Colbrelli wins GP Coppa Sabatini

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Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF) continued his run of late-season form by winning the Coppa Sabatini with a powerful sprint from a reduced peloton in Peccioli. Andrea Pasqualon (Team Roth) was beaten into second place, while Carlos Barbero (Caja Rural-RGA Seguros) took third.

The race was animated by an early two-man break featuring Davide Ballerini (Italy) and Fabricio Ferrari (Caja Rural-RGA Seguros) and the duo established a maximum lead of just under 14 minutes before the peloton began to peg them back, with Ag2r-La Mondiale particularly active early on.

Ballerini and Ferrari still had eight minutes in hand with 80 kilometres and they stoutly defended their advantage even as Androni-Sidermec joined the chase effort in the bunch. With three laps of the finishing circuit – just under 35 kilometres – remaining, their lead had been pared down to just 2:45, and teams including Astana and Gazprom-Rusvelo added more firepower to the pursuit behind.

The destiny of the two escapees seemed secured when their lead dropped to just 15 seconds with 15 kilometres remaining, as Marco Frapporti (Androni-Sidermec) and Iuri Filosi (Nippo-Vini Fantini) tried to bridge across.

Neither Frapporti nor Filosi could make the junction, however, and instead, Ballerini summoned up the strength to forge clear alone and prolong his adventure off the front of the peloton.

Ballerini, who is currently a stagiaire with Tinkoff and who will turn professional with Androni next year, managed to stave off the peloton deep into the final two kilometres, before finally giving best.

Dimension Data and Nippo-Vini Fantini had been prominent in pegging back Ballerini, but it was Bardiani-CSF who dictated affairs in the final kilometres, and they safely marshalled Colbrelli to the front, avoiding the crash in the main field with 1500 metres to race.

In the final sprint, Colbrelli’s superiority brooked no argument. Winner of the Coppa Agostoni last week, Colbrelli was a comfortable winner here, and he had time to sit up and enjoy his victory as he came home ahead of Pasqualon and Barbero.

Colbrelli is aiming for a berth in the Italian squad at next month’s World Championships in Qatar, and is also signing off on his time at Bardiani-CSF, as he will ride at Vincenzo Nibai’s new Bahrain Merida squad in 2017.

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