Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox had a very encouraging first half-stage on the final day of the Driedaagse van de Panne. Sacha Modolo was 2nd and Sonny Colbrelli 4th, and the former finally starts to feel better after two hard opening days.

Sacha Modolo had great ambitions for this year's Milan-Sanremo, and he hoped to better the 4th place from his debut in 2010. His preparations were, however, severely interrupted by a broken scaphoid in the Tour of Qatar, and when he finally returned to competition, he was hampered by a number of cancelled races and the team's non-inivite to the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Hence, it was no surprise that the Italian failed to make an impression in La Primavera. After suffering in the opening stages of the Driedaagse van de Panne, he finally feels a little better, and today's strong second place behind Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) is testament to that.

" I'm happy with my result," he said after the stage. "Since the Tour of Qatar I have not participated in a stage race, and in the first few days I suffered a bit . Today I started to feel better and this result is a proof. Regarding the sprint, I had to make a first effort just before the last corner to get the best position on the finishing straight. Then we had wind from the right, and when I tried to pass Kristoff those conditions made it impossible to win. However, this result gives me great moral for the next races."

Sonny Colbrelli has been the team's stand-out performer in the last couple of races. He was part of the group that sprinted for 8th in Milan-Sanremo, and he managed to stay in the peloton on the hard first stage in De Panne.

His 4th place today was another confirmation of his strong condition, and it was no surprise to see team manager Roberto Reverberi praise his two team's effort.

" The team raced well from the start and showed their belief in a good final result," he said. "We failed to win, but we have two riders in the top 4. Sacha did a huge effort  just before the last corner and so he lacked a bit of energy to pass Kristoff. However, I see this result as a sign of improvement for the future. Furthermore, Colbrelli shows his excellent condition in a bunch sprint. If this continues, we will get that victory in the near future."

A strong time trial in the afternoon meant that Sonny Colbrelli was a very encouraging 13th overall while Marco Coledan was the team's second rider in the top 20 with a 20th place.