Formolo goes long to win Italian road title

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Davide Formolo (Bora-Hansgrohe) claimed a spectacular victory in the Italian road race championship on Sunday, attacking from range before going it alone on the final three laps in Borgo Val di Taro. 

The reduced peloton came down 27 seconds later, led by Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida), with Alberto Bettiol (EF Education First) grabbing the final podium spot. 

Formolo began his offensive some 60km from the finish, with five laps of the finishing circuit - punctuated by the climb to Strela - still to cover. Initially away with six others, he dominated the front of the race and left them behind on the descent of Strela with three laps still remaining. 

“It was very hot, it must have been 40 degrees,” Formolo said, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport. “I knew I had to invent something. I made a mistake counting the laps. I thought there were four left, but it was actually three, and that encouraged me.”

Formolo's lead was never great, but he never gave up, and there were question marks in the chase group. With a lead of 30 seconds heading into the last lap, the inevitable attacks came on the climb to Strela but nothing stuck and Formolo hardly ceded ground, negotiating the descent before finishing off a brilliant victory.

Second at Liege-Bastogne-Liege in April, Formolo came away disappointed from the Giro d'Italia, where he placed 15th overall. He took time out after the corsa rosa and will now hope the national title is a springboard for further success later in the season. 

“Cycling is a sport of suffering, not of numbers,” Formolo said. “When you put a number on your back, you have to say, ‘Great, today I’m going to suffer, to hurt myself.’ If instead you start out stressed, you won’t go anywhere. You have to be happy in order to have the desire to suffer.”

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