Tommaso Dati wins at Tour of the Alps: "The best day of ma career"

Tommaso Dati, 24, from Camaiore, won the first stage of the Tour of the Alps. The Team UKYO rider showed great tenacity and timing, hanging on in the front group in a stage run at nearly 43 km/h average and choosing the ideal moment to sprint up the Rennweg, thus winning the first Melinda Green Jersey of the race. Behind him finished Britain’s Tom Pidcock (Pinarello Q36.5), already accustomed to the big stages, while third came Germany’s Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling).

A fine day for the Italians was completed by Davide Bessega (Team Polti Visit Malta) from Lombardy, the first leader of the white FORST jersey reserved for the best young rider, and Federico Iacomoni from Trentino, Dati’s teammate in the team founded by former Formula 1 driver Ukyo Katayama. Despite a not particularly challenging elevation profile, even the favorites for the general classification did not want to lose ground ahead of the first real climb tomorrow, Tuesday, in Val Martello.

Australian Ben O’Connor (Team Jayco AlUla) earned a 2-second bonus at the intermediate sprint in Axams, while Dutchman Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers), second last year, attempted a finisseur move reminiscent of Gianni Moscon’s winning one in 2021, but was caught with just a few hundred meters to go.Also noteworthy was the generous escape of local rider Emanuel Zangerle (Team Vorarlberg), who took off at kilometer zero in hopes of bringing joy to his fans in Innsbruck.

The Tyrolean held on until 5 km from the finish, taking the blue Gruppo Cassa Centrale GPM jersey and the special eVISO jersey of the most combative rider.

Dati commented on his success this way: “The best day of my career. I am so happy, it is a moment full of emotions. I am very proud of the team’s work and what I did in training. I was confident because I felt I had good legs, but I didn’t load myself with too much pressure-I just wanted a good result and instead the victory came. This is undoubtedly the best day of my career.”

“Not turning pro last year with Cofidis pushed me to work even harder during the winter, and today you can see the fruits. Beating a champion like Tom Pidcock then is extra motivation: it gave me the knowledge that I can be competitive at this level as well.”

“My dream clearly remains to make it to the World Tour, and I believe in it every day. Every victory makes me happy, but it doesn’t change my goals: tomorrow is another day and I will give it my all again. Today maybe the best legs were those of Pidcock and Arensman. From tomorrow I will think mainly about helping my two leaders in the general classification and enjoying this jersey as long as possible, even though I know that the next stages are more suitable for other types of riders.”