Bouhanni on long list for Cofidis Tour de France team
17 May 2019 05:10
Nacer Bouhanni's eighth place on stage 5 of the Tour of California on Thursday may not seem like a stellar result, but Cofidis sports director Roberto Damiani was pleasantly surprised by the signs that his sprinter has improved since struggling with magnesium deficiency along with physical and mental fatigue in March. "Nacer was eighth, and that's a great result, because today was a long race with a lot of climbing," Damiani told Cyclingnews. "We're very happy – and a little bit surprised – but happy about Nacer's condition." The peloton raced a 218.5km stage from Pismo Beach to Ventura, which included five classified climbs. A decisive breakaway crested the final two classified climbs – twice over Casitas Pass Road – and the peloton closed in on them, finally catching them with eight kilometres to the Ventura finish line.ADVERTISEMENT Fresh attacks started with five kilometres to go, over one final unclassified climb, and although the field had splintered apart, it came back together closer to the finish line and a disorganised sprint ensued. Ivan Garcia (Bahrain-Merida) took the win ahead of Max Richeze (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Sergio Higuita (EF Education First), while Bouhanni finished inside the top 10. "We were a little bit unlucky today because of a crash with our rider Mathis [Le Turnier], who normally works for Nacer in the final," Damiani said. WorldTour
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