Julian Arredondo continued his excellent first year as a professional when he ripped the peloton to pieces by his searing attack up the Monte Pitoro in the GP Camaiore. In the end, he was unable to come away with the goods in the four-rider sprint but he received lots of praise from his team for another impressive showing.

Julián Arredondo sprinted to third place after attacking the final time up the Pitoro climb, drawing out three riders, who held off the charging group from behind to challenge the win. It was Diego Ulissi (Lampre Merida) taking the four-up sprint over Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r-La Mondiale) in second, and Arredondo in third.  Simon Clarke of Orica GreenEdge was fourth.

The chasing group finished three seconds later, and Fabio Felline sprinted to second place out of the 40-strong bunch to claim sixth overall.

The 186-kilometer race started in Camaiore with two large, flat circuits and then headed back towards the city to complete five laps of 24 kilometers, including the steep Monte Pitoro (2.9kms at 7%) that the riders ascended six times.

It was not until the 50-kilometer point where four riders finally bolted away to form the principal breakaway. The peloton paid little heed to the escapees with the looming circuit ahead, allowing them to gain over seven minutes.

Indeed, the lumpy parcours took its toll, dropping two riders from the break and splitting the chasing peloton. Daniele Colli (Neri Sottoli-Yellowfluo) and Johnny Hoogerland (Androni Giocattoli) forged ahead, but their lead would continue to wane until they, too, were caught with only 14 kilometers - and one more time up the Pitoro climb - remaining.

The final and decisive time up the leg-searing climb saw a fierce attack by Julián Arredondo, and only three riders were able to respond to his move. They gained 20” lead in the predominantly downhill seven-kilometer run-in to the finish line and managed to stay clear of a fast approaching peloton to contest the four-man sprint, where Ulissi powered to his second victory of the year.

Trek Factory Racing’s sport director Adriano Baffi heaped praise on the team after their concerted effort resulted in a podium placement.

“We don’t have the victory but we rode very well and I was happy to see the team stick to our pre-race plan. It was very good teamwork. When Julián attacked on the last climb, it was perfect.  He made a gap, a small group, and obviously he did not win in the end, but I believe today that we did the maximum we could, and we have to congratulate Ulissi; he was the strongest at the finish.

“Fabio also did well in the last climb to get over in the front 20 or 30 riders and was able to make a good sprint at the end.  I have to say that Trek Factory Racing raced well today, and maybe we did not get the win, but a podium is a good result to show for the team’s efforts.”