Gerald Ciolek third in mass sprint!

Team MTN Qhubeka p/b Samsung has its first podium placing in its first WorldTour start. The German team captain Gerald Ciolek sprinted to third place in the second stage of the Italian race Tirreno-Adriatico (March 6-12, UCI WorldTour) on Thursday. The only riders faster than him after 232 kilometers from San Vincenzo to Indicatore were stage winner Matthew Harley Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) and Manuel Belleti (AG2R).
Ciolek's Italian teammate Kristian Sbaragli made the South African team's accomplishments complete with an eighth place finish, giving the team two riders in the top ten on a rain-filled day.

“That was the perfect start in our first WorldTour race,“ Ciolek rejoiced after the race. „We ride for a fantastic project to get African kids on bicycles. That is a great motivation for me and the team. I think the whole team, which works very hard for our goal.“

„The guys prepared the sprint for Gerald really well. The best are at the start here, so this is the perfect beginning for such an important race,“ said sport director Jens Zemke. „Our team worked hard for this result and Geralds's good results the last few races have shown us that he would be at the front.“

After two of seven stages, Mark Cavendish of Omega Pharma-QuickStep leads in the overall rankings ahead of his teammates Michael Kwiatkowski and Niki Terpstra.

Rain poured down much of the day, as the peloton spent much of the stage chasing after a three-rider break group. The last of the trio was finally caught with about 30 km to go, and the closing mass sprint was set up. The distinctive MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung rain jackets were often seen near the front as the race wound down, as they brought Ciolek into position.

Sprinter Ciolek will have another chance for a top stage finish on Friday in the next expected mass sprint. The third stage runs for 190 kilometers from Indicatore to Narni Scalo. Tirreno-Adriatico ends next Tuesday in San Benedetto del Tronto on the Adriatic Sea with an individual time trial. One of the highlights of the seven-stage, 1,060 kilometer long „Race Between the Seas“ is the mountaintop finish Saturday in Prati di Tivo.