Coach Daniele Bennati had said it the day before: “Alberto Bettiol has never been so continuous”. And the 30-year-old Tuscan from Ef confirmed it once more, graduating in Sesto Fiorentino as Italian champion for the first time in his career, a few kilometers from his home and 6 days from the start of the Tour de France in Florence. Bettiol will go dressed in the green, white and red jersey and will be the only Florentine at the start: “A wonderful day, better than a dream, I didn’t think I’d go so fast.” At the finish line 200 meters from the house of the legendary coach Alfredo Martini, Bettiol imposed himself by detachment after on the last climb of Monte Morello, about 10 km from the end, he separated from his breakaway companions Lorenzo Rota (Intermarché, second in the tricolor for the third year in a row) and Edoardo Zambanini (Bahrain-Victorious). Bettiol reached the finish line having enough time to lift his bike like a gladiator: final podium excluded, worth mentioning was an excellent performance by Filippo Ganna who finished in fourth place. Then Formolo, Aleotti, Ciccone, Velasco, Fiorelli and Ulissi.
THE WORDS
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“A special victory – says Bettiol, who will also be the leader of the Italian national team at the Paris Games -. I didn’t have any teammates, and I was coming from a complicated week after the fall at the Tour of Switzerland when I had to withdraw and I also took antibiotics for an arm infection. Now I can’t wait to wear this shirt for a year. I want to honor it every day.”
