A quite unusual race scenario unfolded this Sunday at the Coppa Agostoni, where a strong “early ” breakaway made it to the end. Although Rémy Rochas managed to join the right move after forty kilometres, he was unable to follow Adam Yates’ attack in the final. The British rider won solo, while Valentin Madouas and Rémy Rochas took 17th and 20th places in a reduced bunch.
With the exception of the final thirty kilometres, a very hilly day was in store for the peloton this Sunday at the Coppa Agostoni. After just ten kilometres, the riders had to complete four laps of a twenty-eight-kilometre circuit including the muro di Sirtori (1.5 km at 5.7%), the Colle Brianza (3.6 km at 6.4%) and the Lissolo climb (2 km at 6.7%). “On the circuit, it was up and down all the time,” confirmed Yvon Caër. “It turns out that UAE Team Emirates had decided not to control today but rather to race aggressively. They made a big push quite early on, which Rémy managed to follow.” After his first attacks were neutralized, Rémy Rochas was rewarded for his activity by catching a breakaway of six men, which grew to seventeen at the end of the first lap. “Rémy was designated to follow the first attacks,” said Yvon. “Lorenzo was too, and he went out chasing with two riders. The cooperation wasn’t great, he found himself alone, he came back just twenty seconds behind the leading group, but he never made it across. It’s a shame because the final could have suited him, and it was a bit difficult for us with only one rider in front.”
“Rémy did a very good race,” Yvon Caër
Halfway through the race, the Italian was caught by a peloton trying, as best it could, to keep the gap under two minutes. “Two teams that weren’t at the front, including Q36.5, tried to chase, but they were on the limit,” explained Yvon. The gap still dropped below one minute on the penultimate lap, and Valentin Madouas tried to take advantage of it in one of the day’s last climbs. “We wanted to make the jump with Valentin, but he fell short, for barely twenty seconds,” added his sports director. It was also at this point that everything exploded in the leading group, where Adam Yates and Carlos Canal took advantage of the final climb of Colle Brianza to go clear from the rest of the breakaway. Rémy Rochas maintained his position in the chase group, which, however, proved unable to work together in the final, flat thirty kilometres towards Lissone. “Once Yates and Canal went away, things settled down and the pace wasn’t really high behind,” commented Yvon. “This allowed a group including Valentin to come back in the last valley.”
This small bunch eventually crossed the line more than two minutes after the winner, Adam Yates. “Rémy and Valentin fought for third place,” concluded Yvon. “Unfortunately, Valentin (17th) wasn’t able to manage his sprint as he would have liked. I also think Rémy (20th) deserved better because he rode a very good race and showed some very good things. It was a hard race, and the only regret is that there weren’t more of us in this group of seventeen. As for Guillaume, he had a satisfying day for his return to racing and found his bearings again.”