Marc Hirschi wins Giro della Toscana after surviving uphill attacks

Marc Hirschi has rode to his third win of the season today at the Giro della Toscana, as the UAE Team Emirates rider sprinted to the win out of a reduced group sprint.

The race was to be decided in a double ascent of the Monte Serra, an 11-kilometer climb at over 7% average gradient. With the final ascent summiting with 32 kilometers to go, the race exploded early, as Esteban Chaves attacked the final ascent to create a five-rider group that rode towards the line.

Daniel Martínez attacked near the summit and got around 20 seconds of a gap, but suffered with cramps in the descent, and in the run-up to the line he was caught by the group containing Chaves, Lorenzo Rota, Marc Hirschi and Einer Rubio.

With the chasing group distant the group saw a lot of slowing down towards the finale, with several attacks trying to surprise. Lorenzo Rota launched the final sprint, but Marc Hirschi had the superior speed and took the win. Rota rode to second place as Einer Rubio sprinted to third.