Damiano Cunego seems to finally have put all his woes behind him. Today he again showed that he may be a dangerous contender in the Ardennes classics when he survived the attacks from Alejandro Valverde in the finale of the second stage of the Vuelta al Pais Vasco and even had enough left in the tank to mix it up in the bunch sprint, taking fourth on the stage.

Damiano Cunego has endured a few testing years. While it has long been clear that the Italian would never been the grand tour star that his early results indicated, he had developed into one of the leading classics contenders but in 2012 and 2013 he faded into anonymity.

Already at the Strade Bianche, there were signs that things may change in 2014 and that we can again expect the little prince to play a key role in the Ardennes classics. Yesterday he confirmed those early indications when he rode to an excellent fifth in the first stage of Vuelta al Pais Vasco, finishing in the first chase group behind the superior Alberto Contador and Alejandro Valverde.

Today he again showed his great condition when he seemed to be at ease when Valverde attacked on the final climb. He even decided to mix it up in the bunch sprint for second and finished the stage in 4th.

"Today I delivered a good performance even in the moments when the peloton was riding really fast," he said. "When Valverde and Contador attacked, the pace was very fast. I preferred not to go too fast, even when Evans tried to attack. I had good legs.

"In the end, I focused on the sprint to try to get a top 5 result and had excellent support from a very strong Rui Costa. He moves with precision and without wasting energy. It is a pleasure to ride with him. I thank him for the support he gave me today."