Carthy, GBR, + 0.22
3. Jack Haig, AUS/TEAM BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS, + 0.28

Photos: Sprint Cycling Agency