Vincenzo Nibali has won the 109th edition of the Tour of Lombardy. The Italian from the Astana team attacked with sixteen kilometres to go in the descent of the Civiglio and stayed in front. First Lotto Soudal rider was Tony Gallopin in seventh place.
After one hour of racing, an early breakaway of ten went. Barbin, De Negri, Van Winden, Geschke, Schumacher, Polanc, Canola, Busato, Gatto and Benedetti gained a maximum advantage of eight minutes.
On the Madonna del Ghisallo, the final started . A group with Tim Wellens attacked and chased the early breakaway. On the Muro di Sormano, Wellens and Kwiatkowski (Etixx-Quick Step) attacked again. They reached the top together with an advantage of thirty second on the main peloton.
On the penultimate climb, Civiglo, the two leaders were caught by the chasing group. Astana led the group and made sure that nobody could come back. In the descent, Nibali saw his chance and attacked. After a dazzling downhill, he had a lead of forty seconds on the first chasing group. Tony Gallopin rode a good descent and could join the first chasers. On the last climb, San Fermo della Battaglia, Moreno (Team Katusha) went after Nibali. He came close, but ended 21 seconds behind the Italian.
After Nibali and Moreno, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) completed the podium of this year’s Tour of Lombardy. Tony Gallopin finished seventh and he was thus the first Lotto Soudal rider.
“One-day races are always difficult, but this Lombardy was very tiring. The speed was high, the weather conditions played a role and the Muro di Sormano was the decisive climb that caused the definitive selection. In the descents, I took some risks to get back to the front group. The climbs were a bit to osteep for me. Recovering from the jetlag after Richmond made my preparation not optimal, but with this seventh place I can’t be disappointed. With some luck, I could have sprinted for fourth but the legs weren’t exceptional good today,” Tony Gallopin.
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