Frenchman wins Italian season opener from 29km out, Vendrame completes AG2R one-two
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Nans Peters (AG2R Citroën) took the third win of his career with a long solo attack at the Trofeo Laigueglia(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Peters celebrates with his AG2R teammates Andrea Vendrame and Benoît Cosnefroy(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Peters tops the podium alongside Vendrame and Covi(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
The peloton sets off to start the Trofeo Laigueglia(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Spanish champion Carlos Rodríguez in the peloton early in the race(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Wet weather gear all round for a damp race(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) on the attack(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Peters on the attack during the closing hilly circuits of the race(Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-Samsic) leads the chase group behind Peters(Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Nans Peters emerged from a hard day in the cold and rain in the Ligurian hills to win the Trofeo Laigueglia, giving AG2R Citroën a prestigious win in the opening race of the 2023 Italian calendar.
Peters won a stage of the 2020 Tour de France in the Pyrenees with a similar aggressive solo move and was able to celebrate his solo victory in Laigueglia.
The Frenchman attacked at 29km from the finish on the second of four climbs of the Colla Micheri and never looked back, taking risks on the twisting descents and going deep on the climbs and along the coast road to the finish.
Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates) tried to chase on the last climb of Colla Micheri but was caught and finished third in the sprint for the podium spots.
Andrea Vendrame won the sprint to give AG2R Citroën a rare one-two. Both Peters and Vendrame will ride Saturday's Strade Bianche, forming a strong squad with Greg van Avermaet and Valentin Paret-Peintre.
"In this race, we had the most important card to play, that of Benoît Cosnefroy. Already after the first lap of the finishing circuit, we realised that the descent could be decisive, and it was," Peters told Spaziociclismo after the race.
"I felt very good and wanted to do something to help Benoît tactically, so with about 30km to go, I decided to attack.
"For kilometre after kilometre, I gained more and more confidence, especially on the descent, as I had done it several times by then. I think the rain complicated things for the chasers – I took advantage of it and told myself to do a real time trial without thinking about what was happening behind."
Peters pushing away solo over the climbs of the closing circuit (Image credit: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images)
The grey skies and risk of rain did not deter riders from going on the attack during the early, hillier part of the 201km Trofeo Laigueglia.
Nine riders formed the early break and opened a 3:50 lead but the steep climbs inland from the Ligurian coast made for a hard day out and UAE Team Emirates worked constantly to reel them in.
Race radio announced ‘gruppo compatto’ with 65km to go as UAE Team Emirates lead the rain-soaked race on the ride to the finishing circuits.
Each of the 10.8km-long four circuits included the steep and twisting Colla Micheri, a 1.9km climb at 8.6% with an even more difficult twisting descent back to the coast. The Capo Mele, the coastal climb covered during Milan-San Remo in the other direction, then projected the riders to the finish line in Laigueglia.
Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) was the first to attack on the first climb of the Colla Micheri. He caused a split and a selection but was soon caught by Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), with a front group of 16 riders forming as the rain, the cold and some crashes, made for a very selective race.
Romain Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ) and Ewen Costiou (Arkéa-Samsic) attacked on the next climb of Colla Micheri but they were caught and passed by Peters.
He took some risks on the descent but opened a gap and seemed to ignore the rain. Behind him, Costiou, Rota, Vendrame, Cosnefroy, and Gregoire were joined by Clément Champoussin (Arkéa-Samsic), and EF Education-EasyPost Jefferson Cepeda, Andrea Piccolo to form the front chase group. The likes of Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) were further back.
Cosnefroy and Vendrame rode a perfect team game for Peters, closing down any counter-attacks and slowing the chase. The Frenchman soon opened a gap of 30 seconds and pushed it out to over a minute with ten kilometres, and so one lap to go.
Peters stomped on the pedals up the final climb of Colla Micheri and then was able to avoid major risks on the descent. Covi tried to ignite the chaser but could only reduce the gap to 50 seconds.
The Frenchman's only show of emotion on his ride to the finish was to stick out his tongue Thomas Vockler-style, but nobody was able to catch him and he could take his time to celebrate a fine solo victory in the centre of Laigueglia.
Andrea Vendrame won the sprint for second from the chase group to make it an AG2R Citroën one-two (Image credit: Dario BelingheriGetty Images)
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
