Tre Valli Varesine 2014 preview
By David Hunter
The 94th edition of a very beautiful race.
The route of this race likes to change and this year we have a route that looks perfect preparation, for the World Championship Road Race.
The race starts with 3 laps in Luino, before heading down to Varese, where we get 10 laps of a challenging circuit.
The lap contains a short, steep climb. The finishing line is not at the top of the climb, so a climber has to arrive by himself.
From 3km to go, till 1km to go it rises at an average of 5%, but the final 500m is much steeper. After that, we have a flat, then downhill final kilometre.
The repetitive nature of the circuit will start to hurt the legs of the riders, some of whom are here to try and claim a spot on the Italian World Championship team.
Vincenzo Nibali, is assured of captaincy, but he will want to go well. He won the Italian Championship, on a similar lap circuit. Some other riders, in need of a big performance, are: Visconti, Nizzolo, Caruso, Pozzato, Trentin, Zardini, Gasparotto, Battaglin and Colbrelli. It will be very interesting to see how the tactics and politics of the race, play out.
Not riding in the Worlds, is Mauro Finetto. Super Mauro, is a favourite of mine and had a rest day today. This race has been his focus all week and he should go very well. The course is very well suited to his ability and his explosive finish will be a big bonus, if we get a small sprint.
Durasek is the defending champion, but I think Lampre will be behind Pozzato, to try and get him selected for the World Championships. They also have Jan Polanc, who was very active in the Canadian races.
Bardiani are spoilt for choice: Battaglin, Bongiorno, Colbrelli and Zardini. They have options for a small group and a larger sprint. Battaglin was an unlucky 4th today and he has a big chance in this race.
Other riders capable of a big performance are: Lagutin, Machado, Albasini, Santaromita, Rubiano, Rebellin and Sepulveda.
Orica send a very strong squad and that means they are serious about winning!
Prediction time…
Nibali to animate the race but will not want to go too deep, with the Worlds coming up. We’ll get a reduced bunch sprint and Mauro Finetto will take the win.
David Hunter
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