Liquigas-Doimo dominate the Giro del Veneto

Liquigas-Doimo dominated the Giro del Veneto one-day race in Italy, with Daniel Oss and Peter Sagan taking first and second after heavy rain affected the finale of the race in Castelfranco Veneto.

Oss attacked on a cobbled corner 1.5km from the finish and only Sagan was able to go with him, as the rest of the peloton struggled under the pouring rain. The duo's lead was minimal but they stayed together and stayed clear, with Oss taking victory ahead of Sagan.

Sprinter Sacha Modolo finished third, three seconds behind, with Luca Paolini (Acqua & Sapone) fourth and Nicolas Schnyder (Price - Custom Bikes) fifth. Most of the peloton finished 23 seconds down after a crash by Brazil’s Murilo Fischer (Garmin-Transitions) on a late corner caused havoc.

It was Oss’s first victory as a professional rider.

“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time. I’ve gone close several times this season but I was always missing that little bit extra you need to win,” Oss said.

“Today everything went exactly right. We knew the last two kilometres were dangerous because of the cobbled roads and because of the rain. Me and Sagan gave it everything with 1.5km to go. Thanks to a bit of luck and a by taking a few risks, we made it to the finish alone.”

Oss defeated the ten-rider Italian national team that took part in the Giro del Veneto. The squad included former world champion Alessandro Ballan, Mauro Santambrogio and Alberto Ongarato. Marco Marcato, who usually rides for the Vacansoleil team, was best of the Azzurri, in seventh place.

Oss showed his ability in the classics in the spring and was part of the Liquigas-Doimo team at the Tour de France. Now he hopes to end the season on a high, perhaps with a place in the Italian team for the world championships.

“The Tour de France was a big test for me and despite having ridden the Eneco Tour, I still felt fresh today. I now hope I can keep this form for the next few weeks. I want to be in the thick of the action in the final part of the season with Liquigas-Doimo and who knows, perhaps even deserve a place in the Italian team for the world championships.”

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