After a period of training, Roberto Ferrari returned to competition in today's Volta a Catalunya when he sprinted to 8th on the opening stage. The result was not what the fast Italian had hoped for but after being forced to brake in the finale, he was moderately satisfied.

In late 2012, Roberto Ferrari was signed by Lampre-Merida as one of their lead sprinters but after a difficult first season where he failed to win a single race, he has seen himself drop down the sprint hierarchy. With the signing of Sacha Modolo who has already won four races, Ferrari finds himself in a constant battle to prove to the management that he still deserves to be backed in the sprints.

After a short period of training, Ferrari returns to competition in this week's Volta a Catalunya and he showed fine condition in today's opening stage when he survived the many climbs to get his chance to sprint. In the end he had to settle for 8th but due to the lack of recent racing, he was satisfied with the result.

"The course was tough, but I was pretty good and I managed to overcome the three climbs well and then find a nice place in the top positions of the group on the finising straight," he said. "The speed of the sprint were very high, also because where was a strong tailwind. 

"From the wheel of Mezgec, I tried to launch immediately when he began his sprint, but to my left, the road was blocked by another rider. I lost a pedal stroke and I started the sprint, but at that speed any hesitation is costly. However, I finished in the top 10 and the condition can only improve since I returned to racing after a period of training."

You can read our preview of stage two here and follow our live coverage at 15.15 CET on CyclingQuotes.com/live.