If anyone thought Tom Pidcock was going to quietly spin his way through the Italian spring, they were wrong. The British rider dominated the field on the final slopes of the Superga to win the 106th edition of Milano-Torino. He launched with 600 meters remaining, leaving the rest of the favorites scrambling and serving up a reminder of his form ahead of Milan-Sanremo.
The 174-kilometer race was always destined to explode on the Superga. After a small breakaway controlled the early kilometers, the big teams refused to let the gap grow and shut it down.
The real fireworks started on the first trip up the climb. Primož Roglič decided it was time to test everyone’s legs and launched a acceleration just one kilometer from the top. That move sent a shockwave through the peloton, reducing the field to an elite selection of contenders.
As the reduced group hit the final five kilometers of climbing, the tension was high. The top favorites started watching each other closely. That hesitation and tactical gamesmanship slowed the group down, which was what Pidcock needed.
With 600 meters to go, Pidcock seized the moment and exploded off the front. He gained a gap on the steep gradient, and the rest of the group was too late to react. He held his advantage to the finish line to secure the victory for Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
Uno-X Mobility’s Tobias Halland Johannessen proved to be the strongest in pursuit and crossed the line to grab second place. Roglič, after driving much of the earlier selection and forcing the key splits, had to settle for rounding out the podium in third.
Results
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