Zwift Classics: Agostinacchio wins London International

Filippo Agostinacchio (Italy) won the second race of the Pro/Am Invitational Zwift Classics at the London International on Thursday. The Italian reached the summit of Box Hill just under a second ahead of runner-up Ethan Vernon (Great Britain) and Lionel Vujasin (CZCC).

The Pro/Am Invitational Zwift Classics kicked of with the women’s teams at the Yorkshire Grand Prix on Sunday, and resumed with the men’s teams at the London International on Thursday. 

The London International offered 1.5 laps of the London Loop for a total of 24.7km and included an intermediate climb and a summit finish at the top of Box Hill.

There were 127 riders participating in the event and top names included triathlete Lionel Sanders (Canyon-ZCC), who beat Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) at the recent 'Ronde de Zwift'. 

The race also featured Tom Pidcock (Trinity Racing), John Archibald (Ribble Weldtite), John Mould (Rowe and King), Ollie Jones (Canyon-ZCC), Alistair Brownlee (Superleague Tri Team) and Dan Fleeman (Indoor Specialist). Team USA also fielded Magnus Sheffield.

Sheffield powered away from the field inside the first three kilometres, after an 8.5 Watts/Kg attack on the main field. It was a short-lived effort, however, as he was caught before the base of the first ascent of Box Hill.

Although Brownlee set a pace at over 400Watts for the duration of the climb, he couldn’t shed his rivals and it was Sam Brannlund (Switzerland) who took the full set of KOM points at the top. 

With only a half a lap remaining, the dwindled field descended back onto the virtual streets of London, through the tunnel and toward Trafalgar Square intact.

At the base of Box Hill, Brownlee, Jones, Fleeman, Poczoplco and Ryan Christiansen (CBH) took turns setting the pace. Fleeman used his remaining aero power-up combined with an attack at 8Watts/Kg to distance himself from the group, but Agonstinacchio was quick to respond.

The Italian caught and passed Fleeman and continued to ride way from the field on his way to the London International victory at the summit of Box Hill, with Vernon crossing the line in second and Vujasin third.

The Zwift Classics will resume with the Trofeo Bologna Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT on April 13, when you can watch the live streaming on Cyclingnews.

Zwift Classics

• April 5 - Yorkshire Grand Prix Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT
• April 9 - London International Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT
• April 13 - Trofeo Bologna Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT
• April 17 - Richmond Challenge Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT
• April 21 - Watopia Cup Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT
• April 25 - Crit City Slam Pro/Am Invitational race, 7pm BST / 2pm EDT