Bahrain McLaren take stage win

After two consecutive second-place finishes, Phil Bauhaus claimed Team Bahrain McLaren’s first victory in the Saudi Tour 2020 on Thursday, through an excellent display of teamwork. The effort was evident throughout the team as they brought Mark Cavendish back to the peloton after the climb, who alongside Heinrich Haussler helped take Phil Bauhaus across the line in first at the bunch sprint.

Stage three of the Saudi Tour started from King Saud University, the oldest university in the country. The 119km stage consisted of a five-km climb with a gradient of five per cent, which was covered twice. Twenty km into the race, a breakaway formed of five riders, building a gap of two minutes from the peloton; however, they were eventually reeled back in at the second ascent.

Race leader Rui Costa then put an attack with 50km to go but was pulled back with 32km left. Within the last 10km, Costa launched another attack, gaining a gap of 15 seconds but was again caught by the peloton with five km to go. As teams started fighting for position in for the sprint, Haussler managed to come out first on the last corner, leading Cavendish and Bauhaus.

This time Cavendish pulled Bauhaus, and it worked out perfectly. Bauhaus was out of breath after claiming the win but was very happy. “The team was just awesome,” he said. “It was pure class; all day we were one step in front.

“The last corner, like yesterday, Haussler went first position with Mark and me behind, and with 500 meters to go, Mark was super smart, and he told me to go, he made a gap, and I’m so happy that I could finish it off.” Asked about the importance of the first win of the season for Team Bahrain McLaren, Bauhaus said: “It was just important to take the first win for us, we were already so close twice, and we are a super strong team, and now this will boost the motivation for everyone in our team. “It’s really nice to get the first win quite early, it’s a really nice feeling.” Saudi capital Riyadh and its vicinity are hosting the fivestage Saudi Tour 2020, which is the first-ever world-class cycling race being held in the country. For the event, Team Bahrain McLaren’s general classification contender is Slovenian Jan Tratnik, who has the support of countryman Grega Bole and team captain Haussler. In the sprints, the team is working for Cavendish, and is strong with Bauhaus and his compatriot Marcel Seiberg leading the sprint train. At the same time, Briton Fred Wright is making his debut on the World Tour and is playing his role for the sprint train.