Italian continental rider embarrasses Soudal Quick-Step duo in Giro di Sardegna

Nicolò Garibbo pulled off a major surprise in the opening stage of the Giro di Sardegna. The 26-year-old Italian from the modest Team UKYO – a Continental team from Japan – won a four-man sprint against Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma) and two riders from Soudal Quick-Step: Filippo Zana and Gianmarco Garofoli.

The Giro di Sardegna (2.1), a five-day stage race on the island of Sardinia, took place for the first time since 2011. Back then, Peter Sagan won the race riding for Liquigas-Cannondale, ahead of riders like José Rodolfo Serpa, Damiano Cunego, and the late Michele Scarponi. Fifteen years later, two WorldTeams lined up at the start: XDS Astana and Soudal Quick-Step. The latter team included Pascal Eenkhoorn, Mauri Vansevenant, and Filippo Zana among its roster.

The opening stage ran from Castelsardo to Bosa and was immediately quite challenging. With climbs to Osilo (12.3 km at 4.2%) and Villanova Monteleone (12.1 km at 4.6%), two second-category ascents were on the menu. After the last categorized climb, there were still nearly sixty kilometers to the finish, but the finale was far from flat. It was a constant up-and-down.

Zana bridges across
The break of the day consisted of five riders: Roberto Carlos González (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali), Matteo Spreafico (Mg.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente), Philipp Hofbauer (Team Vorarlberg), Hamish Armitt (Novo Nordisk) and Cristian Remelli (General Store-Essegibi-F.Lli Curia). They held the lead going into the climb to Villanova Monteleone, when someone from the peloton came across: the aforementioned Zana.

Zana joined Remelli, González, and Armitt – the remaining escapees – just before the summit. Behind them, a trio formed: Urko Berrade (Equipo Kern Pharma), Gianmarco Garofoli (Soudal Quick-Step), and Nicolò Garibbo (Team UKYO). They eventually bridged up to Zana and González, who remained together. We entered the final twenty kilometers with five riders. A small chase group trailed by half a minute.

Garibbo surprises
After an attack from Zana, González was the last of the original breakaway to be dropped. The remaining quartet started the last three kilometers with a one-minute advantage. They had some margin, Soudal Quick-Step had two riders up front, and so the tactical game began. Garofoli launched two attacks, but without success. He then took the front to keep the pace high for Zana, who was expected to finish it off in the sprint.

However, that did not happen. Garibbo proved to have an incredibly sharp sprint. The 26-year-old Italian stayed close to Zana throughout a thrilling dash and eventually held off his experienced countryman. In doing so, he claimed the first victory of his career. The rider from the modest Team UKYO is also the first race leader.