Alessandro De Marchi was finally rewarded for his aggressive racing style when he took a huge solo win in stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana. However, the Italian felt sorry for Ryder Hesjedal who crashed in the finale and even admitted that the pair had made an agreement that one of those two riders had to win.

Alessandro De Marchi was constantly on the attack in the Tour de France but always came up short against a stronger rider. Having been awarded the prize as most agressive rider in that race, he finally took a big victory in a grand tour when he won today's stage 7 of the Vuelta a Espana.

De Marchi found himself in an early break with Ryder Hesjedal, Hubert Dupont and Johann Tschopp. Unfortunately, the former crashed out of the group and this caused a moments of confusion for De Marchi who had agreed with the Canadian that those two riders were going to battle it out for the win.

"I can’t remember [how many times I have attacked], there were so many attempts," he said. "Maybe there was always something missing for me to win but it was my destiny to get my first victory in a Grand Tour at my first participation to the Vuelta. I’m happy, everything worked at perfection today.

"Firstly, I was a bit scared that the peloton would catch us. They were pretty close. With 12km to go, there was a climb and I knew it was my chance to go for the win.

"I feel sorry that Hesjedal crashed. We were the two riders who kept this breakaway alive. We’ve worked more than the two boys. We even agreed that we’d played the victory between the two of us. When he crashed, I waited for a little while but I couldn’t wait for more. I couldn’t miss the occasion to win.

"It was a sign to Alfredo Martini [the former rider and coach of the Italian national team who died on Monday at the age of 93]. He was an important piece of Italian cycling. I’ve been lucky enough to get to know him briefly but I heard a lot about him. I would have loved to know him more. In the last few kilometers, I thought the first Italian victory at the Vuelta had to be dedicated to him.

"Had I another chance to ride the 2014 Tour de France, I would repeat exactly what I did. It was my destiny to not win a stage at the Tour but the feeling of being on the podium in Paris was like a victory. Here I’ve won by myself. I put those two achievements on the same level.

"It has helped me to race with serenity [that I have signed with BMC]. I came to the Vuelta without any big pressure, only with the aim of getting back in good shape day after day for the world championship.

"It’s not that I wasn’t serene before. Many things in cycling are unpredictable. It was my destiny to try a lot before I made it but it doesn’t change my future. I’m the kind of rider who has to work for captains, for a team, whether it’s for Cannondale or another one.

"It’s no secret where I’m going but I don’t make names because for now I’m a Cannondale rider. I’m already satisfied with what I’ve achieved so far for myself."