Eric Fagundez (Burgos-Burpellet-Bh, Uruguay) won the Giro di Campania on 20 September, in a 2-man sprint, in 4h21’48”. Alexandre Delettre (Totalenergies, France) was second, Andrii Ponomar (General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia, Ukraine) third.
The race
The race has returned after twenty-five years. It started on 20 September from the Reggia di Caserta and finished in piazza del Plebiscito in Napoli after just over 203 kilometres. The route has no laps: it crosses Irpinia, drops down to Vietri and follows the Amalfi Coast, then climbs to Agerola and heads back towards Napoli.
The morning breakaway had four men: Andrii Ponomar (General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia), Luca Colnaghi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, Matteo Ambrosini of MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort and George Wood of Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente. The peloton kept them at a safe distance through the middle part of the course, waiting for the Coast.
The race was decided on the climb of Agerola, tackled around kilometre 152.7: long and steady rather than steep. Einer Rubio of Movistar attacked here. He went over the top alone, about ten seconds ahead of a small group of fourteen riders.
Eric Fagundez came out of that small group. With him went Alexandre Delettre (Totalenergies) and Ponomar, who by then was the last survivor of the breakaway. The three caught Rubio and began to work together. Behind, meanwhile, nobody set off in determined pursuit: Alessandro Fancellu, according to reports, was annoyed at the way that group behaved.
At the front the four gained more than thirty seconds on the chasing group, as the race descended towards Pimonte, Gragnano and Castellammare di Stabia and then ran along the coast, through Pompei, Torre del Greco and Portici, all the way to Napoli.
In the sprint, in piazza del Plebiscito, Fagundez and Delettre crossed the line side by side. The photo finish gave the win to the 28-year-old Uruguayan, with the same time of 4h21’48”. Ponomar was third at 2”, Rubio fourth at 6”.
The Italians finished in the chasing group, at 36”: the first was Fancellu, sixth, ahead of Andrea Vendrame. For Fagundez it is a win in a Class 1.1 race, the first of this level in the account we found.
The first of the Italians is Alessandro Fancellu, MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort, 6th at 36″; among the top ten there are 3 Italians. 67 riders finished out of 118 starters.
How they finished
The top ten
| # | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eric Fagundez | Burgos-Burpellet-Bh | 4h21’48” |
| 2 | Alexandre Delettre | Totalenergies | s.t. |
| 3 | Andrii Ponomar | General Store-Essegibi-F.lli Curia | +2″ |
| 4 | Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes | Movistar Team | +6″ |
| 5 | Gorka Corres Ibañez De Opakua | Caja Rural-Seguros RGA | +36″ |
| 6 | Alessandro Fancellu | MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort | +36″ |
| 7 | Andrea Vendrame | Team Jayco Alula | +36″ |
| 8 | Hugo De La Calle Arango | Burgos-Burpellet-Bh | +36″ |
| 9 | Ludovico Crescioli | Team Polti Visitmalta | +36″ |
| 10 | Joris Delbove | Totalenergies | +36″ |
The race in numbers
- Selection index
- 92 out of 100 Of 67 finishers: 4 within 30 seconds of the winner, 25 within 2 minutes, 48 within 10 minutes (himself included). It runs from 0, a bunch sprint, to 98, a solo finish.
News written with the help of Mnemosyne.
Sources
- Results and times: UCI, official results.
- Photo: FreCha, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
