The 107th edition of the Italian autumn classic started at a high pace. There was little chance of a breakaway. Once the peloton reached the climbs in the second part, the race got tough. Gijs Leemreize crashed, broke his collarbone and had to give up. The Dutch team gradually lost control of the race. The team's ambitions came to an end on the Alpette. Andreas Bagioli was the fastest of the remaining group in the sprint..

"We wanted to try and control the race for Wout today, but it was tough at the front. The penultimate climb with thirty kilometres to go was very hard", Wilco Kelderman said.

Leader Wout van Aert, who won the Coppa Bernocchi on Monday, agreed. "The climb got too hard very quickly. I know that I am capable of such an effort, but it was not ideal that the climbs before it were also really hard. Because a solid lead group had formed, we had to go fast on the first climbs. As a result, we were playing catch-up all day."

It was the Belgian's first time at Gran Piemonte. "It was a race I was really looking forward to. I certainly didn't see it as a preparation for Sunday. Otherwise, I wouldn't have put the whole team to work. It's a shame we couldn't get a top result today."

The semi-classic was his final road race of the season. On Sunday, Van Aert will compete in the World Championships Gravel in the Veneto region of Italy. "I'm really looking forward to this race as well. It's a special, completely new challenge. It's going to be very different from today."