After several years at the pro continental level, Sacha Modolo has finally joined a ProTeam and this has allowed to get more chances in the cobbled races. Having initially struggled to cope with the strains of this very special kind of racing, the Italian shows great signs of progress and crowned it all with a win in today's second stage of the Driedaagse van De Panne.

For many year, Sacha Modolo was known as one of the most talented Italian sprinters but riding for the small Bardiani team, he saw his racing programme mostly limited to Italy. Although on paper suited to the cobbled classics, he never got the chance to test his hands on Flemish soil apart from a few participations in the Driedaagse van De Panne.

After joining Lampre-Merida, Modolo now finds himself with a calendar full of cobbled classics. After taking four wins within just a month at the start of the year, he has struggled a bit to keep up the momentum in recent weeks and things didn't get easier in his first races in Belgium at E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem.

Today he showed great signs of progress. With teammates Davide Cimolai and Maximilano Richeze, he showed great form by making the split when Omega Pharma-Quick Step blew things to pieces on the Kemmelberg. Having used Cimolai to chase down a dangerous move in the finale, the team organized their excellent train for the final sprint, with Cimolai positioning his teammates on the front where Richeze delivered Modolo perfectly for the win.

"With the great work Cimolai an Richeze did for mein the end, all I had to do was to win," he said. "If I didn't take this opportunity, it would be a great sin and I wouldn't be able to look my team and my teammates into the eyes. Today I was very good, I crested the Kemmelberg in fourth position in the leading group and had two important teammates at my side.

"Approaching Koksijde, I started to feel a little tired but it is normal after such a fast race. I looked in the face of the other sprinters were and I noticed that they felt like.Demare worried me as he had some riders leading the group.

"My fears disappeared when Cimolai and Richeze set up a perfect sprint which I contested with great determination.

"The difference from Gent-Wevelgem is the experience In the first race here in Belgium I had some difficulty reading the race well, to interpret the course and to understand at what points I needed to be at the front - despite the useful information from the technical team.

"Now I begin to be more at ease and I only have one goall: to continue to improve without being in any hurry."