Alexey Lutsenko storms to glory at Coppa Agostoni
Two days after Il Lombardia, where Alexey Lutsenko crashed out of the race, he turned his disappointment into motivation to take an amazing win in Lissone at Coppa Agostoni.
With 60 kilometres to go, the reduced bunch caught the breakaway and with Samuele Battistella working hard for his leader Lutsenko the group was able to stay away. On the last ascent of the day, Lutsenko and five other riders launched an attack and opened a small gap.
The race lit up as Matteo Trentin attacked and only Lutsenko was able to follow. The two riders had a 20-second gap with 10 kilometres to go but worked well together and were able to stay away to battle for the win. Lutsenko stayed on the wheel of Trentin and waited until 150 metres to go before launching his sprint. With a powerful ride, Alexey Lutsenko took an amazing win after 180 punchy kilometres.
“I am so happy with this win. Two years I ago I took second and today I was concentrated the whole time. I think I learned from the mistakes in the past. In the finale, we worked well together and then I waited until the final metres to launch my sprint. I had good legs and I am happy that everything worked out. Tomorrow I will take it easy before having my last race for the season.” – Alexey Lutsenko
“Of course we are super happy. Saturday wasn`t our day at all so it is great for Alexey and also for the team to have won today. The team, especially Samuele did a great job for Alexey and coming into the final kilometres Alexey rode a great race, was focused, smart and active. He waited for the perfect moment and finished it off perfectly.” – Stefano Zanini
“This is a very important victory for Kazakhstan and for all the fans of our team. We heartily congratulate Alexey, as well as all the riders and staff who helped him in this race. Once again Alexey proved that he is a true leader, capable of winning beautiful victories at the World Tour level. I think with this result he raised the morale of the team on the eve of the new season, which is also very important,” – Nurlan Smagulov, president of Kazakhstan Cycling Federation