Christ Neilands Photo: LRF
Latvian cyclist Krists Neilands from the “Israel Start-Up Nation” team concluded the multi-day cycling ride “Okolo Slovenska” (UCI cat.2.1) in the high 12th place on Sunday, forging the victory of teammate Itamar Einhorn together with the legendary British Christopher Frum.
The Slovak tour ended with a 159.2-kilometer fourth leg with two climbs in the third and one in the second. Neilands took part in the day’s break and was in the lead group, which peleton could not catch. In addition to the Latvian, Früm and the Israeli Einhorn also went from the “Israel Start-Up Nation” unit.
The winner was determined in the finals of the finish, in which the German Jannik Šteimle (“Deceuninck – Quick Step”) and the home star Peter Sagan (“BORA – hansgrohe”) were ahead in the last hundred meters. However, at the end of the sprint, Einhorn was ahead of everyone, who was able to reach the finish line thanks to the work of Neiland and Frumo. Sagan came in second, and Kees Bols (DSM) from the Netherlands took third place, leaving Einhorn behind.
The leading group, which ended in 22nd place with Neilands, finished in three hours in 27 minutes and 40 seconds. Sagan won the overall standings, overtaking Steiml by 11 seconds and Bol by 17 seconds. Neiland lost 31 seconds, taking 12th place and proving that he is in good shape before the World Cup. Kuldīga earned ten UCI points for the won position.
In 2020, the competition did not take place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but in 2019, the German Janniks Šteimle won. The competition was held for the first time in 1954. For Neiland, this was his first race after a break of more than 40 days, during which he healed a back injury. Although the national team has not yet been announced, Neilands is a candidate to fill one of Latvia’s four quotas in next week’s World Cup.
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