Welcome to Italy for the first of the Italian autumn classics, the Milano - Torino. It is sure to provide those on the startlist a tough challenge with two climbs near the finish providing the obstacles to get over. The main favourites are Efimkin, Flugel and Froome.
The race soon gets underway. The first lot of attacks is lead by Valgren Andersen.
That move is pulled back though, leaving room for another group to go off the front. The next group to get a gap is a group of four; Kusters, Ludvigsson, Krizek and Saldarriaga form a group off the front.
Those four get away, and for 50 kilometres their gap grows to over 4 minutes. But then, with 150 kilometres left, more attacks come from the peloton, with minor favourites Salerno, Ruijgh, Bole and Anderson trying to bridge the gap.
They do cross the gap, and so do Zeits, Kump and Moren. That means the eleven-man breakaway that eventually gets away contains:
Their gap slowly gets to 8 minutes at the halfway mark, where the peloton slowly starts to increase it's pace and start to close the gap. Volkswagen is one of the many teams helping with the pacemaking.
As the front group move into the final 50 kilometres and nearer to the final climbs, the gap is below 4 minutes and it looks like they will be caught.
Jaguar and Volkswagen are the driving forces at the head of the peloton, making sure that their leaders can have a shot of victory today come the final few kilometres.
As the first ascent of the final climb is hit by the peloton, the gap is down to 1 and a half minutes. Lahsaini leads them up.
Meanwhile, at the front, Ludvigsson decides that the break isn't co-operating as well as he'd like and sets off on his own. He obviously thinks he has a better chance of staying away on his own. Moren and Kusters decide to try and go with him.
That move is eventually closed down though, as the gap shortens even further to around a minute.
Into the final 20 kilometres, we get one of the leaders showing their hand. Brit Bellis jumps off in pursuit of the win, and a big boost in his team's promotion credentials.
Compatriot Froome moves to the front of the peloton immediately in pursuit, but can't prevent Bellis' advantage creeping over 30 seconds. It looks like he'll need more help to bring him back.
His pacemaking does accomplish something though; over half the peloton is dropped as the up in pace causes a split. It also causes problems for a few badly positioned leaders as Ben Nasser and Gautier are among those dropped! Only time will tell if they can recover.
Back at the front, Bellis has managed to catch and pass the breakaway and retain his gap over the top of around half a minute. Not known for his descending though, he'll have to do some daredevil descending to repeat those exploits.
Ben Nasser and Gautier have both got into a group of five trying to cross the gap to the main group, but still have a 35" gap to cross. Not good news for promotion hopefuls BPost and relegation candidates Pivovarna.
The peloton then catch the remaining members of the breakaway, which only really confirms what was inevitable. Vueling and Jaguar chase hard as the final climb approaches.
Ten kilometres to go for Bellis, who still holds a small gap despite a great downhill chase from Preidler. The final battle awaits and it's still anyone's race.
Five kilometres later the Brit is caught, unable to maintain his gap up the final climb to an ever-shrinking main group. Now made up of 27-men, all the big favourites and leaders are still here, with the exception of the still chasing Gautier and Ben Nasser.
Soon enough the first attack comes from this small group - a small dig from Roy. No-one follows, as Bellis remains on the front of the group.
He's brought back by the Brit almost immediately, who looks intent on keeping together. He still obviously feels good enough to contest the sprint. That said, he decides to drop back once this attempt has been caught.
As a result the pace drops a little, giving Ben Nasser and Gautier the chance to rejoin the group! The Frenchman looks tired and remains at the back but the same can't be said for Ben Nasser who moves towards the front of the group with just over 3 kilometres left.
As this is happening, Froome moves to the front once more, showing us his trademark high cadence while setting a fierce pace in attempt to try and rid the others from his company. Flugel looks strong enough to handle it though as he moves into the Brit's wheel.
He isn't the next to make a move though, Levarlet is! The Bouygues man goes on the offensive, creating an ominously large gap in the process. Could this be the race winning move?
Flugel meanwhile ups the pace behind, trying to shut down the move.
As Levarlet moves back into his seat, the German's strength shows as he impressively closes the gap, metre by metre. This also leaves him with only the best for company; Hoogerland, Froome, Efimkin and Sinkewitz are the only ones that can follow.
Bellis seems to be feeling the effects of his attack earlier and is fading, a position also shared by Roy, Kessler, Mendes and also Ben Nasser who has put in a great ride today to get up this high anyway.
Entering the final kilometre, Levarlet is caught and the sprint begins. Flugel shows his enormous power straight away, moving into a big lead!
Rounding the penultimate corner, the German holds his lead. Froome meanwhile is coming around Efimkin who holds the last podium position, while Levarlet is doing surprisingly well to stay in fourth.
Froome kicks again out of the corner! can he catch a tiring Flugel?
No! Flugel raises his arms, celebrating a deserved victory. He was the fastest where it counted, in the final sprint. Volkswagen walk away with victory here.
Froome and Efimkin round out the podium, also getting fine results for their respective teams.
Levarlet is next in, benefiting from the small headstart he had to hold off Sinkewitz, who also gets into the top five as they finish fourth and fifth.
Completing the top 10 is Hoogerland, Bellis, Roy, Ben Nasser and Kessler, finishing in that order. Standout performances there are from Ben Nasser, who put in a great fighting performance, and Kessler who gives Volkswagen another in the top 10.
Mendes just falls outside that bracket but still manages a solid eleventh, which his team should be happy with. A team that won't be happy though is BPost, who's leader Gautier finished thirteenth today. Not bad considering the position he was in, but it could have been so much more.
