photo credits @ Trofeo Laigueglia
Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) took an impressive win in today’s Trofeo Laigueglia, after the French rider jettisoned the lead group with 9.3km to go to claim a solo victory.
Martinez attacked out of the lead quintet along the final ascent of the Colla Micheri, with Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates) chasing the Groupma-FDJ rider in earnest on the way back to Laigueglia.
However, as the race headed back over Capo Mele during the final few kilometers, Christen ran out of impetus, subsequently falling back into the chase group, forcing the Swiss rider to settle for a paltry fifth place finish, while his teammate Juan Ayuso appeared from nowhere to take third.
Meanwhile, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) finished second in the reduced bunch sprint.
Race Highlights
A five-man breakaway group containing Alex Martin (Polti Kometa), Diego Bracalente (Team MBH Bank Colpack Ballan), Ben Granger (Mg.K Vis-Colors for Peace), Marco Palomba (General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia) and Immanuel D’aniello (Work Service-Vitalcare-Dynatek) succeeded in escaping the peloton early on.
From there, the escapees remained out front for the opening 140km, with Intermarché-Wanty and Groupama-FDJ taking up the chase efforts back in the peloton, slowly bringing the gap down as they entered the finishing circuit back into Laigueglia.
With 50km to go, riders faced the first of four circuits around the Ligurian hills, with each lap tackling the Colla Micheri and the Capo Mele.
Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty) took his chances on the descent of the first climb, but the Italian rider was quickly reeled back in.
Christen and Ayuso led up the second climb, splitting the field apart with only the strongest climbers managing to hang on.
Martinez began his assault along the following climb, completely detonating the lead group, with pre-race favorite Ayuso being the first rider to get dropped.
Martinez, Christen and Vendrame were soon joined by Christian Scaroni (Astana Qazaqstan) and Darren Rafferty (EF Education-EasyPost), with the group exchanging blows until Martinez commenced his winning move along the final ascent of the Colla Micheri where Christen lost his wheel.
In the meantime, Vendrame emerged victorious in the sprint for second place, edging Ayuso and Scaroini to claim the penultimate spot on the podium.
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