"I can already say I made the right decision" - Ethan Vernon vindicates Israel - Premier Tech transfer with stage win at Tour des Alpes Maritimes

In his first race of the season and his first race since switching Soudal - Quick-Step for Israel - Premier Tech, Ethan Vernon already has a win under his belt.

“We weren’t sure how hard it was going to be but in the end it was hard but I had good legs,” explained the Brit post-stage to his team's official website. “I’ve just come off a good training camp so it was a bit of an unknown but like last year, I always start the season quite strong so I’m happy. It was a good day.”

“In the last lap my legs were good and I knew we could win. The guys were really strong and we lined it out in the last five to six kilometers and I thought we had gone too early to be honest but I was really impressed with how strong the guys were today," he continues, full of praise for his teammates and sprint train.

With opening stage victory, Vernon obviously goes into the early race lead although he's doubtful that's something he can hold onto. “I think tomorrow will be too hard for me but we will see. The legs were good today but our two goals were to win the stage today and stay in contention for the GC with the guys and we did both. So we need to see how tomorrow plays out. Now that I’ve won today there is no pressure for me and I can help the guys. We have a couple of cards to play," he assesses.

Nevertheless, this win has immediately vindicated Vernon's transfer. “IPT offered me a really good opportunity to become a leader and ride the bigger classics and build a sprint train around me and I think I can already say I made the right decision.”