Mattia Bais, KOM leader in Tour of the Alps after a great breakaway with Andrea Garosio

Great start of the Tour of the Alps for Team Polti Kometa. The team had double representation in the breakaway of the day with Mattia Bais and Andrea Garosio, who also proved to be the strongest, holding on until the last 20 kilometres and winning the first KOM leader jersey.

Clear ideas and well executed. After many attempts in the initial kilometres, a group of seven riders formed and quickly accumulated a lead of more than two and a half minutes over the peloton. There were Andrea Garosio and Mattia Bais, representing Team Polti Kometa, the only team with two riders at the front.

And it didn’t take long for the first sprint of the day to arrive, with Mattia Bais imposing his speed. The Trentino rider showed his ambition also on the first climb, where he took off alone with 3 kilometres to go and secured the points for the mountains jersey.

The gap to the main group continued to grow, and at around 3 and a half minutes, it encouraged the two Polti riders to test their chances ahead of the rest of the escapees. They didn’t want to miss their chance, nor did they want to lose their chance to score points again on the first climb to Penone and guarantee the best climber’s jersey.

Despite the collaboration and effort, Garosio and Mattia Bais saw their advantage reduced considerably, and on the second climb to Penone, with 20 kilometres to go, they were neutralised. The reward: the mountains jersey for Bais, which he will wear with a comfortable lead tomorrow. He was also awarded the “king of the breakaways” jersey for more than 100 kilometres ahead of the peloton.

The main group, which included Fabbro and Piganzoli, broke on the descent on the way to the finish. Both were able to stay in the second group and finish 34 seconds behind the winner Foss (INEOS), with Fabbro taking 15th place. The bad news came with the fall of Davide Bais, who suffered abrasions on his back and is awaiting a medical assessment to decide whether he will continue in this competition.

Mattia Bais: “The objective was the breakaway and also to win the KOM jersey. We were able to do it, with the great help of Garosio. It was a great stage because Fabbro and Piga were also able to finish close to the best. Now we have to work to try to wear this jersey until the final stage”.

Stefano Zanatta, sports director: “Mattia had the mission to be in the breakaway and he was able to do it together with Garosio. They completed a great day and also won the mountains classification. Also, Fabbro and Piganzoli held on but the group broke up on the descent. Even so, their chances are still intact to keep fighting”.

Tomorrow the Tour of the Alps faces its second stage, the longest one with 189.1 kilometres on the way to Stans and with the ascent to Gnadenwald just 10 kilometres from the finish line, which can break the chances of a reduced sprint.