Published on : 10/09/2020
The Cofidis riders were not spared this Friday with the falls of Simone Consonni and Marco Mathis, fortunately not very serious. Elia Viviani took 10th place in the sprint in Brindisi.
They predicted that the race will take off strongly. And they were not deceived. A few minutes before the start from Matera, the sports directors, Roberto Damiani and Sebastien Chavanel insisted on the risk of "bordure", due to the strong wind sweeping from the south of Italy to the Adriatic coast in Brindisi where the finish was planned.
The echelon formations and the falls
There were few of them! On the road that winds its way through the sun-burned fields, it only took about twenty kilometers to see the peloton break up. Vigilant and alert, Elia Viviani, Simone Consonni, Marco Mathis and Nathan Haas managed to get into the leading group. It was necessary to hold on, and for a good reason: the average speed of the first hour of the race was 55 km/hour.
The stage was also marked by several collective falls: Simone Consonni in the village of Taranto, then Marco Mathis 40 km from the finish. Both of them were nevertheless able to resume the stage without significant physical damage.
In the final, the team did not manage to perform as expected, while the winner of the day, Arnaud Démare, is still in excellent shape. It will be necessary to re-mobilize from tomorrow as the road will rise again.
THEY SAID...
Elia VIVIANI:
"It was a very fast day. At the beginning of the stage we were really well positioned with Simone Consonni and that allowed us to avoid the difficulties of the day. In the final we fought as much as we could, but we were not in a good position before the last turn. After that we did everything we could to gain some positons but I couldn't manage to do better than 10th. I did my best, I can't complain."
Roberto DAMIANI, sport director: "
We tried and we have to do it again. It is important not to lose confidence and the desire to do better, even if we are living hard times. We would also like to congratulate Arnaud Démare who shows day after day an incredible condition and know-how in the sprints. We will continue to work to improve our overall performance and our approach to sprinting".