Race Report: Maxim Iglinskiy has added yet another foreign name to the Albo d’Oro at the Montepaschi Strade Bianche Toscana. The white gravel roads of Tuscany have again offered up a worthy winner and provided another stunning finish to a new race that is quickly earning its place amongst the greats.
The Astana team played the numbers game to perfection in Tuscany today to give Maxim Iglinskiy his first win since he took a stage and the overall at the 2009 Tour de Romandie. The Montepaschi Strade Bianche Toscana might not have the 260+ kilometres of Flanders or Roubaix but with the added ‘bonus’ of both climbing and descending – sometimes at nearly 20% - on gravel roads, the Italian Tuscan classic is definitely not a lightweight race for the Russian - or anyone - to be adding to his Palmares.
PEZ Man Ale Federico was out on the roadside to suck the dust into his lungs and bring us the roadside action and with the day dawning clear and crisp for the 10.40 am start in Gaiole in Chianti for the circuitous 190km ride to Siena’s famous Campo.
In 2009 it was Sweden’s Thomas Lofkvist who scored the win and went on to have a great ride at the Giro d’Italia in May and this year, after a change of squads, was back with Team Sky and looking to claim the double.
With Italy seeing plenty of rain over the past weeks, the White Roads (Strade Bianche in Italian) were looking just a little bit greyer, which was helping to keep the dust down.
After the first feed at kilometre 109, the full peloton was still together, with the first three sections of gravel passing relatively uneventfully, however with the four toughest sections of Monte Sante Marie (11.5km), Montechiaro (3.3km), Colle Pinzuto (2.4km) and Le Tolfe (1.1km) to be ridden in the final 58km, it was all about to explode.
Let The Games Begin
Matt Hayman of Team Sky was the man driving things at the front over the opening stages of Section five and after being joined by Enrico Magazzini (Lampre) and Michiel Elijzen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) for a brief spell, they were eventually joined by seven others to make a threatening front group.
HTC Columbia were a regular sight at the front of the peloton and on the hunt to make it two wins in two years for the team, even if 2009 winner Lofkvist was now racing on another squad.
At 11km in length, the Monte Sante Marie section is one of the most challenging of the race and all of the big guns were doing their best to stay at the front and stay out of trouble.
Lofkvist (Team Sky) too, was taking his turns at the front at 50km to go and with the help of Liquigas, pushing the pace on the climbs to try and break up the smaller front group of around 25-30riders.
Man in Green, Daniel Oss took advantage of the undulating road to launch an attack taking team mate Nibali with him along with Michael Rogers (HCT Columbia), Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) and Simon Spilak (Lampre).
Fresh off his recent win at the Ruta del Sol, Rogers was looking good at the front but the move was not going away with the main bunch in attendance some 200m off the wheel of the front five.
2008 winner, Cancellara was making his presence felt at the head of the chase and after a regrouping heading into the second last off-road stretch, it was a group of around 20 riders that hit the Colle Pinzuto.
Seemingly the strongest man at the front of the race, Rogers made his move on the short but super steep Colle Pinzuto, riding away by himself while plenty of others went out the back on the 1000m long, 15% climb.
Team Sky had numbers at the front and it was Het Nieuwsblad winner Flecha who set off over the top of the climb in pursuit of the Australian.
With another eight riders chasing close behind, Flecha finally made contact with the front. Rogers hadn’t sat up and made the Spaniard fight to ride across the gap, but just as Flecha took over, the reminder rode onto Rogers’ back wheel.
The new front group was now made up of Rogers, Flecha, Fabian Cancellara and Matti Breschel (SaxoBank), Francesco Ginanni (Lampre), Italian Champ Pippo Pozzato (Katusha), Garmin’s Ryder Hesjedal and Maxim Iglinskiy of Astana.
Chasing behind were another eight riders, including Lofkvist, but the main peloton with World Champ Cadel Evans were 2minutes and 25 behind and with just 15km left to race would be playing no role in the outcome of the race.
Le Tolfe
On the smooth roads leading to the final section of sterrato it was again Michael Rogers who was trying to get things moving with a lift in tempo to split the group. With the finish fast approaching there was no way the bunch was letting the three times world TT champ get away.
An attack from former Italian road champ, Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) did gain some ground on the group. Rather than a blistering move down the side of the road, it was one of those roll off the front manoeuvres than can often catch riders unawares. With a small gap building, then, it was the Italian Astana man who led alone onto the trickly descent that starts off the final section of Le Tolfe.
Knowing how hard the final kilometres of the race are, it was Lofkvist driving things behind to eliminate Gasparotto’s lead. With the Astana rider still away, however, it was giving Iglinskiy the chance to sit in the wheels and follow.
After the gravel descent, it was one more gravel climb and ex-MTB’er Ryder Hesjedal was the man leading the chase while Spilak and Breschel were dropping off the back.
With the riders back on smooth (but definitely not flat) roads, there was a regrouping at the front with 11 men settling in to fight out the finish. Both Pozzato and Iglinskiy both trying their luck to slip away by forcing the pace and it was Pozzato who managed to snap the elastic at 10km to go and gain a handful of seconds over the chase.
Flecha, Rogers and Cancellara all tried their hand at getting away once Pozzato was caught and when Cancellara’s move seemed to have stuck on one climb, Iglinskiy closed the gap like they had been riding for 5 minutes and not close to five hours.
The Winning Move
On the last long drag before the final finishing ramp up through the old city, Rogers was again showing his strength and a pause over the top of the climb gave the Australian just what he needed to slip away. The group were having none of it and it was 2009 winner Lofkvist who zipped across and jumped on the wheel.
With Sky team-mate Flecha slowing the group behind, Iglinskiy made the decision to jump across and together with Hesjedal, the four at the front looked a lot more comfortable than the chasers being forced to constantly react behind.
Ginanni was trying to get the remainder to chase but without any luck, giving the dropped Cancellara the chance to ride back onto the small group. When Pozzato again tried his hand to bridge across, Ginanni went to and after a drawn out chase, finally managed to ride onto the back of the front four as they reached the city walls and the foot of the final climb to the finish.
With six men together at 1000m to go, it was Lofkvist who finally relieved Rogers of his pacesetting role at the front and as the road pitched up, the Team Sky rider put the power down.
At 18%, the front group of six dropped to three almost immediately with only Iglinskiy and Rogers able to follow the pace set by the Swede.
Over the top of the climb and into the narrow, barrier lined back streets leading to the Campo, Iglinskiy took over the lead, and would be the first man through the final decisive right hand bend.
The Kazakh took a wide line from the left hand side to the corner and exited with most of his speed. Lofkvist was second in but approached on the right hand barrier and had to brake hard to make the turn without hitting the barrier on the exit. Rogers came straight up the middle and realising how tight the corner was going to be, did a double back wheel lock up before getting around still in third wheel.
With only a handful of metres to the line, it is pretty much a given that the first man through the final corner claims the race, and with Lofkvist and Rogers having to get on top of their gear out of the corner, Iglinskiy had it sewn up as soon as he turned right.
A slight wave of the right hand was the only victory salute the Astana rider could muster, but after a ride taking 2 seconds less that 5hours, and a crash that he had to fight back from, he could be forgiven for not having much left on the tank to throw the arms.
Maxim Iglinskiy became the fourth foreign winner of the Montepaschi Strade Bianche Toscana in its short four year history and with Kazakhstan, Sweden and Australia taking the only three places available on the podium, the home country had to console themselves with the fact that Pozzato’s fourth place was a good indication of his form heading into the Northern Classics, firing up later this month.
Montepaschi Strade Bianche Toscana, Final Placings
1. Maxim Iglinskiy, (KAZ) Astana 4h 59min, 48sec (38.1km/h)
2.Thomas Lofkvist (SWE) Team Sky @ 1sec
3. Michael Rogers (AUS) HTC-Columbia
4. Filippo Pozzato (ITA) Katusha @ 18sec
5. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin Transitions @ 19sec
6. Francesco Ginanni (ITA) Androni-Giocattoli @ 24sec
7. Leonardo Bertagnolli (ITA) Androni-Giocattoli @ 43sec
8. Juan Antonio Flecha (SPA) Team Sky
9. Enrico Gasparotto (ITA) Astana @49sec
10. Daniele Righi (ITA) Lampre- Farnese Vini
11. Fabian Cancellara (SWI) Saxo Bank @ 1.19
12. Matti Breschel (DEN) Saxo Bank @ 1.41
13. Daniel Oss (ITA) Liquigas
14. Greg Van Avermaet (BEL) Omega Pharma – Lotto
15. Simon Spilak (SLO) Lampre Farnese Vini
16. Stefano Garzelli (ITA) Acqua & Sapone
17. Luca Paolini (ITA) Acqua & Sapone
18. Simon Clark (AUS) ISD Neri @3.04
19. Franco Pellizotti (ITA) Liquigas
20. Assan Bazayev (KAZ) Astana
Keep it dialed to PEZ for Ale's RoadSide Report covering all the action from today's race.
Race Report: Today was another sprinter’s delight with just one Cat 3 climb along the course, and a flat run in to town. The usual sacrificial ... More....
Roadside St.5: A sprinter’s day and the best of them are here at the 75th Vuelta a España. Who will take the honours and the champagne? What ... More....
Not much needed changing with Sidi's benchmark shoe. In fact if you asked me, they were dead right, as-is for 09'. But il professore dei piede ... More....
When you talk about Orbea bicycles and the Euskaltel team, it’s about more than light alloy and carbon; it’s about people, national identity, unity ... More....
Catlike's latest version Whisper Plus checks a lot of boxes on anyone's list of requirements for the current top of the top of the line helmets. More....
Two times Tour de France winner Laurent Fignon lost his battle with cancer on Tuesday, and at only 50 years of age, his time came much too soon. PEZ ... More....
The new book, “As Good as Gold,” by Kathryn Bertine, is the entertaining tale of a dedicated athlete, who had a singularly peculiar opportunity to ... More....
Just a few short weeks from now, one of the largest organized group cycling events on the West Coast will take place between Vancouver and Whistler. ... More....
The Tour of Utah provided some of the most entertaining and difficult American racing of the year. PEZ was on the scene for the week along the ... More....
Emma Pooley stormed to a second consecutive solo win yesterday in the women’s version of the GP Plouay and Simon Gerrans faced the challenge of ... More....
It’s the final weeks of the summer and a long season of riding and training has gone under our wheels. For some, it’s a holding pattern before the ... More....
Your teammates aren’t cooperating enough in races. A fellow rider is at risk – or is putting others at risk – but is unaware. The peloton needs ... More....
August has been sweltering for much of North America and Europe, and we know that hyperthermia can have a major negative impact on our performance ... More....
August is a dangerous month; a full season of racing has left many athletes tired and ready for the fall break. Often motivation to train hard wanes ... More....
Roadside Report: 'Did you think it was a good Tour?' asks Vik. I knew it was a leading question, but went along with it, 'yes, a good Tour.' ... More....
Roadside Report: On last Monday’s ‘repos’ in Morzine, Pez got a very special opportunity. As things were marginally more relaxed than normal, ... More....
Giro Roadside Wrap: The curtain fell on this Giro a few weeks ago, but as I’ve learned over the years, as the days tick by the memories of ... More....
Roadside PEZ: The team bus is the home away from home for the riders on Tour. Every night a new hotel room, every day a new start town and a ... More....
Dozens of SMS and emails flash up on my BlackBerry each day, most are chaff and get deleted after a quick glance – but when one comes in to tell me ... More....
The last time we spoke to Columbia-HTC's Matt Goss, he'd just won a race which one day may become a classic - Philly. On Sunday past he won a race ... More....
Here at PEZ, we’re dedicated students of cycling history. Plus, we love those old-school photos featuring riders in wool jerseys on skinny steel ... More....
On the premise that it's never too early to run a six day story... Black Dog's Ryan Sabga wanted to ride a European six day race. So, he did! Here's ... More....
Yesterday, PEZ spoke with young American talent, Lawson Craddock, today, we move up two steps to World Junior TT Champion, Bob Jungels. The 17 year ... More....
Gran Canaria, situated off of the west coast of Africa, is not one of the world’s best known riding destinations. When compared to the Alps, ... More....
He has a degree in 19th century French literature was a big Richard Virenque fan, and as the organiser of PEZ's superb hotels for the 2010 Tour de ... More....
Race Report: It’s a sad start to the first big mountain stage of this year’s Vuelta. Team Sky’s masseur Txema González passed away yesterday ... More....
Fairy tales are rare in pro cycling, but 25 year old Matthew Busche’s story is about as a close as they come. At the beginning of the 2009 season, he ... More....
Roadside St.7: Today there was a big fast sprint into Orihuela, before that the fast men had to get themselves over a bit of a climb. Some got ... More....
Vacansoleil are making the headlines at the moment; there’s the Pro Tour application, Bjorn Leukemans’ win in the 1.1 Druivenkoers and last but not ... More....
![](javascript:showpic("http://www.pezcyclingnews.com/photos/tech/sidi/10sidilarge.jpg",1900,1267);)
