In the last race of Challenge Mallorca series – Trofeo Playa de Palma-Palma - Grzegorz Stepniak finished 14th after the bunch sprint. Matteo Pelucchi (IAM) took the win.

"I felt very good today and in the end I got a lot of help from my teammates Grega Bole, Christian Delle Stelle and Maciej Paterski. With 2km to go, I was positioning for the sprint by myself. Unfortunately I made too many mistakes and at this level of racing it is impossible to claim the podium spot if you do that. I can’t be satisfied with the result because my form is very good and I know that I am capable of much more," Grzegorz Stępniak said. 

The race was held under not Mallorca-like conditions, with rain and even snow making racing a little bit harder. The breakaway of the day consisted of three riders Dario Hernandez (Burgos-BH), Unai Intziarte (Murias Taldea ) and Illart Zuazubiskar (Spain), although it took a while before they established their lead. Before them, there was a 4-man group but it was reeled in after gaining a 2-minute lead.

The trio climbed together the Coll des Grau (Cat.3), the hardest climb of the day but it was caught 8 kilometers before the finish. As expected it came down to a bunch sprint which was won by Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling). He outsprinted Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) and Ben Swift (Team Sky). The “orange” sprinter Grzegorz Stepniak managed to claim 14th place.

Part of the team will now travel to Dubai where the stage race is held (4-7 February).