Rui Costa takes podium at Leuggern

Rui Costa underscored his form ahead of the Tour de Suisse next with with a fine 2nd place podium at the 58th edition of the Grosser Preis des Kantons Aargau (1.1) in Switzerland.

The 172km race was run on a circuit in and around the town of Leuggern with an undulating course. UAE Team Emirates worked to control the race for the possibility of a sprint finish for Colombian fast-man Sebastian Molano, however it was Rui Costa who escaped on the final lap being joined by Esteban Chavez (BikeExchange) and eventual race winner Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Costa: “I’ve being preparing well over the last months with this block of racing in Switzerland in my mind: this race is very important to see the condition ahead of the Tour de Suisse. Today was confirmation that the legs are good and we had big numbers in the final so the team is good also. We had Molano behind in case it came back for a sprint but in the end it was the right decision to attack. Obviously I would have loved to finish off with a win, but I know the condition is there for a big week of racing ahead.”

The team will now turn their attention to the Tour de Suisse, with the Stage 1 10.9km Individual time trial getting the race underway on Sunday.
Results

1.Ide Schelling (Bora-Hansgrohe) 4:05:45
2.Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) s.t
3.Esteban Chavez (BikeExchange) s.t