photo credits @ Team Astana
Vincenzo Nibali made up for his his lack of performance in defending his Tour de France title in July, and later being disqualified from Vuelta a Espana for holding onto a team vehicle, by winning today’s Tre Valli Varesine.
The Italian rider commenced a furious counterattack during the final four kilometers, after his Astana team successfully reclaimed Southeast’s Andrea Fedi.
From there, Nibali went on to seize a solo victory, following today’s 198.5 kilometer race around Varese, Italy.
“I have to thank my teammates for this success,” said Nibali.
“The guys did a great job today, especially Fabio Aru, without them I wouldn’t have won,” Nibali said, revealing he arrived in Italy at lunchtime on Tuesday. “I was tired after the flight and because of the jet lag. I started and even thought of climbing off but I felt good and things worked out. I have to thank my teammates for this win.
“The only tactic I could use was to ensure the race didn’t end in a sprint. I managed to pull it off. I now want to do well at Lombardia and hope to recover quickly for Sunday.”
Meanwhile, RusVelo’s Sergey Firsanov sprinted home to second place ahead of Trek factory Racing’s Giacomo Nizzolo.
Race Highlights
Arnold Jeannesson (FDJ) and Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani-CSF) were the first two riders to attempt an escape after the first three laps, which later led to the duo opening in up a gap 2:30 – with 50 kilometers remaining.
However, the hilly circuit eventually took its toll on the two riders, as a determined peloton under the auspices of Astana – caught them during the final two laps.
From there, Diego Rosa faithfully ushered Nibali to the front, by going on the attack. In turn, his efforts served to dislodge the peloton, with a contingent of only about 20 riders managing to stay onboard with the pace.
At one point, Andrea Fedi (Southeast) tried a solo attack and made it over the final pass of Montello climb. But, Aru proceeded to drag the peloton up to him.
With 3.5 kilometers to go, and just one climb left, Nibali came around Aru on a sweeping turn and launched his first attack.
While Nizzolo and Pinot managed to grab Nibali’s wheel, a second attack from the Italian rider saw distance his rivals.
Behind, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) tried to close the gap in earnest, but eased his efforts when Rebellin and others sat on his wheel.
This hesitation was enough for Nibali to open up his gap even more over the top of final climb – and speed his way to the finish.
Top 25 Finishers
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 4:44:09 2 Sergey Firsanov (Rus) RusVelo 0:00:08 3 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 4 Simone Ponzi (Ita) Southeast 5 Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek Factory Racing 6 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN – Qhubeka 7 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) FDJ.fr 8 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini 9 Antonio Parrinello (Ita) d’Amico Bottecchia 10 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Southeast 11 Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 12 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ.fr 13 Jan Polanc (Slo) Lampre-Merida 14 Simone Petilli (Ita) Unieuro Wilier 15 Marco Canola (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling 0:00:12 16 Julian David Arredondo Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing 0:00:22 17 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:34 18 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ.fr 0:00:35 19 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 20 Alessio Taliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 21 Marco Tizza (Ita) Team Idea 2010 ASD 22 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Colombia 23 Louis Meintjes (RSA) MTN – Qhubeka 0:00:36 24 Adrian Honkisz (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice 25 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling
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