Gran Trittico Lombardo: Gorka Izagirre rides away with the win
The Basque, riding on drenched roads, attacked over the top of the climb of Montello on the final lap and rode away from teammate Alex Aranburu.
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Gorka Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) won the Gran Trittico Lombardo, in Varese Italy.
The Basque, riding on drenched roads, attacked over the top of the climb of Montello on the final lap and rode away from teammate Alex Aranburu.
Weather conditions played into a factor in how the race unfolded.
“It was a wet day, but it was a beautiful one, too. It was a really hard race and this final circuit is very difficult. We had a small group get away and I managed to get a gap and then I was able to stay away alone,” said Izagirre. “We’re all very happy because we worked well. [Fabio] Felline and [Matteo] Boaro did a good job. [Alexey] Lutsenko fell early in the race but it went well for us. We’re going well and we’re all happy with the result.”
Izagirre established a gap of 36 seconds, and he maintained much of that into the final climb.
Aranburu won the field sprint, ahead of Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Michał Kwiatkowski, and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo).
“We did a good race, especially for the weather condition. The target was to play the team’s chances with me and Cicco [Giulio Ciccone]. In the key moment of the race, we proved our strength with strong team action. Unfortunately, when the group exploded, Giulio had an unlucky puncture in the worst moment and lost contact with our group,” said Nibali.
The elite break reached entered the final 13km circuit with more than four minutes ahead of the main group.
Team Ineos and Trek-Segafredo joined CCC Team at the head of the group, and their combined efforts helped to whittle down the break’s advantage.
Nibali continued, “In the last lap we rode a very fast pace. In one of the few moments of respite, Izagirre made a strong attack and immediately gained a good margin. There was little agreement in the chasers’ group and the advantage increased quickly. On the last climb I tried to attack a couple of times but I was too controlled to go alone. I am still satisfied because after Saturday’s crash and the trauma of my hand I had no problems.”
Results
1. Gorka Izagirre (Astana Pro Team), 4:41:02
2. Alex Aranburu (Astana Pro Team), at 0:27
3. Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), at s.t.
4. Michał Kwiatkowski (Team INEOS), at s.t.
5. Vincenzo Nibali(Trek – Segafredo), at s.t.
6. Jan Polanc (UAE-Team Emirates), at s.t.
7. Nicola Bagioli (Androni Giocattoli – Sidermec), at s.t.
8. Louis (Vervaeke), at :28
9. Alessandro DeMarchi (CCC Team), at :30
10. Jhonatan Narvåez (Team INEOS), at 1:01
