There was aggressive racing from the climb of the Madonna del Ghisallo and the very difficult Muro di Sormano that followed it. A small group came to the final climbs together. Vincenzo Nibali (), who had targeted the race following his expulsion from the Vuelta a España, attacked on the penultimate descent. Despite losing some time to the chasers on the final climb, he came to the finish line alone to take his first ever Monument victory. Daniel Moreno () was second, with Thibaut Pinot () third.
