Milano-Torino 2022 [FULL STAGE]

March 16, 2022

Milano-Torino 2022 – Magenta – Rivoli : 199 km

For the majority of its 146-year history, Milano-Torino has fallen in autumn. In 2020, however, the organisers experimented with its route and positioning on the calendar, doing away with a mountainous route, making it a race for the sprinters and placing it just a few days before the first Monument of the year, Milano-Sanremo. The 2022 edition will see them run this experiment for a second time. For the majority of the race’s history it has started in Milan and headed west to the city of Turin, tackling a largely flat route until the outskirts of the Piedmont capital. Two ascents of the infamous Superga climb fall in the final 20km of the route, making this a race for the pure climbers of the peloton. This year, however, the race will follow an undulating route from Magenta to Rivoli that mimics the dynamic route of Milano-Sanremo – a race that’ll fall just three days after the winner of Milano-Torino is crowned. With similar parcours, the race’s organisers are hoping that they’ll attract a star-studded list of riders hoping to hone their form ahead of the main event.

Mark Cavendish made history at Milano-Torino, finishing off the work of the QuickStep-AlphaVinyl lead-out train to claim the first victory by a British rider in 103 editions of the oldest race of the calendar.

The 36-year-old was unrivalled in the dash for the line at the end of 199 kilometres of racing. Alexander Kristoff (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux) surged before fading to third, while just behind it was Nacer Bouhanni (Arkéa-Samsic) who squeezed through against the barriers into second place.

It was another tremendous outing for the QuickStep train at the culmination of the flat race in Rivoli, with Michael Mørkøv delivering Cavendish to his final destination at 150 metres to go. By that point, as he hit the front, the Manxman’s sprint rivals were already a step behind, as Kristoff went left and Bouhanni just managed to make his way between Mørkøv and the barriers.

The Frenchman had Cavendish in front, though, and Kristoff just didn’t have enough finishing speed to compete. Further back, Max Kanter (Movistar) and Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) came quickly from less amenable starting positions to take fourth and fifth, but the day was all about QuickStep and Cavendish, who took win number 159 of his career.

“Really happy. Back with Mørkøv again. Just dialled you know, with this team.” Cavendish explained after the finish. “For a one day race you have to be dialled because there’s only one opportunity.

“They sent most of the sprint team with Fabio all year, and they’ve sent a solid base of a sprint team for me here. And like you’ve seen it’s just incredible. I’m super happy. It’s the first time I’ve raced MiTo and I’m happy, I’m so happy.

“I just like winning races, it doesn’t matter. I’ve already won Milan-San Remo and now I can say I’ve won Milano-Torino as well. It’s obviously usually a hilly race, so to see my name next to the riders who have won this race in history is going to be quite special, I think.”

How it unfolded
For its 103rd edition, the oldest Classic on the calendar returned to its roots with a move back to the spring and with it a switch in parcours, dispensing with the Superga climb in Turin and instead bringing in a flat course suited to the sprinters.

The race, first run in 1876 would see the peloton tackle 199 kilometres from Magenta, west of Milan, to Rivoli, just west of Turin. With a high point of 426 metres, the day would be well-suited to the sprint squads, a far cry from the twin peaks of Superga that usually concludes the race.

A fast pace at the start of the day meant it was a hard battle for the breakaway, with Alessandro De Marchi (Israel-Premier Tech) and Benoît Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) among those going on the offensive early on.

The pair didn’t make it out, though, and it would eventually take over 20 kilometres for the break of the day to form. Three Italian ProTeams would make the move, with Martin Marcellusi (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Juan Diego Alba (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), and Daniel Viegas (Eolo-Kometa) filled out the breakaway group.

The trio were quickly allowed to build a gap of over four minutes as the likes of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, Team DSM, and QuickStep-AlphaVinyl worked at the head of the peloton on behalf of sprinters Alexander Kristoff, Alberto Dainese, and Mark Cavendish.

By the mid-point of the day, that advantage had been cut to just over two minutes as the sprinters’ teams sought to control the situation, with Arkéa-Samsic (for Nacer Bouhanni) and Trek-Segafredo (for Matteo Moschetti) also contributing to the work.

Very few obstacles lay on the course as the riders crossed the Po Valley and several tributaries of Italy’s longest river, and as such, there was little drama through the day as the peloton and break rode along in sync, awaiting the inevitable catch ahead of the finale

That catch came at 20 kilometres to go with Intermarché, DSM, QuickStep, and TotalEnergies (for Peter Sagan) pulled the peloton. Three kilometres later, EF Education-EasyPost, with no real sprinter in their squad, put in a mini move with Alberto Bettiol and Irish neo-pro Ben Healy.

The pair nipped off the front as the race circled around to the west of Turin, through the towns of Drubiaglio and Avigliana. Bettiol, who was making his return from COVID-19, peeled off at 15 to go to leave Healy to a solo move 15 seconds off the front of the peloton.

Healy, who last month was in the breakaway at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, put in a valiant effort as he toiled on alone out front. The Irishman impressed with his effort as QuickStep and Arkéa led the chase, but a stint on the front from French champion Rémi Cavagna put an end to his escape with just 4.3 kilometres to run.

Arkéa, TotalEnergies, Movistar, Astana Qazaqstan, and Ineos Grenadiers would all flow to the front over the closing kilometres. At two kilometres to go it was Fabio Felline (Astana Qazaqstan) and Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) leading the way, though both teams would be absent in the final dash for the line.

QuickStep and TotalEnergies were back for the final 1.5 kilometres, with the Belgian team eventually wresting control when it mattered and delivering yet another pinpoint lead out to score the 12th win of 2022.

Results :
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 4:31:22
2 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
3 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
4 Max Kanter (Ger) Movistar Team
5 Peter Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies
6 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroen Team
7 Michael Mørkøv (Den) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
8 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
9 Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
10 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11 Juan Sebastian Molano Benavides (Col) UAE Team Emirates
12 Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
13 Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
14 Szymon Sajnok (Pol) Cofidis
15 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team 0:00:04
16 Eduard-Michael Grosu (Rom) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
17 Itamar Einhorn (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
18 Corbin Strong (NZl) Israel-Premier Tech 0:00:06
19 Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
20 Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
21 Ryan Gibbons (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:09
22 Derek Gee (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
23 Julien Simon (Fra) TotalEnergies
24 Tobias Bayer (Aut) Alpecin-Fenix
25 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) Alpecin-Fenix
26 Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel-Premier Tech
27 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
28 Umberto Marengo (Ita) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
29 Jonas Rutsch (Ger) EF Education-EasyPost
30 Clément Russo (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
31 Alessandro Verre (Ita) Arkea-Samsic
32 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
33 Bob Jungels (Lux) AG2R Citroen Team
34 Simon Pellaud (Swi) Trek-Segafredo
35 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates
36 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
37 Cesare Benedetti (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe
38 Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) EF Education-EasyPost
39 Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
40 Simon Dehairs (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix Development Team
41 Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates
42 Mirco Maestri (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
43 Martijn Tusveld (Ned) Team DSM 0:00:15
44 Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Arkea-Samsic
45 Asbjørn Hellemose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
46 Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
47 Rémi Cavagna (Fra) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
48 Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
49 Artyom Zakharov (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
50 Marco Brenner (Ger) Team DSM
51 Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis
52 Yevgeniy Gidich (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
53 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team
54 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
55 William Barta (USA) Movistar Team
56 Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
57 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
58 Donavan Grondin (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
59 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
60 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers
61 Gleb Brussenskiy (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team
62 Marco Haller (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
63 Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Movistar Team
64 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
65 Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
66 Ide Schelling (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
67 Ricardo Zurita Garcia (Spa) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:00:22
68 Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Cofidis
69 Lorenzo Milesi (Ita) Development Team DSM
70 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
71 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
72 Gijs Van Hoecke (Bel) AG2R Citroen Team
73 Michele Gazzoli (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
74 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
75 Alexander Konychev (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco
76 Nikias Arndt (Ger) Team DSM
77 Christopher Hamilton (Aus) Team DSM
78 Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
79 Alex Howes (USA) EF Education-EasyPost
80 Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM
81 Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team 0:00:27
82 Paul Ourselin (Fra) TotalEnergies 0:00:29
83 Edvald Boasson-Hagen (Nor) TotalEnergies
84 Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
85 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
86 Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team 0:00:31
87 Natnael Tesfazion (Eri) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
88 Tsgabu Grmay (Eth) BikeExchange-Jayco
89 Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
90 Edward Ravasi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
91 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe
92 Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
93 Samuele Rivi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
94 Niccolò Bonifazio (Ita) TotalEnergies
95 Pieter Serry (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
96 Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
97 Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
98 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Trek-Segafredo
99 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech
100 Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:35
101 Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:00:36
102 Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Movistar Team
103 Cameron Meyer (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
104 James Shaw (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost
105 Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 0:00:40
106 Andres Camilo Ardila Ordoñez (Col) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:42
107 Alexander Cataford (Can) Israel-Premier Tech
108 Alastair Mackellar (Aus) Israel Cycling Academy
109 Jimmy Janssens (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
110 Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:01:00
111 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 0:01:25
112 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost 0:01:27
113 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team
114 Fabien Grellier (Fra) TotalEnergies
115 Alan Jousseaume (Fra) TotalEnergies
116 Iker Bonillo (Spa) Bardiani CSF Faizainé 0:01:34
117 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
118 Antonio Nibali (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
119 Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers 0:01:37
120 Laurens De Plus (Bel) Ineos Grenadiers
121 Ben Healy (Irl) EF Education-EasyPost 0:02:17
122 Amund Grøndahl Jansen (Nor) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:03:13
123 Didier Merchan (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli 0:03:28
124 Juan Diego Alba Bolivar (Col) Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli
125 Romain Hardy (Fra) Arkea-Samsic 0:03:30
126 Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
127 Martin Marcellusi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’ 0:04:33
128 Sam Bewley (NZl) BikeExchange-Jayco 0:04:54
129 Daniel Viegas (Por) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team 0:05:14
DNS Michael Schär (Swi) AG2R Citroen Team
DNS Davide Cimolai (Ita) Cofidis
DNS Luis-Joe Lührs (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe