2021 Gran Piemonte/Giro del Piemonte (1.Pro), Italy
105th edition: Thursday, October 7, 2021
Gran Piemonte podium history | 2020 edition | 2022 edition | Course map & profile | Photos | Start list
Rocca Canavese - Borgosesia, 168 km
Matt Walls (Bora-hansgrohe) wins a close one. RCS photo
Weather at the finish city of Borgosesia at 2:00 M, local time: 21C (70F), sunny, with the wind from the east at 14 km/hr (9 mph). No rain is forecast.
The race: 140 riders began the 105th edition of this great race at 1:02 PM, local time. There were three non-starters: Patrick Konrad (Bora-hansgrohe), Natnael Birhane (Cofidis) & Georg Zimmermann (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert).
Here's the report from winner Matt Walls' Bora-hansgrohe team:
The Italian autumn classic, Gran Piemonte, often considered a dress rehearsal for Il Lombardia, returned with a different course compared to last year. The 168km from Rocca Canavese to Borgosesia featured no significant difficulties and favoured the fast men, resulting in a bunch sprint at the end of the day.
Early on, a small breakaway group tried their luck in an escape, yet the peloton kept them on a short leash and their efforts went unrewarded in the end. Over the decisive final kilometres, BORA - hansgrohe positioned Matt Walls for the sprint, and on the home stretch, the British rider skilfully clung to Trentin's rear wheel, ultimately being able to pass his rivals shortly before the finish line to take his second win of the season.
From the Finish Line:
“We knew there was a good chance that the race would end in a sprint and the guys supported me well all day and brought me into in a good position for the finale. So I still had the legs to take the win. It was treacherous after the last roundabout as everyone was trying to position themselves well. I was able to hang on to some good rear wheels to get through the corners well and then ended up in a good position for the sprint. This win really boosts my confidence and shows that I can get results not only on the track, but also on the road." - Matt Walls
“We didn't have a real lead-out today with Patrick Konrad not being at the start, and also because Ben Zwiehoff had to drop out due to illness. So there were only five of us. The other four guys did a super job and delivered Matt very well at the end. He was then able to find a strong position thanks to his track skills. He surfed the field and then latched onto the wheel of Trentin, who then rode a solid lead-out. Matt had very good legs, which enabled him to go one better than his rivals and produce a powerful sprint. In a field of very strong riders, this was a first class win for him. Overall, the race didn’t end up being too hard and it turned out how we anticipated, so we can be very pleased." - Jens Zemke, Sports Director
Les Woodland's book Cycling's World Championships: The Inside Story is available as an audiobook here.
Complete Results:
168 kilometers raced at an average speed of 46.931 km/hr
1 | Matthew Walls | Bora-hansgrohe | 3hr 34min 47sec |
2 | Giacomo Nizzolo | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
3 | Olav Kooij | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
4 | Matteo Trentin | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
5 | Biniam Girmay | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
6 | Jakub Mareczko | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
7 | Riccardo Minali | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
8 | Arvid de Kleijn | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
9 | Amaury Capiot | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
10 | Stefano Oldani | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
11 | Ethan Hayter | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
12 | Simone Consonni | Cofidis | s.t. |
13 | Matteo Moschetti | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
14 | Alex Aranburu | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
15 | Maximiliano Richeze | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
16 | Jose Rojas | Movistar | s.t. |
17 | Davide Gabburo | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
18 | Gonzalo Serrano | Movistar | s.t. |
19 | Sonny Colbrelli | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
20 | Colin Joyce | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
21 | Ben Swift | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
22 | Filippo Tagliani | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
23 | Luca Colnaghi | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
24 | Omer Goldstein | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
25 | Samuele Zambelli | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
26 | Filippo Baroncini | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
27 | Edoardo Affini | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
28 | Enrico Zanoncello | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
29 | Antonio Puppio | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
30 | Maxim van Gils | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
31 | Edo Goldstein | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
32 | Donavan Grondin | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
33 | Marco Canola | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
34 | Giovanni Aleotti | Bora-hansgrohe | @ 13sec |
35 | Enrico Battaglin | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
36 | Jan Bakelants | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
37 | Jhonatan Restrepo | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
38 | Nicola Venchiarutti | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
39 | Mattia Bais | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
40 | Filippo Conca | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
41 | Koen Bouwman | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
42 | Riccardo Tosin | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
43 | Manuel Belletti | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
44 | Antonio Tiberi | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
45 | Andreas Stokbro | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
46 | Unai Iribar | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
47 | Filippo Fiorelli | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
48 | Mattia Viel | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
49 | Felix Grossschartner | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
50 | Nickolas Zukowsky | Rally Cycling | 0:22 |
51 | Victor Campenaerts | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
52 | Damiano Cima | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
53 | Emil Vinjebo | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
54 | Stijn Daemen | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
55 | Alexandr Riabushenko | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
56 | Samuele Zoccarato | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
57 | Valerio Conti | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
58 | Tomasz Marczynski | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
59 | Dylan Teuns | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
60 | Txomin Juaristi | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
61 | Jan Polanc | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
62 | Jacopo Mosca | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
63 | Fabio Felline | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
64 | Lukasz Owsian | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
65 | Igor Boev | Gazprom-RusVelo | 0:31 |
66 | Mikel Iturria | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
67 | Fabio Sabatini | Cofidis | s.t. |
68 | Jeremy Bellicaud | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | s.t. |
69 | Hugo Toumire | Cofidis | s.t. |
70 | Jokin Aranburu | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
71 | Cesare Benedetti | Bora-hansgrohe | s.t. |
72 | Pavel Kochetkov | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
73 | Sergey Chernetskiy | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
74 | Hermann Pernsteiner | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
75 | Davide Martinelli | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
76 | Asbjorn Hellemose | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
77 | Steff Cras | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
78 | Leonardo Marchiori | Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | s.t. |
79 | Francesco Gavazzi | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
80 | Mattia Frapporti | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
81 | Dayer Quintana | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
82 | Winner Anacona | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
83 | Einer Rubio | Movistar | s.t. |
84 | Hector Carretero | Movistar | s.t. |
85 | Mikel Bizkarra | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
86 | Keegan Swirbul | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
87 | Alessandro Tonelli | Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | s.t. |
88 | Daryl Impey | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
89 | Jose Herrada | Cofidis | s.t. |
90 | Matteo Sobrero | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
91 | James Piccoli | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
92 | Attilio Viviani | Cofidis | s.t. |
93 | Sebastian Henao | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
94 | Alessandro Covi | UAE Team Emirates | s.t. |
95 | Luca Coati | Qhubeka-NextHash | s.t. |
96 | Rodrigo Contreras | Astana-Premier Tech | s.t. |
97 | Matthew Holmes | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
98 | Joan Bou | Euskaltel-Euskadi | s.t. |
99 | Mark Padun | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
100 | Sepp Kuss | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
101 | Gijs Leemreize | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
102 | Tobias Foss | Jumbo-Visma | s.t. |
103 | Riccardo Stacchiotti | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
104 | Emerson Oronte | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
105 | Santiago Buitrago | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
106 | Diego Sevilla | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
107 | Marco Frapporti | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
108 | Toms Skujins | Trek-Segafredo | s.t. |
109 | Vincenzo Albanese | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
110 | Nelson Oliveira | Movistar | s.t. |
111 | Emanuel Buchmann | Bora-hansgrohe | 0:52 |
112 | Petr Rikunov | Gazprom-RusVelo | 1:01 |
113 | Gregorio Ferri | Vini Zabù | s.t. |
114 | Guy Sagiv | Israel Start-Up Nation | s.t. |
115 | Kevin Ledanois | Arkéa-Samsic | s.t. |
116 | Filippo Ganna | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
117 | Elia Viviani | Cofidis | s.t. |
118 | Nathan Brown | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
119 | Alastair Mackellar | Israel Start-Up Nation | 1:12 |
120 | Lucas Plapp | INEOS Grenadiers | 1:19 |
121 | Stephen Williams | Bahrain Victorious | s.t. |
122 | Benjamin King | Rally Cycling | s.t. |
123 | Richie Porte | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
124 | Dmitriy Strakhov | Gazprom-RusVelo | s.t. |
125 | Cameron Wurf | INEOS Grenadiers | s.t. |
126 | Michel Hessmann | Jumbo-Visma | 1:24 |
127 | Antonio Angulo | Euskaltel-Euskadi | 2:07 |
128 | Theo Delacroix | Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | 2:44 |
129 | Davide Orrico | Vini Zabù | 3:16 |
130 | Samuele Rivi | Eolo-Kometa | s.t. |
131 | Mattias Skjelmose | Trek-Segafredo | 4:50 |
132 | Marc Soler | Movistar | s.t. |
133 | Domen Novak | Bahrain Victorious | 5:28 |
134 | Manuele Boaro | Astana-Premier Tech | 9:04 |
135 | Sylvain Moniquet | Lotto Soudal | s.t. |
136 | Matteo Pelucchi | Qhubeka-NextHash | 9:30 |
2021Gran Piemonte map
And the race profile
Gran Piemonte photos by Fotorepoter Sirotti:
During the starting ceremonies Team Rally Cycling is presented.
The peloton waits for the race to start. That's European champion Sonny Colbrelli up front.
The day's early break.
Here they come and Matt Walls, in the center, seems to have timed things perfectly.
Matt Walls (Bora-hansgrohe) is the day's winner.
Winner Matt Walls just after winning the race.
Winner Matt Walls
The podium, from left: Giacomo Nizzolo (2nd), Matt Walls (1st) & Olav Kooij (3rd)
Start list with back numbers, October 6, 2021
Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec | |
1 | RESTREPO Jhonatan |
2 | BAIS Mattia |
3 | CEPEDA Jefferson |
4 | CHIRICO Luca |
5 | TAGLIANI Filippo |
6 | TESFATSION Natnael |
7 | VIEL Mattia |
Astana-Premier Tech | |
11 | ARANBURU Alex |
12 | BATTISTELLA Samuele |
13 | BOARO Manuele |
14 | CONTRERAS Rodrigo |
15 | MARTINELLI Davide |
17 | SOBRERO Matteo |
Bahrain Victorious | |
21 | COLBRELLI Sonny |
22 | BUITRAGO Santiago |
23 | NOVAK Domen |
24 | PADUN Mark |
25 | PERNSTEINER Hermann |
26 | TEUNS Dylan |
27 | WILLIAMS Stephen |
Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè | |
31 | FIORELLI Filippo |
32 | BATTAGLIN Enrico |
33 | COLNAGHI Luca |
34 | GABBURO Davide |
35 | TONELLI Alessandro |
36 | ZANONCELLO Enrico |
37 | ZOCCARATO Samuele |
Bora-hansgrohe | |
41 | ALEOTTI Giovanni |
42 | BENEDETTI Cesare |
43 | GROSSSCHARTNER Felix |
44 | KONRAD Patrick |
45 | BUCHMANN Emanuel |
46 | WALLS Matthew |
47 | ZWIEHOFF Ben |
Cofidis | |
51 | VIVIANI Elia |
52 | BERHANE Natnael |
53 | CONSONNI Simone |
54 | HAAS Nathan |
55 | HERRADA José |
56 | SABATINI Fabio |
57 | VIVIANI Attilio |
Eolo-Kometa | |
61 | ALBANESE Vincenzo |
62 | BELLETTI Manuel |
63 | FRAPPORTI Mattia |
64 | GAVAZZI Francesco |
66 | RIVI Samuele |
67 | SEVILLA Diego |
Euskaltel-Euskadi | |
71 | BOU Joan |
72 | ARANBURU Jokin |
73 | ANGULO Antonio |
74 | BIZKARRA Mikel |
75 | IRIBAR Unai |
76 | ITURRIA Mikel |
77 | JUARISTI Txomin |
Gazprom-RusVelo | |
81 | BOEV Igor |
82 | CANOLA Marco |
83 | CHERNETSKI Sergei |
84 | CIMA Damiano |
85 | KOCHETKOV Pavel |
86 | RIKUNOV Petr |
87 | STRAKHOV Dmitry |
INEOS Grenadiers | |
91 | GANNA Filippo |
92 | HAYTER Ethan |
93 | HENAO Sebastián |
94 | PLAPP Luke |
95 | PORTE Richie |
96 | SOSA Iván |
97 | SWIFT Ben |
Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert | |
101 | MINALI Riccardo |
102 | BAKELANTS Jan |
103 | BELLICAUD Jeremy |
104 | DAEMEN Stijn |
105 | DELACROIX Theo |
106 | GHIRMAY Biniam |
107 | ZIMMERMANN Georg |
Israel Start-Up Nation | |
111 | BERWICK Sebastian |
112 | CATAFORD Alexander |
113 | GOLDSTEIN Omer |
114 | HOLLENSTEIN Reto |
115 | MACKELLAR Alastair |
116 | PICCOLI James |
117 | SAGIV Guy |
Jumbo-Visma | |
121 | AFFINI Edoardo |
122 | FOSS Tobias |
123 | BOUWMAN Koen |
124 | HESSMANN Michel |
125 | KOOIJ Olav |
126 | KUSS Sepp |
127 | LEEMREIZE Gijs |
Lotto Soudal | |
131 | CONCA Filippo |
132 | CRAS Steff |
133 | HOLMES Matthew |
134 | MARCZYŃSKI Tomasz |
135 | MONIQUET Sylvain |
136 | OLDANI Stefano |
137 | VANHOUCKE Harm |
Movistar | |
141 | GARCÍA Iván |
142 | GONZÁLEZ Abner |
143 | MÜHLBERGER Gregor |
144 | PEDRERO Antonio |
145 | ROJAS José |
146 | SOLER Marc |
147 | VILLELLA Davide |
Rally Cycling | |
151 | BROWN Nathan |
152 | DE KLEIJN Arvid |
153 | JOYCE Colin |
154 | KING Ben |
155 | ORONTE Emerson |
156 | SWIRBUL Keegan |
157 | ZUKOWSKY Nickolas |
Arkéa-Samsic | |
161 | ANACONA Winner |
162 | BARGUIL Warren |
163 | DELAPLACE Anthony |
164 | FLÓREZ Miguel |
165 | QUINTANA Dayer |
166 | ROSA Diego |
167 | VOISARD Yannis |
Qhubeka-NextHash | |
171 | NIZZOLO Giacomo |
172 | CAMPENAERTS Victor |
173 | COATI Luca |
174 | STOKBRO Andreas |
175 | PELUCCHI Matteo |
176 | PUPPIO Antonio |
177 | VINJEBO Emil |
Trek-Segafredo | |
181 | MOSCHETTI Matteo |
182 | BARONCINI Filippo |
183 | HELLEMOSE Asbjørn |
184 | SKJELMOSE Mattias |
185 | MOSCA Jacopo |
186 | NIBALI Antonio |
187 | TIBERI Antonio |
UAE-Team Emirates | |
191 | TRENTIN Matteo |
192 | CONTI Valerio |
193 | COSTA Rui |
194 | COVI Alessandro |
195 | MAJKA Rafał |
196 | POLANC Jan |
197 | RIABUSHENKO Alexandr |
Vini Zabù | |
201 | MARECZKO Jakub |
202 | FERRI Gregorio |
203 | FRAPPORTI Marco |
204 | GRADEK Kamil |
205 | MASOTTO Giulio |
206 | ORRICO Davide |
207 | STACCHIOTTI Riccardo |