The 104th edition of Tre Valli Varesine featured over 3,500 metres of climbing. Only twice in the race’s history had the riders faced more elevation. A five-man breakaway was caught early, after which the strongest climbers opened up the race. Egan Bernal launched an attack with about fifty kilometres to go, prompting several riders to follow his move.

An acceleration from Isaac Del Toro on the final ascent of Montello initially proved too strong for the riders of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Cian Uijtdebroeks tried to hold the Mexican’s wheel but had to let go eventually. Soon after, Tadej Pogačar took the lead, dropping his teammate, Bernal and the other attackers. The Slovenian powered away solo to claim a convincing victory.

Behind him, a chasing group formed that included Ben Tulett. The Brit joined the battle for the podium spots, but ultimately had to settle for eleventh. “Ben was very strong today. In the sprint, he had to find his own way. I think he launched just a little too early, which allowed several others to pass him right before the line”, Marc Reef analyzes.

The sports director continues: “It was a really tough race today. For us, the key was to stay calm and focus on the final two local laps. At that point, Sepp, Cian and Ben were in excellent position thanks to the work of the rest of the team. Ben had the legs to make it into the group behind Pogačar, but unfortunately they couldn’t stay ahead of the reduced peloton. All in all, I’m very satisfied with our level today and with the performances throughout the Italian classics so far.”