Dversnes reacts on moto pacing allegations: ‘There were actually four very strong motorbikes inside the breakaway’

The Uno-X Mobility rider stunned the sprint teams in Milan on Sunday, winning from a four-man breakaway on a day widely expected to end in a controlled bunch sprint. Instead, Dversnes and his fellow escapees refused to come back, forcing the peloton into a desperate chase that ultimately fell short.

For Dversnes, it was a second WorldTour victory and a first Giro d’Italia stage win. His previous win at this level also came from a long-range move, on stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico in Pergola in 2025.

The victory carried extra significance for Uno-X Mobility. It was the team’s first stage win at the Giro d’Italia, in their debut appearance at the race as a WorldTeam, and their second Grand Tour victory after Jonas Abrahamsen’s win in Toulouse.

Dversnes was quick to credit the riders who had shared the move with him, with Bardiani CSF 7 Saber and Polti VisitMalta helping to keep the peloton at bay deep into the finale.

“Super good help from the other guys in the breakaway, the Italian Bardiani and the Polti VisitMalta guys,” Dversnes said in his flash interview. “They were really, really strong today. I knew I had good opportunities because I’m pretty good at going in breakaways. So this was my big shot.”

The stage had looked set for a sprint finish in Milan, with several sprint teams working behind to control the gap. Even inside the final 10 kilometres, the peloton appeared to have the situation under control as the advantage dropped to around 20 seconds.

But the chase never quite clicked into place. The breakaway continued to cooperate, while the peloton began to run out of road and fresh legs. By the final kilometres, it became clear that the sprinters’ teams had miscalculated.

Asked when he started to believe victory was possible, Dversnes pointed to the final five kilometres, although he admitted the thought had been growing earlier as the gap refused to disappear.

“Five kilometres to go, something like that,” he said. “You always think about it on the way. When we still had two minutes pretty late in the race, you of course start believing. But you have to think about what to do and what’s important to do, and not think about what happens.”

In the sprint, Dversnes launched from second position and beat the faster-fancied Marco Maestri of Polti VisitMalta to the line, with Martin Marcellusi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber taking third. It was a perfectly timed finish from the Norwegian, who had spent the Giro joking that he wanted to beat the peloton on one of the sprint stages.

“I have been joking this Giro that I will try to take the peloton in one of these sprint stages,” Dversnes said. “So I really wanted to do that and prove that. Super glad to make it.”

After the stage, however, the discussion was not only about the strength of the breakaway. Some riders, including Lidl-Trek’s Max Walscheid, suggested that motorbikes may have influenced the outcome by helping the escapees stay clear.

Dversnes responded with a typically dry answer when speaking to the media, including Domestique.

“There were actually four very strong motorbikes inside the breakaway,” he said, referring to the riders who had driven the move all day.

“The guys who were saying that motorpacing was involved also know that it is a known thing in the sport,” Dversnes continued. “Since it was not in their favour, they will of course complain about it.”

Asked what he said to team manager Thor Hushovd, the former Tour de France green jersey winner, Dversnes kept it simple.

“I just cheered,” he said. “Cheered a lot.”