Davide Cimolai wins Trofeo Laigueglia

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Davide Cimolai won the Trofeo Laigueglia race, giving the Lampre-Merida team its third consecutive victory in the Italian one-day race after victories by Filippo Pozzato in 2013 and Jose Serpa in 2014.

Cimolai is considered one of Italy's most talented young sprinters and he used his speed to beat Francesco Gavazzi (Southeast) and Alexey Tsatevich (Katusha). The USA's Brent Bookwalter (BMC) was seventh in the high-speed sprint.

The final hills along the Ligurian coast inspired several late attacks but the race came back together with just over a kilometre to race and Lampre-Merida rode on the front to set up Cimolai. It was Cimolai's first ever solo victory as a professional.

"It's the third consecutive win for Lampre-Merida at the Trofeo Laigueglia. I couldn't fail after the great work done by Niemec, especially in the finale on the Capo Mele. Without his effort the three attackers wouldn't have been caught," Cimolai said.

"It was an wide-open sprint because we were all tired. The finale of the race had hurt all our legs.

"I was sure that all the hard work I'd done would pay off and it's hugely satisfying to win, even if I'm going to keep my feet on the ground."

A hard day in the hills

The Trofeo Laigueglia once marked the start of the Italian season with riders racing for the first time after spending several weeks training on the Ligurian coast. Now the race competes against the Tour of Oman and the Ruta del Sol but managed to attract a quality start list for the 192km race, that included Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar). Philippe Gilbert (BMC) was due to ride but did not start due to illness.

The race route included four serious climbs into the hills and then three short, sharp climbs in the final 20km.

The peloton stayed together early on, with Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli) caught up in a crash. He suffered a fractured femur according to initial reports and will undergo surgery.

The first climb of the race after 30km saw the early break form, with Jonathan Paredes (Team Colombia), Nicola Gaffurini (MgKVis Vega), Adriano Brogi (D'Amico Bottecchia) and Jerome Cousin (Europcar) quickly opening a gap of 1:20. Their lead grew to over seven minutes but the Lampre-Merida team then took up the chase. The gap fell to 4:40 as the break topped the Crocetta climb after 70km of racing.

The Cannondale-Garmin and Katusha teams then helped with the chase, with Ted King doing long turns on the front. The US team was hoping that Moreno Moser - the winner of the Trofeo Laigueglia in 2012, could do well but he was suffering with stomach problems before the start.

With 50km to go the peloton closed in on the four breakaways as the steep climbs hurt their legs. Cannondale-Garmin lead the chase on the climb, splitting the peloton, with only 80 riders making the cut. Up front Cousin attacked alone as the gap fell to just 30 seconds but he was also caught before the summit.

The peloton avoided any risks on the twisting descent back to the coast, with Cannondale-Garmin again in control before the three late climbs. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha) made a solo attack on the Colla Micheri climb but Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale-Garmin) lead the chase and the Russian was pulled back.

A group of 35 riders remained up front as the race hit the Capo Mele climb that also features in Milan-San Remo. Zakarin tried again on the Capo Mele but was chased by Simone Stortoni (Androni Giocattoli) and Linus Gerdemann (Cult Energy). However the Lampre-Merida team had several riders in the selection, including Cimolai and opted to chase the attacks to set up the young Italian.

It proved to be the right strategy, with the race coming back together with just over a kilometre to go. Lampre-Merida controlled the group and then Cimolai finished it off with a powerful sprint down the centre of the road.

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