Damiano Cunego has bounced back from the disappointment of his final-kilometre crash in the Amstel Gold Race to win the second stage of the Giro del Trentino.
The Lampre-ISD rider proved strongest on the final climb up to Sant'Orsola Terme, duking it out with Carlos Betancur (Acqua & Sapone) and Astana’s Roman Kreuziger and hitting the line first.
They were followed home three seconds later by Eros Capecchi (Liquigas-Cannondale), Franceso Reda (Acqua&Sapone), Hubert Dupont (AG2R) and Mathias Frank (BMC Racing Team).
"I knew my fitness is good, the team is strong and the course was suitable for my characteristics,” the former Giro d’Italia winner said afterwards. “I'm very happy I made all these conditions become real, obtaining the first victory in this season. This helps me to get over the disappointment of the Cauberg crash." [In the Amstel Gold Race – ed.].”
Cunego thanked his team-mates, paying particular tribute to Michele Scarpone. He said that he hoped to repay him soon by helping him in the same way.
The collaborative work of the team helped set things up perfectly for him. “I rode well throughout the stage, the race has become tough on the Passo Redebus and this was a favorable factor for me. On the final climb, the team worked very well keeping the pace high, thus avoiding attacks until the final sprint”
Overnight leader Taylor Phinney was distanced during the stage and slipped out of the jersey. He had indicated yesterday that he expected that to happen, and that he hoped that one of his BMC Racing team-mates would succeed him at the top.
That transpired today, with Frank’s seventh place on the stage plus the team’s winning margin in yesterday’s team time trial combining to give him a three second lead over Kreuziger.
It is an important moment in his career as it is the first time he has led a race since turning pro in 2008.
"I knew only Roman Kreuziger couldn't [be allowed to] win because he was only ten seconds down and could have taken the jersey with the bonus seconds," he explained. "So for me, it was good to stay in the group and try my best in the sprint. I lost a few seconds but got the jersey. It's really exciting for sure."
Betancur is seven seconds back in third, while Frank’s team-mate Marco Pinotti is a further two seconds behind, and just ahead of Cunego.
A decisive moment came on the descent of the Passo Redebus, where Phinney, Giro d’Italia hopeful Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) and others were distanced.
This occurred shortly before the final climb to the finish, where Cunego’s Lampre ISD team worked to put him into the best possible position to go for the stage.
His fellow riders such as 2011 Giro winner Michele Scarponi rode hard and gave him the springboard to scoop his first win of 2012. Cunego’s triumph will give him an important morale boost, particularly as he had been frustrated by several close misses already this year.
These include second in the GP di Lugano, third and fourth on stages of the Volta a Catalunya and fourth overall in the Vuelta al Pais Vasco.
The Giro del Trentino continues tomorrow with another tough mountain stage. BMC Racing Team directeur sportif Max Sciandri said that there’s going to be a big day in store.
"Tomorrow is going to be super hard," he explained. "The final climb averages 15 percent grade, with some points at 19 percent. We did it in the 80s in the Giro d'Italia and haven't done it since. It's so steep, the mechanics are going to go up it on motorbikes."