Coppa Sabatini 2023 [FULL RACE]

September 14, 2023

Coppa Sabatini 2023 🇮🇹 – Peccioli – Peccioli : 198,9 km

The Coppa Sabatini – Gran Premio città di Peccioli is one of the only Italian autumnal classics to favour the sprinters and puncheurs over the out-and-out climbers. Ever since its first edition in 1952 the race has followed a classic, rolling route around the town of Peccioli – home to both the start and finish. The terrain around this picturesque area of Italy is characterised by its pan-flat floodplains interspersed between steep-sided valleys and rugged hilltops. The race tends to follow several different circuits, starting with a large loop around the outskirts of Peccioli before transitioning onto a smaller, punchier circuit around the centre of the town. It’s on this urban loop that the race often erupts, largely thanks to the 1km-long climb that ramps up to the finish line on each 12.2km-long lap.

Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) out-sprinted Giro della Toscana winner Pavel Sivakov (Ineos) to win the Coppa Sabatini in Peccioli.

The pair were part of a breakaway that formed over the Terricciola climb with 50km to go with Hirschi leaping away with Sivakov 13km later on the Muro di Piccioli.

Hirschi’s teammate Tadej Pogačar, after foiling the chase behind, out-sprinted Guillaume Martin (Cofidis) and Alexey Lutsenko (Astana Qazaqstan) to secure the final podium spot.

“It was a super hard race, I did it last year so I know – the parcours always starts very early the race,” said Hirschi. “It was good we had four riders there. Then in the end, with Tadej [Pogačar] behind, I could just sit on.

“A perfect team tactic for us.”

The 198.9km race, the second of a series of Italian one-day races, started under sunny skies with the first attacks clipping away in the opening kilometre.

Harold Tejada (Astana Qazaqstan), Luca Covili (Green Project Bardiani CSF), Ibai Azurmendi (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Alessio Cialone (Vendée U) and Lucas Grolier (TotalEnergies) made the early move but never gained enough time to have a hope.

In the second half of the race, Brandon Rivera (Ineos Grenadiers), Lutsenko, Jefferson Cepeda (EF Education-Easypost), George Bennett (UAE Team Emirates) and Jérémy Cabot (TotalEnergies) sparked a massive split and drew out seven more riders but were caught on the 3.7km long Terricciola climb.

Pogačar, Hirschi, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Sivakov and Martin surged creating a reshuffle at the front, bringing along Lutsenko, Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) and Walter Calzoni (Q36.5).

With 50km to go, Bennett and teammate Davide Formolo made it ten riders at the front as the peloton were 1:16 behind.

UAE Team Emirates worked to keep the chase at bay until the next climb, the Muro di Peccioli with 37km to go when Hirschi launched a move. Carapaz was the first to get dropped after suffering a mechanical that forced him to stop.

Sivakov, winner of the Giro della Toscana, followed Hirschi’s move and the pair kept pushing ahead.

Carapaz got back into the six-man chasing group with Lutsenko, Martin, Valgren, Pogačar and Calzoni.

As the race headed into the final two circuits and hit the finishing climb, the leaders had 33 seconds and Valgren lost contact with the chasing group, leaving five riders in pursuit of the leaders.

At the start of the final lap, Calzoni and Carapaz were distanced from the chasing group, with Pogačar sitting on Martin and Lutsenko as they closed to within 40 seconds of the leaders with 5km to go.

In the final kilometre, Sivakov and Hirschi could relax a bit with a 25-second lead, and as they approached the final climb, Sivakov started to accelerate but was no match for Hirschi.

Results :