Liepins wins Coppi e Bartali stage 1a

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Emils Liepins (Wallonnie Bruxelles) won the opening stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali, beating Riccardo Stacciotti (Giotti Victoria) and Manuel Belletti (Androni Giocattoli) in a bunch sprint. 

The day was marked by a lenthy solo attack from Daniel Crista (Giotti Victoria), who got away in the opening kilometres of the 97.8km stage. Crista quickly built up a substantial advantage and after 18 kilometres he already had 3:45 on the peloton. EF Education First’s Lawson Craddock tried to join Crista early on but was unable to bridge the gap and was eventually brought back by the peloton.

It was always going to be a tough ask for Crista to stay out front alone and he would not be able to hold off the peloton in the end. The Romanian rider was eventually mopped up with 19 kilometres still to run, and one final classified climb.

With the climb dispatched, the race looked set for a sprint finish. Team Sky and the Italian national team looked to control the bunch but it was 26-year-old Wallonie-Bruxelles rider Liepins that took the first win of the race.

The race will continue on Wednesday afternoon with a 13.3km time trial.

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