Another celebration for UAE Emirates-XRG: Covi, who studied the roadbook closely, wins in Abruzzo

The RCS is trying to position the Giro d'Abruzzo as a warm-up race for the Giro d'Italia, but given the list of participants, some work is still required for next year. With UAE Emirates-XRG and Intermarché-Wanty, only two WorldTour teams and several smaller Italian teams traveled to the Italian race.

The day's breakaway consisted of a few riders from that last category. Cristian Remelli, Diego Bracalente, and Matteo Zurlo are names you don't often hear in a cycling year, but now they have some space to show themselves in a race that can be seen on TV. Unfortunately, Remelli crashed.

Intermarché-Wanty, Q36.5, and Israel-Premier Tech set the pace in the peloton, causing the early breakaway to be caught with 33 kilometers to go. During this phase, we also saw Stephen Williams, last year's winner of the Flèche Wallonne, run into difficulties because UAE Emirates-XRG made the finale hard. Williams has been struggling with knee problems for some time and is not yet in shape, which will make it difficult for him to show what he is capable of in the Ardennes this year.

The riders up to the challenge included Louis Meintjes (Intermarché-Wanty) and the Q36.5 duo Harm Vanhoucke and Damien Howson, who were part of a group of seven that gained half a minute. However, a flat tire for Vanhoucke and a few teams joining forces in the peloton threatened the breakaway. The story ended with seven kilometers to go.

UAE Emirates-XRG then took control, heading into the final kilometer on a slope, resulting in an attack by Ivo Oliveira. Teammate Covi then launched his sprint and won. Luca Colnaghi (VF Group-Bardiani) finished second.

"It's great to win again. It's difficult because it's been three years since I last won," said Covi. "But we are professionals; we work every day to win one day... When I put the Giro d'Abruzzo on my schedule, I looked at the route like I do for every race, and I realized that this stage was a good opportunity for me. We did what we had to do with the team to get a small group across the finish line."

"We rode perfectly, and I won the sprint. It was tough, but that's the case in every race. I've had some bad luck in the past, but it's not worth looking back. I look to the present and the future. I'm glad to be competing at a good level again," said the Italian.