Bahrain's Visconti seals victory

Lombardia, Italy : Bahrain-Merida’s Giovanni Visconti took his first win yesterday with an impressive ride in the Giro dell’Emlia. The 34-year-old attacked on the finishing circuit with 16 kilometres remaining and held off a late chase from the peloton to seal the win as teammate Bahrain-Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali marked several counter-attacks.

Nibali put in a late attack to finish second, while Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale Drapac) completed the podium.

Bahrain-Merida controlled the race for most of the day and had numbers when it mattered most, chasing several key moves before Visconti’s second attack on the penultimate lap of the finishing circuit created a gap of 30 seconds. 

Team Sky, BMC Racing and several other teams tried to chase the veteran Italian rider but the pursuit was halted briefly when last year’s winner Esteban Chaves (Orica Scott) crashed on a descent. The Colombian was on the front of the bunch when he hit the deck and bounced into the verge on the side of the road.

With one lap to go Visconti only needed to hold firm and despite a late attack from Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) the Bahrain rider took the win.

The race began at an electric pace with Davide Ballerini (Androni Sidermec), Redi Halilaj (Amore e Vita Selle SMP), Francois Bidard (Ag2r La Mondiale), Nicolas Edet (Cofidis Solutions Credits), Fabien Doubey (Wanty - Groupe Gobert), Jacopo Mosca (Wilier Triestina - Selle Italia), Lorenzo Rota (Bardiani - Csf) and Nicola Bagioli (Nippo-Vini Fantini) forming the break of the day.

The group initially had a lead of seven minutes but the likes of Bahrain-Merida, Team Sky, Cannondale and FDJ slowly reduced the gap to just over a minute with 40 kilometres remaining.

Ahead of the break and the bunch were five loops of a punishing circuit. Each loop finished with the climb up to San Luca, with its average slopes of 10 per cent but pitches of 18 pc included. On the first ascent the leaders were reduced to just Edet, Doubey and Mosca. 

Behind the trio, Team Sky and Orica Scott marked attacks before Visconti made his first move as he closed down an attack that included Mikael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale).

Team Sky took a firmer grip on the front of the bunch on the second ascent with Kenny Elissonde particularly active. Behind him, however Bahrain -Merida  were lying in wait. With the race regrouping and the break finally caught, Visconti turned to Nibali and asked if he could attack. With permission granted, the experienced all-rounder wasted no time and immediately kicked clear.