Breakaway steals the show in Maryland with Lozano to the fore

Spanish climber and Tour du Rwanda stage winner David Lozano was alive to the possibilities at the Maryland Classic in the USA as the 33-year-old jumped into the early breakaway group for Team Novo Nordisk and shouldered his share of the workload as the group held off the bunch all the way to the line.

Late attacks splintered the group on the tough closing circuits and Lozano eventually placed 12th after an impressive and determined ride.

David Lozano:

“Man that was a hard race! The heat played its part too and although it didn’t look like it, the hills were relentless. The idea from the beginning was to try and get in the break because we knew that the right group could go to the line and after a few attacks a big group of around 20 guys went and I was alive to it.”

“There were a lot of WorldTour riders in there, two or three from each team and they drove the pace hard and the collaboration was generally pretty good. I started cramping as we hit the circuits, but managed to fight back in and then it split as the attacks came closer to the final lap. I enjoyed it, I’m pleased with how I rode and more than anything I’m happy that we could show ourselves so well as an American team racing at the biggest American race of the year.”

Sports Director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“The first thing I thought when I saw the parcours was that this could suit the breakaway very well, so it was important to get someone up there and it was David’s day.”

“We knew it would be hard, it’s the first big American race in three years and as an American team we had some pressure on to be visible so there was some relief when we heard on the radio that David had made it in there. Job done today and we can go into the final push of the season positively.”

Photo Credit: Darrell Parks