Coppi e Bartali: Ethan Hayter wins hilltop sprint on stage 2

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Ethan Hayter conquered the final ascent of the Belvedere Wall in Longiano to claim the stage 2 victory of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali.

The win was the first of the season for the Ineos Grenadiers rider. Matteo Sobrero (Team BikeExchange-Jayco) placed second while Ben Tulett was third, giving Ineos two spots on the podium.

The final charge to the finish came at the end of just over five laps of tough, hilly finishing circuit in Longiano, with three climbs filling out each lap. The race on the circuits was an attritional one, with riders dropping out of the back on each climb.

Come the finale, only around 20 men were left at the front, ready to battle on the steep slopes to the finish. Jefferson Cepeda (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli) made a solo bid for victory on the rise to line before being caught and dropped, leaving the GC group to fight it out in the final sprint.

There, the versatile Hayter prevailed, beating out Sobrero to claim the 11th win of his three-year pro career, while his teammate Eddie Dunbar took over the overall lead of the race.

"It's really nice to get that first win of the year," Hayter said afterwards. "I started my training quite late and had COVID in January to mix in with that, so I've been struggling a little bit in the longer races. Time trials are short efforts so I think you can get away with it a little bit but it meant I knew the form was there.

"We wanted to race aggressively today but as soon as the leader Schmid was dropped we had Eddie in the virtual lead. We decided then it was better just to control the race and Geraint was so, so strong. I had to tell him to slow down at one point!

"Three of us attacked, me, Ben and Eddie, and formed a group of eight over the final climb just before the finish, so we had a little head start. UAE had to work to pull us back and we dropped Van der Poel, so it was perfect.

"There's still three really hard days to go but we're first, second and fourth on GC and there's not many teams with numbers at the front. We have the team to control the race but if we didn't, the three of us can take turns following moves. It's perfect. Eddie and Ben are going really well too – well, the whole team here is to be honest. We're hoping we can do the business."

There was a change in the race lead as Mauro Schmid (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) was unseated, having been dropped by the leaders midway through the race. He ended up crossing the line at 16 minutes down.

Hayter's teammate Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers), who was trailing in second in the overall and points classification after the opening stage, took over the race leader's jersey after finishing in 15th place in the lead group.

For the stage win, Ineos Grenadiers used strength in numbers to cover constant moves on the climbs. Once Schmid was dropped with two closing circuits remaining, Geraint Thomas took over at the front of the peloton to control a high pace for much of the remaining 46 kilometres to the final climb. 

How it unfolded

Stage 2 of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali provided a 165.9 kilometre run from Riccione to Longiano, with a final circuit of 22.8km on narrow, steep roads to be completed five and a half times after the opening 70km.

The first step of the double climb is a third-category ascent at Roncofredo, then it stretches out again to Bivio Monteleone. The final kilometre kicks up for a fifth pass into Longiano on the Belvedere Wall, with a maximum gradient of 15 per cent and then a rolling 350 closing metres to the finish line.

In the early kilometres, Norwegian champion Tobias Foss was involved in a crash and had to abandon. Then a breakaway formed straightaway who gained five minutes on the peloton after 40 kilometres - Patrick Gamper (Bora-Hansgrohe), Julius Van Den Berg (EF Education-EasyPost), Edoardo Zardini (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli) and Samuele Zambelli (Work Service-Vitalcare-Vega).

The quartet stayed intact through most of the first Longiano circuit, with Zambelli dropping back to join a large group of about 30 riders, which included the top five riders from the early GC standings – race leader Schmid, second-placed Edward Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers), Hayter, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Natnael Tesfazion (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli).

With 60km to go, the leaders had a slim 15-second gap on the group of chasers, which was closed immediately when Van der Poel launched an attack. Among the 11 riders at the front of the race halfway through the third finishing circuit were GC threats Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Qazaqstan) and Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates), both in a group of 19 riders that were 26 seconds off the GC lead, including Van der Poel as well.

With 45km remaining, the leaders had been caught by a reduced peloton, with the main group having been ripped apart from the repeated climbing on the circuit. Schmidt looked to be in trouble as well and began to fade.

Across the next lap, the stage 1 winner Schmid had dropped 4:30 behind the front group, losing his hold on the leader's jersey.

On the penultimate circuit, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) and Floris De Tier (Alpecin-Fenix) paced the group of about 40 riders at the front.

After crossing the slopes of the Roncofredo for a fifth and final time, Erik Fetter (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team) launched an attack on the descent and gained 10 seconds. Just a few kilometres later Hayter charged to chase down Fetter on the slopes of the Monteleone.

The pace skyrocketed as the final push was made to Longiano, the GC lead wide open with 5km to go. Andres Ardila (UAE Team Emirates) made an attempt at a solo charge on the final climb, but was overtaken by Hayter on the 15 per cent rise to the finish line.