Portuguese rider 4th most regular of the world

 

Rui Costa 4^th in the list of cyclist with the most Top Ten finishes in 2016

After the Tour de Romandie, Alpe D'Huez Magazine has published it's updated ranking of the 22 cyclists with the most top ten finishes of the first part of the season. Rui Costa is seen alongside AG2R's Roman Bardet, tied in 4^th spot with 17 points.

The foremost portuguese cyclist of the present day has thus been keeping to his solid and regular form of racing which has, year after year, payed up in the shape of several top ten finishes in World Tour events, as well as in the UCI World Ranking. A few examples from this season are second and third place finishes in several stages, and particularly, his recent third place in the Liége-Bastogne-Liége, the oldest and most important of the Ardennes Classics, and the oldest of the Five Monuments of cycling.

Pic: @Alpe__dHuez

“These results please me, because they give me the notion that all the work from the Pre-Season is paying dividends. I've always made a point at being a regular and consistent racer, and such consistency, in turn, builds up the confidance I need in order to tackle the following races.

I believe that when one works hard and honestly, the good results are bound to appear, sooner or later. Despite the misfortune of suffering a few crashes this year the fact is I have also managed to be alongside the big guns of the Peloton, more often than not. To be able to do that, specially on mountain stages, is something any cyclist should be proud of.

This worldwide Top 5 standing I managed to earn for myself in this first part of the season is obviously a source of great pride for me, and I'm committed to work has much, and as hard, as I can to maintain it, through to the final race of the season.” - said the rider from Aguçadoura, in the north of Portugal.

Currently, Rui Costa has moved from 17^th to 11^th spot of the UCI World Tour Ranking, with 152 points, only 10 points shy of moving into the Top Ten.