"A great satisfaction": New INEOS recruit overjoyed after a Coppa Bernocchi triumph

In the block of Italian autumn Classics, Coppa Bernocchi was a rare opportunity for versatile fast men to show off after 191.6 kilometers of intense racing. And against prominent sprinters such Tobias Lund Andresen, Giovanni Lonardi or Michael Matthews, Dorian Godon prevailed in a bunch finish. For the Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider who will be moving over to INEOS Grenadiers next year, this marks a fifth victory of this season.

"Today's victory is a great satisfaction," Godon said afterwards. "I love the Italian races at the end of the season with their punchy profiles. It was a bit hard at the beginning of the day, my legs were sore from the Coppa Agostoni, but they loosened up, and I felt better. We decided to go 100 percent for me in the sprint. Nans Peters and the whole team did an incredible job pulling the bunch to catch the breakaway."

Tobias Lund Andresen has been chasing that elusive professional victory since January when he triumphed at the Surf Coast Classic. However at the Coppa Bernocchi, the streak of second places wasn't broken as one man was faster in the sprint.

Despite the demanding parcours and multiple attacks, his Picnic PostNL teammates kept Lund Andresen always in a good enough position. "We had the plan to position me every time into the climb, so I could drop back and save some energy. I think we did that very well, to save myself for the sprint," he said on team website.

At one point a strong group broke away "Bjorn [Koerdt] did a good job being in the front and taking the pressure off us. I had the position I wanted around the last corner but got caught out a little bit on the straight. I’m happy with the podium, but it’s a bit bittersweet when it was so close to the win."