Giacomo Nizzolo was happy to finally win a sprint wearing the red, white and green Italian national champions at the Abu Dhabi Tour, and proud to have beaten future Trek-Segafredo teammate John Degenkolb and ever-present rival Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data).
The Italian sprinter has won seven times in 2016, confirming he has stepped up his level but his most recent victories had come as part of the Italian national squad as preparation for the World Championships. He could final show off his special colours and sponsors with a stage victory and the first red leader's jersey at the Abu Dhabi Tour.
The win also helped ease the pain of Nizzolo's fifth place in the World Championships in Qatar last weekend. He kicked first in the sprint but faded and was passed along the barriers by Peter Sagan.
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"Winning means a lot, especially after Sunday. "This is the best way to start this race," smiled Nizzolo. "After the Worlds I said let's go to Abu Dhabi and see if I can get one victory more, and we've done it."
Nizzolo timed his run to the line perfectly. He was well placed going through the final chicane curve with a kilometre to go and then timed his effort well into the slight headwind.
"There was the last real corner with 1.2km to go and then a roundabout with 700 meters to go. I asked the team to put me in a good position there. From the roundabout, I just managed things by myself. I was on Degenkolb's wheel and I started my sprint from 200-220 meters to go. I felt powerful and I was confident to reach the line first," he explained.
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