Italian autumn kicks off for Movistar Team

Lutsenko (AST) wins with 'finisseur' move, chasing down early break from 50-man peloton including Movistar Team trio; Betancur on the attack into Montevecchio climbs.

Just two days after claiming honours at the Coppa Sabatini, Alexey Lutsenko (AST) took back-to-back victories at the 2019 Memorial Pantani, held on Saturday over 199km of a rolling course from Castrocaro Terme to coastal Cesenatico, the hometown of the late Italian climber.

The Kazakh champion took a last-minute attack to fruition after a race dominated by an eight-man breakaway from which Diego Rosa (INS, 2nd) and Guillaume Martin (WGG, 3rd) were so close to taking the better from the sprinters’ teams. The bunch, composed by 50 riders, included three Movistar Team members: Andrey Amador, Rubén Fernández and Carlos Betancur.

The Colombian was the Blues’ most active rider as he went on the attack into the climbs of the main hill in the programme, Montevecchio, yet still not able to open a big gap on the bunch. There will be another chance on Sunday for him, though, as the same Blue roster tackles another Italian event, the Trofeo Matteotti.

Cover picture (c): BettiniPhoto