Double whammy for Luke Mudgway with consecutive stage wins in Pune Grand Tour
Teammates helped ride into the finish, says Mudgway.
Luke Mudgway won first stage as well as the second stage in Pune Grand Tour. (Credits: Pune Grand Tour) After winning the first stage of the Pune Grand Tour on Tuesday, Luke Mudgway recorded another fantastic win in the second stage of the event on Wednesday. Termed the Maratha Heritage Circuit, the 105.3-km route passes through steep climbs like the Bopdev ghat and is considered to be the most challenging stage of the four-day race.
The stage started from the Ladies Club in Camp at 12:30 pm and finished along Sinhagad Road at Nanded City. Mudgway represented the Li Ning Star, China team and finished with a time of 02:31:49.
Speaking to the media after his win, Mudgway said, “It was really tough today. My teammates rode amazing. A lot of teams tried to attack us during the end but we stayed strong and I had a teammate help me for the last 10k after the climb and he rode us into the finish.”
In fact, the top six riders clocked the same finish time of 02:31:49, with the rankings being awarded based on a photo finish. Alan Carter Bettles of Roojai Insurance Winspeed, Thailand, finished second, while Yorben Lauryssen of Tarteletto–Isorex, Belgium, claimed third place. Lauryssen also recorded a consecutive podium finish. With this win, Mudgway was handed a 10-second bonus, Beetles a six-second bonus, whereas Lauryssen was handed a four-second bonus.
Clement Alleno and Jambaljamts Sainbayar, of Burgos Burpellet BH, Spain, finished fourth and fifth whereas Stefan Benetton of Eurocyclingtrips – CCN, Guam, stood sixth. Stefan Benetton of Eurocyclingtrips – CCN, Guam, dominated the climbs to claim maximum points in the Ghatacha Raja (King of the Mountains) scoring, earning the ‘Polka Dot’ Jersey.
The orange jersey for the Best Asian rider stayed with Jambaljamts Sainbayar of Burgos Burpellet BH, Spain. Dutch rider Tijssen Viego of Wielerploeg Groot Amsterdam, Netherlands, was rewarded with the White Jersey as the ‘Best Young Rider’ while Sarda Manav, Indian Development Team, India, topped the domestic contingent to take the Blue Jersey as ‘India’s Leading Performer’ on the day.
Stage three of the event on Thursday, termed the Western Ghats Gateway, stretches 134 kilometres from Purandar to Baramati and climbs to an elevation of 1,024 metres.
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