Oriol Pi Finishes 23rd at Costa Blanca Bike Race, Earns First UCI Points

Andorran cyclist Oriol Pi, riding for the Infofive team, finished 23rd in the elite category at the Costa Blanca Bike Race, earning his first UCI points of the season in his debut multi-stage mountain bike event.

The international calendar highlight, originally planned for four stages, was shortened to three after strong winds cancelled the final one. Pi delivered consistent gains, placing 28th in the opening stage, 27th in the second-stage time trial—where gaps to competitors remained extremely tight—and 24th in Sunday's decisive third stage to claim his overall result.

Pi credited his upward trajectory to gaining experience mid-race. He encountered early hurdles in the opener due to his lack of familiarity with stage races, but adapted quickly. "In the first stage I had several setbacks, mainly from inexperience in this kind of event, but as the competition progressed I kept learning and improving," he said.

Race management posed initial difficulties, compounded by a challenging winter that disrupted training because of bad weather. "It was true that in the first stage I struggled a bit to manage the race, but then I got better. The sensations improved a lot as the days went by," Pi added.

The performance marks a promising start to his stage-race campaign.