Giro dell’ Emilia 2020 [FULL RACE] (italian)

August 18, 2020

Giro dell’ Emilia 2020 – Casalecchio di Reno – San Luca : 199,7 km

The Giro dell’Emilia is a late season road bicycle race held annually in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour. The race starts from Bologna, it generally takes a tour of Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park and ends in Bologna with 5 reps on the brutal climbing ring (Orfanelle climb, Montalbano climb and Casaglia downhill) of Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca. It is considered one of the most important and historical classic bicycle races of the calendar, the palmarès shows great champions like Coppi, Bartali, Merckx.

Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana Pro Team) continued his sparkling run of form with a victory in the Giro dell’Emilia launching a searing attack on the final haul up the climb of San Luca above Bologna.

The Russian punched his way clear of an elite group of contenders with 1.5km of the portico-lined ascent remaining and he proceeded to catch and pass lone escapee João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) with 600m to go.

Vlasov never relented, and he pressed on to win by 9 seconds from Almeida, while Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) beat Eddie Dunbar (Team Ineos) to third place, a further 9 seconds back. Andrea Bagioli, who had helped to tee up his teammate Almeida’s earlier attack, took fifth ahead of Il Lombardia winner Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo).

As ever, the succession of laps over the stiff ascent to the Sanctuario di San Luca had whittled the peloton down to its bare bones, and with 20km remaining only the remnants of the day’s early break and the select cade of pre-race favourites remained in contention.

Almeida launched what long looked like a racing-winning attack at the beginning of the penultimate lap when he slipped away from the Nibali-Fuglsang group shortly after his teammate Bagioli’s earlier effort had been reeled in.

The Portuguese youngster has impressed everywhere he has raced in 2020, and he looked a likely winner when he blasted past the last two survivors of the early break – the Vini Zabu-KTM duo of Giovanni Visconti and Andrea Garosio – on the penultimate ascent of the San Luca.

As Almeida took the bell at the summit, he had a lead of 35 seconds over the chasers with just 9km to race, and he managed that advantage well on the final lap of the finishing circuit. By the time he passed through the Arco del Meloncello for the last time with 2km remaining, he still had half a minute in hand on an eight-man chasing group.

Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) looked to chip away at Almeida’s gap on the lower slopes but neither his forcing nor a fleeting acceleration from his leader Nibali made greats inroads into the deficit.

With 1400m remaining, however, Vlasov unleashed his effort, and only Bagioli could initially follow the Russian. Bagioli had to relent as the gradient stiffened further at the Curva delle Orfanelle, while out in front, Almeida’s fatigue was increasingly obvious.

Vlasov was within touching distance of the Portuguese youngster beneath the flamme rouge, and he inched past him with a shade over 600 metres remaining. From there, the result was never in doubt.

Like Evgeni Berzin and Viatcheslav Ekimov, Vlasov is a native of Vyborg near the Finnish border, and he signalled his ability by winning the under-23 Giro d’Italia in 2018 before moving from Gazprom-Rusvelo to the WorldTour at the start of this season.

This was Vlasov’s third victory of 2020 and his second this month after his triumph in the Mont Ventoux Dénivelé Challenge. On Saturday, he played a key role in helping his teammate Fuglsang to victory at Il Lombardia, where he also had the wherewithal to claim the third step of the podium for himself.

Vlasov lost his Russian title in the intervening period, incidentally, as the national championships were held in his absence over the weekend, but on this remarkable evidence, the 24-year-old will expect to add more lines to his palmarès before the year is out.

How it unfolded

Normally fought out beneath falling leaves and fading October sunlight, the Giro dell’Emilia shifted to an August date on the revised UCI calendar. The event saw many of the protagonists of Saturday’s Il Lombardia line up for the last in the current sequence of one-day races on Italian roads.

In keeping with the tenor of events from Strade Bianche onwards, there was an aggressive start to affairs after the peloton left Casalecchio di Reno, with Fuglsang among those active on the day’s first ascent of Montemaggiore.

The race eventually settled into a pattern after the ascent of Mongardino, and after 50km, a group of eight riders forged clear: Danilo Wyss (NTT Pro Cycling), Giovanni Visconti and Andrea Garosio (Vini Zabu-KTM), Philipp Walsleben (Alpecin-Fenix), Manuel Senni (Bardiani-CSF Faizanè), Felix Dopchie (Bingoal-Wallonie Bruxelles), Oscar Quiroz (Colombia Tierra de Atletas) and Dario Puccioni (Work Service Dinatek Vega).

The group combined well to establish a maximum lead of seven minutes and they still had 4:30 in hand by the team they hit the San Luca for the first time with 40km remaining. The break splintered under Visconti’s force on the lower slopes before his teammate Garosio forged clear over the summit. The two Vini Zabu-KTM riders would link up again at the front one lap later, when Visconti bridged across on the San Luca, later to be joined by Walsleben.

Behind, meanwhile, the aggression of Eddie Dunbar (Team Ineos) was helping to whittle the peloton down to a very select group of favourites, with Vlasov, Fuglsang, Harald Tejada (Astana), Nibali, Ciccone, Almeida, Bagioli and Ulissi joining the Irishman in pursuit of the escapees with three laps remaining.

With two laps to go, Visconti and Garosio rid themselves of Walsleben, but their lead over the chasers was down to less than a minute. Bagioli’s attack on the San Luca reduced the gap still further and brought the chasers ever closer. When he was pinned back with 16km remaining, Almeida seized the initiative, catching and passing the Vini Zabu tandem on the penultimate ascent of the San Luca.

It looked like the winning move, but the final haul up the San Luca gave the on-form Vlasov a chance to claw his way back into contention.

Results :
1 Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana Pro Team 4:59:41
2 João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck-Quick-Step 0:00:09
3 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:18
4 Edward Dunbar (Irl) Team Ineos 0:00:21
5 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick-Step 0:00:24
6 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 0:00:29
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:46
8 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:01:32
9 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:02:41
10 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
11 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix 0:02:57
12 Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:03:19
13 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:03:21
14 Edward Ravasi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:25
15 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:03:33
16 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Team Ineos
17 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
18 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:03:41
19 Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-Quick-Step
20 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Circus-Wanty Gobert
21 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
22 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
23 Riccardo Lucca (Ita) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
24 Marco Tizza (Ita) Italy 0:03:54
25 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM 0:03:55
26 Gino Mäder (Swi) NTT Pro Cycling 0:03:57
27 Jay Mc Carthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:04:03
28 Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:04:11
29 Andrea Piccolo (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan 0:04:13
30 Floris De Tier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix 0:04:26
31 Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:04:30
32 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:04:31
33 Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (Ecu) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:04:36
34 Harold Alfonso Tejada Canacue (Col) Astana Pro Team
35 Oscar Adalberto Quiroz Ayala (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas 0:05:04
36 Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan 0:05:16
37 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:05:24
38 Samuele Battistella (Ita) NTT Pro Cycling 0:05:58
39 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:06:01
40 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:06:18
41 Philipp Walsleben (Ger) Alpecin-Fenix
42 Joe Dombrowski (USA) UAE Team Emirates 0:07:17
43 Brandon Smith Rivera Vargas (Col) Team Ineos 0:07:29
44 Scott Davies (GBr) Bahrain McLaren 0:07:52
45 Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
46 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:08:35
47 Laurens Huys (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:09:18
48 Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Deceuninck-Quick-Step 0:09:30
49 Gabriele Benedetti (Ita) Italy
50 Darwin Atapuma (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas
51 Stefan De Bod (RSA) NTT Pro Cycling 0:09:40
52 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan 0:09:46
53 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo 0:10:33
54 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:10:59
55 Marco Frigo (Ita) Italy 0:11:08
56 Brayan Hernandez Gomez (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas 0:11:50
57 Antonio Di Sante (Ita) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
58 Arjen Livyns (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:12:23
59 Antonio Santoro (Ita) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega 0:13:35
60 Ivan Martinelli (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
61 Francesco Zandri (Ita) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega
62 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
63 Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Italy 0:13:54
64 Maël Guegan (Fra) Rally Cycling 0:14:12
65 Dario Puccioni (Ita) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega 0:14:42
66 Benjamin Dyball (Aus) NTT Pro Cycling 0:14:54
67 Johnatan Cañaveral Vargas (Col) Giotti Victoria
68 Félix Dopchie (Bel) Bingoal WB 0:14:58
DNF Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Oscar Gatto (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Luka Pibernik (Slo) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Fred Wright (GBr) Bahrain McLaren
DNF Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Ineos
DNF Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Ineos
DNF Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana Pro Team
DNF Jonas Gregaard Wilsly (Den) Astana Pro Team
DNF Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick-Step
DNF Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-Quick-Step
DNF Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Danilo Wyss (Swi) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Benjamin King (USA) NTT Pro Cycling
DNF Luca Colnaghi (Ita) Italy
DNF Samuele Rivi (Ita) Italy
DNF Manuele Rivi (Ita) Italy
DNF Alexander Evans (Aus) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Simone Petilli (Ita) Circus-Wanty Gobert
DNF Alessandro Monaco (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Francesco Romano (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Matteo Busato (Ita) Vini Zabu’ KTM
DNF James Mitri (NZl) Vini Zabu’ KTM
DNF Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Simon Pellaud (Swi) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-Rusvelo
DNF Aleksei Rybalkin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
DNF Nikolai Cherkasov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo
DNF Petr Vakoc (Cze) Alpecin-Fenix
DNF Nathan Brown (USA) Rally Cycling
DNF Matteo Dal-Cin (Can) Rally Cycling
DNF Gavin Mannion (USA) Rally Cycling
DNF Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Rally Cycling
DNF Luc Wirtgen (Lux) Bingoal WB
DNF Kenny Molly (Bel) Bingoal WB
DNF Quentin Venner (Bel) Bingoal WB
DNF Hernan Ricardo Aguirre Caipa (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas
DNF Omar Alberto Mendoza Cardona (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas
DNF William David Muñoz Perez (Col) Colombia Tierra de Atletas GW Bicicletas
DNF Viktor Filutás (Hun) Giotti Victoria
DNF Matteo Gaido (Ita) Giotti Victoria
DNF Emanuele Onesti (Ita) Giotti Victoria
DNF Federico Zurlo (Ita) Giotti Victoria
DNF Emanuele Amadio (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
DNF Valter Ghigino (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
DNF Nicolas Nesi (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
DNF Luca Raggio (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
DNF Nicholas Rinaldi (Ita) D’Amico um Tools
DNF Filippo Baroncini (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Gregorio Ferri (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Marco Grendene (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Massimo Orlandi (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Giosue’ Crescioli (Ita) Beltrami TSA Marchiol
DNF Francesco Di Felice (Ita) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
DNF Davide Leone (Ita) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
DNF Raffaele Radice (Ita) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
DNF Niccolo’ Salvietti (Ita) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
DNF Artur Sowinski (Pol) Sangemini Trevigiani MG.k Vis
DNF Raul Colombo (Ita) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega
DNF Paolo Totò (Ita) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega
DNF Adrian Enrique Vargas Pinto (Col) Work Service-Dinatek-Vega
DNF Zahiri Abderrahim (Mar) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
DNF Sander Andersen (Den) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
DNF Davide Casarotto (Ita) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
DNF Daniel Smarzaro (Ita) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
DNF Flavio Tasca (Ita) General Store-Essegibi-f.lli Curia
DNF Davide Baldaccini (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Aldo Caiati (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Tommaso Rigatti (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNS Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Team Ineos