The GP Citta di Lugano was characterised by cold temperatures and pouring rain. These conditions worked in the favour of Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani) as he took the victory ahead of the Lampre-Merida duo of Diego Ulissi and Roberto Ferrari.
With riders standing on the start-line in the pouring rain and temperatures not much more than a few degrees above zero, it was always going to be a really tough race. 2 riders broke away early on, who were then later joined by a third escapee. In the treacherous conditions though, their gap pretty much remained at 30 seconds for most of the day.
Lampre-Merida did most of the control work from the peloton before they decided to become active on the 2nd last lap of 34km’s. Bardiani and our Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka riders were the two teams who would respond to the moves of Lampre. The break was quickly caught when the attacking started and a new dangerous 5 rider move went clear with 1.5 laps to go. Our Basque rider, Omar Fraile was part of the attack which also included Ulissi, Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling), Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani) and Damiano Cunego (Nippo).
The 5 aggressors rode away to a 30 second lead before eventually being caught at the foot of the final 2 climbs of the day. There were then numerous attacks over these last 2 climbs which came with just 14km to go before the final descent to the line. Ulissi, Colbrelli and Pantano got away on the final climb and Fraile and Anton were part of a select chase group just behind the leading trio.
As the leaders descended onto the finishing straight, the chasers just about made contact and then the sprint opened up. With a few meters head start on the rest, Cobrelli took the win. Fraile and Anton did well to show they were two of the strongest riders on the day by finishing 7th and 9th respectively.
Omar Fraile – Rider
Oli Cookson – Sport Director
