Report – Coppi e Bartali – UCI 2.1

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It was a day to remember for Ben Swift and Team Sky in the UCI 2.1 Coppi e Bartali stage race – two stages, two wins.

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Ben Swift got the Settimana Coppi e Bartali off to the perfect stage by taking victory on stage one. The Team Sky rider sprinted to success on a short, 99.5-kilometre route starting and ending in Gatteo, his first victory since the Tour of Poland in July 2012 and comes four days after his impressive third place at the Milan-San Remo one-day Classic.

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Swift was one of two Brits in the top 10, with team-mate Pete Kennaugh finishing eighth. Speaking to TeamSky.com, Swift said “I’m really happy to finally get that win under my belt again,” he said. “The team were just unbelievable and it all happened so smoothly. We were all at the front on the first climb and we thought let’s just see what happens and go for it.”

“We descended down and Sebastian (Henao) did a really good job up the second climb. Dario (Cataldo) took over and we had four guys over the top in a select group. Sebastian came back once the group swelled and everyone controlled it really well to the finish. They gave me a great lead-out. It was that good that Pete ran eighth himself. It was a great team effort today.”

“I’ve had a good start to the season but I’ve had a few frustrating moments. It’s just nice to get back to this position. Hopefully I can take the confidence I gained from Milan-San Remo and manage to get a few more wins after this.”

Swift took the leaders jersey into the Team Time Trial where Team Sky beat RusVelo and Cannondale and increase Swift’s lead and put Peter Kennaugh in second place overall.

With the race taking on a unique format with teams split into two groups of four, Ben Swift, Pete Kennaugh, Dario Cataldo and Vasil Kiryienka combined to set a storming time of 15 minutes and 30 seconds to win the stage.

That time proved to be 15 seconds quicker than their nearest rivals to ensure Swift not only retained his lead, but was joined at the top of the general classification by three team-mates. The Yorkshireman now holds a six-second advantage after the team’s second victory in less than six hours.

STAGE 1a

1 SWIFT Ben Team Sky 02:22:31
2 MORI Manuele Lampre – Merida
3 CARUSO Damiano Cannondale
4 SPRENGERS Thomas Topsport Vlaanderen – Baloise
5 CECCHIN Alberto Marchiol Emisfero
6 PASQUALON Andrea Area Zero Pro Team
7 BARBIN Enrico Bardiani – CSF
8 KENNAUGH Peter Team Sky
9 TABORRE Fabio Neri Sottoli
10 BUSATO Matteo MG Kvis – Trevigiani

Stage 1B – Team Time Trial
1. Team Sky 15:30
2. RusVelo 0:15
3. Cannondale 0:18

Overall
1 SWIFT Ben Team Sky
2 KENNAUGH Peter Team Sky
3 CATALDO Dario Team Sky

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