Selected for the Worlds, Dolan Bikes sponsored rider Scott Davies writes about his second overall in the UCI Junior Stage race, Giro Della Lunigiana
Read more about Scott who rides a Dolan Ares here: http://scottdaviescycling.blogspot.co.uk.
Scott writes … Following the Tour of Wales, I travelled to Italy to race Giro Della Lunigiana; a four day stage race based around the Toscanna region of Italy. I was pleased to have been named as a part of the six man Olympic Development Squad which included eventual winner Tao Geoghegan Hart, Germain Burton, Gabz Cullaigh, Matt Gibson & Chris Lawless.
The intention was to use the race to prepare for the World Road Race Championships, which will be held in Toscanna at the end of the month. I flew out from Bristol last Wednesday, ready to start racing on Thursday.
Stage 1 – 05/09/13
Stage 1 was 96km with a 4km summit finish. The stage started in a little hilltop town, which we could eventually race back up towards for the finish. We knew beforehand that positioning ourselves towards the front of the bunch as we neared to final climb would be key.
ABOVE: Final climb, 300 metres to go.
The stage itself was very chaotic as the bunch seemed to be very un-easy and so there were a few bad crashes. Myself, Matt Gibson & Gabz Cullaigh were all caught up in a pile-up 30km into the stage. Luckily I managed to stay upright and get back to the front of the race. Chris Lawless & Matt Gibson did a great job of keeping us topped up with bottles from the team car as the temperature rose to over thirty degrees.
The break was eventually brought back and the bunch approached the final climb intact. The race started to split as soon as we hit the climb. Germain Burton and Tao Geoghegan Hart positioned themselves slightly further forward than myself towards the bottom of the climb.
They both worked well together to gain a gap, setting Tao up for the stage win, taking the leaders jersey in the process. I climbed at my own pace, gradually closing the gap & finishing 5th on the stage, 7 seconds down.
Stage 2 – 06/09/13
Stage two was considered as the ‘sprint stage’, 106km with only one significant climb midway through the stage. The ultimate goal for today’s stage was to defend the leaders jersey. The plan was to talk on the road, and possibly set up Germain or Chris for the bunch sprint.
Denmark controlled the majority of the stage, as they also had the stage win in mind. It was important that we were aware of any potential attacks on the climb and that no one that could threaten the GC gained any time. We kept the pace fairly high up the climb, deterring any serious attacks from the rest of the GC contenders.
The descent from the top of the climb was fairly tricky, before we dropped down to complete four laps of the finishing circuit. Denmark controlled the tail end of the race pretty well, ensuring the speed was kept high. Unfortunately I punctured with 5km to go. A quick wheel change from Martyn the GB mechanic meant that I got got back in the bunch with just over 3km to go, therefore maintaining 5th on GC.
Unfortunately the sprint didn’t workout for Chris & Germain, however we achieved our main goal which was defending Tao’s leaders jersey.
Stage 3 – 07/09/13
The third day was considered as the ‘queen stage’ of the race, with a summit finish that would decide the GC. Again, the main goal for today’s stage was to defend the leaders jersey, whilst also maintaining myself and Germain’s position on GC. A break formed early on, Matt Gibson & Chris Lawless kept a close eye on it, riding on the front for the majority of the stage. Both put in a solid ride in what was a very tough stage.
As we neared the final climb, Chris put in a strong turn on the front to position Tao & myself well. I ensured the pace was kept high for the next 4km in order to deter any attacks. 1km from the summit, Robert Power (Australia) attacked & Tao followed. I went on to finish 4th on the stage and moved up to second on GC. The good news was that Tao maintained the race lead ahead of the final stage.
Stage 4 – 08/09/13
The final stage was 101km long, with a long climb 15km from the finish. I was pretty apprehensive before the start of the stage, having moved up to 2nd overall behind Tao the previous day. The plan for the stage was to keep the break under control, and for me and Tao to position ourselves well on the climb, ensuring that nothing slipped away.
Chris, Matt & Germain all did a great job of keeping the early break under control, meaning that no one was up the road as we approached the climb. As the group was gradually worn down by the climb, myself & Tao ensured that no serious moves got away. I was unfortunate to crash 2km from the summit, but managed to get myself back to the front of the race pretty quickly.
The final kilometre to the finish was particularly hard, as the gradient increased significantly. Robert Power of Australia committed to a big attack meaning that Tao followed. Feeling a little gassed from my chase back on, I continued at a steadier pace, bridging across the gap on the descent.
The descent to Lazzaro proved to be pretty technical, with narrow roads & plenty of switchbacks. Myself, Tao, Robert Power (Aus), Mads Pedersen (Den), and Ghebremarian of Eritrea led the descent in a move that stayed away to the finish. The pace dropped slightly as we approached the finish, and allowed Pedersen to attack & stay away, taking the stage win in the process. Tao finished second on the stage, myself 5th.
ABOVE: A novelty riding in the leading foreign rider’s blue jersey, as Tao led GC.
I was very relieved to have held on to second overall, whilst also defending Tao’s leaders jersey. It was a great show of team work, and a testament of how well we’ve performed as a team this season. Upon reflection, I’m very pleased with how Lunigiana went, especially considering that past winners include Vincenzo Nibali, Danilo Di Luca and Damiano Cunego. I’m also delighted to have been selected to represent GB at the Junior World Road Race Championships at the end of the month, and hopefully I’ll be able to build on the success I had in Lunigiana.
Sincere thanks to Matt Winston, Rachel Murray & Martyn Ashfield for all their help & for a great trip; and the the whole team for their camaraderie.
Thanks for reading, Scott.
Photos: duzimage & www.ciclismoblog.it
RESULTS
Stage 1
1 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr) 2:24:10
2 FABBRO Matteo 0:05
3 VELASCO Simone
4 CIANETTI Nicholas 0:07
5 DAVIES Scott (Gbr)
13 BURTON Germain (Gbr)0:26
66 LAWLESS Christopher (Gbr)
72 MATTHEW Gibson (Gbr)1:52
DNF CULLAIGH Gabriel (Gbr)
Stage 2
1 SVENDGAARD Michael 2:27:31
2 PESSOTTO Yuri
3 VELASCO Simone
4 BARTOLINI Francesco
5 STRAKHOV Dmitry
17 LAWLESS Christopher (Gbr)
18 BURTON Germain (Gbr)
32 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr)
55 DAVIES Scott (Gbr)
66 MATTHEW Gibson (Gbr)
Stage 3
1 POWER Robert 2:54:44
2 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr)
3 GHEBREMARIAN Admanon Zenmichael 0:12
4 DAVIES Scott 0:15 (Gbr)
62 BURTON Germain (Gbr) 3:54
98 MATTHEW Gibson (Gbr) 7:13
102 LAWLESS Christopher (Gbr)
Stage 4
1 PEDERSEN Mads 2:24:52
2 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr) 0:07
3 POWER Robert
5 DAVIES Scott (Gbr) 0:09
91 BURTON Germain (Gbr) @9.23
92 LAWLESS Christopher (Gbr)
93 MATTHEW Gibson (Gbr)
Final Overall
1 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr) 10:11:02
2 DAVIES Scott (Gbr) 00:46
3 POWER Robert 01:04
65 BURTON Germain (Gbr) 13:58
90 MATTHEW Gibson (Gbr) 18:43
92 LAWLESS Christopher (Gbr) 18:48
POINTS
1 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao (Gbr) 39
2 POWER Robert 25
3 VELASCO Simone 24
4 DAVIES Scott (Gbr) 20
MOUNTAINS
1 GEOGHEGAN HART Tao 21
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