Crashes meant that Colombian champion Miguel Angel Rubiano didn't have the Giro d'Italia that he was hoping for but now the Colombia rider is back on form. Yesterday he finished third in the hilly Giro dell'Appennino which served as an important boost of confidence ahead of his mid-season break.

Team Colombia wrapped up the first half of the season with a good result at the Giro dell’Appennino, where Colombian National Champion Miguel Angel Rubiano claimed a strong third place in Genova behind winner Sonny Colbrelli(Bardiani-CSF) and Grega Bole (Fantini-Nippo).

The early phases of the race were characterized by a 3-man attempt, Rodolfo Torres (Team Colombia), Ivan Balykin (Rusvelo) and Eduard Grosu (Fantini-Nippo). The pack, led by Neri Sottoli and Meridiana, never left leave much space to the group of the escapees, and the break ended with 65 km to go.

However, on Passo della Bocchetta ascent, Neri Sottoli’s Matteo Rabottini moved on the attack with Team Colombia’s Robinson Chalapud and other riders, and more riders eventually bridged back to them, including Franco Pellizotti (Androni-Venezuela), Enrico Battaglin (Bardiani-CSF) and two more Escarabajos, Jarlinson Pantano and Miguel Angel Rubiano.

In the final kilometers, the main group got back together and 42 riders contested the final dash, where Colbrelli made good use of his sprinting skills to edge Bole and Rubiano.

“After some misfortunes, this result gives me a confidence boost," Rubiano said. “Now, I keep my focus to get ready to race in August and September, and deserve a call for the World Championships. Today, I kept calm, as I knew it would end up in a sprint. The final dash was quite hectic, but I was able to come back pretty strong in the final meters”.

“I am satisfied with the performance, we wanted to close the first part of the season on a high and managed to do that,” Sports Director Valerio Tebaldi explained. “Our goal was to bring Rubiano, Pantano and Chalapud in the best position to fight for victory. This result gives us a morale boost to get ready and restart the second part of the season on a swing.”