MINSK, 25 October (BelTA) – The Minsk Cycling Club Road Continental Team debuted at the prestigious cycling race Abu Dhabi Tour on 20-23 October, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in the United Arab Emirates.
Their participation in the race was organized with the assistance of the diplomatic mission of Belarus in the UAE. Belarusian athletes competed with the world's cycling elite, including such stars as Team Sky, Tinkoff and Movistar Team. The Belarusians put out a decent performance in the first 147km stage that featured an out-and-back route from Madinat Zayed. The stage took the racers through a desert with temperatures peaking at over 40 degrees Celsius.
Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) won Stage 1 of the Abu Dhabi Tour after a powerful sprint into Madinat Zayed. Stage 2 winner was Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data). Tanel Kangert (Astana) soloed to victory on the Jebel Hafeet on stage 3.
Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) won the final stage while Tanel Kangert (Astana) finished safely to claim the overall victory.
The final results for the Belarusians are as follows:
Siarhei Papok – 18th
Stanislau Bazhkou – 46th
Kanstantsin Klimiankou – 52nd
Anton Ivashkin – 81st
Yauhen Sobal – 101st
Oleksandr Golovash – 102nd.
The cycling event was organized by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in collaboration with RCS Sport.
