Juan Jose Lobato (Nippo-Vini Fantini) sprang a surprise to claim victory in the 2018 Coppa Sabatini, stealing a march on the field in the uphill finale of the Italian race. The Spaniard, who was fired by LottoNL-Jumbo ahead of this season over an incident involving sleeping pills, claimed his first win for the Italian-Japanese Pro Conti team with a perfectly-timed effort in Pecciolo. After a dramatic crash took out solo leader Vincenzo Albanese (Bardiani-CSF) in the final kilometre, Lobato caught the rest of the reduced peloton off guard and went from some 350 metres out. He opened a big gap and although he faded in the final metres he had done enough and was able to coast across the line.ADVERTISEMENT Behind him, two-time winner Sonny Colbrelli (Bahrain-Merida) finished second, with recent Coppa Agostini and Giro della Toscana winner Gianni Moscon (Team Sky) in third. "This year has been a difficult year for me, so this victory is very important for me, the most important, mentally ,that I’ve had for some time," he said. "I saw I could avoid the problem and the crash, and then I just went for it." More to come.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com.read full article
