Polti VisitMalta on the attack again in the Comunitat Valenciana: Muñoz breaks away, Piganzoli cracks the top-10

Other mountain course at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, outstanding performance again by Team Polti VisitMalta. Yesterday, it was Zoccarato ahead; today it was Fran Muñoz’s turn, showing no signs of struggle despite the crash he was involved in yesterday. The Catalan with Asturian roots rode 110 kilometers alongside five breakaway companions, plus an additional 5 km solo when he attempted to anticipate the demanding climb of El Remedio. He was caught with 27 km to go, at which point Polti VisitMalta once again had Davide Piganzoli holding onto the wheels of the best riders — the only ProTeam rider among thirteen WorldTour athletes, as well as the only Italian in this leading group. In the explosive final kilometer, just ten seconds behind stage winner Romeo (Movistar) Piganzoli sprinted to seventh place, moving up to 14th overall.

Muñoz: “We started with the idea of trying from far out and I gave it my all to go as far as possible. Of course it’s difficult to get the better of such a strong peloton, especially when there wasn’t much cooperation among us breakaway riders — everyone wanted to do things their own way. But the important thing was to confirm my condition and the sensations of all my teammates. The response was positive, so we keep going!”

Sports director Stefano Zanatta: “Today there was more of a battle than yesterday to make the break, but we managed to do it even gaining up to six minutes of advantage. Then the squads of the main GC contenders pushed hard to bring it back, but our guys did a fantastic job at every moment. Seeing Piga finish just a few meters behind the top five, in such a strong field, boosts both his morale and ours for the upcoming races. Now, we head into two stages where the elevation will gradually decrease.”