Lutsenko wins Coppa Sabatini

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Report

Alexey Lutsenko (Astana) showed he is on form and a definite a contender for the World Championships in Yorkshire by winning the Coppa Sabatini one-day race in Italy with an aggressive solo attack. 

The Kazakhstani national champion was part of the strong early break of the day with Tour de France winner Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) and then went clear alone with 83km to go, time trialling to victory on the hilly finishing circuits in the Tuscan hills near Peccioli.

Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) won the three-rider sprint to take second place, 1:03 down on Lutsenko. Simone Velasco (Neri Sottoli) was third and Kristian Sbaragli (Israel Cycling Academy) was fourth. 

Lutsenko won the Tour of Oman in February, movingly dedicating his victory to his wife Elena, who suffered a miscarriage in December. He celebrated his Coppa Sabatini victory by sucking his thumb and pointing to the sky.

"I wanted to win because this is a good, hard race and because it's important for my moral before the World Championships," he said.

"I attacked with about 80km to go. Bernal was there too but I went for it. This is a good sign for the World, though that's going to be a harder race. It's long at near 300km, almost as long as Milan-San Remo, but it's harder because there are 3000 metres of climbing, so it'll be a hard race."

How it unfolded

The Coppa Sabatini marked the second consecutive day of racing in Tuscany, with riders looking for end of season success and a final place in their respective national teams for the World Championships. Wednesday's Giro della Toscana winner Giovanni Visconti (Neri Sottoli) hoping to win the two-race Challenge Toscana prize and score more points for the season-long Italian Ciclismo Cup.

Despite the fatigue of the previous day, the Coppa Sabatini exploded from the start with a break of 15 riders forming the early attack. Egan Bernal (Team Ineos) was in there, as where Hatsuyama (Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizanè), Grudzev (Astana Pro Team), Antonio Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Petilli (UAE Emirates), Formolo (Nazionale Italiana), Bissegger (Nazionale Svizzera), Ravanelli (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Fortunato (Neri Sottoli Selle Italia KTM), Delaplace (Team Arkea-Samsic), Fedeli (Delko Marseille Provence), Shalunov (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Berhane (Team Cofidis), Doubey (Wanty-Gobert Cycling Team), Pellaud (IAM Excelsior) and Rappo (IAM Excelsior).

After 112km of fast racing, with the peloton always in pursuit at less than two minutes, Lutsenko decided to take off alone. 83km kilometres of racing on the testing Peccioli circuit remained but Lutsenko was clearly on form and committed. He opened a 1:30 gap and held it, as the chasers split and then argued about who should do the work. Colbrelli was especially animated, knowing that he had perhaps missed out on a chance to win the Coppa Sabatini for a third time and secure his place in the Italian national team. He frustratingly waved and shouted at the chasers, before going away with Sbaragli and Velasco in pursuit of Lutsenko.

However, the Kazakhstani time trial and road race champion was strong and consistent, only losing a few seconds in the final two 13km circuits.

On the climb up to Peccioli and the finish line, that so often produces a thrilling sprint finish, Lutsenko had time to savour and celebrate his solo victory. Even before he crossed the line his name had already been added to the list of favourites for the elite men's road race in Yorkshire.

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