After the PCT, the PT cobbles ! Today is a very unique route around Roma.
Gerts has the best suited skillset to win today.
Some 30 km are needed to establish a break, which quickly gets time in the hills : Matsangos, Klaris, Nych, Dujardin, Salazar and Alaphilippe. Sadly, our reporter forgot to take a good shot of the break.
Zara, Rabobank, Lidl and Evonik are the teams leading the peloton.
Nothing of note happens in the 130 next kilometers. The gap lays around 4 minutes. Then, ahead of the last climb, Goldstein accelerates, which creates a split. Teunissen, Spengler, Rutsch or Girmay are the most notable names on the wrong side.
At the front, we saw Grieg help to the chase, with guys like Theuns or Pidcock close to the head of the peloton, which in the end comes bacl together.
50 k to go, and the break hits the first cobbles sector (of 2). They have a 2’50 gap. Wisniowski quickly loses time in the peloton. What a shock !
When the peloton gets to the 10 km long sector, a group of 4 breaks free : De Gendt, Kamyshev, Ariesen and Pidcock. A bit behind are Sulimov, Senechal, Vermeersch and Swift. Zara and Evonik have to work hard to not let such a break go !
The original break still is 2 minutes ahead.
All the more recent attackers are brougt back together, but De Gendt and Pedersen continue !
There are new gaps, 1 minute behind the the first attackers of the day :
The first group is Pedersen, Gerts and Siric.
Then come Pidcock and Senechal.
A bit further we have De Gendt, Polanc, Van Hooydonck, Vermeersch and Sulimov.
Those are all strong riders, so the trapped teams will have to work. 36 km are left.
Only the first five named manage to stay away, though not by much. They trail the break by 37 seconds. In said break, Salazar has taken some advance on the others.
Though they have him in the break, King Power doesn’t seem to have much faith, has the team has 3 men doing the chasing in the main peloton.
A strong relay from Pidcock puts the 5 favorites in the lead witbh 27 km to go. A peloton of 37 is 33 seconds behind. Kamyshev, Spengler, Neilands (but Evonik still has Polanc), Ferreira, Owen and Vermeersch (but Lidl still has Van der Poel) are the main names not in these groups.
His companions should be caught, but Siric resists ! In the end, it was down to Theuns to bring the favorites back.
16 km left, 10 of them cobbled. Siric still has a 8 seconds advance.
He’s caught and a group of 10 takes the lead : Van der Poel, Polanc, Pidcock, Siric, van Hooydonck, Gerts, Senechal, Pedersen, Anderberg and Sulimov.
24 seconds behind come Altur, Gaday, Meiler, Theuns and Salazar.
Then 31 riders, with many from Grieg.
Good work from Tinkoff ! Sulimov has a small lead on Anderberg and Gerts 10 km from the line.
A bit more than 4 km down the road, he still has 20 seconds on 11 chasers : Anderberg, Pedersen, Altur, Polanc, Gerts and Senechal.
Van Hooydonck, Siric, Theuns, Pidcock and Van der Poel are considered in this group, but barely hanging in my point of view !
2 km and Sulimov extended his lead to 30 seconds ! Nobody seems able or willing to accelerate behind. Pidcock, Van der Poel and Theuns are a bit further behind, with Per.
500 m for Sulimov, but he might prove a bit too short : behind him, the sprint is on, with Pedersen in 1st, followed by a rested Senechal and by Siric.
But Sulimov resists and takes a great win in Italy !
No win, but a strong 2nd for Pedersen.
Coming from nowhere, Polanc takes another good 3rd.
Altur is 4th.
Anderberg, Senechal and Siric follow.
Van Hooydonck, Gerts and a pretty anonymous Per follow.
Van der Poel, Pidcock and Theuns are the next row, right before the bunch.
What an intense race ! The riders sure will hope to rest a bit tonight. But the cobbled season is far from over yet ! We’ll meet soon.
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