Molano podiums in hectic AlUla sprint

Sebastian Molano continued his consistent start to the year with a solid 3rd place on stage 3 of the AlUla Tour in Saudi Arabia today.

Molano fought for the wheel of Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quickstep) inside the final 500m but a gap was opened on the last corner and Merlier moved away to victory ahead of Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla), while Molano had to settle for 3rd.

The stage was held under gusty conditions which provoked echelons and saw a peloton of just 40 riders arrive on the trek from Hegra to Tayma Fort (180.6km).

Molano: “It was a hard and fast day with a lot of wind which caused big splits. Myself and Ivo (Oliveira) were attentive and managed to stay in the first group and fight for the sprint.

It was a technical finish with a lot of speed bumps and rough surface which made it quite hectic. A wheel was lost in front of me on the last bend which made it very hard to close the gap to the two guys. At this level of sprinting everything needs to go perfectly. The form is good and we’ll have another go on the final stage.”

Stage 3 results

1.Tim Merlier (Soudal Quickstep) 4:16:23

2.Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla) s.t

3.Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) s.t

General Classification after stage 3 

1.Tom Pidcock (Q.36) 10:44:49

2.Rainer Kepplinger (Bahrain-Victorious) +8”

3.Alan Hatherly (Jayco-AlUla) +13”