Nizzolo takes Italian national road race title

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Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) won the road race title at the Italian Championships on Sunday and will wear the prestigious tricolour jersey for a season. He won the race ahead of Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep) and Filippo Pozzato (Wilier Triestina-Southeast).

"Today the race was crazy, I had a lot of friends here cheering for me," Nizzolo said in a team press release. "I have to give a big thanks to the guys, they did a super job for me today. At the beginning I didn't feel good, but at the end I was really motivated on the final climb."

The men raced 228km that ended with four laps of a 20km circuit. The lap included a short, steep climb (300m and 17%) three kilometre from the finish.

Nizzolo's teammates led him into the foot of the last uphill where he was the first to attack, followed by Oscar Gatto (Tinkoff). The move resulted in a selection of five riders at the top.

Brambilla  attacked on the descent, and only Nizzolo was able to make the bridge; the two riders arrived to the finish to play a tactical two-up sprint that Nizzolo won, leaving Brambilla in second.

"Marco (Coledan) made a very strong pull into the the last climb and stretched out the peloton and I attacked the climb," Nizzolo said. "We were five at the top of the hill and then Brambilla attacked on the downhill and had a gap.

"I went across to him and we were two, and I pulled until the final kilometer. It was then that I realized this could be the right day. Then in the sprint, I won. It is really, really, really an important race for me and I will enjoy the next days and the next year."

Brief Results