Rui Costa 14 in the Doyenne

Fourteenth place for Rui Costa in the Liege-Bastogne-Liege which was ruled by Valverde.

The Portuguese rider from the UAE Team Emirates entered in the final kilometer pedaling in the group of 26 riders which was chasing Formolo, who had attacked in the finale.
Daniel Martin bridged the gap from the Italian athlete, however he could not resist to the winning recovery of Valverde. Rui Costa had not enough energies for reacting and he missed the podium which he had obtained in the past edition.

Ulissi, 30th in the race classification (+54″), had followed an attack of 4 riders on the iconic hill of the Redoute, but this action had been soon neutralized.

Rui (photo Bettini) commented the race after the arrival: “The race unfolded in a different way comparing to the past editions. Movistar made the race demanding before the selective part of the course, they kept a high pace.
Our team succeeded in pedaling in the head positions, we were one close to the other.
I feel I missed the race pace, probably because my approach to the Ardenne races was different than the past: I performed altituted trainings in view of the Giro d’Italia“.

Sports director Marzano said: “Rui’s determination allowed him to be in the main group in the finale and he was close to the top 10 in the classification. He trained in view of the Giro d’Italia, the situation is different comparing to the past, however he’s great in giving always his best during the competition“.

RACE RESULTS
1- Valverde 6h24’27”
2- Martin s.t.
3- Kwiatkowki 3″
4- Matthews s.t.
5- Izagirre s.t.
14- Rui Costa 10″
30- Ulissi 54″, 36- Petilli s.t., 48- Meintjes s.t., 73- Mori 5’31”, 93- Mohoric 7’40”, 126- Bono 10’39”