After months of disappointment, Vincenzo Nibali finally took the first win of his season when he conquered the Italian tricolore in today's road race championships. Having been under pressure, the win came as a big relief for the Astana leader who is building his condition for his big goal at the Tour de France.

A disappointing spring seaso had led to a lot of criticism for Vincenzo Nibali, with the media speculating that he would not be ready for the Tour de France. Today he put it all behind by taking a fantastic first elite Italian national title in the road race.

A fabulous Michele Scarponi set a hard tempo that put all his rivals at their limit before Nibali kicked into action inside the final 3km of the race. Despite repeated attacks, however, he was unable to get rid of a marvellous Davide Formolo and so the race was decided in a two-rider sprint.

Here Nibali was clearly the fastest and took a very emotional win. Immediately after crossing the line, the 2013 Giro champion was in tears, indicating just how perfectly timed the victory is.

"I ​​really wanted this win for many reasons," he told Tuttobiciweb. "I love this jersey and after I wore it as a junior, I wanted to take it back because I like the idea of bringing it to the Tour.

"It was a hard race in which we made the selection cue to a super Scarponi. Of course, I have to congreatulate Formolo who did a really great race and I am sure that in the coming years he will be up there again, perhaps with Fabio Aru.

"I really needed this, it is a relief. And now it will be easier for my fans to spot me in the Tour de France peloton. I won't disappoint them because I always do the maximum with head and legs, heart and soul."

Having played an instrumental role in the win, Michele Scarponi was equally happy.

"This race could not have had a better outcome," he told Tuttobiciweb. "We will go to the Tour with the strongest rider in the tricolore. As for me, I am glad that I felt okay. I have been working so hard. I wanted to bounce back after my bad luck at the Giro and be even stronger to help Vincenzo in July. I sacrificed my chances for Nibali as we had planned because I knew that he was strong. In training he had proved that he is in super condition."