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Per sempre Alfredo (1.1) Italy

3rd edition, Sunday, March 19, 2023

Per sempre Alfredo podium history | Course map | 2022 edition

Florence - Sesto Fiorentino, 190.2 km

Felix Engelhardt is just a bit faster than the others. Team Jayco-AlUla photo

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Weather at the finish city of Sesto Fiorentino at 12:55 PM, local time: 13C (55F), mostly cloudy, with the wind from the southwest at 5 km/hr (3 mph). Rain is coming, but the forecast is for it to hold off until about 5:00 PM.

The race: Here's the report from winner Felix Engelhardt's Team Jayco-AlUla.

German neo-pro Felix Engelhardt sprinted to his debut pro victory with an impressive turn of speed at the Per Sempre Alfredo one-day race.

The 20-year-old finished off a strong performance from a small, but mighty Team Jayco AlUla squad, as he powered clear take the win in a reduced bunch dash for the line.

Despite losing teammate Lawson Craddock to a crash and Rudy Porter to an untimely puncture, the reigning U23 European Champion showed his maturity on the last lap as he positioned himself well and followed the dangerous moves on the final climb.

Heading into the finale, Engelhardt chose his wheel wisely as the sprint approached before launching his kick early and surprising his rivals. The youngster proved to be the strongest in the sprint as he raced to away to claim his first pro victory and the fifth win of the season for Team Jayco AlUla men’s team.

Felix Engelhardt:
“For us, the young guys, it’s always a great opportunity to do these ‘smaller races’ and the boys did a great job of keeping me out of all sorts of trouble before the small laps, we were really well positioned every time for the crucial climb and worked together really well.

"Unfortunately, Lawson crashed on the first lap on the descent and the second lap Rudy had a puncture after being at the front, so I was by myself for the final. I felt really good the last time up the climb, I was able to cover the moves, then I had to gamble a bit in the last couple of kilometres.

"Some teams had more riders and obviously tried to attack, but it was very difficult conditions with the rain just starting, it was super slippery and there were a lot of crashes, so it was all a bit chaotic. I followed the train of Bardiani and they timed it to perfection, I even went a bit early, but I think everybody went early because in the final 50 metres everyone just sat down and grinded towards the finish.

"In the end I had really good legs still and it’s amazing to take the win here, I’m really grateful for the opportunity from the team and the boys today, and I hope that’s a good start for Coppi e Bartali.”

David McPartland (Sport Director):
“We started the day with the plan of having Felix as our leader and we were aiming to set him up for a result today. He’s had a good start to the season in his fist year with us and he’s at a good level already, we can see that from the races he’s done up until now, so he deserved a leadership opportunity today.

"He did a fantastic job in the final, he was in a group of 25-30 guys sprinting for the win and he positioned himself really well and then finished off the job to perfection with a super sprint.

"We knew he was fast and climbing well, he was one of the first riders to go over the top of the climb, so it just shows the condition that he has. It was good to get him a win, and good for the team, the morale is really high now and we head into Coppi e Bartali with a positive and confident vibe.”

Complete results:

190.2 kilometers raced at an average speed of 42.103 km/hr

Course map:

Course map

Course profile

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