For the second day in a row, an Italian classic was on the menu for the riders of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert this Thursday with the Coppa Sabatini (1.Pro, 16/09) in the province of Pisa. In the past, the parcours of 210 kilometer around Peccioli has been favorable for Andrea Pasqualon, who won in 2017 and finished 2nd four times.
This Thursday, Lombardian rider Lorenzo Rota showed his class again in a battle between strong riders. Eight men were in the race lead in the final race hour in one of the loops around Peccioli after having absorbed and dropped the early breakaway of five riders. It was on the fifth passage of the Montefoscoli (0.7km at 12.1%) that the octet with Rota distanced the rest of the peloton, where Andrea Pasqualon had the support of Simone Petilli and Jan Hirt.
The five hilly laps were behind the back, but the remaining peloton didn’t manage to close the one minute gap with the leaders on the three flatter final circuits. With one lap of 13 kilometer to go, a first attack in the leading group was reported. But in the end the complete leading group started the ultimate uphill kilometer towards the finish in Peccioli. Just like one day before in the Giro della Toscana, Michael Valgren took the victory. Lorenzo Rota finished in the top 5 for the third time in a row in a one day race after his 4th places in the Clasica San Sebastian and the Giro della Toscane.
« I had to be ready to join an important breakaway while my teammates were protecting Andrea Pasqualon. The tactic we had chosen was good, as I accompanied a breakaway which battled for the victory. Our cooperation was good, so it was clear that we were on our way to the win. I’m happy that I was again able to be in the mix for the victory, just like yesterday. Especially because some riders in the front didn’t race yesterday and had fresh legs at the start of this Coppa Sabatini. These two days brought me a lot of confidence for my build up towards the Tour of Lombardia, which is my big goal in the next weeks! »
