With a courageous finishing move executed in the final kilometers, Filippo D'Aiuto (General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia) has claimed solo victory in the second stage of the International Settimana Coppi e Bartali, the Lodi-Massalengo route of 158 kilometers. Behind him, the group was controlled in the sprint by Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5) who, finishing ahead of Tommaso Bessega (Polti VisitMalta) and Alessio Magagnotti (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), had to settle for second place.

Thanks to this success, his first at the professional level, the rider from Gorizia, formerly of Petrolike, has also taken the lead in the general classification, displacing yesterday's winner Axel Laurance (INEOS Grenadiers), who finished seventh today.

THE RACE

Battered by strong wind from the start, the stage saw Renato Favero (Biesse - Carrera - Premac), Kevin Pezzo Rosola (General Store - Essegibi - F.lli Curia), Andrea Cantoni (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente), Matteo Scofet (S.C. Padovani Polo Cherry Bank) and Marco Martini (Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna Caffè Borbone) quickly break away. The leader of the mountain classification Patryk Goszczurny (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) attempted to rejoin the breakaway at a later moment but, unable to close the gap to the front of the race, was reabsorbed by the peloton after 40 kilometers. The same fate befell Scofet, who, victim of a puncture, saw his breakaway companions fly away inexorably and subsequently opted to be caught by the group as well.

The race then reached the central part of the course with the climbs of Montù Beccaria and those, to be repeated twice, of Casa Barbieri and Canneto Pavese where Pezzo Rosola, collecting mountain points, forcefully took the green jersey as best climber. The group, uninterested in this contest, let the breakaway riders have their way until the final ascent at Canneto Pavese where, through a decisive acceleration imposed by Visma Lease a Bike, EF Education Easypost and, subsequently, XDS-Astana, they significantly reduced the gap to the leaders.

From the breakaway, about thirty kilometers from the finish, Martini lost contact, but the group, fractured for a moment into three sections due to the wind and pace, having a margin now less than a minute, left little room for the three remaining riders who, 24 kilometers from the finish line, were brought back into the fold. In a counterattack, almost immediately, Alexandre Balmer (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali), Andrea Pietrobon (Polti VisitMalta) and the tireless Renato Favero (Biesse - Carrera - Premac) launched an attack which, finding immediate good agreement, managed to open up 56 seconds between themselves and the group.

The reaction behind them, however, with less than twenty kilometers remaining, did not take long, so much so that at the 10-kilometer mark to the finish, eight riders (followed ten seconds later by the rest of the group) passed just 20 seconds behind the leading trio which, one kilometer later, was definitively caught.

With the peloton recompacted, they entered the final ten kilometers where, defying with a bold move all the sprinters' teams, Filippo D'Aiuto attacked solo. The rider from Gorizia, never victorious among the elite in his career, demonstrated he truly believed in his effort, quickly gaining over 20 seconds on his pursuers, a margin that, in the end, even pulling hard to launch the sprint, those behind surprisingly failed to close. With still five seconds of advantage, the standard-bearer of General Store - Essegibi - F.lli Curia (his team since this year after spending 2025 defending the Petrolike cause) thus crossed the finish line where, arms raised, he could release his joy for his first professional victory.

Behind him, the sprinters could only fight for the remaining positions with Moschetti (the main favorite for today's stage) beating Bessega and the rising Magagnotti, securing his eighth top-ten finish of the season.

To read the live race report of the stage CLICK HERE.

FINISHING ORDER

1. Filippo D'Aiuto (ITA/General Store - Essegibi - F.lli Curia) 3:42:37

2. Matteo Moschetti (ITA/Pinarello Q36.5) at 5"

3. Tommaso Bessega (ITA/Team Polti VisitMalta) at 5"

4. Alessio Magagnotti (ITA/Red Bull BORA hansgrohe) at 5"

5. Alessio Menghini (ITA/Team Technipes #Inemiliaromagna) at 5"

6. Martin Svrcek (SVK/Soudal Quick-Step) at 5"

7. Axel Laurance (FRA/INEOS Grenadiers) at 5"

8. Adrien Boichis (FRA/Red Bull BORA hansgrohe) at 5"

9. Thomas Pesenti (ITA/Team Polti VisitMalta) at 5"

10. Nicolò Arrighetti (ITA/General Store - Essegibi - F.lli Curia) at 5"