A long dash for the line in Bassano del Grappa against three rivals has seen Sakarias Koller Løland claim the first victory of his career in the Veneto Classic.
At the end of an eventful race across the backroads and hills of northern Italy, the Norwegian outpowered recently crowned 2025 Gravel World Champion Florian Vermeersch (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Italian veteran Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana) in a drawn-out sprint.
Part of a lead group of 11 in the final hour of racing, but dropped on the final climbs, Koller Løland then clawed his way back into contention with six kilometres to go, and then went for the win.
Thanks to his victory, the Uno-X Mobility racer secured invaluable UCI points for his team in their down-to-the-wire battle with Cofidis to secure a place in next year's WorldTour.
With Uno X already victorious in the same race last year with teammate Magnus Cort, Koller Løland said afterwards that his win was "unbelievable, and it'll take a while to sink in, I think."
"I had some good memories of this area here from Conti' level with the Rosina climb" - tackled early in the race - "and the last kicker there, it was also in that race."
"I had a good feeling coming here."
In a race with multiple switches in the script, Koller Løland said that "it was so hard for the whole day. I felt like I was going to have a bit of cramps with 60 kilometres to go, but I drank a lot and locked in for the final."
"It was so hard. I was going metre by metre almost and I didn't really believe I could fight for the win until I got back after the gravel section at the end."
How it unfolded
Koller Løland explained that the key to his success had been getting into an early 19-rider break, and that on a day of multiple punchy climbs - 10 in total, all in the last 100 kilometres - it was much easier being in front than having to work his way through the bunch on each ascent.
30 kilometres into the last one-day race of the 2025 European road calendar, the Norwegian found himself in a move also containing teammate Fredrik Dversnes and riders who would - like Koller Løland - be key components in the finale. Vermeersch was present, but also a hefty Italian contingent, including Ulissi and Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ), finally fourth on the day, Davide De Pretto (Jayco-AlUla) and Ulissi's teammate Mattia Negrente. After a searingly fast first hour, run off at 47.7kmh despite the hilly terrain, the move already enjoyed a 90-second advantage, and with so many teams present in the mass attack, it seemed more than reasonable to expect it could stay away to the finish.
The biggest challenge behind was a long, lone pursuit by Pavel Sivakov (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), but it failed to work out, with the Frenchman caught at 40 kilometres to go. Then, as the break made its way across multiple ascents of the Tisa climb more or less intact, the fight for victory essentially boiled down to a battle between its components.
De Pretto was one of the first to make a serious challenge, 31 kilometres from the line, with Germani quick to follow and catch him. De Pretto was not done yet, though, as the key gravel ascent of Diesel Farm then saw another change of leaders with the Jayco-AlUla racer opening up a gap on Dversnes, Dylan Teuns (Cofidis), Nicholas Zukowsky (Q36.5) and Eric Fagundez (Burgos-Burpellet). But in a constantly changing race script, yet more challengers like Vermeersch and Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Deceuninck), also in the break, were close behind and still in contention as well.
Joined by Ulissi ahead on the switchback series of painfully challenging gravel roads, both Italian race leaders misjudged corners, allowing the severely reduced group to reform on the final descent off Diesel Farm and back towards Bassano de Grappa. With riders close to the limit of their strength, Vermeersch struggled but was able to get back on, while Meurisse punctured and was dropped. Koller Løland, on the other hand, was finally able to regain contact, six kilometres from the line.
Probably the biggest challenge to Koller Løland's victory form that point on came shortly afterwards, when Germani, possibly fearing a sprint, opted to go from distance. The young Italian managed to stay away until the final kilometre as Ulissi moved up again, only for Koller Løland to launch what proved to be the decisive drive for the line - and victory. Vermeersch, thumping the handlebars in frustration, had to settle for second, while Ulissi claimed the final spot on the podium of Italy's highly entertaining last road race of 2025.
Results
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