Albasini wins Tre Valli Varesine

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Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge) snatched victory at the Tre Valli Varesine with a late sprint that allowed him to pass Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF) just before the finish line.

The experienced Swiss rider let Colbrelli chase late attacker Mauro Finetto (Neri Sottoli) and then caught and passed him with just 25 metres to go. Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) finished third in the same place after a group of eight riders formed the decisive break of the race on the hilly circuit around Varese.

The finale of the race was affected by several crashes with Enrico Gasparotto and Vincenzo Nibali sliding out a rain-soaked road crossing. Gasparotto got up and chased hard but failed to catch the lead group before the finish.

"It was very dangerous on the finishing circuit. Gasparotto crashed and so we were all afraid of going down," Albasini said. "There were a lot of attacks in the finale and I saw Pozzato on my wheel, so I was worried. But we caught the attacks at the finish and I managed to pass Colbrelli. I'm on form and rarely make mistakes in races, so it went my way."

The race was marked by an early breakaway by Alexsandr Dyachenko (Astana), Marcos Garcia (Caja Rural), Nikolay Mihaylov (CCC) and David De La Cruz (NetApp-Endura). They were eventually caught on the finishing circuit in Varese. A different move of six riders went clear, including Fabio Duarte (Colombia), who won the under 23 world title on a similar course in 2008. However, the Astana and Cannondale teams controlled the chase and the move was caught with one and half laps of the twisting circuit remaining. Rain made the racing harder and more selective.

Albasini was quick to follow Gasparotto when he attacked and 11-rider move formed that also included Pozzato and Colbrelli. Nibali tried to block the chase behind to protect Gasparotto and so the gap grew. The 11 became eight after a climb with Gasparotto looking good. However his race ended, and probably his chances of securing a place in the Italian tea, when he crashed on a road crossing.

Manuel Bongiorno (Bardiani-CSF) also went down, with eight riders left up front. Zardini lead for Colbrelli on the final climb and then chased down an attack by Mauro Finetto (Neri Sottoli). When Finetti went again inside the final kilometre, Colbrelli opted to take up the chase. He closed down the mover and started his sprint but became an easy target for Albasini, who passed him close to the line.

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