32 year old Lithuianian cyclist Ramūnas Navardauskas, racing professionally for UCI ProTeam Nippo-Delko-One Provence, outsprinted fellow countryman and pro rider Edgaras Kovaliovas to win Velo Marathon Vilnius gran fondo in Vilnius, Lithuania last Sunday.
As part of the largest cycling celebration in the country, over 500 professional and amateur cyclists raced 100 or 50km on a 10km circuit around Vilnius.
In the 100km race on lap 9, Navardauskas and Kovaliovas made their move and attacked, quickly gaping the field and building a one minute lead.
At the finish, Navardauskas had a stronger kick and time-trial specialist Kovaliovas had to settle for a well earned second place, just .09 seconds behind Navardauskas’ winning time of 2:15:27.57.
The 50km event turned into a battle of the sexes, with Audrius Meskys winning the Overall and Men’s title after dropping breakaway companion Greta Karasiovaitė who claimed the Women’s title.
But by far, the most popular event was The Road to Freedom Ride where 100’s of everyday cyclists rode through the city to show support for citizens of Belarus who are peacefully struggling for their freedom from the Lukashenko government.
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