Giro d'Italia - Pello Bilbao: This is a very important victory
May 18 2019 12:45 am CET
Astana
Pello Bilbao (Astana) attacked in the last stretch of the seventh stage at the Giro d'Italia and managed to beat his rivals and take the first victory in a grand tour of his career.
The Spaniard was part of the breakaway of the day in the last kilometres made a move that left all his escape companions behind. The rider had the advantage of having his teammate Andrey Zeits with him, which gave him a tactical advantage over his companions and helped him to win in the Giro d'Italia for the first time.
"This is my first victory in a three-week race and that makes me very happy, it is very important," said Bilbao after the finish line. "All this was thanks to the team, but it was a great advantage to have Zeits in the breakaway because he worked a lot and that allowed me to relax a little.
"Zeits was the man of Astana for the breakaway but when I saw myself there I rode until the end and because I felt that I had the legs for it I gave it a try and everything turned out perfectly."
The rider made a move in the last kilometres and left his rivals behind, building a gap that he managed to keep until the end. "I knew that I could launch an attack on my rivals and that is what I did," he explained.
"(Davide) Formolo was the rival to beat but I felt the pressure for the victory. I waited for my sports director to tell me the moment to make the move. It was a very long last kilometre, but I still had some strength left and I knew I could win."
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