Samuel Dumoulin won the Giro dell Insubria. After 181 kilometers, he beat José Rojas (Caisse d`Epargne) and Nicolas Roche (AG2R). World Champion Cadel Evans (BMC) ended in fifth place, behind Leonardo Bertagnolli (Androno Giocattoli).
Evans was quite pleased with his race return in Europe. “In the final, Sam Dumoulin won it deservingly,” Evans wrote on his website. The finish was not well organized. “I would have preferred not to have to dodge the race officials standing on the road with 300m to go, looking the other way.”
Evans had livened up the final, with repeated attacks. In the end, he was unable to get away and Dumoulin made a late move to win the race.
Dumoulin was part of a group of 11 that went away on the last climb in Pieve Vergonte. “It was not an easy finish, a steep little 2.3km climb with an even steeper and narrower descent,” Evans said. The 11 were chasing after Eros Capecchi and Rinaldo Nocentini, who had attacked on the first of the two loops. But both riders crashed badly, with Nocentini breaking his leg and Capecci likely to have broken his collarbone.
Evans was concerned when he saw both bikes lying on the road, but not seeing the riders. The duo had crashed in the first descent.