"I missed the final flick but I'm happy."

Those were the words of Astana's Vincenzo Nibali after Coppa Agostoni - Giro della Brianza. Nibali finished second after a tight sprint won by his breakaway companion Davide Rebellin at the finish in Lissone, a small town north of Milan.

Nibali and his teammates were protagonists of a race made even hard by a persistent rain and a very selective course. The team was able to neutalize the early breakaway and starting to counterattack with Nibali and Michele Scarponi.

The two Astana Pro Team riders were followed by the Italian Rebellin who ended up winning this old classic race.

"It was too bad with the sprintm," he added. "Ifor  paid the fact of not being accustomed to them and I stalled twenty meters from the finish, after starting too early. Anyway I'm fine, I only missed the final twist. Today we saw a great Astana, I had wonderful teammates who carried the weight of the race all day. Then we went on the attack with Michele and we did ​​the last 50 kilometers at 100%. I am satisfied with my performance and I'm looking forward to the next races. 

"A demonstration for [Italian national coach Davide] Cassani? Today I proved to be there. Despite the events at the Vuelta I worked with tranquility, I disconnected from everything and prepared the end of the season well to get an important result."