Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) won the opening stage of the two-day Giro della Toscana, beating Daniele Bennati (Italy) Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani-CSF) and Fabio Aru (Astana) thanks to a late attack on the outskirts of Montecatini Terme.
Visconti opted to attack rather than wait for the sprint and got a gap with two kilometres to go. Bennati, Colbrelli and Aru almost caught him in the finishing straight but Visconti had the time to celebrate a special victory on his local roads. He lives nearby and will join the new Bahrain Merida team in 2017 but wanted to win one last time in Movistar colours. The win gave Movistar a record equalling 36 season victories.
Irish sprinter Sam Bennett (Bora-Argon 18) won the sprint for fifth place ahead of Fabio Sabatini (Italy) and Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), who made a late switch from Eneco Tour to the shorter Giro della Toscana and then Coppa Sabatini race on Thursday.
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Visconti waved in celebration as he crossed the finish line, he won the Klasika Primavera de Amorebieta in April but that that been his only win since 2013, when he won two stages at the Giro d’Italia.
“I’m really happy to have won in front of my family and on my home roads,” Visconti said. “I also wanted to win for the Movistar family and so end my time with the team on a high. I’m happy.
“I needed a win to boost my confidence. I knew that I’d lose the sprint against Bennati and Colbrelli and so my only chance was to win was to attack with a few kilometres to go. I didn’t have anything to lose and knew that if I was caught that at least I’d put up a fight and tried. I knew that if I got gap I could win.
“We’ll try and win the classification tomorrow. The second stage has a hard start but it is likely to end in a sprint and so that suits Bennati and Colbrelli. But my moral is good and well try everything with the team.”
Visconti ensured he was in the decisive move of the day that formed after the first passage through Montecatini Terme after Astana chased the early break of the day and set up Aru. The Sardinian split the peloton and then dragged the move clear with Visconti on the final Vico climb before Bennati and Colbrelli got back to them on the descent to the finish.
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