Morgado inches close to victory at Le Samyn

• Portuguese talent 2nd in Belgium

Antonio Morgado took his biggest result of the season with 2nd place at Le Samyn in a photo finish in Belgium today.

The Portuguese talent made the selection in a heavily reduced bunch on the narrow, cobbled roads between Quaregnon and Dour (204.3km), coming from very far back in the closing sprint to narrowly miss the win, which went to Laurens Rex (Intermarche Wanty).
 

The result is promising for the 20-year-old neo-pro as he embarks on his first year in the World Tour.
 

Morgado: "It's good, I'm glad I could get close to the win. I'm happy with my performance in the last few races and I feel good which is important. I'm not a sprinter but with 2km to go we had a hard section of cobbles which fatigued the legs a bit and changed the nature of the sprint a little, so I just gave it all I could, and I'm pleased with the result."
 

Results

1.Laurens Rex (Intermarche Wanty) 4:38:40
2.Antonio Morgado (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

3.Jenthe Biermans (Arkea Samsic) s.t