Ulissi wins Coppa Sabatini
Lampre-Merida rider claims uphill sprint
Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida) continued to show his end of season form and potential as one of the next generation of Italian Classics riders, winning the Coppa Sabatini race in Peccioli, Tuscany.
Ulissi won Milan-Turin exactly a week ago and hopes to end the season with further success at the Giro dell'Emilia and GP Beghelli at the weekend.
Ulissi finished off some excellent team work by the Lampre-Merida team. The pink and blue jersey-clad squad rode on the front for almost all of the race and chased down the six-rider break of the race that included South Africa's Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka). Lampre-Merida brought everything back together with two laps of the finishing circuit remaining.
Michele Scarponi protected Ulissi during the final lap and then the 24 year-old Tuscan surged out of the final corner on the uphill finish to beat Andrea Pasqualon (Bardiani Valvole- CSF Inox) and talented Italian stagiaire Davide Villella (Cannondale).
It was Ulissi's fifth win of the season.
"We controlled the race because we knew this finish suited me perfectly. The team rode for me all day and then it was up to me at the finish," Ulissi said in the post-race press conference.
"I went early because I was worried that some one might surprise us and or I'd get blocked in.
“I think I did a good sprint but I saw them coming up near the line and that's why I kept going all the way, to make sure I won. I didn’t want to lose after the work the lads did and in a race that is so close to my home."
Ulissi promised to work for Scarponi at the Giro dell'Emilia that ends with a similar uphill finish near Bologna on Saturday. The following day’s GP Beghelli will be his last race of the 2013 season.
"My season will end at about five o'clock on Sunday. I'm on form and it's been a good end of season but I've ridden about 80 days of racing and it's time to take a break."
1 | Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 4:48:42 |
2 | Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
3 | Davide Villella (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
4 | Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
5 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
6 | Andrea Zordan (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
7 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
8 | Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
9 | Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli | |
10 | Davide Mucelli (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest | |
11 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
12 | Antonio Santoro (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest | |
13 | Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia | |
14 | Alessandro Proni (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
15 | Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
16 | Alessandro Malaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
17 | Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia | |
18 | Youcef Reguigui (Alg) MTN-Qhubeka | |
19 | Riccardo Chiarini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
20 | Pierre-Roger Latour (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale | |
21 | Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
22 | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
23 | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
24 | Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Utensilnord Ora24.eu | |
25 | Antonio Parrinello (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
26 | Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia | |
27 | Juan Pablo Valencia (Col) Colombia | |
28 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:00:19 |
29 | Alfredo Balloni (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest | |
30 | Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Cannondale Pro Cycling | 0:00:24 |
31 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
32 | Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia | |
33 | Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
34 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
35 | Fabio Taborre (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
36 | Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
37 | Marco Zamparella (Ita) Utensilnord Ora24.eu | |
38 | Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
39 | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
40 | Nicola Dal Santo (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest | |
41 | Dalivier Ospina Navarro (Col) Colombia | |
42 | Gianfranco Zilioli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
43 | Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Androni Giocattoli | |
44 | Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) Utensilnord Ora24.eu | |
45 | Frederico Rocchetti (Ita) Utensilnord Ora24.eu | |
46 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
47 | Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
48 | Donato De Ieso (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
49 | Federico Canuti (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
50 | Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
51 | Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
52 | Francesco Failli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
53 | Davide Gabburo (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia-Fondriest | |
54 | Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
55 | Andrea Di Corrado (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox | |
56 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | 0:03:50 |
57 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:05:15 |
58 | Enrico Rossi (Ita) Meridiana Kamen Team | |
59 | Martin Wesemann (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka | |
60 | Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Utensilnord Ora24.eu | |
61 | Carlos Julian Quintero (Col) Colombia | |
62 | Nicolò Martinello (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling | |
63 | Daniele Colli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia | |
64 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida |

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