The GP Canton d’Argovie is a foretaste of the Tour de Suisse and Niccolò Bonifazio demonstrated that he is ready. The Italian sprinter, in his first race since the victory in the last stage of the Tour of Japan, was 4th in the final sprint, beaten by Kristoff, Albasini  and Appollonio.

The peloton covered a distance of 181 km, completing 15 laps of a circuit which was characterized by the climb of Schlatt. Lap after lap, the bunch got whittled down and no more than 70 riders were in the front group for the final sprint.

Bonifazio could exploit the work by Conti and Durasek to reach the summit of the last climb in a good position and he was led by Pibernik in the final 500 meters of the race where he fought fiercely, obtaining 4th place.

It was an unfortunate day for Niemiec who got involved in a crash which did not prevent him from completing the race.

“It’s a pity that Bonifazio missed the podium by a few centimeters, it would have been a result that would have given satisfaction after a good performance by the whole team," sports director Simone Pedrazzini commented. "I appreciated the way our riders managed their energy with the common target of supporting Niccolò in the final part of the race and helping him to approach the sprint in the best possible way. 

"Bonifazio fought and beat some riders who were protagonists in the Giro d’Italia, such as Nizzolo and Haussler, but he was less competitive than other riders like Kristoff, Albasini and Appollonio, who did not allow him to be on the podium."

The same riders (Bonifazio, Cimolai, Conti, Mario Costa, Durasek, Niemiec, Pibernik and Xu) will be directed by Pedrazzini and Vicino in the Tour de Suisse.