Astana's Davide Toneatti finishes 2nd at Turul Romaniei stage 1
The rider of Astana Qazaqstan Development Team Davide Toneatti is second at the first stage of the Tour of Romania, Kazinform News Agency cites the Team's website.
The Romanian stage race Turul Romaniei started with a 167.3-kilometer stage from Deva to Alba Iulia. The race kicked off with the Dealu Mare climb which riders approached at the 15th kilometer, where the peloton was split into several groups. The riders of the Astana Qazaqstan Development Team were actively pulling in the leading group and successfully escaped the peloton. After several attacks in the final part of the race, Davide Toneatti remained with two contenders and crossed the finish line second. Apart from that, Ivan Smirnov, a trainee of the Astana Qazaqstan Team arrived at the finish fourth.
“We went all in from the start of the race. The first climb was brutal and that’s why we were split into several groups. We were in the breakaway with 27 riders and Alessandro (Romele) did a great job at the flat part of the route, making it challenging for the others, then in the final climb there were several attacks and I managed to remain in front together with two other riders. I was hoping to have a bigger advantage, but in the end, we arrived with a nine-second gap which is of course better than nothing. Tomorrow this advantage would be helpful as we will have another tough stage with a summit finish”, said Davide Toneatti.
