Milano-Torino 2018 [FULL RACE]

October 10, 2018

Milano-Torino 2018 – Magenta – Torino : 200 km

Milano–Torino is a semi classic European single day cycling race, between the northern Italian cities of Milan and Turin over a distance of 199 kilometres. The event was first run in 1876[1] making it the oldest of the Italian classic races and one of the oldest in the world. The event is owned by the RCS media group which owns the Italian sports daily La Gazzetta dello Sport. RCS also organises other top Italian cycling events such as the Giro d’Italia, Milan–San Remo and Tirreno–Adriatico. The race is ranked 1.HC on the UCI continental calendar. The race was not run between the spring of 2007 and the autumn of 2012.

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) claimed victory in Milano-Torino with a late attack on the final climb of the race. The win was not without controversy as Pinot’s winning move came just as one of his main rivals and runner-up Miguel Angel Lopez (Astana) crashed into one of Pinot’s teammates just before the winning attack was made. World champion Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) rounded out the podium and finished third in a race that was decided by the two climbs of the Superga as much as it was the late crash and Pinot’s formidable form.

“It’s a great victory for me,” Pinot said. “Milano-Torino is a race I really like. I really like the Classics so to finally win one is very important for me.”

The incident involving Lopez came after Astana and FDJ had broken up the race on the final ascent. A group containing Pinot, Lopez, Valverde, Jakob Fuglsang, and David Gaudu (FDJ) had forged clear and just as Gaudu swung off the front after his final turn Lopez put his head and attacked. The two riders collided, and with Fuglsang already out the back only Valverde and Pinot remained at the front of the race. The Frenchman was left at the head of affairs and without even attacking he saw his pace setting distance Valverde. Lopez quickly remounted but despite a spirited chase Pinot had enough to take the prestigious win. Lopez crossed the line 10 seconds later, with Valverde a further 18 seconds in arrears.

The first ascent of the Superga had set the tone for the finale. The 9 per cent average gradient, with pitches of 14 per cent in sections, saw Valverde open up the afterburners with 21km to go. The new world champion was clearly in fine fettle and intent on breaking up the race but although his first acceleration was matched by a number of rivals, none of the riders who initially made the juncture were willing to work him.

Before the final climb the race had been defined by a four-man break that contained Willie Smit (Katusha-Alpecin), Umberto Orsini (Bardiani-CSF), Krists Neilands (Israel Cycling Academy), and the Chuck Norris of breakaways, Thomas De Gendt (Lotto Soudal).

The foursome established a lead of almost six minutes but they were swept up as the road steepened on the Superga.

Although Valverde’s first attack was quickly countered, the Spaniard’s acceleration was enough to reduce the main field to less than 30 riders. A second attack from the Movistar man did further damage with Rui Costa and Gianni Moscon among those who fell back.

Over the top the climb, Valverde pressed on again, and this attack drew Pinot, Gaudu and Rafal Majka into action. A further volley of riders made contact on the descent with Daniel Martin, Tim Wellens, Fabio Aru and Adam Yates still in contention.

On the approach to the final climb, Peter Stetina attacked, and while the American rode well, his acceleration only acted as a foil with Fuglsang, the ever-impressive Gaudu and Daniel Martinez (EF Education First-Drapac) going clear. The trio, with Martinez marking the move for his teammates behind, established a 14-second lead as the road began to rise, but a series of attacks, led by Yates, Wellens and then Mollema saw the trio brought back into sight.

With 3.7km to go Yates attacked. He was soon joined by Pinot and it looked as though the winning move had formed when the two riders bridged up to the leaders.

However, Valverde had other ideas. The 38-year-old, who served a two-year ban for doping, breezed by Mollema and made contact with Pinot, Gaudu and Yates within a few hundred metres. Fuglsang was briefly distanced but returned with Lopez, as Yates slipped out of the group.

Gaudu then set about controlling the pace with Pinot neatly tucked in and Valverde and Astana’s Lopez seemingly waiting for the moment to pounce. However, just as Gaudu swung off to the right, Lopez attacked on the same side. If the Colombian had kept his head up he would have seen the FDJ sized obstacle in his path but the briefest of looks to the ground cost the Astana man his momentum and his place in the group. By the time Pinot even looked around he was already clear with Valverde on the rivet and unable to respond. Pinot pressed on the pedals and rode for home and the race was won.

Results :
1 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 4:43:36
2 Miguel Angel Lopez Moreno (Col) Astana Pro Team 0:00:10
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 0:00:28
4 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:00:36
5 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:38
6 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb
7 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:00:41
8 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team
9 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:43
10 Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Col) Team Sky 0:00:45
11 Hugh John Carthy (GBr) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
12 Davide Formolo (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:48
13 Rafal Majka (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:59
14 Adam Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott 0:01:02
15 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
16 Daniel Martin (Irl) UAE Team Emirates 0:01:13
17 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:01:15
18 Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel-Cycling Academy
19 Warren Barguil (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:01:27
20 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:01:38
21 Daniel Felipe Martinez Poveda (Col) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:01:41
22 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:02:00
23 Marco Tizza (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini 0:02:25
24 Peter Stetina (USA) Trek-Segafredo 0:02:33
25 Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:02:37
26 Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego (Spa) Israel-Cycling Academy
27 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
28 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team Sunweb
29 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Floors 0:02:49
30 Niklas Eg (Den) Trek-Segafredo
31 Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:02:53
32 Bjorg Lambrecht (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:01
33 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
34 Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
35 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:03:13
36 Simone Velasco (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 0:03:16
37 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:03:19
38 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 0:03:23
39 Kenny Elissonde (Fra) Team Sky 0:03:29
40 Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:03:35
41 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini 0:03:37
42 Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale 0:03:49
43 Dylan Teuns (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:04:03
44 Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team
45 Luca Raggio (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
46 Jan Hirt (Cze) Astana Pro Team 0:04:05
47 Winner Andrew Anacona (Col) Movistar Team 0:04:28
48 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 0:04:30
49 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:04:29
50 Jérémy Maison (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic 0:04:38
51 José Fernandes Neves (Por) W52/Fc Porto 0:04:45
52 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini 0:04:59
53 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 0:05:01
54 Mikkel Frølich Honoré (Den) Team Waoo 0:05:03
55 José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin
56 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Team Sky 0:05:06
57 Matteo Spreafico (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:05:08
58 Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal 0:05:58
59 Guy Niv (Isr) Israel-Cycling Academy 0:06:15
60 Manuel Senni (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:06:24
61 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida 0:06:25
62 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Bahrain-Merida
63 Ilnur Zakarin (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin
64 Simon Špilak (Slo) Katusha-Alpecin 0:06:39
65 David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team Sky 0:07:09
66 Enric Mas Nicolau (Spa) Quick-Step Floors
67 Freddy Ovett (Aus) Australian Cycling Academy – Ride Sunshine Coast 0:07:12
68 Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team 0:08:48
69 Antonio Pedrero (Spa) Movistar Team 0:08:50
70 Joseph Rosskopf (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:09:35
71 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia 0:09:41
72 Jai Hindley (Aus) Team Sunweb 0:10:00
73 Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky
74 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
75 Jhonnatan Narvaez (Ecu) Quick-Step Floors
76 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
77 Hector Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
78 Rory Sutherland (Aus) UAE Team Emirates
79 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
80 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Team Sky
81 Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe
82 Kevin Rivera Serrano (CRc) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
83 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Katusha-Alpecin
84 Filippo Zaccanti (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
85 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
86 Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar Team
87 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
88 Willem Jakobus Smit (RSA) Katusha-Alpecin 0:11:22
89 Ruben Plaza (Spa) Israel-Cycling Academy 0:11:49
90 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:15:45
91 Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team
92 Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky
93 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
94 Kim Magnusson (Swe) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
95 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
96 Franck Bonnamour (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
97 Laurent Didier (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
98 Andrea Garosio (Ita) D’amico Utensilnord
99 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
100 James Shaw (GBr) Lotto Soudal
101 Michael Storer (Aus) Team Sunweb
102 Omer Goldshtein (Isr) Israel-Cycling Academy
103 Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
104 Filippo Ganna (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
105 Léo Vincent (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
106 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
107 Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
108 Umberto Orsini (Ita) Bardiani CSF 0:16:13
109 Alexander Evans (Aus) Mobius Bridgelane 0:16:23
DNF Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale
DNF Cyrus Monk (Aus) Drapac Ef P/B Cannondale Holistic Development Team
DNF Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Dario Cataldo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Kristijan Koren (Slo) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Maxim Pirard (Bel) Bahrain-Merida
DNF Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Alberto Bettiol (Ita) BMC Racing Team
DNF Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF William Bonnet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Jérémy Roy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel-Cycling Academy
DNF Guillaume Boivin (Can) Israel-Cycling Academy
DNF Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Lotto Soudal
DNF Michael Albasini (Swi) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Rob Power (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Robert Stannard (Aus) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Carlos Verona (Spa) Mitchelton-Scott
DNF Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team
DNF Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Simone Ponzi (Ita) Nippo-Vini Fantini-Europa Ovini
DNF Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Laurens De Plus (Bel) Quick-Step Floors
DNF Romain Le Roux (Fra) Fortuneo-Samsic
DNF Robert Kišerlovski (Cro) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Katusha-Alpecin
DNF Sam Oomen (Ned) Team Sunweb
DNF Lennard Kämna (Ger) Team Sunweb
DNF Michael Matthews (Aus) Team Sunweb
DNF Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Nicholas Rinaldi (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia
DNF Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia