As the oldest race on the international calendar dating back to 1876, Milan-Turin has lived up to its reputation. Taking place three days before the Tour of Lombardy, coveted by so many riders, the Milan-Turin proved interesting in more ways than one. 

The Italian Diego Rosa (Astana) took advantage of the fact that the favorites like Majka, Aru, Pinot as well as Poels, Pozzovivo, and Visconti were marking each other too closely, and managed to win solo in front of the chapel at the top of Superga overlooking the capital of Piedmont.  

IAM Cycling, which came with the ambitions of being among the best with their riders like Mathias Frank and Stefan Denifl, finished the day dissatisfied. Both riders, who were protected by the Swiss team, had to settle for places among the runners-up. Mathias Frank, the better placed of the two, finished in 37th position, having tried his best to stay glued to the small group of favorites at the start of the final climb.

Rubens Bertogliati, directeur sportif for IAM Cycling at the race, did not try to veil his disappointment when evaluating the team’s day of racing in Italy. 

“We decided at the morning briefing to place all our hopes on Mathias Frank and Stefan Denifl because of this demanding final climb. But the plan was soon undermined. After the first climb, which was taken at a very brisk pace, we had only Mathias Frank in the group of favorites. On the descent, that group split in two, and Mathias was forced to try and chase back onto the lead group on the second climb. But it was far from ideal to start the final ascent with a 15 second deficit, especially since he was chasing such quality riders as Majka, Aru, Pinot and company,” he said.

“Mathias Frank was certainly missing the rhythm of competition more than some other riders. To hope for a good result at one of these end of the season classics, we must make use of our best assets, those who are still strong after a long and demanding season.

"I am not expecting a miracle in these upcoming Italian races. The Il Lombardia is full of even greater challenges, and we will really need to roll up our sleeves and work very hard if we seriously want to aim for a top-10.

"As for the GranPiemonte, I expect it to come down to a straight-up bunch sprint in view of the profile. And we do not have any specialists for a finish like that on our roster. So we will have to focus on how to surprise the peloton, which will be determined to bring it to a final sprint.”