As two-time defending champion of the final cycling monument of the year, Team Katusha’s Joaquim Rodriguez knew what he was up against in a field eager to post a late season win. But on a different course than used in recent years, the “Race of the Falling Leaves” took on a different look this time with a large group of riders coming to the line together and Rodriguez able to sprint for eighth place.

“It’s not what we expected at the end because we came here with ambitions to win the race. From the beginning we assumed our responsibility when the breakaway went. With other teams we started riding and took our turn to bring them back and the team did good work. The last hill was really not steep enough to make much of a selection like we expected so it was a big group coming to the final. We tried to sprint, too, but the best we could do was eighth. The team did a good job and I congratulate them for the work they did today,” said team director José Azevedo to the Katusha website.

Taking the group by surprise was Irishman Dan Martin (Garmin Sharp) who attacked from the back of the pack and motored away to earn the win by one-second. Joining him on the podium were Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Rui Costa of Lampre Merida.

A move by Katusha’s Alexander Kolobnev started things rolling with 30 km to go. Ben Hermans (BMC) and Pieter Weening of Orica-GreenEdge eventually joined and then distanced Kolobnev, with the two riders finally caught on the slopes of the final climb. More attacks followed as the select group formed at the front and included Rodriguez. But with the climb not steep enough to distance many riders, more caught back on for the descent, including race winner Dan Martin.

Big efforts came from Samuel Sanchez and Philippe Gilbert, but Martin patiently waited at the back of the pack, finally ramping up his speed in the final kilometer while the others hesitated just a little too long to bring him back before the finish line. At 256 km, the race ended in Bergamo with a winning time of 6:25.33.