Francesco Chicchi (Neri Sottoli) returned to the sprinting spotlight when he finished third in today's big French sprint race, GP Denain. The Italian's great sprint capped a solid and aggressive performance in their recent races in Northern Europe.

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 third in the GP Denain.

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.

Today's podium spot was an important confidence boost for Chicchi as it proved that he still has the speed to mix it up with the best. Again he was badly positioned but made use of his impressive sprint to move into third just before the line.

The race capped a short campaign in Northern Europe for the Neri Sottoli team which has been active in the Driedaagse van De Panne, Volta Limburg Classic, GP Cerami, Brabantse Pijl and today's race. After top 10 finishes in the former three events, the team produced a solid performance in yesterday's Brabantse Pijl semi-classic where Mattia Pozzo and Giorgio Cecchinel was part of the early breakaway and Mauro Finetto made it into a dangerous move late in the race. Today Cecchinel was again active as he made it into the bresk for the second day in a row.

"The boys rode well today," sports director Serge Parsani said. "We did not win but we went close on several occasions in this long campaign in the North. Chicchi's third place is a good sign for the upcoming events which aremore important for the team.

"On several occasions, Neri Sottoli has highlighted and demonstrated to be a compact and tight-knit group. I am pleased with Cecchinel and Finetto for their commitment and perseverance”.

Neri Sottoli will continue their preparation for the Giro at next week's Giro del Trentino