Astana’s Ballerini finishes eighth in sprint at Amgen Tour of California Stage 3

NUR-SULTAN. KAZINFORM - Another top 10 for Astana Pro Team in the Amgen Tour of California, with Davide Ballerini finishing eighth in the sprint behind solo stage winner Remi Cavagna. There were no changes in the overall classification today, with Tejay van Garderen in the lead and Astana's Jonas Gregaard still seventh, the team's press office informs.

"Me and Magnus Cort tried to go in the big breakaway, but we couldn't go clear and then two riders attacked. I was still able to pick up some KOM points, but of course, I would lose the jersey to one of the riders in the break. But I'm still up there and I still have very good legs, so I'm really looking forward to the days to come," said Davide Ballerini.

"After the breakaway with Davide Ballerini and Magnus Cort got caught and two riders attacked, the race was over because they got a big advantage of the peloton. Chapeau to Remi Cavagna for his great ride and stage win. In the end, it was an easy day for our team. Our goal for this Amgen Tour of California is to prepare for the European races that are coming up. It's also a chance for young riders to show themselves. Jonas Gregaard is doing a great job so far in the overall and we're also looking at the performance of Rodrigo Contreras. Tomorrow there's another day and another chance," said sports director Dmitriy Fofonov.

Starting from Stockton to finish in Morgan Hill, stage 3 was a 208-kilometer-long stage heading towards the Pacific coast including six categorized climbs, of which one HC. A breakaway of nineteen riders tried to go clear at the start, including Davide Ballerini and Magnus Cort. But the group got controlled by the peloton and after the group was caught, two riders took off for an impressive ride: Alex Hoehn took over the KOM jersey of Davide Ballerini and Remi Cavagna took the stage win with a solo after dropping Hoehn. Ballerini sprinted to eighth in the sprint behind the attackers. Tejay van Garderen retained his race lead, Jonas Gregaard is still seventh overall.

Tomorrow the riders face another long stage at the Amgen Tour of California, as stage 3 covers 214,5 kilometers from WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca to Morro Bay. In a race that's going all the way along the coast, the wind and the three categorized climbs might play a role for the stage win and the GC.

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