Four days after his win in the time trial, Kanstantsin Siutsou (Dimension Data) again showed that he has come out of the Giro d'Italia in outstanding form by taking his second Belarusian road race title 10 years after the first one. With an impressive solo effort, he beat Nikolay Shumov by 2.49 and Branislau Samoilau (CCC) by a massive 4.13.
For years, Kanstantsin Siutsou and Vasil Kiryienka have been the most prolific Belarusian riders but surprisingly they haven't had much succes at their national road race championships. While they have both taken wins in the time trial, Kiryienka has never worn the most prestigious jersey from the country and Siutsou only has one title from 2006 on his palmares.
This year Kiryienka was again absent for the battle for the title but Siutsou was ready to try to add to his tally, trying to benefit from his Giro d'Italia to make the double after he won the time trial on Wednesday. The Dimension Data proved his class as he turned out to be totally dominant on the 180km course in Navahdurak.
Siutsou went solo with a little more than 30km to go and then never looked back. He kept increasing his gap all the way to the finish, crossing the line a big 2.49 advantage over second placed Nikolay Shumov. His most dangerous pre-race rival Branislau Samoilau lost no less than 4.13 in third after a race that saw the peloton splinter to pieces.
Siutsou is not in contention for a spot on the Dimension Data team for the Tour so it is unclear when he will debut in his jersey.
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