Season 4 Strade Bianche

The Season 4 Strade Bianche was a hilly cobbled classic in the VeloTour. It was won by Samuel Oudin of Vallnord in an upset victory over Egon Kallas and Mario Mazziotta.

## Pre-Race

The principal favorites were Virgil Lazarescu (Futuro Forestal), Jonathan Kaiser (Futuro Forestal), Egon Kallas (Kyoto), and Jeroen Luyken (Vallnord). Other contenders included Glenn Maertens (Sismic), Oscar Gallati (Kyoto), and Xhemal Seferi (Futuro Forestal).

Most of the pre-race discussion centered around the Futuro Forestal team after Lazarescu's close second place in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and whether the team could dominate a course that was well-suited for them.

Kyoto still led by over 800 points in the team standings, with Euskaltel-Euskadi up to third place after winning the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

## Race Overview

The early breakaway was instigated by Kelvin Moore (Nautalia) on the Montalcino climb, and was soon joined by Nigel Morrow (Doimo) and Javier Lopez (Alpha Tauri). Their largest lead was over four minutes ahead of the peloton, reduced to 3:30 by the San Martino in Grania gravel section 72 kilometers from the finish. The Sismic and Futuro Forestal teams did most of the work in the peloton, with Ishikawa Kitetsu, Yan Feng, and Miroslav Kostra taking long turns at the front.

Kitetsu led the peloton onto the hardest gravel section, the Monte Santa Marie, with 54 kilometers to go. She increased the pace to force the first splits with the Futuro Forestal, Kyoto, and Sismic teams in good position. Meanwhile, Nigel Morrow was dropped by the leading duo of Kelvin Moore and Javier Lopez.

After Kitetsu peeled off Carlos Nelo of Sismic continued the pace-making, and Samuel Oudin (Vallnord) launched an attack from an uphill section with 44 kilometers to go. Egon Kallas (Kyoto) was the first to take off in pursuit, and a group of Mario Mazziotta (Hackett), Jonathan Kaiser (Futuro Forestal), and Jeroen Luyken (Vallnord) formed behind Kallas.

After the Monte Sante Marie gravel section, Kallas caught Oudin while Mazziotta bridged across from the second chase group. The second group of Kaiser and Luyken was joined by Oscar Gallati (Kyoto) but they were soon caught by the chasing peloton. With 35 kilometers to race, the first chase group of Oudin, Kallas, and Mazziotta was now 1:10 ahead of the peloton and 1:45 behind the two leaders.

In the leading group, Kelvin Moore dropped Javier Lopez 31 kilometers from the finish. The Oudin/Kallas/Luyken group continued to work well together and maintain their advantage over the Sismic-led peloton. Futuro Forestal were hesitant to contribute to the chasing, effectively handing the victory over to the chase group.

Kelvin Moore was finally caught by the chasers on the penultimate gravel section 19 kilometers from the finish, forming a leading group of four that led by peloton by over two minutes. Glenn Maertens (Sismic) launched a counterattack from the peloton with 9 kilometers to go and quickly established a 25 second gap over the remaining peloton. An exhausted Kelvin Moore was finally dropped from the leading group after his long breakaway effort, leaving Egon Kallas, Samuel Oudin, and Mario Mazziotta as the final selection.

Mazziotta led the group onto the cobbled Via Santa Caterina climb with 2 kilometers to go and increased the pace. However, he cracked towards the top and was passed by Oudin and Kallas, who rode shoulder-to-shoulder around the final corners. Oudin narrowly out-sprinted Kallas to pull off a major upset victory. Kallas finished a close second place with Mazziotta a few seconds behind in third. The counterattacking Glenn Maertens held off the field to finish 4th, and Oudin's teammate Jeroen Luyken led home the peloton in 5th place.

## Aftermath

Samuel Oudin's victory was considered a massive upset, considering how he started the decisive move himself and was strongest on the final climb. The points scored by Vallnord lifted them from last place in the team standings up to fifth. Futuro Forestal were the most disappointing team in the race after riding passively in the last 45 kilometers, with their highest finisher Virgil Lazarescu placing 7th.