Nibali wins Tre Valli Varesine

Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) won the Tre Valli Varesine race with a solo attack on the final climb, just 24 hours after arriving in Europe from the World Championships in Richmond, USA.

Nibali celebrated with his arms in the air, finishing nine seconds ahead of Sergey Firsanov (RusVelo) who jumped away in sight of the finish to take second place. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory Racing) won the sprint for third ahead of Simone Ponzi (Southeast).

Nibali’s success makes him a logical favourite for Sunday’s Il Lombardia race, the final race of this year’s WorldTour.

"The guys did a great job today, especially Fabio Aru, without them I wouldn’t have won," Nibali said, revealing he arrived in Italy at lunchtime on Tuesday. "I was tired after the flight and because of the jet lag. I started and even thought of climbing off but I felt good and things worked out. I have to thank my teammates for this win.

"The only tactic I could use was to ensure the race didn’t end in a sprint. I managed to pull it off. I now want to do well at Lombardia and hope to recover quickly for Sunday."

Thanks to his victory Nibali also secured victory in the three-race Trittico Lombardia. He won the Coppa Bernocchi race and was second in the Coppa Agostoni race and so took home a special diamond prize awarded by the race organisers.

How it happened

The Tre Valli Varesine race covered a tough loop north of the city, between the lakes of the Varese area and the Swiss border before nine laps of a 12.9km finishing circuit in the hills that overlook the city. The final kliometres were similar to those of the 2008 World Championships when Alessandro Ballan won the rainbow jersey for Italy.

With both Nibali and Aru in its line-up, the Astana team was determined to take the win and carefully controlled the early 20-rider break of the day by placing Dario Cataldo in the move. The riders rode at 47.9 km/h in the first two hours but the peloton came back together as they began the nine finishing circuits. Other attacks came on the climb overlooking Varese but the peloton kept them under control.

Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) and Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF) tried their hand after three laps and opened a 2:30 gap with 50km to go. However, the hilly circuit and the work of Astana saw their lead fade and they were caught by several counter-attackers with just over two laps to go.

Diego Rosa sacrificed his chances to help Nibali by going on the attack and shaking out the group. He then continued to attack and lead the peloton, dragging a group of 20 riders clear. The chasers eventually caught them at the start of the last lap but then Fabio Aru set a fierce pace and made a selection.

Andrea Fedi (Southeast) tried a solo attack and made it over the Montello climb for the last time but Aru used his Vuelta a Espana endurance to gradually drag the peloton up to him.

With 3.5km to go and a last climb to tackle, Nibali dived around Aru on a sweeping turn and launched his first attack. Nizzolo and Pinot got on his wheel but a second attack saw Nibali go clear and begin his solo drive to victory.

The chasers grew in number with Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) trying to close the gap on Nibali but he eased when Rebellin and others sat on his wheel. The hesitation was enough for Nibali to find his breath, get over the top of one last rise and time trial to the finish.

While other contenders will arrive in Italy in the next few days for Sunday’s Il Lombardia, Nibali must be the big favourite for the more explosive but hilly finish in the hills above Como. 

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