UAE Emirates XRG dominant again in Figueira Classic: Antonio Morgado wins again

Antonio Morgado has claimed victory at the Figueira Champions Classic. The Portuguese rider from UAE Emirates XRG beat Alex Aranburu in a two-man sprint to win the Portuguese one-day race for the second year in a row. 

While bike races in Spain and France suffered from strong winds and snow showers, the conditions in Portugal on Saturday were much more pleasant. At the Figueira Champions Classic, most riders started in shorts and short sleeves for a day of racing through the hills.

In the opening hours of the Portuguese one-day race, a group of Portuguese riders took off: among them Rafael Reis, Diogo Pinto, Daniel Viegas, and Diogo Narcisso tried to surprise the peloton from an early breakaway but failed. With 100 kilometers to go, Ikai Gomez and Cédric Beullens jumped from the peloton to join the Portuguese riders, who then pushed on hard.

Pinto, Gomez, and Beullens arrived at the first finish pass with 56 kilometers left, but their role was far from over. In the peloton, Brandon McNulty, Daniel Felipe Martinez, Riley Sheehan, and Max Poole attacked on the Rua Parque Florestal climb, caught the trio, and soon built a one-minute lead on the peloton.

McNulty and Morgado push the pace hard
Would one of them take the race win? Not quite, as EF Education EasyPost and Cofidis helped reel the reduced peloton back in to the leaders once again. On the decisive climb of Rua Parque Florestal, Antonio Morgado, Pau Marti, Thomas Gloag, Alex Aranburu, Jarno Widar, along with Martinez and McNulty, broke away.

This time the group stayed clear of the peloton thanks to McNulty, who spent much time pulling at the front to keep the gap intact. On the final climb of the day, Aranburu and Morgado broke away, holding off their chasers. In a two-man sprint, Morgado succeeded in winning the race for the second consecutive year.