Florian Vermeersch Falls Short Against Norwegian Surprise in Veneto Classic

Sakarias Koller Løland closed the European road season with a victory at the Veneto Classic. The 24-year-old Norwegian from Uno-X Mobility was surprisingly the strongest from a large early breakaway. Florian Vermeersch, who was crowned gravel world champion just a week earlier, had to settle for second place. Diego Ulissi took third.

The Veneto Classic started in Soave and finished 180 kilometers later in Bassano del Grappa. Along the way, the riders faced several climbs. The Diesel Farm - unpaved, over a kilometer long and averaging - was the key selective feature. Shortly after, there was the Strada Soarda (500 meters at 9.4%), with the summit four kilometers from the finish. On paper, men like Romain Grégoire, Christian Scaroni, Marc Hirschi, and Pavel Sivakov were the main favorites.

In the flat run-up to the first hills, a leading group of no less than nineteen riders was formed. Among them, alongside riders like Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility), Davide De Pretto (Jayco AlUla), and Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana), were many Belgians: Xandro Meurisse, Stan Van Tricht (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Dylan Teuns (Cofidis), Lorenz Van de Wynkele (Lotto), and gravel world champion Florian Vermeersch.

Favorites fail to bridge 
After sixty kilometers of racing, Van Tricht crashed hard, forcing him to let his breakaway companions go. Meanwhile, UAE Emirates XRG began the chase, reducing the lead from a maximum of 2.5 minutes to around 1:45. This was the signal for Pavel Sivakov to counterattack. The Frenchman rode between the two groups for a while but never made it to the front. After he was caught, his teammate Tim Wellens attempted a move.

The Belgian champion eventually broke away from an elite group including Grégoire, Scaroni, and Hirschi, but making the bridge? That proved to be another matter. The breakaway, which had by various accelerations considerably thinned out, started the last fifteen kilometers with a comfortable lead. Ten riders headed towards the Diesel Farm. Would the race be decided here?

Germani creates a gap
De Pretto definitely wanted to force the decision. The Italian pushed hard right from the base and created a gap. Ulissi, however, managed to ride back to him. The veteran from XDS Astana then pulled away from De Pretto, after the latter briefly slipped in the gravel and had to put a foot down. In the gravel descent that followed, Ulissi also struggled to stay upright. Having missed a corner, four chasers returned: Meurisse, Vermeersch, De Pretto, and Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ).

Meurisse soon dropped back due to mechanical trouble, but in his place, Sakarias Koller Løland (Uno-X Mobility) came back up. The Norwegian then ramped up the pace on the first sections of the Strada Soarda. The high tempo did not stop Germani from upping the ante. The 23-year-old Italian crested with a small advantage over Vermeersch and Løland, with De Pretto and Ulissi slightly further behind.

Løland claims first pro victory
Two kilometers from the finish, Vermeersch and Løland caught Germani. Ulissi seemed done, but because the front slowed a bit, the Italian came back again at 600 meters to go. The race would be decided in a sprint among four. Løland made a gap in the twisty finale, was first to start the uphill finish, and held on to the line. Vermeersch finished second, Ulissi third, and Germani came in fourth.

For Løland, this was his first professional win. The 24-year-old Norwegian, who has been a pro with Uno-X Mobility since last year, won the under-23 edition of Paris-Tours in 2023. This year, he also claimed victory at the Ringerike GP (1.2), a tough one-day race in Norway.