Valerio Conti completed his first professional season in the perfect way when he won the final European race of his season, GP Beghelli. The youngster was proud of the culmination of what has been a very good debut in the professional peloton.

A few weeks ago Valerio Conti rose to fame when he started the Vuelta a Espana with dossard number 1 on his back. Today the young neo-pro proved that he deserves to be recognized for his talent too when he took a surprise victory in the GP Beghelli.

All was set for the expected sprint finish from a reduced group in the final race of the Italian season and Bardiani seemed to have everything under control for big favourite Sonny Colbrelli when they passed the 3km to go sign. However, Conti was intent on giving it one final go in his neo-pro season and he joined Kristijan Koren and Ilnur Zakarin to form a strong trio of attackers.

With Koren and Zakarin both being known as strong time triallists, the trio managed to stay away and decide the race in a three-rider sprint. Here Conti emerged as the strongest, holding off Koren and Zakarin to take the first professional win.

"I am very happy," he said. "To win in the first year as a professional makes me very proud and it's even nicer to be able to do it at the end of a season that was very good for me. Now I can spend a quiet winter with so many reasons to return next season at high level.

"The victory has an even higher value to me because it was achieved the end of a race where I did very well, respecting the tasks I was given by sports director Orlando Maini. I had to take care on the early break and I did. Then I had to be careful to play my cards in the finale and I was able to become a protagonist when I followed Formolo and later Vilella. Finally, I joined the right three-rider break.

"I knew I was fast in comparison with the other two riders, I saved the energy I needed to win and I ended with a great performance."