Fafe, Portugal – On Saturday, August 18, 2012, the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team put forth an equally strong and smart effort in the 176.1km Stage Four portion of the 2012 Tour of Portugal to ensure their South African Teammate and overall race leader, Jay Thomson (RSA), was able to hold onto the yellow jersey for a third consecutive day. Although the Team did not post a top 10 result in the fourth stanza of this prestigious race, the boys representing the American pro continental squad protected Thomson and his position at the top of the General Classification (GC), the entire route from Vila Nova de Cerveira to Fafe. Thomson also held onto the King of the Mountains (KOM) jersey for the third straight day as well.
Photo by Jonathan Devich (epicimages.us)
After riding away from the entire field en route to a smashing Stage One victory earlier this week, Thomson rode alongside his mates today to help control the race and protect the Team’s lead in the Team Classification as well as his position as the overall race leader.
Team Director, Hendrik Redant, stated, “The boys did an amazing job out there protecting the yellow jersey! We are proud of the effort they have put out the past few days and we will start looking at how to approach tomorrow. This is a long race with a lot of good competition, so we’ll see how it goes.”
With seven stages remaining in the 2012 Tour of Portugal, Thomson sits 17 seconds ahead of the next best placed rider, Cesar Fonte (POR) of Efapel-Glassdrive, and 33 seconds in front of Hugo Sabido (POR) of LA Aluminios-Antarte, who currently occupies the third spot in the GC.
The 10-stage Volta a Portugal em Bicicleta 2012 (Tour of Portugal) continues tomorrow and runs from August 15 – August 26, 2012.
TEAM UNITEDHEALTHCARE ROSTER FOR THE 2012 VOLTA A PORTUGAL (August 15-26):
Hilton Clarke (AUS)
Jonny Clarke (AUS)
Marc de Maar (CUR)
Davide Frattini (ITA)
Jason McCartney (USA)
Kai Reus (NED)
Jay Thomson (RSA)
Boy van Poppel (NED)
Brad White (USA)
Team Director: Hendrik Redant (BEL)
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