WorldTour
Giulio Pellizzari finishes second in the Marco Pantani Memorial
In a four-man sprint, Giulio Pellizzari was beaten only by Ion Izagirre
The 192-kilometre route around Cesenatico, home of the legendary climber for whom the Memorial Pantani is named, was on the programme for Giulio, Adrien Boichis, Alexander Hajek, Jai Hindley, Daniel Felipe Martinez, Florian Lipowitz and Aleksandr Vlasov. The final 45 kilometres were completely flat – so it was down to the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe team, which is particularly strong on climbs, to force an early decision.
After Jai initially made it into a break that was subsequently reeled in, Giulio attacked on the penultimate climb. Alongside Izagirre, last year’s winner Michael Storer and Mikkel Honoré went with him. As the second group behind them consisted mainly of teammates from the leading quartet, the gap quickly widened to one minute. The group defended this lead right up to the home straight, with Giulio spending most of the time in the wind on the way there.
Jai Hindley at the Marco Pantani Memorial
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Giulio’s ride the day before had taken its toll
In the final, he was then a few grains short of being able to counter Izagirre’s decisive surge. The 22-year-old may well have already used up those reserves in the days prior, when he won the Giro della Toscana three days earlier and, later at the Coppa Sabatini, was caught by the chasers just 50 metres from the finish line after a long solo breakaway, finishing sixth.
Jai also finished sixth in the Pantani race, having come second from the chasing group.
