Bernocchi Cup
12.30pm Legnano – 4.45pm Legnano
Belgian success in the Coppa Bernocchi. Stan Van Tricht took the plunge early in the Italian race. When he was released by Bart Lemmen, his first professional victory seemed unlikely. But our compatriot from Alpecin-Deceuninck called the Dutchman back with a group and performed a long power sprint. Remco Evenepoel did not get out of the clutches of the peloton.
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A group of big names, including Remco Evenepoel and Primoz Roglic, were at the start of the Coppa Bernocchi, the second of the four “vecchie signore”. They are all eager to succeed Wout van Aert on the honors list.
Yet the main candidates would already get up after 15 kilometers of racing. Stan Van Tricht (Alpecin-Deceuninck) jumped with a nice group of 5 adventurers, including Bart Lemmen and Pierre Latour.
Remco Evenepoel was eager to take sporting revenge for his retirement in the Giro dell’Emilia and tried to bridge the gap together with Mauri Vansevenant, without success. The Olympic champion blew back to the peloton, where he was frustrated by the lack of cooperation.
In the meantime, things were not going fast enough for Bart Lemmen at the front. The former professional soldier, who only became a professional cyclist at the age of 27, left his companions behind. Stan Van Tricht ended up in a group of chasers that included Neilson Powless and Roger Adria.
Lemmen reached out for his first professional victory, but had to abandon his time trial barely 1 kilometer from the finish. Van Tricht kept his cool among the pursuers and sprinted to his first professional victory ahead of Alex Baudin and Roger Adria.
Evenepoel will get another chance tomorrow in the Tre Valli Varesine, although he will have to compete against world champion Tadej Pogacar again.
Van Tricht: “I knew I had the best sprint”
Stan Van Tricht beamed with his victory in the Coppa Bernocchi. “I’m very happy,” he said. “It was a difficult season, but in the last few weeks I had regained my good legs.”
“I was able to drive the perfect race today with the early breakaway. I knew we could go far, because the rainy weather was also good for the leading group.”
Van Tricht did not panic when Bart Lemmen went solo. “I knew I had to be smart and stay in the group. I knew I had the best sprint, but it’s always difficult when they jump away behind your back. I saw Neilson turn on Powless and knew I had to go.”
Van Tricht will also ride the Tre Valli Varesine tomorrow.
Uitslag Bernocchi Cup 2024
Stan Van Tricht wins
A nice Belgian victory. Stan Van Tricht records his first professional victory in the Coppa Bernocchi. He was already in the early breakaway after 15 kilometers and finished it after they had grabbed the last survivor Bart Lemmen.
It’s over for Bart Lemmen. He is caught in the final kilometer. The 7 front runners can now battle it out among themselves to see who will be crowned the winner.
Lemmen looks back
Bart Lemmen looks back and sees the white in Neilson Powless’s eyes. With another mile and a half it will be make or break for the Dutchman.
It is now becoming really difficult for Lemmen to book his first professional victory. He feels the pursuers breathing down his neck: 10 seconds left with 3 kilometers to go.
They don’t know it anymore in the chase. The five pursuers look at each other. On a long stretch of straight ahead they now really see Lemmen in their sights.
Bart Lemmen left after 15 kilometers of racing and is the only one left with 7 kilometers to go. Does he complete this early flight? It remains a meager gap of 15 seconds.
Van Tricht, Baudin, Powless, Adria, Sivakov and Pinarello rotate around, but it remains difficult to catch Bart Lemmen. With 10 kilometers to go, the denouement remains unpredictable.
Bart Lemmen refuses to squat. The Dutchman from Visma-Lease a Bike comes into the sights of the pursuers, but they still cannot catch him.
Platoon starts too late
Suddenly things are going well in the peloton, but they seem to be far too late. They still have 1’45” to make up.
Suddenly the Italian chrono only gives Lemmen a lead of about 20 seconds. The former professional soldier, who only became a professional cyclist at the age of 27, already looks over his shoulder.
Bart Lemmen doesn’t give up. He races along in the style of a time trialist, trying to stay out of the grasp of the 6 pursuers. Evenepoel has now found a teammate to hide behind in the rearguard. Can they still make up ground in 18 kilometers?
Lemmen goes solo
Stan Van Tricht is also cracking. He finds Pinarello in pursuit of Bart Lemmen, who goes solo. The Dutchman, who was an amateur a few years ago, is looking for a great victory.
Evenepoel drops back a bit in the peloton, looking for helpful teammates? Just like Saturday, nothing seems to work out for the Olympic champion on Italian soil.
The Low Countries remain in the leading group, because Pinarello can no longer keep up the pace on the Piccolo Stelvio. Bart Lemmen and Stan Van Tricht have to make do with the two of them.
Where is the collaboration?
Chaos remains in the peloton. Visma-Lease a Bike refuses to cooperate, because Bart Lemmen is doing well at the front. Remco Evenepoel sees the backlog increasing.
The three at the front still work well together, because the group with Powless does not get much closer. In the meantime, the platoon is still looking for servants who are willing to sacrifice themselves.
Remco Evenepoel has returned to the peloton, where cooperation is lacking. Our compatriot briefly feigns an attack and is then disappointed that no one follows. Primoz Roglic meanwhile moves forward.
Anthony Perez is picked up by a group of chasers with Alex Baudin, Neilson Powless, Roger Adria and Pavel Sivakov. They stormed past Evenepoel’s group.
