Dorian Godon won the Gran Piemonte in a sprint after an adrenaline-fueled finale characterized by a crash on the final bend. The French rider from Team Netcompany Ineos found himself in the perfect position to launch his sprint, beating Anthon Charmig (Uno X Mobility) and Alberto Bettiol (XDS Astana), who had worked hard for Guillermo Silva before being caught up in the crash. The Piedmont race did not fail to deliver thrills thanks to the attack by Isaac del Toro and Finn Fisher Black launched on the second ascent of the La Morra climb and concluded just 1.4 km from the finish line.
THE RACE. The last major Italian classic before the Giro di Lombardia, a major test for many riders in the peloton. The 110th edition was held over 185 km from Asti to Bra, a rolling course characterized in the finale by the double ascent of the La Morra climb. A special and emotional day for Jacopo Mosca and Damiano Caruso who today faced the last race of their careers.
The breakaway formed after 15 km and featured 9 riders: Aless De Bock (Alpecin Premier Tech), Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Alex Diaz (Caja Rural Seguros RGA), Valentin Ferron (Cofidis), Brieuc Rolland (Groupama FDJ United), Santiago Umba (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali), German Dario Gomez (Team Polti Visit Malta), Luc Wirtgen (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana). However, the peloton, led by UAE Team Emirates XRG and Bahrain Victorious, did not give much room to the escapees, who achieved a maximum advantage of 2'20".
On the first ascent of the La Morra climb, UAE Team Emirates XRG delivered a sharp acceleration that broke up the breakaway. The peloton regrouped 40 km from the finish.
The race literally exploded on the second ascent of the La Morra climb. After the acceleration by UAE Team Emirates XRG with Jhonatan Narvaez, Isaac del Toro decided to make his move and launched a powerful attack 18 km from the finish. Finn Fisher Black was the only one able to stay with the Mexican rider, who attempted to drop him several times. The two attackers had managed to build up a lead of around thirty seconds, but behind them the peloton used the flat sections to close back in on them just 1.4 km from the finish.
In the final kilometer the race was affected by two crashes, the second one on the final bend split the group and nullified the great work done by Alberto Bettiol and XDS Astana Team for Thomas Silva. The race was thus decided by a three-way sprint, with Dorian Godon getting the better of Anthon Charmig and Alberto Bettiol.
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FINISHING ORDER
1 Godon Dorian Netcompany INEOS Cycling Team 04:06:19
2 Charmig Anthon Uno-X Mobility + 00
3 Bettiol Alberto XDS Astana Team + 00
4 Nerurkar Lukas EF Education-EasyPost + 02
5 Hermans Quinten Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team + 02
6 Wright Fred Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team + 02
7 Eulalio Afonso Bahrain Victorious + 02
8 Matthews Michael Team Jayco-AlUla +02
9 Narvaez Jhonatan UAE Team Emirates-XRG + 02
10 Martí Pau NSN Cycling Team + 02