Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) launched a late-race surge on the final ascent of the Sogliano al Rubicone to secure the stage 2 victory at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.
Ulissi caught and passed breakaway duo Archie Ryan (EF Education-EastPost) and Davide De Pretto (Jayco AlUla) in the final few metres of the race to take the day's win and the overall race lead. De Pretto crossed the line in second place, and Ryan finished third.
Ulissi now leads the overall classification by seven seconds ahead of De Pretto and nine seconds ahead of Ryan as the race heads into stage 3's 134km race in Riccione on Thursday.
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The second stage at the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali offered the field a 156.5km race from Riccione to Sogliano al Rubicone that included four finishing circuits with a climb over Sogliano al Rubicone (4.7km), which also served as the uphill to the finish line.
A breakaway emerged roughly 20km into the stage that included Lennert Teugels (Bingoal WB), Carl Fredrik Hagen (Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team), Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling Team U23), Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Giosuè Epis (Arkéa-B&B Hôtels Continentale), Davide Bauce (Mg.K Vis-Colors for Peace), Jeferson Armando Ruiz Acuña (GW Erco Shimano) and Nicolò Garibbo (Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna).
The eight riders led the race out front over the next 100km and pushed their lead to 2:30. But the gap slowly fell as Tudor Pro Cycling and Visma-Lease a Bike led the field with 50km and just over two finishing circuits.
As the breakaway pushed over the Sogliano al Rubicone for a third time, Ruiz Acuña and Epis were distanced, leaving just six riders out front.
As UAE Team Emirates emerged at the front of the field and joined the chase, the gap to the break was slashed to just 10 seconds, and the riders were caught on the last ascent of the Sogliano al Rubicone with one lap to go.
After several short-lived solo attacks, a larger group split off the front of the field: Jarno Wider (Lotto-Dsnty), Hartthijs De Vries (TDT-Unibet), Sebastian Reichenbach (Tudor Pro), Menno Huising (Visma-Lease a Bike), Alessandro Fancellu (Q36.5), Giovanni Carboni (JCL Team UKYO), Paolo Torres (UAE Team Emirates), Jonathan Klever Caicedo (Petrolike) and Alejandro Osorio (GW Erco Shimano).
As they extended their lead to 10 seconds, Caicedo and Carboni attacked the group on the descent into the final 13km, but the move didn't last, and the field was back together before the final climb.
Just before the peloton reeled in the rest of the breakaway, De Vries took another chance and surged again, gaining 40 seconds as he hit the bottom of the Sogliano al Rubicone. The move didn't last as the race for the stage win ignited behind, and he was caught on the climb with 3.9km to go.
Sensing the finish line approaching, Ryan was the first to go on the ascent, followed by De Pretto. The pair opened a small lead in the closing kilometres, and it appeared they might hang on for the win.
Although they entered the final few hundred metres ready to sprint for the stage win, Ulissi caught and passed the pair within 10 metres of the line, stealing the stage 2 win and the overall lead.
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