Valverde triumphs at Roma Maxima

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) rode to a solo victory at the UCI 1.1 Roma Maxima held in Rome on Sunday. He won by a mere one second ahead of a charging bunch sprint led by Davide Appollonio (Ag2r-La Mondiale) and Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani CSF).

The race followed Strade Bianche, which saw Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) take the win ahead of his breakaway companion Peter Sagan (Cannondale). Valverde placed third on the day.

During Roma Maxima, Valverde and Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r-La Mondiale) escaped the small main field and rode the last 30 km toward the finish line in Rome. Pozzovivo was caught by the field during the final sprint and Valverde barely hung on to secure the victory.

Appollonio and Colbrelli took first and second in the bunch sprint, and claimed the second and third spots on the podium. Antonio Parrinello (Androni Giocattoli) came in fourth, Pozzovivo hung on for fifth, Alessandro Bazzana (UnitedHealthcare) sixth, Jarlinson Pantano (Colombia) seventh, Philippe Gilbert (BMC) eighth, Simon Geschke (Giant-Shimano) ninth and Mauro Finetto (Yellow Fluo) rounding out the top ten.