The Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies impressed at the Istrian Spring Tour with a series of strong results. For Magagnotti, today’s win marks the first victory of his U23 career.
Alessio Magagnotti secured the third win of the season for the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies on today’s final stage of the Istrian Spring Tour in Croatia. The 19-year-old Italian proved fastest in the bunch sprint at the end of the 125-kilometre stage from Pazin to Umag, taking his first-ever victory in the U23 category.
For the Rookies, Magagnotti’s victory capped an extremely successful week of racing in Croatia. Alongside the stage victory, Sebastian Putz (22, Austria) secured second place in the overall classification. Fellow Austrian Anatol Friedl (18) also finished inside the top ten overall, placing ninth. Additionally, Magagnotti claimed the points classification as the best sprinter. In total, the team recorded six top-ten stage results across the four days of racing in Istria, highlighting a strong collective performance.
“It’s fantastic to take my first win in the U23 category – and especially in this jersey. I want to thank the whole team, particularly Sebastian Putz, who did an exceptional job guiding me in the final kilometre. It was a really great week for us as a team here in Croatia.”
— Alessio Magagnotti
For Putz, the second place in the general classification marks the best result of his young career so far. The Austrian was therefore delighted at the finish in Umag:
“I’m super happy with second place in the overall classification. Of course, winning would have been nice, but I really gave everything I had. I’m more than satisfied with second place, and we can truly be proud of our team performance here in Croatia.”
— Sebastian Putz
Gregor Gazvoda, who was on-site as sports director, was equally satisfied with the team’s performance:
“We came into the race with the goal of achieving a podium in the general classification and taking a stage win – and that’s exactly what we did. The guys worked very well together every day. In the first sprint, we made a small mistake, but we learned from it and did things better today. It’s always nice to finish a race with a victory.”
— Gregor Gazvoda, Sports Director
For the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe Rookies, the success also continues a special story: exactly one year ago, the team contested its first race ever at the Istrian Spring Tour. Back then, Adrien Boichis (France) – now a WorldTour rider with Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe – won the overall classification and secured the young team’s first victory.
