Mattia Bais, 5th in the final stage of the Tour of the Alps
Ambition, suffering and fight of Polti VisitMalta until the finish line, with the Italian Mattia Bais who managed to be 5th in the last stage of the Tour of the Alps in Austria. For his part, Piganzoli held his own with the favourites to stay just outside the top-10 and confirm his good level in the hardest stages.
Demanding closing of the Tour of the Alps, with a short day of only 113 kilometres but with very hard climbs in terms of altitude. From the early stages, Mattia Bais filtered into a leading group capable of reaching more than 3 minutes over the rest of the peloton, and in fact they maintained that gap until the final part.
It was then that the movements began, both at the front looking for the stage victory and at the back trying to conquer the general classification. Bais was attentive to the attacks, and although the Decathlon duo was superior and managed to reach the finish line together, he fought back to take 5th place in a great result for Team Polti VisitMalta.
In the main group, Storer (Tudor) stood out looking for a turnaround in the overall, while Piganzoli held on in a rear group where he pushed until the end and was just outside the top-10, in an 11th position that continues to prepare the way for the next races of the team.
Mattia Bais: ‘I was able to stay in the breakaway group, and then when they went away I was always at the front. I finish the Tour of the Alps in great shape, which has been improving during the race. The winners of the Decathlon were the best and I’m happy to have been able to finish 5th’.
Stefano Zanatta, sport director: ‘The attitude was the same as in previous days, looking for the protagonism that Mattia Bais achieved with the breakaway of the day, in which he held on to be 5th at the finish. With the level that there was, I think he has confirmed his great moment of form. Behind, Piga knew how to suffer on the last really hard climb. It’s a pity he didn’t make the top-10, but I think his performance in this Tour of the Alps shows that he’s still on the right track’.
