Ivan Garcia Cortina 2nd in France

At the end of the 2nd stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes, Ivan Garcia Cortina was only beaten by Frenchman Arnaud Démare in the sprint for the stage win. The Spanish rider showed his sprinting prowess with this 2nd place. Eight other riders of Team Bahrain-McLaren take to the start of the Tour de France tomorrow.

Throughout the week before the start of the Tour de France, Ivan Garcia Cortina worked off a tightly timed series of races: Only two days after having missed out on the podium narrowly at the Spanish national road championships, finishing in 4th, Ivan Garcia Cortina lined up for the 84th edition of the Bretagne Classic around the town of Plouay. Thanks to the support of his team and of Yukiya Arashiro  in particular, Garcia Cortina was Team Bahrain-McLaren’s best-placed finisher in 10th place. The day after Garcia Cortina competed at the European road championships, wearing the jersey of the Spanish federation. He rode a strong race but was outgunned by the sprint trains of other nations in the finale, finishing in 8th.

Another day later Ivan Garcia Cortina took to the start of the next race: The four-day Tour du Poitou-Charentes is raced in Western France. Garcia Cortina joined his Team Bahrain-McLaren team mates Yukiya Arashiro, Enrico Battaglin, Grega Bole, Luka Pibernik and Heinrich Haussler. Seen his tight racing schedule in the lead-up to this stage race, it was no surprise to see Ivan Garcia Cortina lose five minutes in the first stage. In his stead Enrico Battaglin tried his hand in the finale, crossing the finish line in 22nd as the best-placed rider of Team Bahrain-McLaren. In the finale of the second stage, Ivan Garcia Cortina was back into the mix. The only rider to be faster than him in the bunch sprint was Arnaud Démare who is currently in top form. Still Garcia Cortina got to enjoy a podium result with his 2nd place.

Eight other riders of Team Bahrain-McLaren are heading for a whole different adventure: The Tour de France. Throughout the next three weeks Basque rider Mikel Landa will be the team’s designated leader for the overall standings. In the mountains he can rely on an equally strong and experienced selection of support riders with Pello Bilbao, Damiano Caruso, Wout Poels and Rafa Valls. Both Matej Mohoric and Marco Haller can set a fast pace in flat sections and pilot Sonny Colbrelli into sprints in a promising position as well. The 107th edition of the Tour de France starts this Saturday in Nice and ends on September 20th in Paris.

34TH TOUR DU POITOU-CHARENTES
STAGE 2: ROYAN - ECHIRÉ, 186.3KM
1. Arnaud Démare, FRA, in 4:07.43 hours
2. Ivan Garcia Cortina, ESP/Team Bahrain-McLaren, st
3. Alexander Krieger, GER, st