Arvid de Klein won the Milan-Turin tournament on Wednesday ahead of Fernando Gaviria in the group sprint at the end of the 192km Italian race.
Dutch rider De Klein beat Movistar’s Gaviria, winner of the Tour de France and Giro d’Italia, in a tight finish at Orbassano near Turin.
The one-day race is considered the last warm-up before Milan-San Remo on Saturday, the first monument of the season.
“I had a great exit, I went through the turn at 900 meters, got in a good position, and then I realized that I had a big chance,” De Klein told broadcaster RAI.
“We did it with the whole team, they worked for me all day and kept me out of the wind. It’s a big team effort.”
There was some controversy, as after his Tudor team got into a brilliant position, the 28-year-old De Klein seemed to deliberately block Gaviria, swerving towards the roadside banners, making any overtaking attempt dangerous.
“I don’t think I did anything wrong, I think there was enough space,” De Klein added.
De Klein’s victory was his sixth of his career and his first since the first leg of the Four Days of Dunkirk last May.
td/dmk
Source: sports.yahoo.com
