Gran Piemonte 2021 [FULL RACE]

October 7, 2021

Gran Piemonte 2021 – Rocca Canavese – Borgosesia : 168 km

This one-day race marks the second in a series of three Italian Classics known by the locals as the Trittico di Autunno, or the Autumn Treble. The race is held in the hilly Piedmont region of northwest Italy, a region whose Latin name translates to ‘at the foot of the mountains’. Understandably this race is characterised by its hills, with the lumps and bumps around Piedmont often deciding the winner of this race. The route has changed from year to year, with the organisers orchestrating races for both the sprinters and the climbers.

Matt Walls (Bora-Hansgrohe) won Gran Piemonte in a bunch sprint in Borgosesia, beating Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka) and Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) to the line after a chaotic final kilometre.

The Olympic omnium champion held his nerve in a chaotic finale, where some fast men lost valuable ground while navigating a traffic island just past the flamme rouge. Walls was well positioned there, and he then had the nous to follow the wheel of Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) in the finishing straight before delivering a rasping sprint in the final 150m.

Nizzolo, who won this race in 2016 was able to make up some ground on Walls in the closing metres, but the 23-year-old kicked once again in sight of the line to claim his second victory on the road as a professional.

Kooij, who had to chase back on after a crash in the finale, placed an impressive third ahead of Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), while world under-23 silver medallist Biniam Ghirmay (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) took 5th in front of Jakub Mareczko (Vini Zabù).

“The boys did a really good job getting me towards the closing kilometres and I picked a good wheel. I came off and I had enough in the tank for the sprint,” said Walls.

Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) was perhaps the favourite for victory, but the European champion made no impact in the sprint after being stalled in the final kilometre, while other contenders such as Ethan Hayter (Ineos) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis) were also effectively out of the running come the final 300 metres.

“They were all there coming towards the end, I saw my opportunity to go and I went for it,” said Walls, who agreed that his track skills had helped him to pick his way through the peloton in the finale. “It was pretty hectic coming in towards the finish, there were a couple of crashes or something, but I think it helped a lot being able to position myself well in the bunch.”

Walls’ victory owed most, of course, to his striking turn of speed in the final 150 metres as he opened a gap that Nizzolo and Kooij simply could not close. The Oldham native has caught the eye on both road and track in 2021, from his assured debut at the Tour de la Provence in February to his omnium gold and Madison silver at the Tokyo Olympics.

He carried that track form into the final part of the season, notching up his first win for Bora-Hansgrohe on the final stage of the Tour of Norway.

“It’s really big, it shows that I can perform on the top level on the road,” Walls said. “I knew I could do it on the track after the Olympics. so it’s nice to be able to do that on the road as well.”

How it unfolded

When the cycling calendar was redrawn amid the coronavirus pandemic last year, Gran Piemonte took on a different guise, with RCS Sport pitching it as a dress rehearsal for Il Lombardia by routing it through the hills of the Lange, with George Bennett emerging victorious in Barolo.

This time out, the race returned to favouring the sprinters with a largely flat 169km route through from Rocca Canavese to Borgosesia. Yet even though the odds were stacked against the attackers, five volunteers emerged after a rapid opening, as Manuele Boaro (Astana-PremierTech), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal), Marc Soler (Movistar), Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek-Segafredo) and Marco Frapporti (Vini Zabù) forged clear.

The quintet escaped after 15km but the pace never truly relented in the peloton behind and their advantage was never allowed to reach three minutes. The escapees covered some 49km in a very brisk opening hour, and the pace took its toll on Frapporti when they hit the day’s stiffest obstacle, the steady climb towards La Serra after 60km.

Boaro, Moniquet, Soler and Skjelmose Jensen pressed on thereafter, but their advantage began to tumble after the midway point as a coalition of the sprinters’ teams took control at the head of the peloton, with Cofidis and Qhubeka-NextHash prominent on behalf of Viviani and Nizzolo, respectively.

As the break’s lead dwindled, Boaro attacked in an attempt to breathe new life into the move, but the escapees were caught with 28km remaining and the collaboration among the sprinters’ teams ensured there would be no further attacks on the run-in, with Ineos to the fore on behalf of Ethan Hayter and Bahrain Victorious prominent in support of Colbrelli.

Kooij went down in a crash inside the final 20km, but the Dutchman quickly rejoined the bunch, and Jumbo-Visma’s presence on the front was a sure sign that he would contest the inevitable sprint. Ineos, and Filippo Ganna in particular, were also keen to ensure a bunch sprint, while Qhubeka-NextHash took up the reins for Nizzolo inside the final 2km.

Road furniture just inside the final kilometre served to disrupt some of the sprinters, with Viviani among those to sit up, but Affini took over at the head of the bunch with a long turn on behalf of Kooij.

The experienced Richeze, meanwhile, was on hand to lead out the sprint for Trentin, but Walls showed nous beyond his years to mark the Argentinian’s wheel, and he unfurled a crisp sprint to claim the spoils.

Results :
1 Matthew Walls (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe 3:34:47
2 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash
3 Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
4 Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
5 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
6 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
7 Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
8 Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Rally Cycling
9 Amaury Capiot (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
10 Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
11 Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
12 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
13 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
14 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
15 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates
16 José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
17 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
18 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
19 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
20 Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling
21 Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
22 Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
23 Luca Colnaghi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
24 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
25 Samuele Zambelli (Ita) Iseo-Rime-Carnovali
26 Filippo Baroncini (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
27 Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo-Visma
28 Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
29 Antonio Puppio (Ita) Qhubeka-NextHash
30 Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Soudal
31 Edo Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation
32 Donavan Grondin (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
33 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
34 Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:13
35 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
36 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
37 Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
38 Nicola Venchiarutti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
39 Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
40 Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
41 Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
42 Riccardo Tosin (Ita) Vini Zabu’
43 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
44 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
45 Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash
46 Unai Iribar Jauregi (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi
47 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
48 Mattia Viel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
49 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
50 Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Rally Cycling 0:00:22
51 Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Qhubeka NextHash
52 Damiano Cima (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo
53 Emil Vinjebo (Den) Qhubeka NextHash
54 Stijn Daemen (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty Gobert Matériaux
55 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
56 Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
57 Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
58 Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
59 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
60 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
61 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates
62 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
63 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
64 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic
65 Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:00:31
66 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
67 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis
68 Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
69 Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis
70 Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
71 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
72 Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
73 Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
74 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
75 Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
76 Asbjorn Hellemose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
77 Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal
78 Leonardo Marchiori (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
79 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
80 Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
81 Dayer Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
82 Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
83 Einer Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar Team
84 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
85 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
86 Keegan Swirbul (USA) Rally Cycling
87 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
88 Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation
89 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
90 Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
91 James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
92 Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
93 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
94 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
95 Luca Coati (Ita) Qhubeka-NextHash
96 Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech
97 Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
98 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
99 Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious
100 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma
101 Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
102 Tobias Foss (Nor) Jumbo-Visma
103 Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
104 Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally Cycling
105 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious
106 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
107 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
108 Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
109 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
110 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
111 Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:52
112 Petr Rikunov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:00:01
113 Gregorio Ferri (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
114 Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
115 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
116 Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
117 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis
118 Nathan Brown (USA) Rally Cycling
119 Alastair MacKellar (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation 0:01:12
120 Lucas Plapp (Aus ) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:19
121 Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious
122 Ben King (USA) Rally Cycling
123 Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
124 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
125 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
126 Michel Hessmann (Ger) Jumbo-Visma 0:01:24
127 Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:07
128 Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 0:02:44
129 Davide Orrico (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM 0:03:16
130 Samuele Rivi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
131 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo 0:04:50
132 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team
133 Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:05:28
134 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech 0:09:04
135 Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Soudal
136 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash 0:09:30
DNF Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Giulio Masotto (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNS Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNS Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis
DNS Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux