Andrea Bagioli: "This win, my first in a World Tour race, means a lot to me"

After a couple of promising seasons at the Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team, Andrea Bagioli is coming into his own as one of the peloton's top puncheurs, and today he showed his prowess but winning the sprint in the final stage of the Volta a Catalunya.

“I wanted to try and fight for the victory today, because the laps with that short and steep climb suited me. On top of that, I made sure of not going too hard in the last two days and keeping some energy for this stage, which was tough, with lots of attacks in the last two laps," Bagioli said after the finish. He started today's stage as a favourite, although more through a possible breakaway. Having stayed in the peloton, which caught the breakaway due to Uno-X's work early on, Bagioli resisted the attacks that came in the final two laps to be in a chasing group that swarmed the head of the race in the final kilometer.

"On the final climb, I was dropped, but managed to come back on the descent just ahead of the flamme rouge and sprint for the win. I wasn’t sure of the victory, because I initially thought there were other riders in front, but seconds after crossing the line I was told by my team and couldn’t believe it," he added. Bagioli had the perfect position, in the wheel of Guillaume Martin in the final meters, and took to a short but powerful sprint to take his first World Tour win.

“This win, my first in a World Tour race, means a lot to me. It wasn’t the easiest start to the season, with a couple of setbacks, but I continued to believe in myself and the team supported me all the time. We had a good week here, with the wins brought by myself and Ethan, and these results will only feed our confidence for the next races," he concluded.

A crash affected his start of the season at the Saudi Tour, and ever since Bagioli has struggled to get the form he's shown last year. Today's win will come as big motivation as he eyes the Ardennes classics and later on the Giro d'Italia.