Hirschi again shows strong autumn legs, but Strong wins Giro del Veneto after powerful sprint

The Italian autumn is fast approaching its end after Il Lombardia, but not before the Giro del Veneto has been completed. The organizers of the one-day race had prepared a partially hilly 165-kilometer course between the start town of Verona and the finish on the short Monte Berico. That course ended with a final lap of about 15 kilometers, which had to be completed five times. The final kilometer was severely uphill, so Wednesday was expected for the punchers with a solid final shot.

Seven men quickly broke away from the peloton to arrive earlier at the local lap. The biggest name in the breakaway was Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), who became the world-time trial champion last year. The seven-man breakaway also included Davide Baldaccini (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Nickolas Zukowsky (Q36.5), Ådne Holter (Uno-X Mobility), Kevin Pezzo Rosola (General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia), Ben Granger (Mg. K Vis-Colors for Peace) and Darío Germán Gómez (Polti-Kometa). They kept up to two minutes from the peloton.

Milesi was the first to drop out at the front. He did not get back on his bike after crashing at 94 kilometers. Germán Gómez had to leave the other five leaders twenty kilometers later. Behind them, the peloton had approached at lightning speed. The pack had put on a solid acceleration at the start of the second local lap. The five leaders were only seconds ahead of the depleted peloton.

Holter and Baldaccini also said goodbye to the leaders on the flat part of the local lap. The trio at the front, which thus consisted of Zukowsky, Pezzo Rosola, and Granger, did not give up easily, but for them, too, the adventure was over 48 kilometers from the finish.

A depleted peloton thus began the final three laps together. Diego Ulissi (UAE Team Emirates) and Rémy Rochas (Groupama-FDJ) opened the closing phase immediately from the passage of the finish line. They accelerated without success but ensured that the pace increased yet again. Spaniard Marcel Camprubí (Q36.5) tried just before the descent but was caught again on the flat.

Moving on to the next attack came from Allesandro Tonelli (VF Group Bardiani-CSF Faizane). He tried just on that flat section but was caught back as soon as the road went up in the final kilometer of the course. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) led the riders into the final two laps.

Hirschi took advantage of Vine's acceleration. The Swiss exceeded his teammate, leaving an elite group of fifteen riders at the front. Among them were Grégoire and Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla). The chasing peloton followed at about half a minute. Camprubí had crept along at the front but crashed on the descent. He was soon able to continue his way. Meanwhile, teammate Gianluca Brambilla had pulled away from the leading group and enjoyed a slight 15-second lead.

Behind Brambilla, a large group returned on the 14 leaders, opening the hunt for the Italian. At the start of the final lap, it was, therefore, over for the Q36.5 rider. Hirschi returned with another attack on the short but steep climb to the line. Only Grégoire could follow the Swiss; behind him, a single rider tried to catch the duo. Zana managed to get to the two leaders, followed by Samuele Battistella (Astana).

Still, the foursome didn't stay ahead for long. A chasing group caught them on the descent. We went into the final six kilometers with about fifteen riders, with only the last kilometer being very uphill. So it looked like it was going to be a sprint.

However, not everyone accepted that scenario, as we saw several attacks on the flat. In vain, the small group started the final climb as a group. Vine gave Hirschi a good lead-out, while Grégoire started a bit early. Strong, who had been sliding along with the favorites all day, got a great lead-out from teammate Marco Frigo. He then had a blistering acceleration in his legs. It was too powerful for the competition, as Meurisse and Grégoire were the nearest pursuers to the New Zealander. They did get to go on the podium in second and third place.