Trofeo Laigueglia 2017 [LAST 20 km] (italian)

February 12, 2017

Trofeo Laigueglia 2017 – [LAST 20 km] (italian)– Laigueglia – Laigueglia – 192,5 km

The Trofeo Laigueglia is an early season road bicycle race held annually in Liguria, Italy. From 2005 to 2014, the race has been organised as a 1.1 event on the UCI Europe Tour. It is held about ten days after the opening to the Italian season, the Gran Premio della Costa Etruschi. In 2015, it will be held as a 1.HC event.

Fabio Felline, riding for the Italian national squad, produced a powerful attack on the final climb of the Trofeo Laigueglia to take his first win of 2017 in his first race of the season.

Romain Hardy (Fortuneo-Vital Concept) finished 25 seconds behind Felline, thinking he had won the early-season Italian race after rubbing shoulders with Mauro Finetto (Delko Marseille), who was third, as a small group of riders sprinted for the placings behind Felline.

Felline had just returned from an altitude training camp with Trek-Segafredo team leader Alberto Contador and was happy to finally land a win after a difficult 2016 season. He will race with Contador at the Ruta del Sol that begins on Wednesday.

Last spring Felline suffered serious injuries to his nose and face after crashing in the neutralised section of the Amstel Gold Race while touching the quick release lever of his front wheel. His career could have been compromised, but he worked hard to recover quickly. He rode well at the Vuelta a Espana but failed to land a stage victory.

“It was emotional to finish like that,” he said. “I’ve been chasing a win since last year. I had a good end of season after my comeback but never managed to win.

“On the final climb I was waiting for someone to attack, but no one did so I decided to go. When I looked behind me, no one was on my wheel, and so I went à bloc.

“I knew that if I was à bloc then they would also be à bloc behind me. I was told I had 20 seconds when I arrived to the final flat kilometres. I think it was 30 seconds, or 25 at the finish, but it doesn’t matter; what matters is to get the win.

“It has been more than a year since I have won a race, and for me my goal for 2017 was to win again. To do it in my very first race gives me a lot of moral for the rest of the season.”

A hard day out and selective race

The Trofeo Laigueglia was created as the first race on the Italian calendar over 50 years ago. It has lost its prestige and importance in recent years but is now part of the revitalised Ciclismo Cup series in Italy and attracted a strong field due to the absence of the Tour of Qatar.

The hilly route along the rolling Ligurian coast and hills makes for a hard day out and selective race.

After a series of attacks, four riders got away after a fast opening 30km. Davide Orrico (Sangemini-MGKVis), Remy Di Gregorio (Delko Marseille Provence Ktm), Antonio Di Sante (GM Europa Ovini) and Conor Dunne (Aqua Blue Sport) were the four in the move and soon opened a three-minute gap, as Di Gregorio went on to win the climber’s competition.

However, the peloton never let them get too far ahead, with FDJ and Ag2r La Mondiale leading the chase for long spells. The four were eventually reeled in after 100km of freedom. The finishing circuit covered the Colli Micheri climb three times and inspired an attack from Mauro Finetto (Delko Marseille Provence Ktm), Jan Polanc (UAE Abu Dhabi), Mattia Cattaneo (Androni Giocattoli), Alexandre Geniez (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Quentin Pacher (Delko Marseille Provence Ktm). It was a good move but they were also pulled back with 14km to go.

Soon after as the road twisted inland on the Colli Micheri climb, Felline made his move and quickly got a gap as others hesitated to commit. A group of 10 riders eventually formed to mount a chase but they were hesitant, and Felline’s Italian teammate Matteo Trentin did his utmost to slow the chase and make sure the others knew he was ready to attack or sprint if Felline was pulled back.

Felline rarely looked back as he powered towards the finish. He made it over the Capo Mele climb that is covered in Milan-San Remo and then dived down to the finish in Laigueglia to celebrate alone.

Results :
1 Fabio Felline (Ita) Italy 4:54:01
2 Romain Hardy (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept 0:00:25
3 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
4 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors
5 Cyril Gautier (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
6 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
7 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ
8 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
9 Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
10 Romain Combaud (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:00:29
11 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:00:35
12 Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:19
13 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
14 Erwann Corbel (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
15 Lilian Calmejane (Fra) Direct Energie
16 Maxime Vantomme (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
17 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
18 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
19 Jan Polanc (Slo) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:01:46
20 Mikel Aristi (Spa) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:02:08
21 Kevyn Ista (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect 0:02:22
22 Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 0:02:42
23 Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
24 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:43
25 Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) FDJ
26 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie
27 Torres Rodolfo (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:54
28 Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:15
29 Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
30 Sebastian Schönberger (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
31 Ryan Anderson (Can) Direct Energie
32 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
33 Pier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
34 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
35 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:03:41
36 Lawrence Naesen (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect 0:04:29
37 Diego Ulissi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi 0:04:38
38 Paolo Totò (Ita) Sangemini – MG.Kvis
39 Valerio Conti (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
40 Matti Breschel (Den) Astana Pro Team
41 Alex Kirsch (Lux) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
42 Matteo Busato (Ita) Wilier Triestina
43 Marco Zamparella (Ita) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
44 Remy Di Gregorio (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM 0:08:02
45 Marco Bernardinetti (Ita) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
46 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Wilier Triestina 0:09:07
47 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani CSF
48 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSF
49 Antonio Parrinello (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
50 Michele Gazzara (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
51 Nico Denz (Ger) AG2R La Mondiale
52 Benjamin Perry (Can) Israel Cycling Academy 0:10:12
53 Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
54 Alex Turrin (Ita) Wilier Triestina
55 Ilia Koshevoy (Blr) Wilier Triestina
56 Nicloa Genovese (ita) D’Amico Utensilnord
57 Nicola Gaffurini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
58 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSF
59 Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
60 Ettore Carlini (Ita) D’Amico Utensilnord
61 Andrea Cacciotti (Ita) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
62 Julien El Fares (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
63 Andrei Solomennikov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
64 Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
65 Antoine Warnier (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
66 Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
67 Brice Feillu (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
68 Alessio Taliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
69 Cedric Pineau (Fra) FDJ
70 Enrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSF
71 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
72 Justin Jules (Fra) WB Veranclassic Aquality Protect
73 Benoit Jarrier (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
74 Arnaud Courteille (Fra) FDJ
75 Jonathan Hivert (Fra) Direct Energie
76 Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani CSF
77 Davide Pacchiardo (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
78 Ivan Savitckii (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo 0:11:38
DNS Hamish Schreurs (NZl) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Julen Amezqueta (Spa) Wilier Triestina
DNF Yonder Godoy (Ven) Wilier Triestina
DNF Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Wilier Triestina
DNF Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Wilier Triestina
DNF Julien Duval (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
DNF Zhandos Bizhigitov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Riccardo Minali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team
DNF Ruslan Tleubayev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
DNF Davide Cimolai (Ita) FDJ
DNF Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ
DNF Lorenzo Manzin (Fra) FDJ
DNF Léo Vincent (Fra) FDJ
DNF Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
DNF Manuele Mori (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
DNF Simone Petilli (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
DNF Edward Ravasi (Ita) Team UAE Abu Dhabi
DNF Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Italy
DNF Seid Lizde (Ita) Italy
DNF Tommaso Fiaschi (Ita) Italy
DNF Massimo Rosa (Ita) Italy
DNF Giovanni Carboni (Ita) Italy
DNF Francesco Romano (Ita) Italy
DNF Ildar Arslanov (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Artem Nych (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Anton Vorobyev (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Aydar Zakarin (Rus) Gazprom – Rusvelo
DNF Yannick Martinez (Fra) Delko Marseille Provence KTM
DNF Masakazu Ito (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Marino Kobayashi (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Hideto Nakane (Jpn) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo – Vini Fantini
DNF Maxime Bouet (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Armindo Fonseca (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Pierre Luc Perichon (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Fortuneo – Vital Concept
DNF Conor Dunne (Irl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Aaron Gate (NZl) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Peter Koning (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Michel Kreder (Ned) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Calvin Watson (Aus) Aqua Blue Sport
DNF Ludwig De Winter (Bel) WB Veranclassic Aqua Protect
DNF Krists Neilands (Lat) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Luis Lemus (Mex) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Mihkel Räim (Est) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Roy Goldstein (Isr) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Daniel Turek (Cze) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Tyler Williams (USA) Israel Cycling Academy
DNF Fabien Grellier (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Tony Hurel (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Direct Energie
DNF Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani CSF
DNF Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Romain Gioux (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF David Lozano (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Javier Megias (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Hendrikus Van Ijzendoorn (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Zahiri Abderrahim (Mar) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF João Almeida (Por) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Stanimir Cholakov (Bul) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Marco Molteni (Ita) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Sergio Vega Merodio (Spa) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Mattia Viel (Ita) Unieuro Trevigiani – Hemus 1896
DNF Danilo Celano (Ita) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF Mikel Elorza Pagaldai (Spa) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF Pierpaolo Ficara (Ita) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF Redi Halilaj (Alb) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF David Galarreta Ugarte (Spa) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF Josep Miralles Rigo (Spa) Amore & Vita – Selle SMP p/b Fondriest
DNF Adriano Brogi (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Marco Tizza (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Sebastian Lander (Den) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Matteo Rotondi (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Andrea Ruscetta (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Antonio Di Sante (Ita) GM Europa Ovini
DNF Simone Bernardini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
DNF Alessandro Marinozzi (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
DNF Davide Orrico (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
DNF Niccolo Salvetti (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
DNF Paolo Pradndini (Ita) Sangemini – Mg. K Vis
DNF Benjamin Brkic (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Filippo Fortin (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Alexander Wachter (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Patrick Gamper (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Matthias Krizek (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Maximilian Kuen (Aut) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Enrico Salvador (Ita) Tirol Cycling Team
DNF Samuele Simoncini (Fra) D’Amico Utensilnord
DNF Marcello Merlino (Fra) D’Amico Utensilnord
DNF Francisco Petrini (Fra) D’Amico Utensilnord
DNF Angelo Raffaele (Fra) D’Amico Utensilnord
DNF Nicolas Samparsi (Fra) D’Amico Utensilnord