Matteo Moschetti wins the sprint into Palma to win his second race of the Challenge Mallorca
Matteo Moschetti paid the hard-work of his Trek-Segafredo teammates with a win, his second victory in the four-day Challenge Mallorca.
The young Italian could not ask for a better start to the 2020 season. While his first win on day one may have surprised the cycling world, as well as himself, Sunday’s win in Trofeo Playa de Palma confirmed his sprinting capacity.
Beat Pascal Ackermann once – okay, there’s always that chance – but beat him twice?
“The first day was a surprise, first of all for me, and also for the guys,” admitted Moschetti. “But today we were ready for the win from the start. We showed we can control the race and have a good result. We are a strong team.”
Matteo Moschetti sprints to his first pro win ahead of Pascal Ackermann.
And again, Moschetti heaped all the praise on his teammates.
“The guys have confidence in me, and they worked 100 percent for me the whole day. Jacopo (Mosca) managed the race perfectly.
“In the climb, I was in the top in a super good position, and Jasper (Stuyven) went on the downhill with a few guys, which for us was good as we could stay on the wheel and let Bora-hansgrohe pull.
“In the last kilometer, we were just behind the train of Bora-hansgrohe, and Ryan (Mullen), Alex (Kirsch), Jasper and Emils (Liepins) they did a great job. In the last 100 meters, I took the wheel of Ackermann, and in the last 50, I try to give my best, and yeah, it was enough. I am super happy,” exclaimed Moschetti, modestly.
L-R: Alex Kirsch, Matteo Moschetti, Ryan Mullen, Jasper Stuyven and Emils Liepins celebrate Matteo's win in Mallorca.
With teammates in front of Moschetti that have power and proficiency in positioning, like Mullen, Kirsch, and Stuyven, and now an injection of speed from Emils Liepins as the last lead-out man – who has fit in seamlessly – Trek-Segafredo has a sprint team that can match any.
“We put already from the beginning Mosca to pull to control the breakaway and after we did everything perfectly; until the final kilometers we played it smart today,” added director Yaroslav Popovych. “We did not pull the last kilometers because it was easy to pass the peloton and move to the front. The guys were awesome, everyone knew what he had to do – it’s pretty nice. Congrats to the whole team and all the staff for their help in these four days.”
While it is still early season, the start in Mallorca has undoubtedly given a boost of confidence to the team. Where Moschetti will go from here is yet to be determined, but there’s no doubt the young Italian is fast.
