On Marco Pantani's roads, Ion Izaguirre celebrates, sprinting ahead of Giulio Pellizzari who, with over 50 km remaining to the Cesenatico finish line, exploded the race. The Basque rider from Cofidis proved to be the best in the final sprint that saw the four protagonists of the day fight it out after making their selection on the climbs on the course.

The Marche-born rider from Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe broke the group on the Cento climb, the penultimate difficulty on the route, bringing with him the winner of the last edition Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling), Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education) and Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis) with whom he contested the victory in the sprint. Thanks to excellent teamwork, with several teammates of Izaguirre and Pellizzari behind in a support role, the quartet was never at risk of being caught by the main group and deserved the spotlight.

"Pellizzari showed he is very strong, on his initiative we went clear in four, then we worked together right to the final straight. I showed I have good legs, I won well and I'm very happy. This performance doesn't change my prospects: I'm happy to finish like this, to still be competitive and capable of winning," said a hot Izaguirre, 37, who next month at Il Lombardia will close his career.

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Finishing order

1) Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis) in 4h23'43" at 43.80 km/h

2) Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) s.t.

3) Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education) s.t.

4) Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) s.t.

5) Markus Hoelgaard (Uno X) at 22"80

6) Jay Hindley (Red Bull Bora Hansgrohe) s.t.

7) Joris Delbove (Total Energies) s.t.

8) Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) s.t.

9) Mathys Rondel (Tudor Pro Cycling) at 25"30

10) Dorian Godon (Netcompany Ineos) at 29"90