Ben Swift Wins Coppi e Bartali Stage Two

Last updated : 27 March 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Team Sky's Ben Swift has taken over the lead of the Coppi e Bartali in Italy with victory on stage two.

Maciej Paterski of CCC Sprandl had taken over the lead of the race following the team time trial.

Piechele, Belletti, Berlato, Van Hecke, Stimulak, Gaffurini and Ballerini established the opening break of the day and they were ahead after twenty five kilometres of this 156.2km stage from Cesenatico to Sogliano al Rubicone.with a lead of 1.57.

Nicola Gaffurini took the sprint ahead of Ballerini and Berlatoa as the lead went out to 2.05 before Preben Van Hecke of Topsport and Gaffurni (Kvis-Vega) went off.

With sixty kilometres left, Gaffurni had put twenty seconds in to Van Hecke and was 2.30 ahead of the peloton on a wet and pretty miserable day.

Gaffurni had built up a lead of a minute ahead of Piechele, Belletti, Berlato, Van Hecke, Stimulak and Ballerini and extended his lead over the peloton to 3,22 with forty seven kilometres to go.

Belletti joined Gaffurni before passing him and he led Gianni Moscon and Campenaerts by thirteen seconds and the peloton by twenty eight seconds for the final twenty eight kilometres of the stage.  

Six kilometres later and everyone was back together. Ben Swift of Team Sky, who was fifth in general classification, only a second behind Rebelin who was struggling, attacked along with Bongiorno and Kvasina.

With seven kilometres left, they were twenty seconds ahead of a chasing group of eight and 35 seconds ahead of Rebelin's group which started to drop back even further.

Swift knew that he had to keep going in order to be in the leader's jersey and he did just that, taking the win ahead of Kvasina and  Bongiorno, followed by Agnoli, Quintero, Francesco Gavazzi, Andersen, Sioutsou, Meintjes and Pellizotti.

Swift leads the race from Kvasina by forty one seconds and 54 seconds from Bongiorno.