Continental squad takes team stage classification award on stage eight
Although there are five WorldTour teams and many other experienced squads in the race, the new Synergy Baku squad clocked up an important result ahead of them on Thursday’s eighth stage of the Tour de Langkawi.
The Azerbaijan-registered Continental squad placed Rico Rogers and Anuar Manan in fifth and ninth in the sprint to the line, the duo rolling in behind the day’s winner Bryan Coquard and helping secure first place in the team classification for the stage.
Synergy Baku beat Champion System, Garmin Sharp, Omega Pharma QuickStep and the rest of the field, earning important exposure.
According to the team’s technical advisor David McQuaid, the squad’s performance has earned a lot of attention. “Other teams are coming to our staff, teams like Blanco, Greenedge etc, asking about Synergy Baku, because they know from the media that this team came about in a short space of time, yet here we are outperforming some of their guys in February” he said.
Apart from Rogers and Manan, the other team riders have also been aggressive. As one of the smaller teams – and as a new, unproved outfit – the squad has to justify its place in the event, and validating its selection has been a big incentive for Synergy Baku.
“For a first race for the team, everything has been incredible,” McQuaid continued. “The level of this race is high for a Continental Team, but our six riders for this race have not let the selectors down. We’ve had top ten finishes almost every day, being also present in the breakaways. The organizer has already invited us back for next year. We’ve earned our invite.”
The race is being led by Julian Arredondo (Team Nippo – De Rosa), who holds a one minute fifteen second advantage over Pieter Weening (Orica Greenedge).
The ninth and penultimate stage runs between Pasir Puteh and Kuala Berang.