Matthew Walls wins Gran Piemonte
Olympic Omnium champion claims first major one-day victory
Matt Walls (Bora-Hansgrohe) won Gran Piemonte in a bunch sprint in Borgosesia, beating Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka) and Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) to the line after a chaotic final kilometre.
The Olympic omnium champion held his nerve in a chaotic finale, where some fast men lost valuable ground while navigating a traffic island just past the flamme rouge. Walls was well positioned there, and he then had the nous to follow the wheel of Max Richeze (UAE Team Emirates) in the finishing straight before delivering a rasping sprint in the final 150m.
Nizzolo, who won this race in 2016 was able to make up some ground on Walls in the closing metres, but the 23-year-old kicked once again in sight of the line to claim his second victory on the road as a professional.
Kooij, who had to chase back on after a crash in the finale, placed an impressive third ahead of Matteo Trentin (UAE Team Emirates), while world under-23 silver medallist Biniam Ghirmay (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) took 5th in front of Jakub Mareczko (Vini Zabù).
"The boys did a really good job getting me towards the closing kilometres and I picked a good wheel. I came off and I had enough in the tank for the sprint," said Walls.
Paris-Roubaix winner Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain Victorious) was perhaps the favourite for victory, but the European champion made no impact in the sprint after being stalled in the final kilometre, while other contenders such as Ethan Hayter (Ineos) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis) were also effectively out of the running come the final 300 metres.
"They were all there coming towards the end, I saw my opportunity to go and I went for it," said Walls, who agreed that his track skills had helped him to pick his way through the peloton in the finale. "It was pretty hectic coming in towards the finish, there were a couple of crashes or something, but I think it helped a lot being able to position myself well in the bunch."
Walls' victory owed most, of course, to his striking turn of speed in the final 150 metres as he opened a gap that Nizzolo and Kooij simply could not close. The Oldham native has caught the eye on both road and track in 2021, from his assured debut at the Tour de la Provence in February to his omnium gold and Madison silver at the Tokyo Olympics.
He carried that track form into the final part of the season, notching up his first win for Bora-Hansgrohe on the final stage of the Tour of Norway.
"It's really big, it shows that I can perform on the top level on the road," Walls said. "I knew I could do it on the track after the Olympics. so it's nice to be able to do that on the road as well."
How it unfolded
When the cycling calendar was redrawn amid the coronavirus pandemic last year, Gran Piemonte took on a different guise, with RCS Sport pitching it as a dress rehearsal for Il Lombardia by routing it through the hills of the Lange, with George Bennett emerging victorious in Barolo.
This time out, the race returned to favouring the sprinters with a largely flat 169km route through from Rocca Canavese to Borgosesia. Yet even though the odds were stacked against the attackers, five volunteers emerged after a rapid opening, as Manuele Boaro (Astana-PremierTech), Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto Soudal), Marc Soler (Movistar), Mattias Skjelmose Jensen (Trek-Segafredo) and Marco Frapporti (Vini Zabù) forged clear.
The quintet escaped after 15km but the pace never truly relented in the peloton behind and their advantage was never allowed to reach three minutes. The escapees covered some 49km in a very brisk opening hour, and the pace took its toll on Frapporti when they hit the day's stiffest obstacle, the steady climb towards La Serra after 60km.
Boaro, Moniquet, Soler and Skjelmose Jensen pressed on thereafter, but their advantage began to tumble after the midway point as a coalition of the sprinters' teams took control at the head of the peloton, with Cofidis and Qhubeka-NextHash prominent on behalf of Viviani and Nizzolo, respectively.
As the break's lead dwindled, Boaro attacked in an attempt to breathe new life into the move, but the escapees were caught with 28km remaining and the collaboration among the sprinters' teams ensured there would be no further attacks on the run-in, with Ineos to the fore on behalf of Ethan Hayter and Bahrain Victorious prominent in support of Colbrelli.
Kooij went down in a crash inside the final 20km, but the Dutchman quickly rejoined the bunch, and Jumbo-Visma's presence on the front was a sure sign that he would contest the inevitable sprint. Ineos, and Filippo Ganna in particular, were also keen to ensure a bunch sprint, while Qhubeka-NextHash took up the reins for Nizzolo inside the final 2km.
Road furniture just inside the final kilometre served to disrupt some of the sprinters, with Viviani among those to sit up, but Affini took over at the head of the bunch with a long turn on behalf of Kooij.
The experienced Richeze, meanwhile, was on hand to lead out the sprint for Trentin, but Walls showed nous beyond his years to mark the Argentinian's wheel, and he unfurled a crisp sprint to claim the spoils.
Pos. | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Matthew Walls (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe | 3:34:47 |
2 | Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash | |
3 | Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma | |
4 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
5 | Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
6 | Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
7 | Riccardo Minali (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
8 | Arvid de Kleijn (Ned) Rally Cycling | |
9 | Amaury Capiot (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
10 | Stefano Oldani (Ita) Lotto Soudal | |
11 | Ethan Hayter (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | |
12 | Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis | |
13 | Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
14 | Alex Aranburu Deba (Spa) Astana-Premier Tech | |
15 | Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) UAE Team Emirates | |
16 | José Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | |
17 | Davide Gabburo (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
18 | Gonzalo Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
19 | Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bahrain Victorious | |
20 | Colin Joyce (USA) Rally Cycling | |
21 | Ben Swift (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers | |
22 | Filippo Tagliani (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
23 | Luca Colnaghi (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
24 | Omer Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation | |
25 | Samuele Zambelli (Ita) Iseo-Rime-Carnovali | |
26 | Filippo Baroncini (Ita) Team Colpack Ballan | |
27 | Edoardo Affini (Ita) Jumbo-Visma | |
28 | Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
29 | Antonio Puppio (Ita) Qhubeka-NextHash | |
30 | Maxim Van Gils (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
31 | Edo Goldstein (Isr) Israel Start-Up Nation | |
32 | Donavan Grondin (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
33 | Marco Canola (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo | |
34 | Giovanni Aleotti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:13 |
35 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
36 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
37 | Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
38 | Nicola Venchiarutti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
39 | Mattia Bais (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
40 | Filippo Conca (Ita) Lotto Soudal | |
41 | Koen Bouwman (Ned) Jumbo-Visma | |
42 | Riccardo Tosin (Ita) Vini Zabu' | |
43 | Manuel Belletti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
44 | Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
45 | Andreas Stokbro (Den) Qhubeka NextHash | |
46 | Unai Iribar Jauregi (Esp) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
47 | Filippo Fiorelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
48 | Mattia Viel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
49 | Felix Grossschartner (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
50 | Nickolas Zukowsky (Can) Rally Cycling | 0:00:22 |
51 | Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Qhubeka NextHash | |
52 | Damiano Cima (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo | |
53 | Emil Vinjebo (Den) Qhubeka NextHash | |
54 | Stijn Daemen (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty Gobert Matériaux | |
55 | Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) UAE Team Emirates | |
56 | Samuele Zoccarato (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
57 | Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
58 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
59 | Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious | |
60 | Txomin Juaristi Arrieta (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
61 | Jan Polanc (Slo) UAE Team Emirates | |
62 | Jacopo Mosca (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
63 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | |
64 | Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
65 | Igor Boev (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo | 0:00:31 |
66 | Mikel Iturria Segurola (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
67 | Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cofidis | |
68 | Jeremy Bellicaud (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
69 | Hugo Toumire (Fra) Cofidis | |
70 | Jokin Aranburu Arruti (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
71 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
72 | Pavel Kochetkov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo | |
73 | Sergei Chernetskii (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo | |
74 | Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious | |
75 | Davide Martinelli (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | |
76 | Asbjorn Hellemose (Den) Trek-Segafredo | |
77 | Steff Cras (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
78 | Leonardo Marchiori (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
79 | Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
80 | Mattia Frapporti (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
81 | Dayer Quintana (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
82 | Winner Anacona (Col) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
83 | Einer Rubio Reyes (Col) Movistar Team | |
84 | Héctor Carretero (Spa) Movistar Team | |
85 | Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
86 | Keegan Swirbul (USA) Rally Cycling | |
87 | Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF Faizane' | |
88 | Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel Start-up Nation | |
89 | Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis | |
90 | Matteo Sobrero (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | |
91 | James Piccoli (Can) Israel Start-up Nation | |
92 | Attilio Viviani (Ita) Cofidis | |
93 | Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Ineos Grenadiers | |
94 | Alessandro Covi (Ita) UAE Team Emirates | |
95 | Luca Coati (Ita) Qhubeka-NextHash | |
96 | Rodrigo Contreras Pinzon (Col) Astana-Premier Tech | |
97 | Matthew Holmes (GBr) Lotto Soudal | |
98 | Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
99 | Mark Padun (Ukr) Bahrain Victorious | |
100 | Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma | |
101 | Gijs Leemreize (Ned) Jumbo-Visma | |
102 | Tobias Foss (Nor) Jumbo-Visma | |
103 | Riccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
104 | Emerson Oronte (USA) Rally Cycling | |
105 | Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious | |
106 | Diego Pablo Sevilla Lopez (Spa) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
107 | Marco Frapporti (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
108 | Toms Skujins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo | |
109 | Vincenzo Albanese (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
110 | Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team | |
111 | Emanuel Buchmann (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | 0:00:52 |
112 | Petr Rikunov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo | 0:00:01 |
113 | Gregorio Ferri (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
114 | Guy Sagiv (Isr) Israel Start-up Nation | |
115 | Kevin Ledanois (Fra) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
116 | Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers | |
117 | Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis | |
118 | Nathan Brown (USA) Rally Cycling | |
119 | Alastair MacKellar (Aus) Israel Start-Up Nation | 0:01:12 |
120 | Lucas Plapp (Aus ) Ineos Grenadiers | 0:01:19 |
121 | Stephen Williams (GBr) Bahrain Victorious | |
122 | Ben King (USA) Rally Cycling | |
123 | Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers | |
124 | Dmitrii Strakhov (Rus) Gazprom-RusVelo | |
125 | Cameron Wurf (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers | |
126 | Michel Hessmann (Ger) Jumbo-Visma | 0:01:24 |
127 | Antonio Angulo Sampedro (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi | 0:02:07 |
128 | Théo Delacroix (Fra) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | 0:02:44 |
129 | Davide Orrico (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | 0:03:16 |
130 | Samuele Rivi (Ita) Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team | |
131 | Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo | 0:04:50 |
132 | Marc Soler (Spa) Movistar Team | |
133 | Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain Victorious | 0:05:28 |
134 | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Astana-Premier Tech | 0:09:04 |
135 | Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
136 | Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) Qhubeka NextHash | 0:09:30 |
DNF | Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Dario Cataldo (Ita) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Rafal Majka (Pol) UAE Team Emirates | |
DNF | Giulio Masotto (Ita) Vini Zabu' Brado KTM | |
DNS | Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNS | Natnael Berhane (Eri) Cofidis | |
DNS | Georg Zimmermann (Ger) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux |
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Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
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