Mattia Negrente (XDS Astana Development Team, Italy) won the Ruota d’Oro (under-23) on 29 September, in the sprint of a group of 4 riders, in 3h52’21”. Second was Pierre Saint Martin (Avc Aix Provence Dole, France), third Nicolo’ Pizzi (Team Technipes #inemiliaromagna Caffè Borbone, Italy).
The race
At the Ruota d’Oro 161 riders started in Terranuova Bracciolini, on a day of ideal weather. The course was 170 kilometres and the race began fast: in the first hour the average exceeded 46 kilometres per hour. The first to try their luck were Davide Basso (Beltrami TSA Tre Colli) and, at the intermediate sprints, Valentino Mercatali and Ludovico Mellano made themselves seen.
The race came alive on the climb of Cima Berna, to be tackled four times. There a group of 26 riders formed, which at halfway gained as much as two minutes on the peloton. Among those inside were Mellano, Consolidani, De Gendt, Pizzi and Bambagioni.
The decisive move came with two laps to go, 47 kilometres from the finish. Mattia Negrente (XDS Astana Development Team) and the Frenchman Pierre Saint Martin (Avc Aix Provence Dole) attacked together and the peloton never managed to bring them back.
The two did not stay alone for long. Nicolò Pizzi (Team Technipes) and the Dane Otto Jølving (Team Coloquick) caught them and the four tackled the climb of Monticello and the ramp of Valcello. Nobody dropped the others: in the last kilometre the quartet was still together.
The sprint was on the straight of viale Europa. Negrente had the best kick and won in 3h52’21”. Saint Martin and Pizzi finished behind him, in the same time, and Jølving was fourth. Ludovico Mellano, Negrente’s team-mate, came in fifth, 11” down.
Negrente is 21: he is the oldest winner of the Ruota d’Oro since at least 2018. He was already Italian under-23 champion and a few days earlier had finished seventh in the world championships for the category. This is his second win of the season, after the one that brought him the Italian title.
The race left few survivors: 20 reached the finish, the fewest since at least 2018. Negrente succeeds Joseph Brookes on the roll of honour.
Among the top ten, 7 are Italian. 20 riders finished out of 161 starters.
How they finished
The top ten
| # | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mattia Negrente | XDS Astana Development Team | 3h52’21” |
| 2 | Pierre Saint Martin | Avc Aix Provence Dole | s.t. |
| 3 | Nicolo’ Pizzi | Team Technipes #inemiliaromagna Caffè Borbone | s.t. |
| 4 | Otto Jølving | Team Coloquick | s.t. |
| 5 | Ludovico Mellano | XDS Astana Development Team | +11″ |
| 6 | Tommaso Bambagioni | Team Technipes #inemiliaromagna Caffè Borbone | +21″ |
| 7 | Michele Bicelli | Biesse-Carrera-Premac | +21″ |
| 8 | Leonardo Consolidani | Bahrain Victorious Development Team | +49″ |
| 9 | Pietro Galbusera | XDS Astana Development Team | +49″ |
| 10 | Leander De Gendt | Bahrain Victorious Development Team | +50″ |
The race in numbers
- Selection index
- 86 out of 100 Of 20 finishers: 7 within 30 seconds of the winner, 19 within 2 minutes, all within 10 minutes (him 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.