Francesco Chicchi has had a difficult time since joining Neri Sottoli (formerly Vini Fantini) for the 2013 season but over the last few weeks he has started to clock up results. Today he finished second behind Mark Cavendish in the second stage of the Tour of Turkey to prove that he is ready for the upcoming Giro d'Italia.

Francesco Chicchi was once regarded as one of the biggest sprint talents but over the last few years he has had difficulty producing the results that allowed him to make a name for himself in the sprinting business. Today he showed flashes of his former prowess when he took a fine second behind Mark Cavendish in the second stage of the Tour of Turkey.

Chicchi has always been one of the very fastest sprinters but he has always struggled with his positioning. While riding for Omega Pharma-Quick Step he took a number of solid wins as he made use of a strong lead-out team to overcome his difficulties in the hectic final kilometres bu since becoming the lead sprinter at the smaller Neri Sottoli team, he has had a harder time.

However, today's result comes just weeks after his third place in the big sprint race, GP Denain, that had a very competitive line-up and the recent results prove that Chicchi is ready for his upcoming goal at the Giro d'Italia.

“I was a little late at the start of the sprint, 5th or 6th at the 300 metres and when I saw the 200 metres board, I went to the left," he said. "But Mark (Cavendish) was far too fast. This result is still a satisfaction for me. It gives me a lot of motivation for the Giro, which is my objective. To do the sprints here allows me to see that I’m in good condition. I’m really confident.”