Gorka Izagirre wins Gran Trittico Lombardo

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Gorka Izagirre (Astana Pro Team) won the Gran Trittico Lombardo on a rain-soaked afternoon in Varese. The Basque rider escaped an elite leading group on the final lap to claim victory ahead of his teammate Alex Aranburu, who won the sprint for second in the chasing group ahead of Greg Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Michael Kwiatkowski and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo).

Trek-Segafredo were to the fore on behalf of Nibali on the finishing circuit in Varese, helping to peg back the early break and splinter the peloton, but it was Izagirre who emerged victorious after he attacked over the top of the climb of Montello on the final lap.

The Basque had the strength to open a gap and the nous to manage his advantage as Nibali, Kwiatkowski, Alessandro De Marchi (CCC Team) et al marked one another behind. Izagirre established a maximum lead of 36 seconds, and he maintained much of that lead up the final ascent of the Salita dei Ronchi to secure a lone victory.

His teammate Aranburu, meanwhile, helped to police the chasers in the finale, and despite the presence of two Ineos and two CCC riders, they were unable to make any significant inroads into Izagirre’s buffer, and he came home 27 seconds clear of the chasers.

“It was a wet day, but it was a beautiful one, too. It was a really hard race and this final circuit is very difficult. We had a small group get away and I managed to get a gap and then I was able to stay away alone,” said Izagirre.

“We’re all very happy because we worked well. [Fabio] Felline and [Matteo] Boaro did a good job. [Alexey] Lutsenko fell early in the race but it went well for us. We’re going well and we’re all happy with the result.”

The one-off Gran Trittico Lombardo replaced the triptych of the Coppa Bernocchi, Coppa Agostoni and Tre Valli Varesine on the revised UCI calendar, and its route combined elements of all three events, as it started in Legnano and passed through Lissone en route to a demanding finishing circuit around Varese.

The reduced bunch fragmented on the penultimate lap, with Gianluca Brambilla (Trek-Segafredo) very prominent in stretching things out at the front. At one point, the Italian even succeeded in slipping clear alone, though his challenge was ended by an untimely puncture shortly afterwards.

Come the bell with 13km remaining, there were twelve riders at the front, as the two survivors of the day’s early break – Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix), and Quinten Hermans (Circus-Wanty Gobert) were joined by an elite group composed of Nibali, Kwiatkowski, Jhonatan Narvaez, Alessandro De Marchi, Van Avermaet (CCC Team), Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates), Louis Vervaeke (Alpecin-Fenix), Nicola Bagioli (Androni-Sidermec) and, of course, the Astana duo of Aranburu and Izagirre.

How it unfolded

Searing heat had conditioned Saturday’s Strade Bianche, but the Gran Trittico Lombardo gruppo was flagged away from Legnano in decidedly cooler temperatures and beneath slate grey skies. Much attention at the start had focused on Nibali, who had injured his hand in a fall on Saturday. He was cleared to race following an assessment in Turin on Sunday afternoon, and he would go on to showcase his form with an eye to Milan-San Remo and Il Lombardia on the coming weekends.

The day’s first break forged clear shortly after the start, with Oscar Riesebeek (Alpecin-Fenix), Anton Kuzmin (Gazprom-Rusvelo), Raffaele Radice (Sangemini-Trevigiani Mg.Kvis), Quinten Hermans (Circus-Wanty Gobert) and Davide Baldacchini (Colpack Ballan) escaping after 8km.

That quintet quickly established a lead in excess of nine minutes as they maintained a brisk pace while they picked off the succession of intermediate sprints that dotted the opening half of the race. 

Shortly after the midway point, CCC Team began to take responsibility for organising the pursuit in the peloton and the gap gradually began to diminish. By then, rain was beginning to fall steadily over the race and the conditions were bad enough to prevent the television helicopter from taking off, thus limiting the live broadcast of this one-off Gran Trittico Lombardo.

After passing through Lissone, site of the Coppa Agostoni, the race headed towards the more rugged terrain around Varese by way of the climb of the Piccolo Stelvio. At the top, the leaders’ advantage was down to 6:40, and the gap fell still further as the intensity in the peloton picked up thereafter.

The race concluded with four and a half laps of the traditional Tre Valli Varesine finishing circuit around Varese, which featured the short climb of Montello and the drag up Salita dei Ronchi before the false flat towards the finish line. The break reached that 13km circuit still with more than four minutes in hand on their pursuers, but first Team Ineos and then Trek-Segafredo joined CCC Team at the head of the gruppo, and their combined efforts helped to whittle down their advantage.

The grim conditions and the intensity of the racing saw the peloton shed many riders on the hilly finishing circuit, and the reduced bunch was just over 2 minutes down on the escapees with two laps remaining. That gap would disappear over the next 13km, leaving only the strongmen at the head of the race come the final lap, where Izagirre emerged victorious from the gloom.