Giro dell’Appennino: Diego Ulissi scores a long-range solo victory

Diego Ulissi soloed to the win at the Giro dell’Appennino, scoring the first win of his time at XDS-Astana and his team’s 19th of the 2025 season as they gain another 125 UCI points in the race for WorldTour survival.

The Italian, who led the Giro d’Italia for a day last month, went solo on the penultimate climb of the 199km one-day race, Pietralavezzara (6.2km at 7.7%), at almost 50km from the finish.

He sped past the survivors of the early breakaway, including Davide De Cassan (Polti-VisitMalta), and led the way solo onto the final climb of the Madonna della Guardia (6.9km at 7.8%).

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A 45-second lead on the way up turned into a minute at the top, despite Matteo Fabbro (Intermarché-Wanty) and Matteo Fabbro (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini) mounting a counter-attack from behind.

Ulissi held a minute’s lead at the end of the descent, with 17km of flat roads remaining before the finish in Genoa. He raced untroubled into the Ligurian city, as Fabbro and Barré were unable to put a dent in his lead.

The pair were eventually caught by the chasing pack, while up front, Ulissi’s margin was more than enough for the 35-year-old to hold on for the 49th victory of his career after 30km alone at the head of the race.

Nine seconds later, Andrii Ponomar (Petrolike) took second place, while fellow XDS-Astana rider Simone Velasco grabbed the final spot on the podium and another 70 UCI points 14 seconds back in third.

“We had a pretty young team today, with guys from XDS-Astana Devo Team, some of them had just come back from the Giro Next Gen,” Ulissi said after the finish. “Everyone did a great job, and we controlled the early breakaway.

“Then, on the hardest climb, with around 50km to the finish, I attacked. It was quite tough with the headwind, but I managed to gain some advantage and take this win. Up next, we have the Italian National Championships, and I think we have a strong team there, so we will try to give it a proper battle.”

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