Dan Martin wins Tre Valli Varesine
The one-day Italian Tre Valli Varesine cycling race was held on Tuesday and Dan Martin, for team Garmin-Transition, took the opportunity to capitalize on his good season form to finish ahead of Italian Domenico Pozzovivo in a two-man escape one kilometer from the finish line. Pozzovivo won the Brixia Tour in July, with Martin finishing that Italian event in third place overall after having won a stage in the Giro d’Italia. The Irishman went on to prove his form in the seven-stage Tour of Poland with one stage win and the overall victory.
“I love Italy. As an amateur I won two stages of the Giro della Valle d’Aosta and here the cycling fans are the most knowledgeable and the most respectful of the riders,” Martin said.
The final lap of the finishing circuit was entered by a 30-man group but nobody else could keep up with the escape initiated by Pozzovivo. Jerome Baugnies finished at the head of the group for the third-place overall. Giro d’Italia winner Stefano Garzelli crashed out of the race with a possible wrist fracture.
“In the first part of the race, I didn’t feel good at all, maybe because I was at a party on Saturday,” said Martin. “But in the last three laps, something changed.”
Martin has been chosen to lead Team Garmin at the Tour of Britain in September, supported by five other riders including Robbie Hunter and Murilo Fischer. Eight others of a total of 17 six-man teams have already made their line-ups official, but HTC-Columbia is still a source of speculation. If the latter team presents Mark Renshaw and Andre Greipel as their sprinters, it could pose a challenge to Garmin. Another close competitor is Bradley Wiggins, who will lead the all-British Team Sky in their first homeland Tour, held from 11 to 18 September.
Italians in the World Championships
The Italian national cycling coach Paolo Bettini was openly critical of the failure of any Italian rider to win at Tre Valli Varesine.
“They’ve thrown this race away,” Bettini told Gazzetta dello Sport. “I know there are team strategies at play as well but it’s a pity when Italian riders mark each other too much and leave space to the foreign riders.”
Before Martin and Pozzovivo attacked, the final lap had held attempts by Italians Damiano Cuneho and Giovanni Visconti, but both attacks were reined in by their countrymen on opposing teams.
“The Italians have to understand who their most dangerous rivals are,” said Bettini. “I’d never have let Martin get away. He won the Tour of Poland ten days ago, they know he is one of the men who is most in form at the moment. I’m not saying they gave it to him, because he is strong, but they certainly made it easier for him.”
The leadership of the Italian team at the UCI Road World Championships, held in Australia from September 29 to October 3, is up in the air. Cunego led the team to an eighth place finish last year in Mendrisio, but Bettini is concerned about his form.
“For the Worlds, I’d need the real Damiano, not a Damiano half in form. He battled, but with the polish of his golden days he would have entertained us in a finale like that. I’m sorry that races are lost like that, because when all is considered, the results are lacking. And without results, it’s even more difficult to designate roles.”
Italy hosted another one-day race the following day, Wednesday, in Lissone. The Coppa Agostoni finished with three Italians on the podium, and may brighten Bettini’s mood and change his plans for the team. Francesco Gavazzi won the race in a sprint ahead of Mauro Santambrogio and Luca Paolini, in the third. Santambrogio, who injured in the Tour de France and couldn’t finish that event, attacked in the race’s final climb, spurring a 20-man breakaway which inevitably led to the sprint finish which earned Gavazzi his third victory of the season.
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