Battaglin takes off in Italy

Enrico Battaglin took the first professional victory of his career at the Coppa Sabatini after holding off his rivals in Peccioli.

Stagiaire takes career-making win

Enrico Battaglin took the first professional victory of his career at the Coppa Sabatini after holding off his rivals in Peccioli. The victory meant the young Italian had the prestigious honour of winning a race as a stagiaire for the Colnago-CSF squad in his home country. Battaglin held off the experienced Davide Rebellin (Miche) and Vuelta a Espana stage winner Daniel Moreno (Katusha) on the uphill finish to claim comfortably the biggest result of his fledgling career. Simon Gerrans was fifth for Team Sky after team-mate Rigoberto Urán thought he had the race won, crossing the line with his arms raised with one lap to go. The 200-kilometre race set out from Legoli before arriving in Peccioli for a series of finishing circuits, all culminating with a drag up the tough final straight. The scene of many exciting finishes down the years, it was here the 22-year-old Battaglin confirmed his status as a star of the future.