Dan Martin is riding himself into some top form ahead of
Il Lombardia at the weekend; taking 5th place in Gran Piemonte (1.HC) today.
The Irish rider was one of the very few who could live
with the pace set by Team Ineos up the final climb.
They rode the 11.8km ascent of the Oropa to the finish
line on the front and distanced most of the field.
Ivan Sosa was the last man for Team Ineos in what was
effectively a long range lead-out for Egan Bernal.
After Sosa’s work ensured the lead group was down to just seven men, including Dan Martin (UAE Team Emirates), he and Bernal then pulled clear.
And once the Tour de France champion saw that he and his
team mate had distanced the five riders who had stayed with them longest, he
hit the after burners and motored to victory.
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It was the first one-day win of his pro career and means
he goes into this weekend’s Il Lombardia as a hot favourite.
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Dan Martin, a former winner of Il Lombardia, is also
looking in great shape ahead of the final classic of the season.
Today Bernal won the race just six seconds clear of Sosa
with Nans Peters (Ag2r La Mondiale) next a further two seconds back.
Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) was another two seconds
back in 4th and then came Martin in 5th, just 11 seconds down in Bernal.
After that top five the gap to the best of the rest was
bigger; some 29 seconds elapsing before Mathias Frank (Ag2r La Mondiale) took 6th
place.
Dan Martin has gradually improved during his period of
racing in Italy over the past week and his condition appears to be building
perfectly for Il Lombardia.
He was 18th in Giro dell'Emilia (1.HC) and made the
breakaway in Tre Valli Varesine (1.HC) before taking 5th today; one of his best
rides of the year.
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