Cavendish sprints to victory at Milano-Torino

Mark Cavendish made history at Milano-Torino, finishing off the work of the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl lead-out train to claim the first victory by a British rider in 103 editions of the oldest race of the calendar.

The 36-year-old was unrivalled in the dash for the line at the end of 199 kilometres of racing. Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) surged before fading to third, while just behind it was Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) who squeezed through against the barriers into second place.

It was another tremendous outing for the QuickStep train at the culmination of the flat race in Rivoli, with Michael Mørkøv delivering Cavendish to his final destination at 150 metres to go. By that point, as he hit the front, the Manxman's sprint rivals were already a step behind, as Kristoff went left and Bouhanni just managed to make his way between Mørkøv and the barriers.

The Frenchman had Cavendish in front, though, and Kristoff just didn't have enough finishing speed to compete. Further back, Max Kanter (Movistar) and Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) came quickly from less amenable starting positions to take fourth and fifth, but the day was all about QuickStep and Cavendish, who took win number 159 of his career.

"Really happy. Back with Mørkøv again. Just dialled you know, with this team." Cavendish explained after the finish. "For a one day race you have to be dialled because there's only one opportunity.

"They sent most of the sprint team with Fabio all year, and they've sent a solid base of a sprint team for me here. And like you've seen it's just incredible. I'm super happy. It's the first time I've raced MiTo and I'm happy, I'm so happy.

"I just like winning races, it doesn’t matter. I've already won Milan-San Remo and now I can say I've won Milano-Torino as well. It's obviously usually a hilly race, so to see my name next to the riders who have won this race in history is going to be quite special, I think."

How it unfolded

For its 103rd edition, the oldest Classic on the calendar returned to its roots with a move back to the spring and with it a switch in parcours, dispensing with the Superga climb in Turin and instead bringing in a flat course suited to the sprinters.

The race, first run in 1876 would see the peloton tackle 199 kilometres from Magenta, west of Milan, to Rivoli, just west of Turin. With a high point of 426 metres, the day would be well-suited to the sprint squads, a far cry from the twin peaks of Superga that usually concludes the race.

A fast pace at the start of the day meant it was a hard battle for the breakaway, with Alessandro De Marchi (Israel-Premier Tech) and Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) among those going on the offensive early on.

The pair didn't make it out, though, and it would eventually take over 20 kilometres for the break of the day to form. Three Italian ProTeams would make the move, with Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Juan Diego Alba (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), and Daniel Viegas (Eolo-Kometa) filled out the breakaway group.

The trio were quickly allowed to build a gap of over four minutes as the likes of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, Team DSM, and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl worked at the head of the peloton on behalf of sprinters Alexander Kristoff, Alberto Dainese, and Mark Cavendish.

By the mid-point of the day, that advantage had been cut to just over two minutes as the sprinters' teams sought to control the situation, with Arkéa-Samsic (for Nacer Bouhanni) and Trek-Segafredo (for Matteo Moschetti) also contributing to the work.

Very few obstacles lay on the course as the riders crossed the Po Valley and several tributaries of Italy's longest river, and as such, there was little drama through the day as the peloton and break rode along in sync, awaiting the inevitable catch ahead of the finale

That catch came at 20 kilometres to go with Intermarché, DSM, QuickStep, and TotalEnergies (for Peter Sagan) pulled the peloton. Three kilometres later, EF Education-EasyPost, with no real sprinter in their squad, put in a mini move with Alberto Bettiol and Irish neo-pro Ben Healy.

The pair nipped off the front as the race circled around to the west of Turin, through the towns of Drubiaglio and Avigliana. Bettiol, who was making his return from COVID-19, peeled off at 15 to go to leave Healy to a solo move 15 seconds off the front of the peloton.

Healy, who last month was in the breakaway at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, put in a valiant effort as he toiled on alone out front. The Irishman impressed with his effort as QuickStep and Arkéa led the chase, but a stint on the front from French champion Rémi Cavagna put an end to his escape with just 4.3 kilometres to run.

Arkéa, TotalEnergies, Movistar, Astana Qazaqstan, and Ineos Grenadiers would all flow to the front over the closing kilometres. At two kilometres to go it was Fabio Felline (Astana Qazaqstan) and Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) leading the way, though both teams would be absent in the final dash for the line.

QuickStep and TotalEnergies were back for the final 1.5 kilometres, with the Belgian team eventually wresting control when it mattered and delivering yet another pinpoint lead out to score the 12th win of 2022.

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Full Results
Pos.Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Mark Cavendish (GBr) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 4:31:22
2Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
3Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
4Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
5Peter Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies
6Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroen Team
7Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
8Cameron Wurf (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
9Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
10Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) UAE Team Emirates
12Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
13Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
14Szymon Sajnok (Pol) Cofidis
15Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team 0:00:04
16Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
17Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
18Corbin Strong (NZl) Israel-Premier Tech 0:00:06
19Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
20Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
21Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:09
22Derek Gee (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
23Julien Simon (Fra) TotalEnergies
24Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
25Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
26Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
27Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
28Umberto Marengo (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
29Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-EasyPost
30Clément Russo (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
31Alessandro Verre (Ita) Arkea-Samsic
32Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
33Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroen Team
34Simon Pellaud (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
35Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
36Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
37Cesare Benedetti (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
38Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) EF Education-EasyPost
39Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
40Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix Development Team
41Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
42Mirco Maestri (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
43Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team DSM 0:00:15
44Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Arkea-Samsic
45Asbjørn Hellemose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
46Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
47Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
48Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
49Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
50Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM
51Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis
52Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
53Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
54Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
55William Barta (USA) Movistar Team
56Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
57Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
58Donavan Grondin (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
59Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
60Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers
61Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
62Marco Haller (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
63Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
64Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
65Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
66Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
67Ricardo Zurita Garcia (Spa) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:00:22
68Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Cofidis
69Lorenzo Milesi (Ita) Development Team DSM
70Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
71Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane'
72Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
73Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
74Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
75Alexander Konychev (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco
76Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
77Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM
78Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
79Alex Howes (USA) EF Education-EasyPost
80Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
81Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team 0:00:27
82Paul Ourselin (Fra) TotalEnergies 0:00:29
83Edvald Boasson-Hagen (Nor) TotalEnergies
84Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
85Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
86Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team 0:00:31
87Natnael Tesfazion (Eri) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
88Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) BikeExchange-Jayco
89Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
90Edward Ravasi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
91Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
92Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
93Samuele Rivi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
94Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) TotalEnergies
95Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
96Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
97Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
98Tony Gallopin (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
99Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech
100Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:35
101Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:00:36
102Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Movistar Team
103Cameron Meyer (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
104James Shaw (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost
105Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:40
106Andres Camilo Ardila Ordoñez (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:42
107Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel-Premier Tech
108Alastair Mackellar (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
109Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
110Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:00
111Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 0:01:25
112Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost 0:01:27
113Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
114Fabien Grellier (Fra) TotalEnergies
115Alan Jousseaume (Fra) TotalEnergies
116Iker Bonillo (Spa) Bardiani CSF Faizainé 0:01:34
117Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
118Antonio Nibali (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
119Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:37
120Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers
121Ben Healy (Irl) EF Education-EasyPost 0:02:17
122Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:03:13
123Didier Merchan (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:03:28
124Juan Diego Alba Bolivar (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
125Romain Hardy (Fra) Arkea-Samsic 0:03:30
126Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
127Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' 0:04:33
128Sam Bewley (NZl) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:04:54
129Daniel Viegas (Por) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team 0:05:14
DNSMichael Schär (Swi) AG2R Citroen Team
DNSDavide Cimolai (Ita) Cofidis
DNSLuis-Joe Lührs (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe

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Senior news writer

Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Prior to joining the team, they had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly, Rouleur, and CyclingTips.

 

Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France and the spring Classics, and has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, Demi Vollering, and Anna van der Breggen.

 

As well as original reporting, news and feature writing, and production work, Dani also oversees The Leadout newsletter and How to Watch guides throughout the season. Their favourite races are Strade Bianche and the Volta a Portugal.

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