The Italian climber finished on the podium behind Remco Evenepoel as he makes his debut at the Canadian Grand Prix races.
Lidl-Trek came to Canada with a stacked squad and they proved it at Grand Prix Cyclistes de Québec with the team capable of covering every important move before Giulio Ciccone found himself in a two-up sprint for the line against the Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe rider.
Having never raced the Canadian one-day race before, Ciccone showed that this course suits his strengths and that he has arrived on the other side of the Atlantic in competitive form.
A trio of riders ignited the final three circuits of the 20-lap race with Ciccone and Evenpoel joined by Anthon Charmig (Uno-X Mobility), and while they never got too far ahead of a reduced peloton, the gap was ultimately enough to see them hold off the chasers to fight it out for the podium,
With 75 metres to go, Evenepoel made his move from behind Ciccone to clinch victory with the Lidl-Trek rider settling for strong second place in the Canadian weekend opener.
Giulio Ciccone
“As a team we were super strong today! We tried to cover all the moves in the front and, sometimes, I have to say, it was a case of being in the right place in the right moment. But, as a Team we had four guys in the front going into the final laps so we showed our strength, for sure.”
“I was in the front with Remco and I was really suffering so I have to say congrats to him because he was doing most of the job in the front. I was playing a bit on the situation because I had a few riders on my team just behind so, I tried to be a bit smarter. Of course, we all know how strong is Remco and it’s not easy to stay behind him especially on the flat, he’s super aero.
“It’s hard to enjoy the parcours because you go full gas from the start to the finish so it’s really tough but honestly I like this kind of race and I can be happy to finish second my first time here.”
“Honestly, in the sprint, I was thinking to try to go earlier but like, I said, Remco is really super aero so to stay behind him it’s really hard and he has a super good kick. If I had some chance today I would just try to stay on the wheel and pass him in the sprint but, it was not possible.
“Finally, I finished second and this was the maximum for today but it’s my first time here and I can honestly say, I did my best and for that, I’m happy.”
