"Every race I do, I'm eager and ambitious to get a result" - Matthew Riccitello has Tour de Suisse podium in sight after climbing with the best on stage 5

Seen as a star of the future for the Israel - Premier Tech and American cycling in general, 22-year-old Matthew Riccitello confirmed his potential by climbing with some of the world's very best on stage 5 of the 2024 Tour de Suisse, moving up to 5th overall in the process.

"I felt pretty good all day. I think these steeper climbs suit me a bit more than the shallow, faster one yesterday. Also, the stage being pretty hard from the start helped me a bit and maybe I just do a bit better when everyone has fatigue in their legs," the former Tour de l'Avenir stage winner reflects in his post-stage interview.

Having initially attacked the general classification group on the lower slopes of the final climb, Riccitello was dragged back by the infernal pace setting of Joao Almeida. Despite the extra energy he'd exerted whilst on the attack however, Riccitello managed to rejoin the group and survive in the wheel longer than most. Whilst big names such as Tom Pidcock, Wilco Kelderman, Cian Uijtdebroeks and even reigning Tour de Suisse champion Mattias Skjelmose were dropped, Riccitello stayed strong before eventually crossing the line in 4th, losing time to only the Maillot Jaune Adam Yates, Almeida himself and multiple Grand Tour winner Egan Bernal.

"I'm super happy with how today went. I don't think I could have done anything differently, I just went as hard as I could to the top. I'm a bit bummed that Bernal came by me at the end, but it was a good race and I'm still happy with the result," he analyses. "I knew I had good legs coming into the race and every race I do, I'm eager and ambitious to get a result."

Now up to 5th in the general classification, the American prodigy has the final podium in his sights. "We'll see. There's lots more climbing to go and we'll just try and keep things going the way they have been," Riccitello concludes.