The Italian autumn classics continued on Monday with the Coppa Bernocchi. On paper, it was the easiest race of this Italian block, and expectations were high for a fast finisher to take the win. For most of the day, a group of five riders led the race, though the peloton kept them on a tight leash, never allowing their advantage to stretch beyond two minutes. With 64 kilometers remaining, the breakaway was caught, immediately triggering a series of new attacks. Eventually, another group of five riders broke clear, quickly gaining around 30 seconds. From the peloton, Bjorn Koerdt reacted well for Team Picnic PostNL, joining a strong chase group of eight riders in pursuit of the leaders.
Just over 30 kilometers from the finish, the two groups merged at the front, forming a lead group of 13 riders. Behind them, the peloton — including our fast finisher Tobias Lund Andresen alongside Timo de Jong — kept the gap at around one minute. The chase continued steadily, and with 10 kilometers to go, the break was finally reeled in, setting the stage for a bunch sprint. In the final kilometers, Timo de Jong did a good job, positioning Lund Andresen perfectly for the sprint. After a powerful kick to the line, a photo finish was needed to separate the top two — and Lund Andresen narrowly missed out on victory, taking an impressive second place behind Godon.
After the race, Lund Andresen reflected: “We had the plan to position me every time into the climb, so I could drop back and save some energy. I think we did that very well, to save myself for the sprint. Bjorn did a good job being in the front and taking the pressure off us. I had the position I wanted around the last corner but got caught out a little bit on the straight. I’m happy with the podium, but it’s a bit bittersweet when it was so close to the win.”