Uphill Battle on Stage Three of Belgrade Banjaluka

Sports Director Gennady Mikhaylov:

“There’s no doubt about it, very hard stage for our guys today. The climbs were much tougher in real life than the race profile and with the tailwind for most of the stage it made for a very fast day.”

“We did our best for Charles and Sam and in turn they worked hard for each other, pulling over the last ascent and finishing in the same group over the line., but we missed the punch to stay with the first group over the climbs today.”

Sam Brand:

“We left it all out on the road today, it was hard work and despite giving it our all we missed having numbers for the final kilometers and we couldn’t bridge the gap over to the front group.”

“It’s the last stage tomorrow and we’ll leave it all out there again to try and get a good result, but it will be hard. It’s the longest stage of the race at 160 kilometers and the start is straight on to a climb, but we want to fight, and we want to go home with our heads high.”