Bardiani put their usual aggressive racing style on show in the Tirreno-Adriatico when the Italian team got involved in most of the breakaway action throughout the week. The team was justly rewarded for their efforts by taking home the mountains jersey for Marco Canola.
After Stefano Pirazzi's win the the Giro d'Italia mountains competition, the Bardiani team have made a habit of winning the KOM jersey in the biggest Italian races. Yesterday they did so again when Marco Canola took home the coveted prize in the Tirreno-Adriatico.
The win was taken by virtue of an aggressive performance from the entire team that was present in most of the breakaways throughout the week. Due to a special set of rules that saw the same number of point being awarded on all climbs, Canola made use of attacks in the first two road stages and some of the smaller ascents to score the required number of points.
”I am really happy for this jersey, taken in a race that is so important," Canola said. "With [sports director] Roberto Reverberi we studied the rule book before the start of the race and then we were able to do what we had planned. Of course a big part of the success is thanks to the stunning work made by the squad, by my teammates that supported me to bring this jersey to the finish."
In addition to the team's many long-distance attacks, Stefano Pirazzi was his usual agressive self in the mountain stage while Filippo Fortin scored a top 10 in the first sprint stage of the race.
”Canola’s victory is the right award for a positive Tirreno – Adriatico that had the world's best riders at the start," Reverberi said. "We achieved some good stage results and stayed in front every day, showing courage and the right attitude. We come out to this race in good condition and I’m sure we can improve before the next WorldTour event, the Milano – Sanremo."
The team will focus on Sonny Colbrelli and Enrico Battaglin when they line up in the Italian classic on Sunday.
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