A win of speed, quality, rage, and emotion for Giovanni Lonardi in Brittany: the demanding GP Plouay course encouraged attacks and counterattacks, leading to a breakaway of ten riders.
Team Polti VisitMalta executed a perfect race to control the situation and allow the sprinter from Valpolicella to seize his first win of the season in the sprint finish — his third with this team and the seventh of his career.
In particular, Manuel Peñalver was an outstanding last lead-out man for his teammate, who in turn capitalized on his qualities to impose himself with authority and bring a satisfied smile to Ivan Basso’s and the Contador brothers’ ProTeam.
Lonardi said: “We are very happy to have achieved this success, and I am glad I managed to make the most of everyone’s effort. It was not easy to keep the race under control and then win in such a tight and action-packed competition. We kept our nerves until the very last meter, and if I finally managed to raise my arms to the sky, I owe a huge collective thank you!”