'A win's a win, they're not easy to come by' – Tom Pidcock powers out of the front group to take victory in Milano-Torino
Primož Roglič comes in third after a tough battle on the summit finish
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Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) took victory in the Milano-Torino one-day race on Wednesday after powering away from the front runners on the final climb to the line.
That leading group included former winner Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who came in third, just behind runner-up Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), who crossed the line four seconds behind Pidcock. Defending champion Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was not riding.
The 174km 1.Pro race, founded in 1876 and known as the oldest cycling race in the world, marked the Briton's second victory of the year following his stage win in the Vuelta a Andalucía last month
Article continues below“It was a weird day," Pidcock said afterwards. "It felt like the first race of the season almost. With the race rhythm and all the accelerations all day, it felt a bit heavy-legged. Luckily at the end I had a kick there and could hold them off.
“Primož is hard to read," he added. "He’s always in the saddle. I was expecting him to be good there and I was hesitating to attack near the end. Everyone was looking pretty strong but I knew at one point I had to go.
“A win’s a win. They're not easy to come by. Of course it’s nice to get [my] hands in the air," he said.
The race, across the north of Italy, was largely flat bar two ascents of the Superga climb in the last 25km, the second of which hosted the finish. Predictably, the bunch caught the early break on the first climb, and then a 12-rider group – including Pidcock, Roglič et al – attacked over the top.
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This splintered further on the final ascent, stretching 4.9km at an average of 9.1%, with Pidcock taking the spoils after attacking in the final kilometre.
Results
Milano-Torino, 178km
1. Tom Pidcock (Gbr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, 174km in 3:48:45
2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X Mobility, +4s
3. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +5s
4. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +11s
5. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Movistar, +13s
6. Jefferson Alexander Cepeda (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +15s
7. Sebastian Berwick (Aus) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, +18s
8. Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) XDS-Astana, +25s
9. Alessandro Fancellu (Ita) MBH Bank-CSB Telecom Fort, +36s
10. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +41s
After cutting his teeth on local and national newspapers, James began at Cycling Weekly as a sub-editor in 2000 when the current office was literally all fields.
Eventually becoming chief sub-editor, in 2016 he switched to the job of full-time writer, and covers news, racing and features.
He has worked at a variety of races, from the Classics to the Giro d'Italia – and this year will be his seventh Tour de France.
A lifelong cyclist and cycling fan, James's racing days (and most of his fitness) are now behind him. But he still rides regularly, both on the road and on the gravelly stuff.
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