Barbero (2nd) just short for victory at GP Beghelli
07 October 2018

Spaniard grabs eleventh podium finish in 2018

Burgos native from Movistar Team wins bunch sprint in Monteveglio - behind attacker Bauke Mollema (TFS), Carlos on the verge of his fourth victory this season. Landa crashes out, with no serious consequences.

With ten climbs to the short hill of Zappolino -1.5 kilometers at just over 5% gradient- as main obstacle in the decisive circuit, Carlos Barbero (Movistar Team) had set his sights on the 2018 GP Beghelli, just outside Bologna, as a nice goal to finish the season – and he was really close to turn it into success.

The sprinter hailing from Burgos led home the reduced bunch coming together to Monteveglio’s finish, after a race with plenty of attacks into the ascents, also featuring one of the Telefónica-backed squad’s top riders on Italian soil: Jasha Sütterlin. The German tried to keep alive a significant move into the last Zappolino descent, an attack which Bauke Mollema (TFS) took advantage from with 2km remaining to launch a further solo acceleration.

The Dutchman ended up reaching the line with a handful of seconds over the main group, with Barbero in 2nd place to grab his eleventh podium finish in 2018. The day’s negative note came as Mikel Landa crashed out early in the race and suffered a blow to his upper back. The Basque climber decided to preventively DNF in order to avoid a backlash in his recovery from injuries sustained in the summer.

Picture (c): Dario Belingheri / BettiniPhoto.net