One day after finishing third in the Coppa Bernocchi, Simone Ponzi showed great consistency when he again finished on the lowest step of the podium in the Coppa Agostoni. The Italian now hopes to continue his great showing in the final race of the Trittico Lombardo race series, Tre Valli Varesine.

After several years at Astana, Simone Ponzi took a step down when he signed a contract with the Neri Sottoli team. He got his time with the new team off to a great start when he took a couple of wins in the early part of the year.

Since then, things have been harder for Ponzi who never reached top form for the Giro d'Italia. Now he seems to be back in form as he finished third in the first two races of the Trittico Lombardo race series.

"The fact is that the sprint was a bit chaotic," he told Tuttobiciweb after his third place in the Coppa Agostoni. "The automatism with Andrea Fedi did not work well, in fact we almost thwarted each other. Everybody wanted to sprint to score points for the Coppa Italia and then the finale ended as a big mess.

"Tomorrow I want to try in the Tre Valli Varesine and if it goes wrong, I will console myself with the reward of being the most reguler in the Trittico. For now I lead this special competition and I have already won it in the past.

"It was a goal for the final part of the season to be strong in the Trittico. If tomorrow's race pans out in the right way, I will be there. I am sorry not raise my arms in the air, but races are like that. Today Bonifazio was smarter than me. 

"I was really good, I suffered a little bit on the Giovenzana climb but I was with Nibali and I felt sure that he would return to the front. After the Trittico I will participate in all the races on the Italian calendar until Beghelli, including the Tour of Lombardy.

"I do not know yet which jersey I will wear in 2015. Unfortunately, it is the second year I struggle to find a team and I don't think I deserve it. That's how cycling is. Consistent and strong riders on the smaller teams have a hard time finding a contract and then you see WolrdTour riders that do not even finish races."