Oooh, Mauro got so close to his first classics podium, but we continue to miss that little extra kick when it matters. A little bit more luck and slightly better race tactics could've been enough - but hey, I'm definitely not complaining about his 4th place, just a little sad he just didn't have enough left in the tank for the podium.
That 4th place proves it was definitely worth the risk of sending him here, equalling our best cobbles result so far (indeed, we already got a 4th place finish, in Lincoln GP back in 2020). It was great to see him taking the matters in his hands, although that attack turned out to be a little too early. Still, that's the kind of racing I want to see from a 75+ fighter, so absolutely no reproach, on the contrary!
Benoot was unbeatable anyway - big congrats to Abhi - and Pidcock probably was just a tad too strong on the cobbles - and the downhill, so he rightfully finished ahead. Jorgenson just was on a huge day I guess - and Mauro's Stamina might actually have held him back, something to watch in his next couple of races...
Shoutout also to Bakke Christophersen, who apparently just loves to join breakaways no matter the terrain. And to Tediashvili, who adds some depth points, and will hopefully do even better next year once maxed. Remains to be seen if Schmid will come back whe he'll have even less race days, but I guess that might happen
Thanks to cunego for a truly entertaining report, although I still call that race insane
Pretty solid day out for us between Pidcock and van Zyl. Would have needed a wild day to outdo Benoot on this route but frustrating to throw away second. Can't complain too much though Love to see Benoot taking the win to kickstart the Sony era in awesome style, congrats Abhi
Croatia14 wrote:
So many cool riders in the Top 10, and Pidcock. Congrats Abhi!
This. Also yay to see the conglomerate dominating here
I'm sorry, you guys can hate on Pidcock not being a great rider like he should have been, but saying he is not "cool" is just being disingenuous
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First Tratnik, and then Kozhatayev did exactly what they were brought here to do and then Benoot delivered! Couldn't have asked for a more perfect execution!
Thanks for the report cunego and for all the congratulations
Great result for Jorgenson! Going to need more of that if we want to stay up this season. Was a gamble to send him here, glad we got rewarded for a change.
Wonderful racing! Too bad Debesay was never on the battle for the win. No team support wasn't ideal, but he has a good history of achieving results on his own, so figured he could find his way to a podium. Anyway, gamble lost, onto the next one.
Congrats on a beautiful win, Abi. Massive report cunego, thanks a lot for your effort!
Love to see Benoot taking the win to kickstart the Sony era in awesome style, congrats Abhi 
