The season is about to end but motivated in-form riders still have a chance to add a prestigious win to the palmares. The early autumn is usually loaded with Italian one-day races that culminate with Il Lombardia next Sunday. On Wednesday and Thursday you can follow two of these classics on CyclingQuotes.com.
On Wednesday, the series will kick off with Tre Vallie Varesine which is also the final race in the Trittico Lombardo. Traditionally the race has been held in the same week as the first two races in that series, Coppa Agostoni and Coppa Bernocchi, and very often in August. This year it has been moved to the week after Worlds and will start a busy week for Italian cycling fans. Like last year it will be held on a circuit with the short, steep Montello climb which makes it a perfect race for Ardennes specialists. Last year Michael Albasini came out on top and this year riders like Vincenzo Nibali, Fabio Aru, Thibaut Pinot, Frank Schleck, Fabio Felline, Giacomo Nizzolo, Davide Rebellin, Michele Scarponi, Franco Pellizotti and Mauro Finetto lead a strong field.
On Thursday it is time for the classic Milan-Turin which is the oldest Italian one-day race. The race can be split into two parts as a long, flat opening section leads to the brutal Colle Superga climb which will be passed twice, with the final passage leading to the finish. That makes it a race for pure climbers which is reflected in the fact that it is the only one-day race that Alberto Contador has won. Last it year Giampaolo Caruso took the biggest win of his career but as he is now considering how to avoid suspension following his positive EPO test, the door is open for riders like Domenico Pozzovivo, Romain Bardet, Pierre-Roger Latour, Alexis Vuillermoz, Aru, Scarponi, Miguel Angel Lopez, Manuel Bongiorno, Edoardo Zardini, Rodolfo Torres, Pinot, Mathias Frank, Giovanni Visconti, Louis Meintjes, Damiano Cunego, Finetto, Dan Martin, Davide Formolo, Daniel Moreno, Wilco Kelderman, Steven Kruijswijk, Richie Porte, Sergio Henao, Mikel Nieve, Leopold König, Wout Poel, Rafal Majka, Schelck and Julian Arredondo who could all feature in this kind of finale.
Starting on Wednesday at 15.00 CEST you can follow Tre Valli Varesine here. Starting on Thursday at 14.45 CEST, you can follow Milan-Turin here.
Kevin MOLLOY 54 years | today |
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