An old-fashioned spectacle! Magnus Cort defeats favorites in Veneto Classic thanks to early breakaway

Magnus Cort won the Veneto Classic on Sunday. The Dane of Uno-X Mobility jumped with the early breakaway and skillfully held off favorites Romain Gregoire and Marc Hirschi in the challenging final phase.

The Veneto Classic was the season's last European road race, and the pro peloton's winter break was near. The one-day race covered a distance of 191.7 kilometers from Soave to Bassano del Grappa. The participating riders were presented with a challenging course. Especially in the finale, it went up and down, with some very steep sections. The second-to-last climb was even unpaved. Fall guy Hirsch was considered the big favorite.

The battle for the breakaway was quick. Six riders broke away shortly after the start and got the approval of the peloton. Of the six, Anders Foldager (Jayco-AlUla), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), and Tobias Bayer (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were the most prominent names. In the peloton, UAE Team Emirates, which had top favorite Hirschi in its ranks, took responsibility for controlling the breakaway.

Hirschi opens final, but doesn't get away

The Emirates team kept the early breakaway within four minutes. Little by little, the lead was further reduced. About 45 kilometers from the finish, Hirschi then dealt a first nudge to the peloton. He accelerated on the steep La Tisa, only four hundred meters long but ten percent average. It caused damage, and the peloton thinned to about thirty riders.

UAE continued to exert pressure. Filippo Baroncini was the next of the team to attack; he didn't get away, however. At the front, meanwhile, the expected names remained: Foldager, Bayer, and Cort. They still had a nice lead of almost two minutes with thirty kilometers to go. In the chasing group, Rudy Molard, serving teammate Romanin Gregoire (Groupama-FDJ), tried to reduce the time difference further.

Hirschi, meanwhile, was impatient and attacked again at 30 kilometers from the end. Although he did not get away again, he thinned out the group to twenty riders. It remained restless after that. George Bennett (Israel-Premier Tech). The New Zealander managed to create a small gap with four other riders. Among them was Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché-Wanty). Top Italian talent Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani) did not want to miss out and cleverly jumped into the group.

Cort gives mixed impressions but fools them all

This group, however, did not manage to stay out of the jaws of Group Hirschi. At the front, meanwhile, Cort played yo-yo. As such, he initially had to let go of Bayer and Foldager. But the Dane returned and even left the two behind after an attack ten kilometers from the finish. In the closing phase, Cort defended a forty-second lead over five riders: Hirschi, Gregoire, Pellizzari, Filippo Zana, and Xandro Meurrisse.

Meanwhile, the race had reached the final obstacle of the day: the ultra-steep Strada Soarda. The climb was thirteen percent average but only four hundred meters long. On the slope, Gregoire fired a significant acceleration out of his legs. He got to within fifteen seconds of Cort, but it was too late. The final kilometers were flat, allowing the Dane to hold on and win in a way we know all too well from the star attacker.

Results Veneto Classic 2024

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