Trofeo Laigueglia 2021 [FULL RACE] (italian)

March 3, 2021

Trofeo Laigueglia 2021 – Laigueglia – Laigueglia : 202 km

The 2021 Trofeo Laigueglia was a one-day road cycling race that took place on 2 March 2021 in and around Laigueglia, Liguria, on the northwestern coast of Italy. It was the 58th edition of the Trofeo Laigueglia and was rated as a 1.Pro event as part of the 2021 UCI Europe Tour and the 2021 UCI ProSeries. The race covered 202 kilometres (126 mi) and finished off with four laps of an finishing circuit that was 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) long and featured two short and sharp climbs, the Colla Micheri and the Capo Mele.

Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) claimed victory at the Trofeo Laigueglia after he soloed clear of an elite group on the Capo Mele with 15km remaining and then maintained his advantage over the stiff ascent to Colla Micheri. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mauri Vansevenant (Deceuninck-QuickStep) led the chasing group home at 42 seconds.

Bernal had been among the chief animators of the race on four breathless laps of the finishing circuit on the Ligurian coast, and his fierce acceleration on the penultimate time up Colla Micheri had helped to tee up the day’s decisive move.

The impressive Clément Champoussin (AG2R Citroën Team) was the only rider who could match Bernal’s tempo on the ascent, but Mollema was part of a determined cadre of chasers who bridged across following the sinuous descent, together with teammate Giulio Ciccone, Vansevenant, Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Biniam Girmay (Delko) and Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ).

As the leaders left the seafront in Andora, Mollema sensed his opportunity and he powered his way clear on the shallow slopes of the Capo Mele. The initial hesitation in the chasing group allowed him to build a lead of 25 seconds by the foot of the final haul up to Colla Micheri, and he kept his gear turning over all the way up its steep slopes.

Behind, Bernal was once again aggressive on the climb but although his initial acceleration stung, he was unable to rid himself of his companions, with Landa, Champoussin, Vansevenant and, eventually, Ciccone, bridging back up to him. By the summit, they had cut Mollema’s advantage to 17 seconds, but the Dutchman’s lead extended thereafter, with Ciccone policing the chasers all the way to the finish.

Mollema made light work of the final drag over the Capo Mele to solo to his second win of the season, following his victory on the opening day of the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes et du Var. The 2019 Tour of Lombardy winner will line out at Strade Bianche on Saturday, while he is also set to ride the Giro d’Italia alongside Ciccone and Vincenzo Nibali.

“It was a super nice to win here. I felt already really good for the last few weeks. I really wanted to try and start the season in a good way. It’s nice to have two wins already,” said Mollema, whose teammate Mads Pedersen won Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne at the weekend.

“We have already five wins now at the beginning of March, in Belgium, in Italy and in France. Hopefully, we can continue like this in the other Italian races coming up.”

How it unfolded

The coronavirus pandemic caused a spate of postponements and cancellations in the opening months of the season, but that has only added to the depth of the field in races along the Riviera in recent weeks. The Trofeo Laigueglia, a staple on the Italian calendar since 1964, boasts a roll of honour that includes Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Saronni and Bartoli, but its status had dropped gradually in the 21st century.

The quality on show in Wednesday’s field reversed that trend, with Bernal, Mollema, Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Michael Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) and Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) among those lining up in Laigueglia. Absent, however, was Italo-Romanian Continental outfit Giotti Victoria-Savini Due, who withdrew at the last minute after an unnamed rider tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the race.

The opening half of the race was animated by a break composed of Nicolas Edet (Cofidis), Mattia Bais (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), Juri Hollman (Movistar), Mulu Hailemichael (Delko), John Archibald (Eolo Kometa), Vacek (Gazprom Rusvelo), Veljko Stojinic, Alessandro Iacchi (Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM), Niccolò Salvietti (MG Kvis Vpm), Davide Persico (Team Colpack Ballan), Nikita Stalnov (Astana-Premier Tech) and Unai Cuadrado (Euskatel-Euskadi), who gained a maximum of almost four minutes on the peloton.

The break disintegrated on the first lap of the finishing circuit, where only Bais and Hollman could track Edet on Colla Micheri, while their advantage also crumbled as first Landa and then Bernal ignited the racing behind.

A peloton of 50 or so riders regrouped after that breathless first lap, but they were whittled down by the forcing of riders like Mollema, Nibali, Diego Rosa (Arkéa-Samsic) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) on the second lap. Edet, Hollman and Bais were caught over the summit of the second climb to Colla Micheri, and around 30 or so riders remained in contention come the penultimate lap.

Eddie Dunbar (Ineos Grenadiers) was the next rider to go on the offensive on the way up Colla Micheri, with James Knox (Deceuninck-QuickStep) and Champoussin jumping on his wheel. Shortly afterwards, Dunbar’s teammate Bernal bridged across after launching a searing acceleration of his own.

The Colombian continued to test himself all the way to the summit, and Champoussin could follow closely, but Mollema, Landa, Vansevenant, et al, were never out of sight. They latched back on over the other side, and then Mollema – as he did at Il Lombardia in 2019 – picked his moment wisely.

Results :
1 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 4:57:05
2 Egan Bernal Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers 0:00:39
3 Mauri Vansevenant (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
4 Clément Champoussin (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
5 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
6 Mikel Landa Meana (Spa) Bahrain Victorious
7 James Knox (GBr) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:57
8 Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team 0:01:01
9 Biniam Girmay (Eri) Delko
10 Lorenzo Rota (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
11 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
12 Valentin Madouas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
13 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
14 Pello Bilbao Lopez De Armentia (Spa) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:03
15 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:01:28
16 Matej Mohoric (Slo) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:32
17 Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
18 Clement Venturini (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
19 Nairo Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic
20 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Delko
21 Jose Manuel Diaz Gallego (Spa) Delko
22 Daniel Muñoz Giraldo (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
23 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
24 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
25 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
26 Anthony Perez (Fra) Cofidis 0:02:14
27 Daniel Savini (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
28 Filippo Zana (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
29 Davide Villella (Ita) Movistar Team 0:02:16
30 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
31 Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:02:36
32 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
33 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 0:04:28
34 Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech
35 Nicolas Prodhomme (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team 0:04:45
36 Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
37 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
38 Juri Hollmann (Ger) Movistar Team 0:05:38
39 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
40 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis
41 Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:05:56
42 Mikel Aristi Gardoki (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:05:57
43 Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
44 Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
45 Santiago Umba Lopez (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
46 Leonardo Tortomasi (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
47 Giacomo Garavaglia (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
48 Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
49 Luca Covili (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
50 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
51 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
52 Eduardo Sepulveda (Arg) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
53 Juan Ayuso Pesquera (Spa) Team Colpack Ballan
54 Lorenzo Milesi (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
55 Andrea Garosio (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
56 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R Citroën Team
57 Paul Wright (NZl) Mg.k Vis VPM
58 Merhawi Kudus (Eri) Astana-Premier Tech
59 Mathias Frank (Swi) AG2R Citroën Team
60 Simon Guglielmi (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
61 Abner González Rivera (PuR) Movistar Team
62 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic
63 Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
64 Alessandro Verre (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
65 Nicola Conci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
66 Delio Fernandez Cruz (Spa) Delko
67 Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Delko
68 Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
69 Luis Mas Bonet (Spa) Movistar Team
70 Jonas Wilsly (Den) Astana-Premier Tech
71 Márton Dina (Hun) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
72 Mark Christian (GBr) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
73 Eddie Dunbar (Irl) Ineos Grenadiers
74 Oscar Rodriguez Garaicoechea (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech
75 Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:07:03
76 Mathias Norsgaard (Den) Movistar Team 0:07:23
77 Fernando Barceló Aragon (Spa) Cofidis
78 Simone Ravanelli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec 0:07:47
79 Iñigo Elosegui Momeñe (Spa) Movistar Team 0:08:16
80 Cristian Scaroni (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo 0:09:27
81 Natnael Tesfazion (Eri) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
82 Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis 0:09:34
DNF Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Amanuel Gebreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
DNF Lilian Calmejane (Fra) AG2R Citroën Team
DNF Nikita Stalnov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Yuriy Natarov (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana-Premier Tech
DNF Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain Victorious
DNF Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious
DNF Eros Capecchi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious
DNF Thomas Champion (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Pieter Serry (Bel) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Ian Garrison (USA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
DNF Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Clément Davy (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Alexandre Balmer (Swi) Groupama-FDJ Continental
DNF Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
DNF Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Loïc Vliegen (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
DNF Gabriel Cullaigh (GBr) Movistar Team
DNF Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane’
DNF Yakob Debesay (Eri) Delko
DNF Kinfe Hailemichael (Eth) Delko
DNF Alejandro Ropero Molina (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF John Archibald (GBr) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team
DNF Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Julen Irizar Laskurain (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
DNF Ivan Rovny (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo
DNF Anton Kuzmin (Kaz) Gazprom-RusVelo
DNF Mathias Vacek (Cze) Gazprom-RusVelo
DNF Benjamin Declercq (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Arkea-Samsic
DNF David Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Joonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Andrea Peron (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Umberto Poli (Ita) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Brian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Sam Brand (GBr) Team Novo Nordisk
DNF Andrea Bartolozzi (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Veljko Stojnic (Srb) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Joab Schneiter (Swi) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Alessandro Iacchi (Ita) Vini Zabu’ Brado KTM
DNF Dominik Gorak (Pol) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Matteo Baseggio (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Riccardo Lucca (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Gianluca Mignolli (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Cristian Rocchetta (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Riccardo Tosin (Ita) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Abderrahim Zahiri (Mar) General Store-f.lli Curia-Essegibi
DNF Emil Dima (Rom) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Emanuele Onesti (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Andrea Guardini (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Viktor Filutás (Hun) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Kristian Javier Yustre Rodriguez (Col) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Paolo Simion (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNF Niccolo’ Salvietti (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Raffaele Radice (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Edoardo Martinelli (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Guido Draghi (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Nicolo Pencedano (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Francesco Carollo (Ita) Mg.k Vis VPM
DNF Thomas Pesenti (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Nicolo’ Parisini (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Marco Grendene (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Matteo Freddi (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Luca Cretti (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Lorenzo Balestra (Ita) Beltrami TSA Tre Colli
DNF Sergio Meris (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Davide Persico (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Alessio Martinelli (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Luca Rastelli (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Mattia Petrucci (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan
DNF Raul Colombo (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
DNF Michael Zecchin (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
DNF Stefano Di Benedetto (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
DNF Filippo Dignani (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
DNF Christian Danilo Pase (Ita) Work Service-Marchiol-Dynatek
DNS Gianni Moscon (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
DNS Emil Dima (Rom) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNS Emanuele Onesti (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNS Andrea Guardini (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNS Viktor Filutás (Hun) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNS Kristian Javier Yustre Rodriguez (Col) Giotti Victoria Savini Due
DNS Paolo Simion (Ita) Giotti Victoria Savini Due