Crescioli and Tonelli charge into the Giro d’Abruzzo

No top-10 finish, but once again Team Polti VisitMalta played a leading role on Italian roads. The opening stage of the Giro d’Abruzzo ended in an explosive sprint won by Covi (UAE) after a race in which the squad led by Stefano Zanatta and Orlando Maini placed three riders at the front and launched a twenty-kilometre attack that briefly sparked dreams of glory.

Earlier Gabriele Raccagni, Davide De Cassan and Samuele Zoccarato were among those chasing down the early 3-men breakaway that animated the stage. Then, on the climb of Giuliano Teatino, the breakaway was caught and eight riders launched a counterattack: the first to go was Alessandro Tonelli, followed by Ludovico Crescioli and six others. This group was reeled in 7 km from the finish, on another uphill stretch. The final sprint came from a reduced bunch of 40 riders, including six from Polti VisitMalta: Ludovico Crescioli finished 13th, Alex Martín 15th, Fernando Tercero 17th.

Ludovico Crescioli: “Having only returned to racing three days ago in Reggio Calabria after a two-month break due to a knee issue, I’m really happy with both my performance and that of my teammates. I even tried to follow the best in the finale — after the earlier efforts I just didn’t have the legs, but these are good signs!”

Stefano Zanatta: “Our guys showed with their actions how motivated they were coming into this race. We stirred things up to try and go on the attack, but unfortunately the Israel team missed out on the move and chased us down. Still, it was a great collective effort from us — one we hope to repeat in the tougher terrain ahead.”