Three Soudal Quick-Step riders in the top ten at the Italian race.
Filippo Zana came incredibly close to his maiden victory in the Soudal Quick-Step jersey on stage 1 of the Giro di Sardegna, which travelled from Castelsardo from Bosa, over 189.8 kilometers.
The course was a hilly one and gave no moments of respite in the second part, and that’s precisely where the former Italian Champion made his move, launching an audacious attack with 65 kilometers to go on the long Villanova Monteleone climb. It took him only a couple of minutes to join the original breakaway, while behind the peloton was splintering, leaving groups scattered all over the road for the last hour of the race.
Sensing there was an opportunity to join those at the front, Gianmarco Garofoli accelerated and caught the small group there, giving Soudal Quick-Step two options for the finale. In the end, Garofoli decided to work for his countryman, pulling hard in the closing kilometers, which helped the quartet finish almost one minute ahead of the chasers. Zana did a strong sprint and took second, behind Nicolo Garribo (Team UKYO), a result that makes him a solid contender for the general classification.
“We had a plan to make the race hard in the last 70 kilometers, as that part included many climbs similar to those in the Ardennes. That’s why we controlled things and pushed hard before Filippo and Gianmarco rode away. They did their best, but in the sprint one guy was faster. On the other hand, we are in a good position in the general classification and that makes us confident in what we can achieve this week”, said sports director Sep Vanmarcke at the end of the stage which two other Soudal Quick-Step riders – Gianmarco Garofoli (4th) and Louis Vervaeke (6th) – concluded in the top ten, thus putting our squad at the top of the team classification.
Photo credit: ©Wout Beel
