Julian Alaphilippe on the front(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Jhonnatan Narvaez (Ineos) makes a move(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Davide Ballerini (QuickStep-AlpaVinyl) won the Coppa Bernocchi, beating Corbin Strong (Israel Premier Tech) and Stefano Oldani (Alpecin-Deceuninck) in a reduced bunch sprint in Legnano, north of Milan after a late spill and split cost some of the bigger-name sprinters a chance.
Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates) took fourth ahead of Ivan Garcia Cortina (Movistar), with Robert Stannard (Alpecin-Deceuninck) coming home in sixth in the wide, high-speed sprint.
The flat run-in from the Valle di Olona circuit to the finish line in Legnano meant that a group finish was always likely in the second leg of the Trittico Lombardo, but that didn’t discourage willing attackers during a breathless edition of the Coppa Bernocchi.
A year ago, Remco Evenepoel claimed a dominant solo victory in the rain in Legnano. This time out, on a different route and in the absence of the newly-crowned world champion, QuickStep-AlpaVinyl’s collective strength came to the fore on the sixth of seven laps of the mid-race circuit over the Piccolo Stelvio hairpin climb.
Julian Alaphilippe was particularly active, and his first major acceleration with 48km to go all but doomed the day’s early break and signalled the beginning of a new phase of the race. His teammates Ilon Van Wilder and Mikkel Honoré were also active, and QuickStep were always represented at the head of the race amid the succession of attacking and counter-attacking that followed.
Van Wilder led the race onto the final ascent of the Piccolo Stelvio with Einer Rubio (Movistar Team), Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and early escapee Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies) for company. They would be joined over the other side by Alaphilippe, Honoré, Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ).
That move eventually lost its momentum on terrain that was suited to the chasing peloton, but that didn’t dissuade Jonathan Narvaez (Ineos) from triggering another break with a shade over 20km remaining.
Alaphilippe, inevitably, was aboard, as were Van Wilder, Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates), Hirschi, Oldani and the impressive Strong, though the efforts of Trek-Segafredo and Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert behind meant they never escaped out of sight.
“I don’t know if going with the moves on some of the climbs was the smartest idea, but I had heaps of fun having a go out there,” said Strong, who delivered a fine sprint to take second at the finish.
“It was a hard race to read. I think every year it’s been different – climbers from a small group or sprinters from a bunch. It’s a hard race to predict and today showed that again.”
Van Wilder, Narvaez and Strong were the last survivors of that move and they were brought back inside the final 10km. From there, a bunch finish seemed inevitable, and both Van Wilder and Alaphilippe were prominent in setting the tempo on Ballerini’s behalf.
Alaphilippe will look to Saturday’s Il Lombardia as a chance to put a different slant on an ill-starred season, and his sparkling display here suggested that he would at least be a factor in the race.
“Julian is Julian,” said QuickStep directeur sportif Davide Bramati. “Everybody knows today was a good test. Julian was pulling very hard for Ballero in the finale. We are very happy and now we will see in the next races.”
How it unfolded
The day’s early break forged clear inside the opening ten kilometres, with Jon Barrenetxea (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Francisco Muñoz (EOLO-Kometa), Alan Jousseaume (TotalEnergies) and Giulio Masotto (Team Corratec) quickly establishing a sizeable lead over the peloton.
Indeed, their gap would stretch out to some 7:40 over the bunch by the time they reached the first of seven ascents over the Piccolo Stelvio after barely 60km.
Bardiani-CSF, followed soon afterwards by QuickStep and BikeExchange-Jayco, began to set the tempo in the peloton, and the break’s advantage shrank gradually over the first three laps of the Valle di Olona circuit.
The gap began to tumble a little more rapidly when Alpecin-Deceuninck took over with just under 70km to race and the Coppa Bernocchi ignited more spectacularly on the penultimate ascent of the Piccolo Stelvio, where Alaphilippe accelerated viciously with Rubio on his wheel.
That effort quickly pared down the peloton and whittled the break’s lead down to the quick. The last man standing was Jousseaume, and the neo-professional’s impressive cameo was far from over.
After being joined by Alaphilippe, Izagirre and Hirschi after the penultimate ascent of the Piccolo Stelvio, Jousseaume had the strength to get away again on the approach to the final climb, this time with Rubio, Van Wilder and Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates).
Alaphilippe hadn’t finished running through the scales, of course, and the Frenchman’s rasping acceleration on the final haul up the Stelvio saw him bridge across to the leaders over the other side in the company of Hirschi, Izagirre, Honoré and Grégoire. Later, Alaphilippe was quick to track Narvaez’s move on the run-in, before he turned his attention to helping tee up Ballerini for the sprint.
By then, UAE Team Emirates, the day’s other aggressors, were also working for a sprint on behalf of Trentin, and they had three riders on the front as they approached the final kilometre. On the long finishing straight, however, Ballerini moved up smartly and he delivered a rasping sprint to land his second win of the season and the tenth of his career.
The Trittico Lombardo concludes on Tuesday with the hilly Tre Valli Varesine, while Thursday’s Gran Piemonte serves as a prelude to Il Lombardia at the weekend.
Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
