Lampre-Merida were the dominant force in today's GP Lugano as the team launched several attacks in the finale. In the end, however, the team left Switzerland empty-handed as the two star riders Diego Ulissi and Damiano Cunego had to settle for 3rd and 4th respectively.

Lampre-Merida travelled to Switzerland with big plans for today's GP Lugano and the team had a powerful line-up to back up their ambitions. With Diego Ulissi and  Damiano Cunego on the roster, the team had more cards to play in the hilly race.

The team tried to get involved in the early action when young Niccolo Bonifazio made it into a 15-rider breakaway but when it was whittled down to 8 riders, he missed the selection. Instead, he joined forces with teammates Manuele Mori, Luca Wackermann, Matteo Bono, and Andrea Palini in chasing down the escapees.

With less than 10km to go, it was back together and it was now time for the captains to kick into action. Cunego was the first to try when he responded to an attack from Matteo Rabottini and when it is was brought back, Ulissi made his move

However, he didn't have any succes either and in the end it was all decided in a sprint from a 20-rider group. Ulissi and Cunego could only manage 3rd and 4th behind Mauro Finetto and Sonny Colbrelli, meaning that the team missed out on another win.

"First of all, It seems fair to point out that the team did a great race here in Lugano," sports director Pedrazzini said. "We were always very present in all phases of the race and young Bonifazio reacted quickly in the early part to join a breakaway.

"We probably upped the pace a bit to early to catch the escapees but we ended up having our two top men, Cunego and Ulissi, in the group that decided the win.

"In the sprint, we didn't do well. Cunego tried a long sprint, while Diego was penalized by having to start his sprint from too far back and he had to make a big comeback which made it impossible to pass Colbrelli and Finetto."