13 Sep 2023
Sivakov solos to victory in Toscana
Related riders
Pavel Sivakov
Giro Della Toscana - Pontedera › Pontedera, 191.5km
Pavel Sivakov took a stunning solo victory in the Giro della Toscana, the first of the Italian autumn classics.
An upping of the pace into the foot of the final climb saw the peloton whittle down almost immediately. Then, an attack from Felix Großschartner (UAE Team Emirates) was convincingly countered by Sivakov, drawing an elite group of four clear.
Pavel would not stop there, with another attack dropping the rest of the quartet, including Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates). The Frenchman would top the climb with an advantage on the rest, and start the descent alone.
Sivakov would be caught by Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) on the descent, and the two seem destined to sprint it out at the finish.
That was until a canny attack by Pavel over a bridge with just over a kilometre remaining would see him distance his breakaway companion, and solo to an emphatic victory.
Ethan Hayter also claimed a strong seventh place, after a strong lead out by Magnus Sheffield.
Over in La Vuelta, Geraint Thomas led the team home in 47th place at the infamous Angliru.
Reaction:
“I’ve been looking for a win for a long time. Last year I won Burgos but I didn’t raise the hands as it was on GC. I’m really happy to win now."
“In the climb I was the strongest. I was the first over the top. When I was with Richie I knew he was faster than me in the downhill, so chances were that he would come back. Also with two, it was a long valley, so it was better to be with him. Then I could feel I was stronger in the final. I attacked on the last bridge as I knew he was faster in the sprint. I gave it my all and it worked so I’m super happy.”
