Sonny Colbrelli and Edoardo Zardini went into Tre Valli Varesine with extra motivation as they knew that a good performance could be rewarded with a spot on the Italian team for the Worlds. After Zardini had delivered Colbrelli to a second place in the race, the Bardiani duo were both selected for the big race in Ponferrada.

Bardiani may have been up against numerous WordTour teams but in today's Tre Valli Varesine, they were clearly the strongest. When the key selection was made and an 11-rider group emerged, they had Edoardo Zardini, Francesco Bongiorno and Sonny Colbrelli in the move.

Knowing that Colbrelli would be one of the fastest, Zardini sacrificed himself completely for his teammate while Bongiorno had bad luck to slip out in a left-hand turn, leaving just two riders to battle for the win. When Zardini had finished his work, it almost came to nothing when Colbrelli dropped his chain but he managed to rejoin the front group inside the final kilometre.

Here he quickly reacted to an attack by Mauro Finetto before launching a long sprint. Unfortunately, he was passed by Michael Albasini just metres before the line and so had to settle for second.

However, both Zardini and Colbrelli were rewarded for their showing in Italy and the recent Tour of Britain as they were both selected for the Worlds by Italian national coach Davide Cassani.

”I was a bit unlucky in the last km because I had a problem with the chain when Finetto attacked," Colbrelli said. "I struggled to bridge the gap but when Finetto tried a second time I decided to follow because he could win the race. Then I launched a long sprint, I felt  sure that I would take the win but close to the finish line I saw Albasini come back really fast.

"I’m sad to lose in this way because I really wanted the win today. Fortunately, my performance was rewarded with a selection for the World Championships. It’s fantastic news and now I’ll do my best to get ready for that day."

”I’m sad for Sonny because the victory was close and it could be the perfect reward after a really strong team performance," Zardini said. "On the other side, I’m really happy that Italian Coach Davide Cassani has selected me and Sonny for Ponferrada. It’s a great honour and a dream come true. The last two weeks have been amazing: the victory in theTour of Britain plus the overall 4th place and then today's performance. It’s still hard to believe it."

”I want to congratulate to the whole squad," sports director Mirko Rossato said. "It was a Trittico Lombardo where we grew day after day. In the final and most important race we were the strongest squad and maybe we deserved to win.

"I want to underline the performance by Pirazzi in the first part, by Pagani and then by our three leaders: Bongiorno, Colbrelli and Zardini. We missed Bongiorno in the final km but Sonny and Edoardo raced really well. Their selection for the Road World Championships is a result that make all of us really proud."