Less than a week after finishing in the top 10 at the Tour de Suisse, Davide Formolo again proved that he is an exceptional talent when he finished second behind Vincenzo Nibali in today's Italian road race championships. Pleased with his performance, the youngster believed in his chances but knew that he was up against the country's greatest star.

The start list for the Italian road race championships was loaded with seasoned professionals but it was a neo-pro that emerged as the only rider who could match the country's best rider Vincenzo Nibali on the hilly course. Having already finished in the top 10 in his first ever WorldTour race, Davide Formolo again proved that he is a future star when he matched Nibali pedalstroke for pedalstroke on the final climb.

The race came down to a sprint between one of the country's greatest talents and the current star and in that duel, the latter emerged as the strongest. Despite his famous opponent, however, Formolo always believed in his chances.

"In the sprint he had more than I had," he told Tuttobiciweb. "He was stronger. But hey, I was up against Nibali! I must thank my team who had confidence in me and I promise to return to this race in the coming years.

"What we said to each other in the finale? Only that we would have a fair battle. I knew I was good and in the last kilometre I believed that I could do it because Vincenzo seemed to be tired. However, he found another gear and he beat me in the sprint."