The Italian fought tooth and nail on stage 14 of his home race.

Davide Ballerini and Pieter Serry carried the flag for Soudal Quick-Step Saturday afternoon at the Corsa Rosa, proving that our team still has something to say at the season’s first Grand Tour despite continuing in just three riders. Heavy rain and cold temperatures made it another brutal day of racing between Sierre and Cassano Mogagno, as the race left behind Switzerland to return to Italy, and after an intense first hour of racing, a sizable breakaway formed with both our guys in there.

Despite the presence of the mighty Simplonpass in the first part, the group went on to establish a stunning 15-minute lead – which by the time they finished, ballooned to 21 minutes – one of the biggest gaps in years between a successful breakaway and a Grand Tour bunch. Davide was less interested in that and more in the fight for victory, and with a whisker over 50 kilometers he made his move following a series of skirmishes between the escapees.

Together with three other men, Soudal Quick-Step’s 28-year-old Italian left every ounce of energy out there as they slowly but surely built a 50-second gap. Even after remaining in three, they still had a fair chance of going all the way, pressing hard as they approached Cassano Mogagno, but the undulating terrain in the last ten kilometers combined with a concerted effort from behind saw their margin being reduced at a rather rapid pace.

The trio entered the final kilometer with ten seconds in hand and the hope they would make it, but the slightly uphill finish and the fatigue took their toll, and they were caught an agonizingly 300 meters from the line, just as they were preparing to open the sprint. As the others charged past them, Ballerini tried to react, but despite his best efforts it was heartbreak for the man from Cantù, who finished in fifth place, as Nico Denz (Bora-hansgrohe) took the victory.

“The last couple of days weren’t easy for us after all that has happened, but we wanted to show that we are still in the race. It wasn’t an easy day, but I was motivated, especially as I’m not that far from my hometown. I wanted to be in the breakaway and did my best to get there. It was nice to have Pieter with me and I want to thank him for his help. I gave everything out there and believed in our chances, but unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be. There are seven stages left and we will continue to try”, a tired but upbeat Davide said at the finish.

 

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images

Race details

1 Nico Denz
BORA - hansgrohe
4:37:30
2 Derek Gee
Israel - Premier Tech
0:00
3 Alberto Bettiol
EF Education-EasyPost
0:00
4 Laurenz Rex
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
0:01
5 Davide Ballerini
Soudal - Quick Step
0:01
6 Toms Skujiņš
Trek - Segafredo
0:04
7 Marius Mayrhofer
Team DSM
0:10
8 Stefano Oldani
Alpecin-Deceuninck
0:20
9 Andrea Pasqualon
Bahrain - Victorious
0:50
10 Mirco Maestri
EOLO-Kometa
0:50
17 Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step
1:49
35 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal - Quick Step
21:11
1 Bruno Armirail
Groupama - FDJ
56:17:01
2 Geraint Thomas
INEOS Grenadiers
1:41
3 Primož Roglič
Jumbo-Visma
1:43
4 João Almeida
UAE Team Emirates
2:03
5 Andreas Leknessund
Team DSM
2:23
6 Damiano Caruso
Bahrain - Victorious
3:09
7 Lennard Kämna
BORA - hansgrohe
3:33
8 Eddie Dunbar
Team Jayco AlUla
4:13
9 Thymen Arensman
INEOS Grenadiers
4:26
10 Laurens De Plus
INEOS Grenadiers
4:49
15 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal - Quick Step
8:05
67 Pieter Serry
Soudal - Quick Step
1:20:47
90 Davide Ballerini
Soudal - Quick Step
1:55:24
1 Jonathan Milan
Bahrain - Victorious
164 pt
2 Derek Gee
Israel - Premier Tech
112 pt
3 Pascal Ackermann
UAE Team Emirates
88 pt
4 Nico Denz
BORA - hansgrohe
75 pt
5 Toms Skujiņš
Trek - Segafredo
71 pt
6 Michael Matthews
Team Jayco AlUla
68 pt
7 Magnus Cort Nielsen
EF Education-EasyPost
56 pt
8 Marius Mayrhofer
Team DSM
53 pt
9 Mark Cavendish
Astana Qazaqstan Team
51 pt
10 Davide Bais
EOLO-Kometa
44 pt
19 Davide Ballerini
Soudal - Quick Step
28 pt
60 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal - Quick Step
5 pt
1 Davide Bais
EOLO-Kometa
144 pt
2 Thibaut Pinot
Groupama - FDJ
114 pt
3 Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes
Movistar Team
68 pt
4 Toms Skujiņš
Trek - Segafredo
42 pt
5 Karel Vacek
Team Corratec - Selle Italia
36 pt
6 Derek Gee
Israel - Premier Tech
31 pt
7 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier Egerzeigzaarhka
Trek - Segafredo
30 pt
8 Jefferson Alexander Cepeda Ortiz
EF Education-EasyPost
25 pt
9 Ben Healy
EF Education-EasyPost
24 pt
10 Aurélien Paret-Peintre
AG2R Citroën Team
22 pt
1 João Almeida
UAE Team Emirates
56:19:04
2 Andreas Leknessund
Team DSM
0:20
3 Thymen Arensman
INEOS Grenadiers
2:23
4 Santiago Buitrago Sánchez
Bahrain - Victorious
4:50
5 Ilan Van Wilder
Soudal - Quick Step
6:02
6 Einer Augusto Rubio Reyes
Movistar Team
9:01
7 Jefferson Alexander Cepeda Ortiz
EF Education-EasyPost
11:56
8 Valentin Paret-Peintre
AG2R Citroën Team
22:47
9 Laurens Huys
Intermarché - Circus - Wanty
23:46
10 Filippo Zana
Team Jayco AlUla
27:10
1 Bahrain - Victorious 168:23:58
2 Israel - Premier Tech 7:03
3 Jumbo-Visma 29:00
4 EF Education-EasyPost 29:16
5 BORA - hansgrohe 31:34
6 INEOS Grenadiers 33:02
7 UAE Team Emirates 41:08
8 AG2R Citroën Team 41:53
9 Astana Qazaqstan Team 51:56
10 EOLO-Kometa 58:43

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