Italy Twofer: 9/11 Giro della Toscana; 9/12 Coppa Sabatini

By no means been to Italy however with every race I see I need to go greater than ever. Now we have two cat 5 one-day races on faucet this week, each kinda climby, by which I imply that sprinters needn’t apply.

First up, close to Pisa in Tuscany, slightly inland, Pontedera to be actual, the 96th operating of the Giro della Toscana

These two climbs. Monte Serra accomplished twice, makes this a climby affair. Final yr Sivakov gained narrowly over Carapaz (4 seconds) with Grosschartner 48 seconds again and Pogacar and Zana 1:28 in arrears.

This yr, what with the Vuelta simply ending, the Euro TT going down in addition to the Canadian races, there’s much more competitors for riders. This yr we bought Diego Ulissi, who has been doing effectively in cat 5 races this summer time whilst you’ve been watching increased profile races. Jefferson Alverio Cepeda, aka the Caja Rural Jeff Cepeda, can be right here together with Lutsenko, Storer, Jan Christen, Piganzoli, and so on: the same old suspects who like to hold in Italy for the summer time.

2. And if that is not sufficient for you the subsequent day we get the 72nd version of Coppa Sabatini in Peccioli, simply down the valley from Pontedera so the riders do not need to journey for it. It’s also a bumpy race with lots of the identical riders however with the addition of Mr. Summer time himself, Mr. Marc Hirschi. Assume I’m kidding? In July and August Hirschi’s outcomes are:

1st on the Czech Tour
sixteenth on the Olympics street race
1st @ San Seb
1st @ Bretagne Traditional Ouest-France
1st @ GP Industria & Artigianato

Hirschi’s bought to be the favourite and his crew ought to dominate the race. Oh-and Hirschi gained the race final yr. (Determining why Hirschi will not be at subsequent week’s Euro street race is an train finest left to the reader.)