Ryan, Bouwman, Ulissi
Koen Bouwman has won the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali. The Dutchman stayed out of trouble in the tricky final stage. With the overall victory in the Italian stage race, Bouwman follows in the footsteps of Jonas Vingegaard, among others, who won the stage race in 2021.
In the final stage, seven riders quickly formed a breakaway. The attackers managed to build up a lead of three minutes, but the final rider was caught with 15 kilometers to go. In the final kilometers, the riders of the yellow-black formation were alert, neutralizing the various attack attempts. At the cycling track in Forlì, it was Jenno Berckmoes who sprinted to victory and Bouwman who secured the overall victory.
“Today we did very well as a team,” said a proud sports director, Robert Wagner. “The goal was to bring home the leader’s jersey, and we succeeded. We could control the race all day and avoid trouble.”
Bouwman is also very content with today’s stage and looks back on the week with a good feeling. “It has been a super nice week, and we rode very well as a team. In the final stages, the team did a lot of work to keep my leading position. Very nice that I was able to finish it off as well.”
Within the team, the 30-year-old the Dutchman follows in Vingegaard’s footsteps, who managed to win the Italian stage race in 2021. “I am very happy with the overall victory. Normally, I ride as a domestique, but if I can go for my own chance, it’s very nice that it works out like it did this week. The fact that I succeed Jonas, is a fine bonus. I will never be able to match his other performances, but I am happy that we have now won the same race,” Bouwman said with a smile.
In the Italian stage race, the yellow-and-black formation has been at the starting line with a mixed selection of WorldTour and Development riders for years. “This is an important race for us. The talents can already get used to the big work here in a strong field and also learn a lot. Koen, Julien Vermote, and Milan Vader, as experienced forces, have been able to teach the young riders well this year. The team rode as a collective. I am super proud of the team and the talents who have once again gained an important experience and learned how to defend a leader’s jersey,” Wagner concluded.
| 01 | BOUWMAN Koen Team Visma | Lease a Bike | 17:35:44 | |
| 02 | RYAN Archie EF Education-EasyPost | + 09 | |
| 03 | ULISSI Diego UAE Team Emirates | + 10 |
