Simon Clarke takes first win for Cannondale at GP Larciano

Cannondale Pro Cycling Team scored its third win of the season when Simon Clarke soloed to victory in Larciano to win GP Industria & Artigianato on Sunday. A strong team effort netted Clarke the victory on a day that saw four Green Argyle riders finish in the top nine.

“I went in knowing we had an awesome team,” said Clarke. “We all knew with the team we had there, we should come away with the win if we did everything right.”

Slipstream Sports CEO Jonathan Vaughters expressed pride in the new signing who he sees flourishing at Cannondale Pro Cycling Team.

“Simon’s victory was just a matter of time. He’s an experienced and talented rider who just needed the right chance,” said Vaughters.

Ramunas Navardauskas set the scene for a Cannondale Pro Cycling Team victory in Larciano when he made the early selection. The Lithuanian champion flew the Green Argyle flag in an escape of 20 riders at the start of the 200-kilometre day.

“The guys were not working together,” explained sport director Fabrizio Guidi. “Four from that group went away, and we had Ramunas inside. The bunch catch the rest, and Ramunas and his group get the lead with four minutes.”

The peloton struggled to catch the breakaway riders when they began to chase. It took a concerted effort by Astana to close the gap. With the breakaway’s advantage waning, Ramunas set off alone.

“The climb is really steep in the first half and the second half is quite flat, false flat, like two or three percent,” explained Clarke. “We got to the last 100 metres of the really steep part to get to the false flat, and I saw Ramunas in the front. I looked around, and we still had five guys from the team in a very small group. I know it’s better to be in front of a race than trying to play catch-up, and that’s when I decided to jump across to Ramunas.”

By that point, Navardauskas has spent nearly 200-kilometres at the front, but Clarke was confident in his teammate’s ability to help him get a gap over the reduced bunch.

“We all know how strong Ramunas is,” Clarke said. “If he saw me coming across, even though it was in the break all day, I knew he could give me a couple more strong turns. It’s exactly what he did.”

Clarke had 20 seconds over the peloton at the top of the climb. There were 6km remaining – a 4km descent followed by a 2km flat run-in.

“I only needed to hold it to the finish,” said Clarke.

Clarke didn’t just hold the gap, he stretched it out even further, crossing the finish line 33-seconds ahead of a trio of riders including teammate Rigoberto Uran.

“I knew if I was given the opportunity, if I saw the opportunity, I could deliver,” said Clarke. “The team’s just had a really good camp in Tenerife. We all worked really hard over there. I did everything I thought was right these last couple weeks, and I knew I had good condition.”