"I didn't feel comfortable with the rain" - Benoit Cosnefroy celebrates his fifth victory of debut season in UAE jersey
Cycling
The Coppa Sabatini is a traditional venue of the Italian autumn calendar and yet, the 2026 edition results resemble those of a French Cup round. Standing on the podium were three French puncheurs. The victory went to Benoit Cosnefroy who celebrates his fifth victory of a debut season in UAE Team Emirates - XRG jersey.
The harsh weather conditions, combined with a short and explosive circuit have caused that, of the 166 participants at the 2026 edition of Coppa Sabatini, only 52 have reached the finish line after nearly 200 kilometers of racing.
And in the final uphill sprint in Peccioli, explosive French riders prevailed. Cosnefroy defeated Clément Venturini (Unibet Rose Rockets) and Romain Grégoire (Groupama - FDJ United). The best home rider would be Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana Team) in 4th.
"In the end, I did my best sprint possible to try and win," said Cosnefroy after the finish. "I felt good, but I wasn't always the best in the group. I lost a lot of positions on the descents before coming back."
Important victory
"But the finale was different from the rest of the race. I'm happy to have won it, for myself and for my team. It's my first victory in Italy, so it's important," he added proudly.
Rain played an important role on Thursday, turning the race into a survival test. Cosnefroy himself is not quite fond of such weather conditions, but ultimately everything worked out in his favor at the end.
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"This morning, I was told it wasn't my day because it was raining. In every race, I try to improve, but I didn't feel comfortable with the water and the rain. In the end, I'm therefore happy to have won," he continued.
A well-deserved joy, since victory could easily have slipped through his fingers if Pellizzari hadn't been caught in the final meters - just as was the case at Giro della Toscana one day prior. "Giulio Pellizzari is in good form this week. Yesterday, he won. Sometimes it's like that, the peloton wins. But he's a great rider. I really like the way he races," Cosnefroy concluded.
Ondrej ZhasilCycling Journalist
Ondřej Zhasil is a cycling journalist at CyclingUpToDate and has been part of the team since 2023. He is based in Ostrava, the third-largest city in the Czech Republic, and covers professional cycling across the main UCI competitions, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España. A key focus of his work is startlist analysis and pre-race coverage, where he examines team selections, rider line-ups, and tactical scenarios ahead of major events.
Alongside WorldTour coverage, Ondřej has developed specific expertise in junior cycling and in racing across East Asia, including competitions in China and Japan. He also maintains a broad working knowledge of other disciplines and levels, including cyclocross, while continuing to expand his understanding of mountain bike racing.
Ondřej holds a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Physics, which supports his analytical, data-driven approach to performance and race analysis. In his reporting, he regularly uses ProCyclingStats for results, statistics, and historical context. He places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles promptly when new, verified information becomes available.
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- It doesnt take a genius to understand that Pogi is 1 level above and Pogi is younger that Jonas, so Jonas will not win under ordinary circumstances. Pogi has to crack hard for Jonas to win. It doesn't matter whether you defend Jonas or not , facts remain facts. Jonas himself says his numbers are better than 2022/2023, so Jonas is more or less optimized and we are just see the stochastic variation due to other factors. I think he will retire along with Pedersen in WC denmarkabstractengineer13-11-2026
- They only raced each other during the 2026 Tour, but here's a few metrics to look at. Stage 3 (Granollers to Les Angles): Pogačar won the stage, finishing 2 seconds ahead of Vingegaard (2nd). Del Toro finished 24 seconds behind Stage 6 (Pau to Gavarnie-Gedre / Col du Tourmalet): Pogačar won solo, Vingegaard finished 2nd (losing 2:38), and Del Toro finished 3rd (at +2:57, finishing 19 seconds behind Vingegaard). Here, Jonas Vingegaard outclimbed Isaac del Toro by 19 seconds on the mountain stageawp13-11-2026
- your clinging to the past. Jonas was dropped by del toro many times last year and jonas never managed a climbing numers del toro did in dauphine last year -entire year. Trend is also evident theres no discussion your living in the past, its beent he same with jonas for many years now and only developing, meanwhile del toro is rising and developing greatly. This is all obvious stuff and im not even a del toro fan. No point discussing numbers or this i suspect you dont watch much now but rather think its 2022 still cause this aint hard.miguel13-11-2026
- We can go through metrics if you like, Del Toro, who I do admire and support, is not on the same level as Jonas just yet. You will see that in early 2027 if they have any crossover races. I do hope they both race the Giro. You are correct though, Jonas is getting older and will not be able to hand on much longer. I see 2027 as a good year for him. Obviously behind Tadej though.awp13-11-2026
- What wins? Are you LA operating under a pseudonym?mij13-11-2026
- My point is this - Tadej, Remco, Seixas are all the outliers. Many riders don’t hit their peak until 28. It’s way too early to write him off. And the pogi slo guy that hates him - he’s also immature. Ayuso needs time.mij13-11-2026
- Then you need to use ur eyes or head if you have cause del toro already dropped jonas two times and beat him in tdf stages already this year.. Del toro climbed(dauphine) better numbers than jonas did all year too. So ur feelings and wishful thinking doesnt amtter del toro himself has already surpassed jonas infact just facts. Its also very evident for anyone objective that Jonas is declining alot, its just the truth and super obvious.miguel13-11-2026
- None of those victories stand, so there's that,wrsty13-11-2026
- No surprise there; it is British Sycling, yes, with an S
Rafionain-Glas12-11-2026 - I like Del Toro but he's not on the level of Jonas, by a large margin.awp12-11-2026
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