Final stage circuits blow the race apart in Estonia

Sport Director, Gennady Mikhaylov

“We knew how hard the climb was because we finished on the top of it on stage one, so I’m not surprised that it really contributed to blow the race up today.

“The repeated ascents really did become a war of attrition and although we were unlucky that Andrea crashed out, Declan and Sam Brand tried their best to hold position in the second group, but dropped off late on.”

Andrea Peron (ITA)

“I banged my knee up pretty badly on the concrete blocks by the side of the road. A guy in front of me lost control of his bike on the cobbles, went down and I couldn’t avoid him.”

“It’s frustrating because we were going quite slowly and if I hadn’t caught my knee on the block then maybe i could have carried on. I’ve had some bad luck with crashes this year, but that’s cycling and sometimes it happens like that. I just hope that’s it for this season, no more crashes!”

Declan Irvine (AUS)

“After we lost Andrea, I just tried to stay up as close to the front as possible, but it was a fast pace and in the beginning the wet roads made for some difficult racing.

“Yes, for sure the cobbled climb made it tough, but also made it exciting and I like that style of racing and it was great having Sam Brand alongside me for those final laps.”

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