Cycling: Frenchman Dorian Godon wins the Gran Piemonte, Isaac Del Toro on the legs before the Tour of Lombardy

The Frenchman Dorian Godon (Netcompany-Ineos) won the Gran Piemonte on Thursday October 8, previously marked by the attack of the Mexican Isaac Del Toro (UAE) who stood out before the Tour of Lombardy, the last Monument of the season on Saturday. Dorian Godon won in the sprint at the end of this 181 km semi-classic ahead of the Dane Anthon Charmig and the Italian Alberto Bettiol to sign his 23rd professional victory, the seventh of the year.

At 30 years old, he is the first Frenchman to win the Gran Piemonte, previously called Tour du Piémont, since Richard Virenque in 1996. "The course was less difficult than last year, the weather was nice, but I didn't feel great. My team did a great job. I gave everything after the last turn, but it was difficult to stay in the lead until the end", underlined Godon who had been dropped in the last difficulty, La Morra, before come back. The Italian roads are successful for the French riders who, since Sunday, have won three of the four preparation races for the Tour of Lombardy: Paul Lapeira won the Coppa Agostoni, Noa Isidore the Coppa Bernocchi and Godon the Gran Piemonte.

Isaac Del Toro warns off competition

For his part, Isaac Del Toro, winner of the event last year, showed that he will have to be counted on for the Tour of Lombardy on Saturday, even if he warned before the start that he had been feeling pain in one knee since the 2026 Worlds. The Mexican, third in the 2026 Tour de France, went on the attack 18 kilometers from the finish in La Morra, the main difficulty of the course. Only the New Zealander Finn Fisher-Black managed to follow him initially and the two runners quickly had a fifteen second lead.

Del Toro then unclamped Fisher-Black just before the summit of La Morra, 13 km from the finish, before seeing him come back on the descent. They had a lead of up to 26 seconds, but were caught by the peloton 1.5 km from the finish. In the absence of his leader Tadej Pogacar, injured since the Tour of Spain, Del Toro is one of the favorites for the Tour of Lombardy, where he finished 5th last year, and will be one of the main rivals of Paul Seixas, in search of his first Monument.