This Wednesday, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux participated in its first Italian competition of the year on the occasion of the Trofeo Laigueglia (1.pro, 2/03), a classic of 202 kilometer in the province of Savone.
With over 4000 meters of climbing, the parcours took the riders first to Albenga before returning back for four local laps containing the Colla Micheri and the Capo Mele, one of the famous climbs from Milano-San Remo.
It was in the approach to the local circuit that the final of the race was opened by the Belgian World Team. The acceleration resulted in a leading group of around twenty riders with Jan Bakelants, Théo Delacroix, Quinten Hermans, Simone Petilli and Lorenzo Rota.
The leading group had lost half of its members after two laps with lots of climbing and technical descents. Lorenzo Rota admirably fighted off the numerical superiority of UAE, Astana and Ineos to start the final kilometer in a winning position.
Rota finished fourth after an effort of five hours and took the mountain prize home. His compatriot Domenico Pozzovivo finished in eleventh place in the first chasing group.
Thanks to the initiative of our road captain Jan Bakelants we managed to explode the peloton and to be present in a leading group of around twenty riders with almost the entire team. Théo Delacroix, Quinten Hermans and Simone Petilli first increased the pace on the Testico climb before the local laps. They continued to put pressure on the other teams downhill and split the peloton. It truly was a team effort and therefore I really want to thank my teammates. They made the race very hard and created the conditions in which I perform best. I’m satisfied that I was in the mix for the podium in my first races of the season, three high-level semi classics, especially knowing that I just got back from an altitude camp in Colombia. I can’t wait for the next races!
