Bahrain riders continue to impress in Tour

Manama : Bahrain’s Merida Pro Cycling Team riders continued with good results yesterday after completing the seventh stage of the 104th Tour de France from Troyes to Nuits-Saint Georges in the wine country region of Champagne over 213.5km on a relatively flat course. 

The stage winner was Germany’s Marcel Kittel of the Quick-Step Floors team who completed the distance in five hours three minutes and 18 seconds, as did 124 riders overall of the 193 still in the race, including Bahrain’s Sonny Colbrelli (18th, Italy), Grega Bole (19th, Slovenia), Yukiya Arashiro (42nd, Japan) and Janez Brajkovic (85th, Slovenia).

The other four Bahrain riders classified were - Borut Bozic (138th, Slovenia, +0.32), Javier Moreno (142nd, Spain, +0.36), Tsgabu Grmay (177th, Ethiopia, +2:01) and Ondrej Cink (180th, Czech Republic, +2:01). 

Bahrain’s ninth team member Spaniard Ion Izaguirre retired during the opening stage in Dusseldorf, Germany after suffering a lumbar fracture of the lower spine.

Today the eighth stage takes the remaining (193) riders from Dole to Station des Rousses over 187.5km in hilly terrain.

Bahrain Merida Classifications Positions:

39. J Brajkovic (SLO, +4:33) 

51. O Cink (CZE, +7:24)

97. Y Arashiro (JPN, +14:56) 

107. S Colbrelli (ITA, +16:05) 

130. G Bole (SLO, +19:18)

144. T Grmay (ETH, +21:20) 

148. J Moreno (ESP, 22:03)

177. B Bozic (SLO, +27:27)