Figueira Champions Classic | Race Report

The first race day for all the Team Picnic PostNL riders on the line-up saw a fast afternoon in the saddle on the Portuguese coast. Riding well as a group in the opening part of the race to keep each other safe, on the penultimate time up the main climb on the local circuit a strong group of four forged clear, with Max Poole riding strongly to make the move for the team. Initially they built up a good advantage of around 30 seconds over the peloton, but a few teams who missed the move chased hard and combined with a headwind at the start of the last lap, they were caught just before the same climb they attacked on earlier. There, Juan Martinez almost made it onto the back of a group of seven that went clear, but he just couldn’t bridge the gap; ultimately finishing as the team’s first rider on the day.