Aleksandr Riabushenko wins U23 Euros

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Aleksandr Riabushenko from Belarus emerged as a winner atop the Cadoudal hill in Plumelec, ahead of Belgium’s Björg Lambrecht and Italy’s Andrea Vendrame to become the U23 European road race champion.

“I came here for winning”, Riabushenko told Cyclingnews after the finish.

“At least I was confident that I could make the top three. My tactic consisted of waiting for the last three or four laps and not losing my legs before. This kind of uphill finale is exactly my cup of tea. I want to become an Amstel Gold Race winner in the future.”

A three-man leading group formed of Piotr Brozyna (Poland), Federico Olei (San Marino) and Dusan Rajovic (Serbia) and they highlighted the first half of the race with a maximum advantage of four minutes. It was together again after just half way. Pavel Sivakov (Russia) and Jonathan Dibben (Great-Britain) made solo attempts after that but a trio then had more chance of success with Tour de l’Avenir overall winner David Gaudu (France), Tour de l’Avenir stage 1 winner Vincenzo Albanese (Italy) as well as Artem Nych (Russia).

They had 25 seconds approaching the last three kilometers but Belgium and Great Britain led the charge. Albanese was the last man to be caught with 200 metres to go. “I always knew we’d catch them”, Riabushenko firmly said. “This kind of sprint was perfect for me and I was backed by a very good team in the finale. I also like this area for racing. As a junior I came second to Mathieu Van der Poel in nations cup Trophée Centre-Morbihan. Coming here I was completely aware of the big tradition of cycling in this part of Europe with Tour de France stages finishes like last year’s team time trial.”

The new U23 European champion is the son of Svyatoslav Riabushenko who was the last national champion of the USSR. He represented the Community of the Independent States at the Olympic road race won by the late Fabio Casartelli in Barcelona in 1992.

“I grew up in Minsk but I’ve spent the past three seasons in Italy racing in Tuscany and now for Palazzago under coach Olivano Locatelli, like Yaroslav Popovych before and more recently Fabio Aru”, the 20 year old said.

“I live near Bergamo in the same house Aru used to stay in too. I want to become a pro but I haven’t spoken to any team yet. Maybe I’d better do one more year as an amateur to become stronger.”

Second placed Björg Lambrecht who usually races for the U23 Lotto-Soudal team is in no hurry to turn pro as he’s 19, but third placed Andrea Vendrame was hopeful that his bronze medal is a call to professional outfits.

“I’ve had a difficult season with a bad accident during a training ride on April 7 when a car took me out,” the Venetian explained.

“I had a broken jaw and the surgery was complicated. It was a two-month break in my season so to just stand here on the podium is like a victory for me. I’m a versatile rider. I can sprint well in short hills like this one.”

Riabushenko will also race for Belarus at the flat world championships in Doha, Qatar. “It might not be a bunch sprint finish,” he warned with a big smile.

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