Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias earned his best result of the season when he took to seventh place at Sunday’s SuisseGas Gran Premio Citta di Lugano.

The peloton split early into the hilly 1.HC Swiss race with a 17-man front group forming and building a gap of 4:20 minutes. More than halfway into the 184.9-kilometer race, Daniel Teklehaimanot (MTN-Qhubeka) and Jerome Coppel (IAM Cycling) attacked the escapees and quickly gained 30 seconds. Coppel was unable to stay with Teklehaimanot, so the Eritrean set off solo. He built a gap of more than a minute before being reeled in on the final lap around Lugano. Inside the final 10 kilometers, nine riders, including Team Novo Nordisk’s Javier Megias, attacked but were brought back for a reduced bunch sprint. Niccolo Bonifazio (Lampre-Merida) sprinted to the win with Megias finishing seventh.

“Lugano is a hard race on a technical course filled with lots of twists and turns,” the 31-year-old Megias said. “I fought as hard as possible, especially on the final descent back into Lugano. This is my second top 10 finish in my last two races, so I am happy where my form is this early into the season.”

Niccolo Bonifazio (Lampre-Merida) took the win ahead of Francesco Gavazzi (Southeast Pro Cycling) and Matteo Montaguti (AG2R-La Mondiale).

Team Novo Nordisk, the world’s first all-diabetes pro cycling team, is currently racing at the Vuelta Ciclistica Independencia Nacional in the Dominican Republic. The race ends today with an 84-km circuit around Santo Domingo.