South Africa’s Ryan Gibbons (fourth from left) made his UAE Team Emirates debut at the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise Photo: Twitter @gplmarseillaise
South Africa’s Ryan Gibbons finished with the front group in his UAE Team Emirates debut at the Grand Prix Cycliste la Marseillaise yesterday.
The 42nd edition of the one-day race took place over 171km around the city of Marseille in France.
Johannesburg-born Gibbons signed for UAE Team Emirates in October 2020 having previously ridden for the NTT Pro Cycling set-up.
Gibbons finished at the sharp end of the field in a creditable 17th place in the same time as the winner, France’s Aurelien Paret-Peintre (AG2R).
Thomas Boudat (Arkea-Samsic) and Bryan Coquard (B&B Hotels) rounded off the podium.
Gibbons, who has competed in five Grand Tours to date, is the reigning South African road champion.
A second South African, Morne van Niekerk, also took part in the race. He was part of a five-man break that got reeled in with 20km to go, eventually finishing 16:46 behind the winner in 109th.
