UAE powers on without Pogacar in the Italian fall — guess who also won the Giro del Veneto...

Whereas last year we traveled from Verona to Vicenzo, this year the organization reversed the route. This meant that a final lap in Verona would decide the outcome, preceded by a long run of more than 80 kilometers on virtually flat roads. In the final lap, which had to be completed five times, the Salita delle Torricelle (4 kilometers at 5 percent) was the deciding factor.

With victories for Del Toro in the Giro dell'Emilia and Gran Piemonte, Tadej Pogacar in Tre Valli Varesine and the Tour of Lombardy, and Adam Yates in the Coppa Agostini and the Trofeo Tessile & Moda, the Italian fall season has so far been outstanding for UAE. With Del Toro, António Morgado, Pavel Sivakov, and Tim Wellens at the start, among others, they would have to be on the lookout again on Wednesday.

A few riders tried, but there was not much interest in joining the early breakaway. It looked like the entire peloton would head for the local circuit. However, with 100 kilometers to go, a breakaway group did form, including a rider who was having a special day, namely Elia Viviani.

The Italian was riding the last race of his career and managed to sneak into the breakaway. He was joined by four compatriots: Davide Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Michele Bicelli (Biesse-Carrera-Premac), Kevin Pezzo Rosola (General Store-Essegebi), and Filippo d'Aiuto (Petrolike). Uno-X duo Sakarias Koller Løland and Storm Ingebrigtsen, and Equipo Kern Pharma rider Mikel Retegi were also there.

The eight riders entered the local circuit with a minute and a half lead on the peloton. On the first sections of the Salita delle Torricelle, Viviani dropped back, leaving seven riders in the lead. Not much later, Bicelli also found the pace too fast, leaving only six riders at the front.

As expected, UAE took control of the peloton. The team from the Emirates dictated the pace and steadily reduced the lead of the six riders at the front. When the peloton suddenly closed in on the third climb, d'Aiuto accelerated. Ingebrigtsen and Bais were able to keep up, but for the others, it was all over.

When Torricella Massimiliana and UAE had thinned out the peloton to an elite group for the last time, Del Toro attacked. As so often in the Italian fall, no one could keep up. Romain Grégoire tried for a while, but was followed by Sivakov, allowing Del Toro to take a nice lead over the group behind him.