Alberto Dainese: "I can’t believe it happened, I’m super happy"

Both Alberto Dainese and Cees Bol have had a very complicated start to the season. Throughout several months, neither of the Team DSM sprinters could get close to a win, however today at the Giro d'Italia their luck has changed and the season turned around for the young Italian.

“It feels amazing, it’s a stage in the Giro. Anywhere would be amazing but especially being so close to home it’s something incredible," Dainese said in a post-race interview, visibly emotional. "I can’t believe it happened, I’m super happy."

A ninth and seventh place in Balatonfüred and Messina respectively were the highlights of the duo coming into stage 11 of the race, and there had been little signs that improvement would come. Dainese has revealed that he wasn't even the designated sprinter for the day: "This morning the plan was to go for Cees in the sprint but we swapped on the run-in as he said he didn’t feel so good. I just tried to stay relaxed and follow the guys as best I could, they did a great job," he added. Dainese went into the sprint far from the first places, however he took advantage of the early launch by Arnaud Démare, and the lack of legs from Mark Cavendish and Caleb Ewan to strike.

"In the sprint I was a bit boxed in, in the middle, but then I found a gap on the left and went to the line and could come past everyone. I’m just so happy to take the win for the team," Dainese described. In a very sharp turn of speed in the final few hundred meters, the 24-year old surged to his third pro win, and by far his greatest.

For the second time, the whole team devoted themselves to the bunch sprint including Romain Bardet who opted not to stay safe and save his legs for the upcoming mountain stages, and that brought a very clear message of unity within the team. "It’s insane that Romain who’s sitting third on GC gave me a lead out into the last corner. That shows how much we really work as a team," he concluded.