Tre Valli Varesine 2021 [FULL RACE] (italian)

October 5, 2021

Tre Valli Varesine 2021 – Busto Arsizio – Varese : 196,7 km

The Tre Valli Varesine is a semi classic European bicycle race held in Varese, Italy. Since 2005, the race has been organised as a 1.HC event on the UCI Europe Tour.
It is usually the first and most important race of Trittico Lombardo, which consists of three races held around the region of Lombardy on three consecutive days.

Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) claimed victory at the 2021 Tre Valli Varesine, outsprinting Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) in a two-up sprint in Varese.

Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar made it two UAE Team Emirates riders on the podium, taking the sprint from a strong chase group half a minute behind the leading duo.

It was Pogačar who had made this wet edition of the autumn Italian one-day race an open and aggressive affair, attacking some 120km to the finish to bridge to the day’s breakaway. He was soon joined by a group containing Formolo but lost contact due to a puncture inside the final 50km and had to ride defensively as his teammate carried the torch.

By that point, De Marchi had already reached the front of the race in a separate counter-attack that went on the Montello climb, which was crested 10 times on the 12.5km Varese circuit that was used for the 2008 World Championships.

The race then moved onto the 20km finishing circuit, featuring the Morsolo and Casciago climbs back-to-back, where De Marchi and Formolo found themselves in a six-man lead group, with Andreas Kron (Lotto Soudal), Aurelien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroën), Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux), and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar). They stuck together on the first of two laps as accelerations came and went in the reduced bunch behind, but then the pair forced the issue on the last lap.

Formolo went solo on the downhill before De Marchi attacked on the climbs. He drew out Formolo on the Morsolo and then did the same on the Casciago, at which point they broke the elastic.

The pair then combined to keep the chasers at 30 seconds on the downhill before tackling the gradual 3km climb to the finishing straight. Both riders attacked each other in the final 2km but they couldn’t be separated and it was settled in a sprint.

Formolo went on the left, De Marchi on the right and it was the latter who had enough left in the tank to nudge in front and claim his second Italian Classic after winning the Giro dell’Emilia three years ago.

How it unfolded

It was a fast start to proceedings, with no breakaway forming until 20km were covered. Erik Fetter (EOLO-Kometa) and Matthew Holmes (Lotto Soudal) were the first two to break free, and they were soon joined by the counter-attacking duo of Giulio Masotto (Vini Zabù) and Robin Plamondon (Israel Start-Up Nation).

They came together as a quartet after 25 kilometres and built a lead of 3:30, but it never grew any further than that.

The entry to the short Varese circuit based on the Montello climb (1.7km at 5.5 per cent) came after 40km, and the first couple of laps passed quietly as the rain started to fall.

However, on the fourth ascent, with 120km still remaining, Pogačar tore up the script, attacking and going clear with Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal). The pair made it to the breakaway, which remained as a quartet as Plamodon and Masotto were dropped.

As the gap reached 40 seconds, Formolo jumped on board a counter-attack on the following lap, along with Rota, Oliveira, and Rigoberto Urán (EF Education-Nippo). They made it across to the front of the race with 100km still remaining, with the group soon counting six as Holmes and Fetter fell away.

Vincenzo Nibali launched a futile attack before his Trek-Segafredo team set about limiting the damage, reducing the gap to 30 seconds by the end of lap seven.

On the next ascent of the Montello with 60km to go, Formolo launched an attack, which saw Wellens dropped, while De Marchi attacked from the peloton with Kron and Paret-Peintre. By the end of the final lap of the short circuit, the De Marchi trio joined forces with the front group, but the dynamic then changed en route to the longer finishing circuit as Pogačar punctured and was forced back to the peloton.

On the twin ascents of the Morsolo and Casciago, separated by a short descent, Kron attacked up front while the bunch split into pieces behind. Pogačar reacted to a move from Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies), before Alexander Vlasov (Astana-PremierTech) reduced the group with a big acceleration.

As Kron was brought back, the next phase of action happened on the Montello, which was also part of the longer loop. Higuita launched an attack over the top and linked up with Urán, who dropped from the lead group. Together they chased, and nearly came unstuck on the wet descent, but they couldn’t get clear and the gap to the lead group grew out past 35 seconds again.

On the subsequent descent, Formolo attacked and got a gap but was soon rejoined by De Marchi, Kron, Rota, Oliveira, and Paret-Peintre for the final ascents of Morsolo and Casciago. De Marchi was the aggressor on both climbs, Formolo being the one to respond on both occasions. On the second climb, they were away.

Further down the road, Benoit Cosnefroy (AG2R Citroën) attacked and was joined by Pogačar, before David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ), Higuita, and Marc Hirschi (UAE Team Emirates) got across. They reached the Rota/Kron/Oliveira/Paret-Peintre group to form a larger chase group, but De Marchi and Formolo combined on the flat and descent to keep them at bay.

With 3.5km to go, the road kicked up again, and with 1.7km to go Formolo made the first bid for glory. It wasn’t convincing, though, and De Marchi sensed an opportunity to counter, but couldn’t go clear.

When he tried again a few hundred metres later, Formolo launched an instant counter-attack of his own, but De Marchi swiftly responded. The pair then decided to settle it in a sprint, with Formolo leading into the home straight, only for De Marchi to ease past on the right and punch the air in delight.

Results :
1 Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-up Nation 4:47:04
2 Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
3 Tadej Pogacar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:38
4 Benoit Cosnefroy (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
5 Andreas Kron (Den) Lotto Soudal
6 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) EF Education-Nippo
7 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
8 David Gaudu (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
9 Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
10 Aurélien Paret Peintre (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
11 Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team
12 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 0:00:42
13 Marc Hirschi (Swi) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:49
14 Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
15 Clément Berthet (Fra) Delko
16 Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
17 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
18 Pierre Latour (Fra) TotalEnergies
19 Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
20 Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:01:30
21 Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
22 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
23 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team 0:01:44
24 Maxime Bouet (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic 0:02:19
25 Sean Bennett (USA) Qhubeka NextHash
26 Kevin Colleoni (Ita) Team BikeExchange 0:03:04
27 Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:03:15
28 Ruben Guerreiro (Por) EF Education-Nippo 0:04:27
29 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM 0:07:44
30 Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
31 Rigoberto Uran (Col) EF Education-Nippo 0:08:46
32 Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal
33 Harm Vanhoucke (Bel) Lotto Soudal
34 Filippo Magli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
35 Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
36 Luca Chirico (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
37 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) Israel Start-up Nation 0:08:49
38 Rémy Rochas (Fra) Cofidis
39 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
40 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team
41 Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Mikaël Cherel (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
DNS Ben Hermans (Bel) Israel Start-up Nation
DNF Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team
DNF Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Simon Geschke (Ger) Cofidis
DNF Tanel Kangert (Est) Team BikeExchange
DNF Anthony Roux (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal
DNF Brent Bookwalter (USA) Team BikeExchange
DNF Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) TotalEnergies
DNF Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Mikel Nieve Iturralde (Spa) Team BikeExchange
DNF Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Diego Ulissi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Davide Appollonio (Ita) Amore e Vita
DNF Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Anthony Delaplace (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroën Team
DNF Alexandre Geniez (Fra) TotalEnergies
DNF Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Mark Christian (GBr) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Ruben Fernandez (Spa) Cofidis
DNF Damien Howson (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNS Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Victor de la Parte (Spa) TotalEnergies
DNF Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates
DNF Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNS Josip Rumac (Cro) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Davide Orrico (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal
DNF Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Elie Gesbert (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Daniel Pearson (GBr) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Cristian Rodriguez Martin (Spa) TotalEnergies
DNF Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation
DNS Paolo Totò (Ita) Amore e Vita
DNF Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Kévin Geniets (Lux) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Dayer Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Antonio Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroën Team
DNF Sergio Roman Martin Galan (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Edward Ravasi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Orluis Alberto Aular Sanabria (Ven) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Michel Ries (Lux) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Marco Tizza (Ita) Amore e Vita
DNF Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Julen Amezqueta Moreno (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF William Barta (USA) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Miguel Eduardo Florez Lopez (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
DNF Dylan Sunderland (Aus) Qhubeka NextHash
DNF Paul Ourselin (Fra) TotalEnergies
DNF Vladislav Zubar (Ukr) Amore e Vita
DNF Emil Vinjebo (Den) Qhubeka NextHash
DNF Victor Lafay (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNF Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal
DNF Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal
DNF Davide Bais (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Yannis Voisard (Swi) Swiss Racing Academy
DNF Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Unai Iribar Jauregi (Spa) Euskaaltel-Euskadi
DNF Antonio Puppio (Ita) Team Qhubeka
DNF Giacomo Cassarà (Ita) Amore E Vita
DNF Giulio Masotto (Ita) Zalf Euromobil Fior
DNF Stijn Daemen (Ned) Abloc CT
DNF Riccardo Tosin (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team
DNF Oier Lazkano Lopez (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Alan Jousseaume (Fra) TotalEnergies
DNF Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Erik Fetter (Hun) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Mason Hollyman (GBr) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Mattia Benedetti (Ita) Amore E Vita
DNF Karel Vacek (Cze) Qhubeka NextHash
DNF Jhojan Garcia Susa (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Frederik Wandahl (Den) Bora-Hansgrohe
DNF Pablo Garcia Frances (Spa) Caja rural-Seguros RGA
DNF Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Josu Etxeberria Azpilikueta (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
DNF James Whelan (Aus) EF Education-Nippo
DNF Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-Nippo
DNF James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation
DNF Lucas Plapp (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Robin Plamondon (Can) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Biniam Girmay (Eri) Delko
DNF Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Nicholas Schultz (Aus) Team BikeExchange
DNF Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash
DNS Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech