Tom Pidcock conquers Superga to claim Milano-Torino

Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) conquered Superga to claim victory at Milano-Torino ahead of Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) and Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).

The Briton’s was a victory that married poise and power. He bided his time amid repeated efforts from Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) and he carefully tracked Roglič’s show of force in the final 2km before unleashing his winning acceleration with 600m to go.

Johannessen attempted to follow, but he was unable to match the ferocity of Pidcock’s attack, and it was quickly clear that he was racing for second place.

Pidcock didn’t relent on the upper slopes, and he claimed victory by four seconds from Johannessen, with Roglič claiming third a further second back.

Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull) never looked as comfortable here as he did at Tirreno-Adriatico last week, but he came through for fourth place ahead of an impressive Uijtdebroeks.

The speed of this 150th anniversary edition of Milano-Torino was a long way removed from 1876, when Paolo Magretti took more than ten hours to complete the 150km from Milan to Turin’s Corso Giulio Cesare.

In keeping with the hyperactive 2020s, there was a rapid start to proceedings, with the gruppo averaging 48kph through the first two hours of racing. A break of six eventually forged clear, with Alessandro Milesi (Biesse – Carrera – Premac), Valentin Ferron (Cofidis), Patrick Konrad (Lidl – Trek), Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti VisitMalta), Mathieu Burgaudeau (TotalEnergies) and Adrien Maire (Unibet Rose Rockets) building a two-minute lead.

The pace in the peloton never relented, however, and their gap was down to half a minute by the time they hit the climb of Superga for the first time with 25km to go. Pietrobon was the last man standing from the break, but he was swept up just under 2km from the top of Superga thanks to the forcing of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe.

Finn Fisher-Black ratcheted up the intensity on the upper reaches of the climb with Primož Roglič on his wheel, and the Slovenian struck out alone a little over 600m from the summit. Alexander Cepeda (EF Education-EasyPost) bridged across swiftly, with Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) and Cian Uijtdebroeks (Movistar) joining them over the top.

The front group would swell in size to 12 riders on the descent, with Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull) among those coming across. 

Red Bull would take advantage of their numbers by sending Adrien Boichis off the front with 12km to go after a parley with Roglič, and the Frenchman would quickly gain 22 seconds on the chasing group, where Christen cut an increasingly frustrated figure amid the stop-start rhythm that prevailed.

That tempo saw the remnants of the peloton absorb the chasing group on the approach to the foot of Superga, and Boichis himself was reeled in just as the final ascent began with a shade under 5km to race.

A striking show of pace-making from Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar) shredded the bunch all over again, leaving just a dozen riders in contention as the race entered the final 3km.