Italian sprinter places second as three-time winner Rui Costa maintains top five in General Classification 

United Arab Emirates. 19 June 2017:  The curtain was drawn on stage eight of the Tour de Suisse on Saturday with UAE Team Emirates’ Italian sprinter Sacha Modolo crossing the finish line in second place behind stage winner and World Champion Peter Sagan (Bora -  Hansgrohe). Meanwhile three-time Tour de Suisse winner, Modolo’s teammate Rui Costa, maintained his top five position in the General Classification. The podium finish marked the second of the race for UAE Team Emirates after the Portuguese World Champion Costa placed second on the sixth stage on Thursday, 15 June 2017. 

Reflecting on his performance the Italian sprinter said:“My progress so far at the Tour de Suisse has been good and i’m pleased to finish in the top three on this stage. I noticed that there was space on the right side of the road and I decided to use it to my advantage to start my sprint while remaining close to the fences for protection. That worked out to my benefit and to come in second behind Sagan is a good result. I am quite satisfied with second place!”

Commenting on the team’s overall performance on stage eight, UAE Team Emirates’ Sports Director Simone Pedrazzini said: “The performance of the team was good and it was difficult to do any better today, especially considering that Sagan’s performance was perfect. It was our objective to win the stage but alas it wasn’t possible. Now our focus is on the final stage and being able to do well in the time trials to maintain our position in the top five of the General Classification.”

The final stage of the Tour de Suisse will be a 28.6 km individual time trial starting and ending in Schaffausen, Switzerland.

Top Three Race Results for Stage Eight

General Classification after Stage Eight