Noa Isidore wins 2026 Coppa Bernocchi after chaotic Legnano sprint

Noa Isidore won the 2026 Coppa Bernocchi after a chaotic sprint in Legnano, beating Tommaso Dati after the Italian opened his effort early on the finishing straight. Orluis Aular was promoted to third after Marijn van den Berg, who initially crossed the line in third place, was relegated by the commissaires for an irregular sprint.

The 178.1km race had looked capable of rewarding the day’s breakaway until the final two kilometres. A four-rider move spent much of the afternoon clear, while a strong counter-attacking group featuring Jhonatan Narváez and Neilson Powless tried to bridge across in the final 50km. The peloton eventually closed both moves before a late crash disrupted the front of the bunch inside the final kilometre.

Isidore’s victory gave Decathlon CMA CGM a second win in two days in the Italian autumn races after Paul Lapeira took the Coppa Agostoni. For Isidore, it was his biggest one-day victory so far and came at the end of a race that repeatedly looked close to escaping the control of the sprinters’ teams.

How it unfolded

Samuel Fernández, Sergio Samitier, Samuele Zoccarato and Ben Granger established the main breakaway shortly after the start from Legnano. The quartet quickly built a useful advantage and carried a gap of more than four minutes into the repeated laps of the Valle Olona circuit.

The circuit gave the attackers plenty of opportunities to keep the race moving. Each lap included the short San Pancrazio rise and the longer Piccolo Stelvio climb, while the repeated changes of direction and gradient made it difficult for the peloton to settle into a simple chase. Netcompany INEOS and Team Jayco AlUla were among the teams controlling the gap in the early part of the race.

The break still had around three minutes in hand with 70km remaining, but the racing behind had already started to change. The peloton split on the climbs several times, with groups forming and coming back together as teams tried to make the terrain harder for the faster finishers. Tim Wellens was among the riders increasing the pressure before the penultimate circuit.

The repeated accelerations did not produce a major selection, but they did remove some expected sprint contenders. Michael Matthews and Mads Pedersen were among those who lost contact as the pace increased, while the riders still in the bunch had to keep working to prevent the race from slipping away from them.

That pressure set up the most dangerous move from the bunch. With a little over 50km to go, Jhonatan Narváez accelerated and was joined by Neilson Powless, Brieuc Rolland, Lorenzo Germani and Florian Stork. It was a strong group, containing riders with enough climbing strength to make the repeated circuit count and enough speed to threaten if they reached Legnano together.

The five chasers never made contact with the original break, but their move forced the teams behind to commit. The race briefly developed into three separate contests, with Fernández, Samitier, Zoccarato and Granger still ahead, the Narváez group between them and the peloton trying to keep both groups within reach.

On the final passages through the circuit, Fernández lost contact with the other three early escapees. Samitier, Zoccarato and Granger continued at the head of the race, while the Narváez group remained caught between the leaders and the bunch. By then the advantage was falling quickly and the flatter run back towards Legnano increasingly favoured the chase.

The peloton brings the race back together

Several teams had an interest in making sure the race came back together. Netcompany INEOS worked for Dorian Godon, Movistar had Orluis Aular, while other fast finishers had survived the repeated climbs. Filippo Ganna was also used on the front as the peloton increased its speed and reduced the gaps.

With 18km remaining, the three leaders still held roughly 40 seconds over the Narváez group and about another half-minute over the peloton. The numbers were small enough for the bunch to believe a sprint remained possible, but large enough that the chase could not afford any hesitation.

The Narváez group was caught with around 7km remaining. That left Samitier, Zoccarato and Granger as the final obstacle to a bunch finish, and for several kilometres it still looked possible that the trio might survive after spending almost the entire race at the front.

Their advantage finally disappeared with roughly 1.5 to 2km to go. The timing left very little room for a conventional lead-out, and the front of the race immediately became crowded as teams tried to move their sprinters into position. Gil Gelders made a late effort for Soudal Quick-Step, but the group was moving too quickly for the move to create lasting separation.

The sprint was then disrupted by a large crash inside the final kilometre. Filippo Ganna was among the riders who went down, while several others were caught behind the incident. Isidore stayed upright and remained close enough to the front to contest the win.

Isidore times the sprint

Tommaso Dati was the first of the main contenders to make a decisive move on the finishing straight. The Team UKYO rider opened his sprint from distance and briefly looked capable of holding the advantage, but the long effort left him exposed in the final metres.

Isidore waited longer. The Decathlon CMA CGM rider came through late and passed Dati close to the line, taking the victory in 3:53:29. The final metres were tight, but Isidore had enough speed left to overhaul Dati after the Italian had committed first.

Van den Berg initially crossed the line in third place, but the result changed after the finish. The commissaires relegated the EF Education-EasyPost rider for an irregular sprint after reviewing the closing kilometre. He was moved back to 33rd, with Aular promoted onto the podium.

That decision also shifted the rest of the leading places. Alessandro Romele moved to fourth and defending champion Dorian Godon to fifth. Pepijn Reinderink was classified sixth, Davide Donati seventh and Andrea Vendrame eighth. Filippo Baroncini moved to ninth, while Sakarias Løland completed the top 10.

A race decided in the final two kilometres

The result was built on two different battles. For most of the afternoon the breakaway had enough room to make the peloton work, and the counter-attack containing Narváez and Powless briefly created another possible route to victory. Neither move was allowed to settle the race, but both forced the bunch to chase deep into the finale.

That late catch mattered. Instead of a long, organised sprint preparation, the peloton reached the final two kilometres at high speed immediately after bringing back riders who had been clear for much of the day. The crash then added another layer of disorder, leaving positioning and timing more important than a conventional train.

Dati nearly turned that situation into a breakthrough victory by committing early, but Isidore judged the final run better. He still had enough speed to come past in the closing metres, while Aular’s eventual third place only became clear once the jury had reviewed the sprint and amended the result.

Coppa Bernocchi 2026 Result