Coppi e Bartali – Ben Swift 2nd, Kennaugh Leads

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Ben Swift’s run of good form continues with second place to Elia Vivani on stage 3 – Peter Kennaugh continues to lead overall

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Coppi e Bartali – Ben Swift 2nd, Kennaugh Leads

Stage 3 of Coppi e Bartali in his home country saw Elia Vivani’s first winning sprint in 2014. On the finish line of Crevalcore, third stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi and Bartali (158 km), the Cannondale sprinter beat stage 1a winner Ben Swift (Sky) and Rino Gasparrini (Trevigiani) in the bunch kick.

Viviani started the Italian stage race after twenty days of rest to recover from the winter schedule with Tour Down Under, Tour of Qatar and the Track World Championships. Even if the commitment has been always the maximum, the results were not what Viviani prepared and trained for leaving him wanting more from this season.

“I have never hid that I had other expectations from my first part of the season, especially in the Worlds. Honestly, I thought I would get better results. In the last weeks, many doubts came into my mind and I needed something to dismiss them. This victory has been the best solution” said Viviani.

“I’m really satisfied for the performance and to have broken the ice. On the first stages, I suffered a lot. I knew my form was not at the top after a long period without racing. But this was also the reason why I decided with the team to compete at Settimana Internazionale – improve my form, test my legs in real sprints and not just in training. This is the first step to prepare for the Giro d’Italia and I’m happy I can continue to work with more confidence”.

“The sprint was our goal. We knew the stage could be a good chance for me and my teammates did an amazing work. Mohoric, Bettiol and Villella set the pace for almost the entire day to catch the break, then Caruso and Sabatini lead me perfectly in the finale. The competition with Team Sky was really challenging – the support of my teammates has been an extra oomph to sprint”.

Peter Kennaugh defended his 42-second lead over Francesco Bongiorno (Bardiani Valvole) at the top of the overall standings, the goal was another stage win for Swift. Earlier in the day, 18 riders escaped as they commenced 12 laps of a largely flat circuit. Team Sky and Cannondale monitored that situation closely, and the escapees’ advantage never stretched over two minutes before they were eventually hauled back in the final 28km.

Stage 3
1 VIVIANI Elia Cannondale
2 SWIFT Ben Team Sky
3 GASPARRINI Rino MG Kvis – Trevigiani
4 WACKERMANN Luca Lampre – Merida
5 BELLETTI Manuel Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela
6 GROSU Eduard Michael Vini-Fantini-Nippo
7 BERTAZZO Liam MG Kvis – Trevigiani
8 PASQUALON Andrea Area Zero Pro Team
9 GAVAZZI Mattia Christina Watches-Kuma
10 VAN STAEYEN Michael Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise

24 KENNAUGH Peter Team Sky

OVERALL
1 KENNAUGH Peter Team Sky 10:13:24
2 BONGIORNO Francesco Manuel Bardiani – CSF 00:42
3 CATALDO Dario Team Sky 01:00
4 RABOTTINI Matteo Neri Sottoli 01:15
5 CARUSO Damiano Cannondale 01:24
6 FIRSANOV Sergey RusVelo 01:28
7 PELLIZOTTI Franco Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela 01:30
8 VALLS FERRI Rafael Lampre – Merida 01:42
9 PANTANO GOMEZ Jarlinson Team Colombia 01:46
10 ROSA Diego Androni Giocattoli – Venezuela 02:24

 

 

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