Canadians compete at Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali in Italy

A series of Canadian professional cyclists were on the start line at the opening stage of the Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali held from March 27 to 30 in the Tuscan region of Italy.

Amore & Vita – Selle SMP teammates Michael Woods and James Piccoli, Cannondale Pro Cycling’s Guillaume Boivin and UnitedHealthcare’s Davide Frattini, who was born in Italy but now resides in Ontario, are taking part in the four-stage UCI 2.1 event.

The event started with a 99.5-km road race in the morning, Stage 1a, won by Ben Swift (Team Sky), who stood on the podium at Milan-San Remo this past weekend. Woods finished just off the back of the first main group in 57th place, followed by Frattini in 66th, Boivin in 154th and Piccoli in 167th place.

Stage 1b was a 13.3-km team time trial in Gatteo where Team Sky won and moved Swift further into the overall lead. Teams were split in two for the team time trial, with four riders on each team.

Can you say you have done a TTT if you crash and ride alone for 11 of the 13k?

— Michael Woods (@rusty_woods) March 27, 2014

RusVelo’s B team placed second and Cannondale’s B team, that included Boivin, placed third in the stage. UnitedHealthcare’s B team with Frattini placed 34th, Amore & Vita’s B team with Piccoli placed 41st, and Amore & Vita’s A team with Woods placed 47th on the day.

Swift is now leading the classification ahead of his teammates Peter Kennaugh, Dario Cataldo and Vasil Kiryienka.

The stage race continues with a 106.2-km race on Friday.