Davide Cimolai wins Trofeo Laigueglia
Lampre rider comes out on top in one-day race
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.
Full Results
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 4:53:47 |
2 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Southeat | |
3 | Aleksei Tcatevich (Rus) Team Katusha | |
4 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
5 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing | |
6 | Angelo Tulik (Fra) Team Europcar | |
7 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
8 | Rasmus Guldhammer (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
9 | Simone Petilli (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
10 | Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk | |
11 | Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
12 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
13 | Mauro Finetto (Ita) Southeast | |
14 | Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
15 | Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
16 | Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
17 | Egor Silin (Rus) Team Katusha | |
18 | Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
19 | Angel Vicioso (Spa) Team Katusha | |
20 | Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) BMC Racing Team | |
21 | Daniel Martin (Irl) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
22 | Simon Spilak (Slo) Team Katusha | |
23 | Simone Stortoni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
24 | Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida | |
25 | Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Team Katusha | 0:00:15 |
26 | Pierre-Luc Perichon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:00:30 |
27 | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | 0:01:23 |
28 | Walter Pedraza (Col) Colombia | |
29 | Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
30 | Julien Berard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
31 | Antonio Santoro (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
32 | Yonattah Monsalve (Ita) Southeast | |
33 | Niccolo Bonifazio (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
34 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
35 | Brayan Ramirez (Col) Colombia | |
36 | Antonino Parrinello (Ita) D'Aminico Bottecchia | |
37 | Cayetano Sarmiento (Col) Colombia | |
38 | Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
39 | Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
40 | Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
41 | Florian Vachon (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
42 | Nathan Brown (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
43 | Manuel Senni (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
44 | Michele Gazzara (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
45 | Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
46 | Davide Vigano (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
47 | tefano Nardelli (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
48 | Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
49 | Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
50 | Antoine Duchesne (Can) Team Europcar | |
51 | Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team | |
52 | Edward Ravasi (Ita) Italy | |
53 | Francesco Reda (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
54 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
55 | Elia Favilli (Ita) Southeast | |
56 | Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
57 | Jaramillo Hernandez (Col) GM Cycling Team | |
58 | Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
59 | Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
60 | Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:02:20 |
61 | Perrig Quemeneur (Fra) Team Europcar | 0:02:50 |
62 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast | |
63 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:04:52 |
64 | Axel Domont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
65 | Benjamin King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
66 | Valerio Conti (Ita) Lampre-Merida | 0:06:32 |
67 | Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre-Merida | |
68 | Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Lampre-Merida | |
69 | Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
70 | Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
71 | Gianfranco Zilioli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
72 | Jérôme Cousin (Fra) Team Europcar | |
73 | Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
74 | Romain Feillu (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | 0:07:24 |
75 | Frédéric Brun (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
76 | Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Southeast | |
77 | Alessandro Mario Ferrarotti (Ita) GM Cycling team | |
78 | Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar | |
79 | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
80 | Alessandro Malaguti (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
81 | Luka Pibernik (Slo) Lampre-Merida | |
82 | Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Team Europcar | |
83 | Marco Tizza (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
84 | Daniel Martínez (Col) Colombia | |
85 | Jorge Castiblanco (Col) Colombia | |
86 | Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-Merida | |
87 | Jonathan Paredes (Col) Colombia | |
88 | Marc Garby (Den) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
89 | Sebastián Molano (Col) Colombia | |
90 | Gustav Larsson (Swe) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
91 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
92 | Darwin Pantoja (Col) Colombia | |
93 | Oliviero Troia (Ita) Italy | |
94 | Davide Appollonio (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
95 | Adriano Brogi (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
96 | Paolo Ciavatta )Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
97 | Giuseppe Sannino (Ita) Italy | |
98 | Gian Marco Di Francesco (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
99 | Nicola Gaffurini (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
100 | Michael Reihs (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
101 | Troels Ronning Vinther (Den) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
102 | Joel Zangerle (Lux) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
103 | Moreno Giampaolo (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
104 | Christian Mager (Ger) Cult Energy Pro Cycling | |
105 | Francesco Castagnaro (Ita) Italy | 0:10:20 |
106 | Luca Capelli (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
107 | Andrea Piechele (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
108 | Antonio di Sante (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
109 | Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
110 | Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
111 | Maxime Daniel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
112 | Fabio Chinello (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
113 | Andrea Ruscetta (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
114 | Simone Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
115 | Andrea Cocciotti (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
116 | Antonio Nibali (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
117 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Team Katusha | |
118 | Marco Tecchio (Ita) Eunieuro Wilier | |
119 | Daniele Cavasin (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
120 | Riccardo Donato (Ita) Italy | |
121 | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
DNF | Rick Zabel (Ger) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Edward King (USA) Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling Team | |
DNF | Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli | |
DNF | Luca Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSF | |
DNF | Maxime Cam (Fra) Bretagne-Séché Environnement | |
DNF | Michael Breschiani (Ita) Italy | |
DNF | Federico Zurlo (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling | |
DNF | Scott Ambrose (NZl) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Nicolas Lefrancois (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Corentin Cherhal (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Kevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk | |
DNF | Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Manabu Ishibashi (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast | |
DNF | Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast | |
DNF | Yannick Martinez (Fra) Team Europcar | |
DNF | Alessandro Pettiti (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
DNF | Maurizio Damiano (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
DNF | Manuel Todaro (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD | |
DNF | Luca Muffolini (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
DNF | Alessio Lanzano (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
DNF | Emiliano Faieta (Ita) MG.Kvis-Vega | |
DNF | Davide Ballerini (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
DNF | Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
DNF | Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Unieuro Wilier | |
DNF | Filippo Fortin (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
DNF | Matteo Rotondi (Ita) GM Cycling Team | |
DNF | Giorgio Bocchiola (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
DNF | Gabriele Campello (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
DNF | Silvio Giorni (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
DNF | Thomas Capocchi (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia | |
DNF | Nicola Poletti (Ita) D'Amico Bottecchia |
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