Compact Polti VisitMalta and Muñoz 9th in the “queen stage” of the Tour of Hainan

It’s not the first time Fran Muñoz has immediately bounced back from a fall with a solid performance the next day, and it’s certainly not the first time Team Polti VisitMalta has stayed compact during the more delicate phases of the race. This happened today during the key stage of the Tour of Hainan: with temperatures above 30 degrees and 200 kilometers of course, the young Catalan rider (who crashed towards the end yesterday) resisted the strong selection in the peloton on the Atuoling along with Diego Sevilla, Germán Gómez, and Andrea Pietrobon. He claimed 9th place in the reduced group sprint behind the two men who fought for victory; Sevilla, Gómez, and Pietrobon finished just a few meters after. Manuel Peñalver and Pablo Garcia wisely held back, saving energy for the two expected sprints that will close the race.

Muñoz: “I’m really happy to have had the right legs to stay near the front with many teammates and to have achieved my first top-10 as a professional!”

Sports director Giovanni Ellena: “It was a very hot and occasionally chaotic stage, but the guys were strong and worked well together. Unfortunately they didn’t find the same cooperation from the other teams when, 20 km from the finish, Tsarenko and Raileanu attacked. We still take home a good result and aim to improve our tally in the upcoming stages.”