2021 Trofeo Laigueglia (1.Pro), Italy
58th edition: Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Trofeo Laigueglia podium history | 2020 edition | 2022 edition | Map & profile | Photos
Laigueglia - Laigueglia, 202 km
Bauke Mollema rolls into Laigueglia more than a half-minute ahead of his nearest chaser.
Weather at the start/finish city of Laiguegia at 1:40 PM, local time: 15C (59F), fair, with the wind from th east at 11 km/hr (7 mph). No rain is forecast.
The race: Because of a Covid-19 case, the Giotti Victoria-Savini Due team did not start. INEOS Grenadiers rider Gianni Moscon did not start either.
Here's the report from winner Bauke Mollema's Trek-Segafredo squad:
Trek-Segafredo is writing a stunning start to the 2021 season with Bauke Mollema scripting a beautiful win in Trofeo Laigueglia, his second and the team’s fifth victory after one month of racing.
It was vintage Mollema: A gutsy attack in the closing kilometers of a hard, hilly race and a gritty solo drive for the finish.
“We had a strong team here, and we were the only team with two riders in the 7-8 riders at the end with 15kms to go. I saw a good moment; Cicco (Giulio Ciccone) was in my wheel, so I attacked,” explained Mollema. “I had a big gap quite fast. It was not easy to keep the tempo to the finish line, but yeah, I am super happy that I made it. It’s super nice to win here, and I am super happy to start the season like this.”
Mollema played off teammate and last year’s winner Giulio Ciccone’s presence in a select group of seven riders 15 kilometers from the finish of the Italian Classic. Sensing the moment was ripe, he attacked. And with last year’s winner as a backseat passenger, the rivals hesitated.
Mollema added: “I have felt good the last few weeks, and I wanted to start the season in a good way, and it’s nice to have two wins now. We have already five wins at the beginning of March – in Belgium, Italy, and France – I think the team is riding really strong, and hopefully we can continue like this in the other Italian races coming up this weekend.”
Trek-Segafredo came into Trofeo Laigueglia with a strong team and the No. 1 bib worn by last year’s winner Giulio Ciccone. When the race hit the demanding local laps, the team was the first to bring the hammer down with attacks from Giulio Ciccone and Vincenzo Nibali.
After nearly 200 kilometers of hilly parcours, everything exploded. An attack by Egan Bernal on the main climb of the circuit further pared down the bunch, and with 15 kilometers remaining, a select group of seven riders emerged. Trek-Segafredo was the only team with two.
Sensing a moment of easement amongst the leading group, Mollema’s winning attack came unexpectantly on a flat section of road. Having Ciccone in the group put a mindful uncertainty into the chaser’s heads, and Mollema had a quick lead. When the gap fell to some 15 seconds on the final climb and Ciccone lost contact with the group, there was a brief moment of optimism amongst the chasers.
But Cicco dug deep and battled back before the top: The chasing group had back their unwanted cargo. Advantage: Trek-Segafredo.
Mollema’s lead increased: with 11kms to go, he had 17 seconds; at 8 kilometers, it grew to 20, and 5 kilometers from the line, Mollema held a half minute. It was game over.
“In the last 20 kilometers, the race was really hard,” Mollema continued, “and I saw the good moment to attack, and luckily I could hold it to the finish line. This was a race, a parcours, that suited me well, and we had a strong team here, so the goal this morning was to win the race. When I did the recon of some of the course yesterday, I had a feeling this was a race that suited me well with short climbs.
“There were a lot of strong riders today at the start and that makes it even nicer to win. I really wanted to be in good form and get results in these races, and also Saturday in Strade Bianche and Sunday in GP Industria, ” said Mollema. “Yeah, the last few years it has gone well for me in Italy actually – Lombardi, GP Beghelli, a win in Coppi e Bartali.”
And now Trofeo Laigueglia.
Complete Results:
202 kilometers raced at an average speed of 40.797 km/hr
| 1 | MOLLEMA Bauke | Trek-Segafredo | 4hr 57min 5sec |
| 2 | BERNAL Egan | INEOS Grenadiers | @ 39sec |
| 3 | VANSEVENANT Mauri | Deceuninck-Quick Step | s.t. |
| 4 | CHAMPOUSSIN Clément | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 5 | CICCONE Giulio | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 6 | LANDA Mikel | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 7 | KNOX James | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 0:57 |
| 8 | VENDRAME Andrea | Ag2r-Citroën | 1:01 |
| 9 | GHIRMAY Biniam | Delko | s.t. |
| 10 | ROTA Lorenzo | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 11 | HERRADA Jesús | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 12 | MADOUAS Valentin | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 13 | BRAMBILLA Gianluca | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 14 | BILBAO Pello | Bahrain-Victorious | 1:03 |
| 15 | DEVENYNS Dries | Deceuninck-Quick Step | 1:28 |
| 16 | MOHORIC Matej | Bahrain-Victorious | 1:32 |
| 17 | MARTIN Gotzon | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 18 | VENTURINI Clément | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 19 | QUINTANA Nairo | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 20 | FINETTO Mauro | Delko | s.t. |
| 21 | DIAZ José | Delko | s.t. |
| 22 | MUNOZ Daniel | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 23 | REICHENBACH Sébastien | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 24 | PINOT Thibaut | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 25 | NIBALI Vincenzo | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 26 | PEREZ Anthony | Cofidis | 2:14 |
| 27 | SAVINI Daniel | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
| 28 | ZANA Filippo | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
| 29 | VILLELLA Davide | Movistar | 2:16 |
| 30 | ZARDINI Edoardo | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
| 31 | CANOLA Marco | Gazprom-RusVelo | 2:36 |
| 32 | BAKELANTS Jan | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | s.t. |
| 33 | RODRIGUEZ Carlos | INEOS Grenadiers | 4:28 |
| 34 | FELLINE Fabio | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 35 | PRODHOMME Nicolas | Ag2r-Citroën | 4:45 |
| 36 | BAIS Mattia | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 37 | COLBRELLI Sonny | Bahrain-Victorious | s.t. |
| 38 | HOLLMANN Juri | Movistar | 5:38 |
| 39 | GESBERT Elie | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 40 | EDET Nicolas | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 41 | VELASCO Simone | Gazprom-RusVelo | 5:56 |
| 42 | ARISTI Mikel | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 5:57 |
| 43 | GABBURO Davide | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
| 44 | ALBANESE Vincenzo | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
| 45 | UMBA Santiago | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 46 | TORTOMASI Leonardo | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
| 47 | GARAVAGLIA Giacomo | Work Service-Dinatek-Vega | s.t. |
| 48 | STRAKHOV Dmitry | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
| 49 | COVILI Luca | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
| 50 | REBELLIN Davide | Work Service-Dinatek-Vega | s.t. |
| 51 | HERRADA José | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 52 | SEPULVEDA Eduardo | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 53 | AYUSO Juan | Colpack-Ballan | s.t. |
| 54 | MILESI Lorenzo | Beltrami TSA-Tre Colli | s.t. |
| 55 | GAROSIO Andrea | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
| 56 | GASTAUER Ben | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 57 | WRIGHT Paul | Mg.K Vis-VPM | s.t. |
| 58 | KUDUS Merhawi | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 59 | FRANK Mathias | Ag2r-Citroën | s.t. |
| 60 | GUGLIELMI Simon | Groupama-FDJ | s.t. |
| 61 | GONZALEZ Abner | Movistar | s.t. |
| 62 | OWSIAN Lukasz | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
| 63 | ITURRIA Mikel | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 64 | VERRE Alessandro | Colpack-Ballan | s.t. |
| 65 | CONCI Nicola | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
| 66 | FERNANDEZ Delio | Delko | s.t. |
| 67 | DELETTRE Alexandre | Delko | s.t. |
| 68 | JUARISTI Txomin | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
| 69 | MAS Lluís | Movistar | s.t. |
| 70 | GREGAARD Jonas | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 71 | DINA Márton | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
| 72 | CHRISTIAN Mark | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
| 73 | DUNBAR Eddie | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
| 74 | ROMO Javier | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
| 75 | TAGLIANI Filippo | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | 7:03 |
| 76 | NORSGAARD Mathias | Movistar | 7:23 |
| 77 | BARCELO Fernando | Cofidis | s.t. |
| 78 | RAVANELLI Simone | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | 7:47 |
| 79 | ELOSEGUI Iñigo | Movistar | 8:16 |
| 80 | SCARONI Cristian | Gazprom-RusVelo | 9:27 |
| 81 | TESFATSION Natnael | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
| 82 | BERHANE Natnael | Cofidis | 9:34 |
2021 Trofeo Laigueglia map & profile:
Laigueglia is just northeast of San Remo, near the border with France.
2021 Trofeo Laigueglia photos by Fotoreporter Sirotti:
Opening ceremonies, Team Colpack-Ballan is presented.
Another season for team manager Gianni Savio and his Androni Giacotolli team.
Egan Bernal
Thibaut Pinot picks up his bike
Vincenzo Nibali heads to the start.
Mikel Landa just before the race.
Sonny Colbrelli is ready to race.
Looks like everyone is ready to go.
It's time to start racing.
The team car train, lead by Gazprom-RusVelo
The peloton rolls down the Italian coast.
A break tries its chances
Short sleeves. Nice day for a bike race.
A sit up win for Bauke Mollema
Here come the riders sprinting for second place.
The field sprint: Egan Bernal (black INEOS kit) just beats Mauri Vansevenant for second place.
Winner Mollema just after the race.
Bauke Mollema enjoys his victory.