De Marchi wins Tre Valli Varesine
Formolo finishes second in two-up sprint
Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) claimed victory at the 2021 Tre Valli Varesine, outsprinting Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) in a two-up sprint in Varese.
Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar made it two UAE Team Emirates riders on the podium, taking the sprint from a strong chase group half a minute behind the leading duo.
It was Pogačar who had made this wet edition of the autumn Italian one-day race an open and aggressive affair, attacking some 120km to the finish to bridge to the day’s breakaway. He was soon joined by a group containing Formolo but lost contact due to a puncture inside the final 50km and had to ride defensively as his teammate carried the torch.
By that point, De Marchi had already reached the front of the race in a separate counter-attack that went on the Montello climb, which was crested 10 times on the 12.5km Varese circuit that was used for the 2008 World Championships.
The race then moved onto the 20km finishing circuit, featuring the Morsolo and Casciago climbs back-to-back, where De Marchi and Formolo found themselves in a six-man lead group, with Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal), Aurelien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën), Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar). They stuck together on the first of two laps as accelerations came and went in the reduced bunch behind, but then the pair forced the issue on the last lap.
Formolo went solo on the downhill before De Marchi attacked on the climbs. He drew out Formolo on the Morsolo and then did the same on the Casciago, at which point they broke the elastic.
The pair then combined to keep the chasers at 30 seconds on the downhill before tackling the gradual 3km climb to the finishing straight. Both riders attacked each other in the final 2km but they couldn’t be separated and it was settled in a sprint.
Formolo went on the left, De Marchi on the right and it was the latter who had enough left in the tank to nudge in front and claim his second Italian Classic after winning the Giro dell’Emilia three years ago.
How it unfolded
It was a fast start to proceedings, with no breakaway forming until 20km were covered. Erik Fetter (EOLO-Kometa) and Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) were the first two to break free, and they were soon joined by the counter-attacking duo of Giulio Masotto (Vini Zabù) and Robin Plamondon (Israel Start-Up Nation).
They came together as a quartet after 25 kilometres and built a lead of 3:30, but it never grew any further than that.
The entry to the short Varese circuit based on the Montello climb (1.7km at 5.5 per cent) came after 40km, and the first couple of laps passed quietly as the rain started to fall.
However, on the fourth ascent, with 120km still remaining, Pogačar tore up the script, attacking and going clear with Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal). The pair made it to the breakaway, which remained as a quartet as Plamodon and Masotto were dropped.
As the gap reached 40 seconds, Formolo jumped on board a counter-attack on the following lap, along with Rota, Oliveira, and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo). They made it across to the front of the race with 100km still remaining, with the group soon counting six as Holmes and Fetter fell away.
Vincenzo Nibali launched a futile attack before his Trek-Segafredo team set about limiting the damage, reducing the gap to 30 seconds by the end of lap seven.
On the next ascent of the Montello with 60km to go, Formolo launched an attack, which saw Wellens dropped, while De Marchi attacked from the peloton with Kron and Paret-Peintre. By the end of the final lap of the short circuit, the De Marchi trio joined forces with the front group, but the dynamic then changed en route to the longer finishing circuit as Pogačar punctured and was forced back to the peloton.
On the twin ascents of the Morsolo and Casciago, separated by a short descent, Kron attacked up front while the bunch split into pieces behind. Pogačar reacted to a move from Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), before Alexander Vlasov (Astana-PremierTech) reduced the group with a big acceleration.
As Kron was brought back, the next phase of action happened on the Montello, which was also part of the longer loop. Higuita launched an attack over the top and linked up with Urán, who dropped from the lead group. Together they chased, and nearly came unstuck on the wet descent, but they couldn’t get clear and the gap to the lead group grew out past 35 seconds again.
On the subsequent descent, Formolo attacked and got a gap but was soon rejoined by De Marchi, Kron, Rota, Oliveira, and Paret-Peintre for the final ascents of Morsolo and Casciago. De Marchi was the aggressor on both climbs, Formolo being the one to respond on both occasions. On the second climb, they were away.
Further down the road, Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) attacked and was joined by Pogačar, before David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Higuita, and Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) got across. They reached the Rota/Kron/Oliveira/Paret-Peintre group to form a larger chase group, but De Marchi and Formolo combined on the flat and descent to keep them at bay.
With 3.5km to go, the road kicked up again, and with 1.7km to go Formolo made the first bid for glory. It wasn’t convincing, though, and De Marchi sensed an opportunity to counter, but couldn’t go clear.
When he tried again a few hundred metres later, Formolo launched an instant counter-attack of his own, but De Marchi swiftly responded. The pair then decided to settle it in a sprint, with Formolo leading into the home straight, only for De Marchi to ease past on the right and punch the air in delight.
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation | 4:47:04 |
2 | Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
3 | Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:38 |
4 | Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team | |
5 | Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal | |
6 | Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo | |
7 | Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
8 | David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
9 | Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
10 | Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team | |
11 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | |
12 | Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis | 0:00:42 |
13 | Marc Hirschi (Swi) UAE Team Emirates | 0:00:49 |
14 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech | |
15 | Clément Berthet (Fra) Delko | |
16 | Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
17 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
18 | Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies | |
19 | Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
20 | Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | 0:01:30 |
21 | Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
22 | Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
23 | Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team | 0:01:44 |
24 | Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | 0:02:19 |
25 | Sean Bennett (USA) Qhubeka NextHash | |
26 | Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange | 0:03:04 |
27 | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:03:15 |
28 | Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo | 0:04:27 |
29 | Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | 0:07:44 |
30 | Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | |
31 | Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo | 0:08:46 |
32 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
33 | Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
34 | Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
35 | Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
36 | Luca Chirico (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
37 | Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation | 0:08:49 |
38 | Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis | |
39 | Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ | |
40 | Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team | |
41 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
DNF | Mikaël Cherel (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team | |
DNS | Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation | |
DNF | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
DNF | Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis | |
DNF | Tanel Kangert (Est) Team BikeExchange | |
DNF | Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange | |
DNF | Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
DNF | Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spa) Team BikeExchange | |
DNF | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNF | Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Amore e Vita | |
DNF | Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | |
DNF | Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team | |
DNF | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Mark Christian (GBr) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
DNF | Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
DNF | Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis | |
DNF | Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange | |
DNS | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Victor de la Parte (Spa) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNF | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNS | Josip Rumac (Cro) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
DNF | Davide Orrico (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
DNF | Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Elie Gesbert (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Daniel Pearson (GBr) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
DNF | Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo | |
DNF | Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
DNF | Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
DNF | Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation | |
DNS | Paolo Totò (Ita) Amore e Vita | |
DNF | Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech | |
DNF | Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Dayer Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team | |
DNF | Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Edward Ravasi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
DNF | Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech | |
DNF | Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Marco Tizza (Ita) Amore e Vita | |
DNF | Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | |
DNF | Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | William Barta (USA) EF Education-Nippo | |
DNF | Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNF | Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
DNF | Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
DNF | Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
DNF | Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash | |
DNF | Paul Ourselin (Fra) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Vladislav Zubar (Ukr) Amore e Vita | |
DNF | Emil Vinjebo (Den) Qhubeka NextHash | |
DNF | Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis | |
DNF | Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ | |
DNF | Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNF | Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange | |
DNF | Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Davide Bais (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
DNF | Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
DNF | Yannis Voisard (Swi) Swiss Racing Academy | |
DNF | Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis | |
DNF | Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Euskaaltel-Euskadi | |
DNF | Antonio Puppio (Ita) Team Qhubeka | |
DNF | Giacomo Cassarà (Ita) Amore E Vita | |
DNF | Giulio Masotto (Ita) Zalf Euromobil Fior | |
DNF | Stijn Daemen (Ned) Abloc CT | |
DNF | Riccardo Tosin (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi | |
DNF | Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Oier Lazkano Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | Alan Jousseaume (Fra) TotalEnergies | |
DNF | Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Erik Fetter (Hun) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
DNF | Mason Hollyman (GBr) Israel Cycling Academy | |
DNF | Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
DNF | Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Mattia Benedetti (Ita) Amore E Vita | |
DNF | Karel Vacek (Cze) Qhubeka NextHash | |
DNF | Jhojan Garcia Susa (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Pablo Garcia Frances (Spa) Caja rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech | |
DNF | Josu Etxeberria Azpilikueta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | |
DNF | James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo | |
DNF | Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo | |
DNF | James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation | |
DNF | Lucas Plapp (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers | |
DNF | Robin Plamondon (Can) Israel Cycling Academy | |
DNF | Biniam Girmay (Eri) Delko | |
DNF | Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis | |
DNF | Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange | |
DNF | Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash | |
DNS | Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech |
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