Niccolo Bonifazio tookma very prestigious first win in Europe when he won the 50-rider sprint at the end of the Coppa Agostoni. Having been led out by Rui Costa in his final race in the rainbow jersey, the Italina youngster was proud to have had the support of the reigning world champion.

All year Niccolo Bonifazio has given plenty of indications that he has the potential to become a future top sprinter. Today he finally turned his many places of honour into a win when he won the Coppa Agostini, the second race in the Trittico Lombardo race series.

Bonifazio had to dig deep to survive the four main climbs that made the middle part of the race a hard affair but he made it into the 50-rider group that emerged on the flat run back to the finish in Lissone. His Lampre-Merida teammates showed full confidence in their young sprinter and led the chase of a 7-rider breakaway to set up a sprint finish.

In the end, Bonifazio paid them back for their hard work in the most beautiful fashion. The Italian held off Grega Bole and Simone Ponzi to take his first professional victory.

"It's something special to complete a perfect performance by the team by obtaining a victory, that's why I'm so happy," he said.  "The whole team supported me in an amazing way: Dodi and Cattaneo neutralized the breakaway after Lissolo, then Rui Costa led meout in the sprint. You can not image what it means to receive the help from the world champion, it's such a honor and it gave me even more energy for the sprint.

"The climbs on the route were challenging but I dug deep and rejoined the bunch after Lissolo. At that point, my teammates allowed to focus my attention fully on the sprint. I thanks my team, Rui Costa and the sponsors for their support during this first year as a pro."

"I'm very satisfied with the team performance and, of course, with the result," sports director Daniele Righi said. "Cimolai was active in the early part of the race, then the rest of the team managed to control the breakaways and to support Bonifazio in the final kilometers.

"Niccolò was in good condition that allowed him to rejoin the peloton after the Lissolo climb. With 30km to go, our riders decided that Bonifazio would be the captain for the sprint and Rui Costa led him in an amazing way in the final kilometers."