Nicola Ruffoni created a major surprise when he beat Mark Cavendish in the bunch sprint on the morning stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes. The young Italian had never expected that he would be able to take a neo-pro win against a world class sprinter.

With several strong showing, Nicola Ruffoni has been knocking on the door for his first pro win right from the beginning of his neo-pro season. Today he finally broke his drought when he emerged as the strongest in the bunch sprint on the morning stage of the Tour du Poitou-Charentes.

Ruffoni could probably not have imagined a sweeter first victory as he managed to beat Mark Cavendish in the sprint and so broke the Brit’s stranglehold on the race. In fact, the race leader could only manage third as Roy Jans continued his recent string of near-misses by taking second.

"I was not expecting that," he said. "It's a big surprise for me to win this stage. I wanted to try because I felt I really had good legs. The sensations were very good. 

"In the team, there is also Sonny Colbrelli who has a fast sprint. We tried to discuss the situation. I explained that I really wanted to do this sprint. 

"In the last kilometres, I tried to take the wheel of Cavendish. I launched my sprint 300m from the finish line. At this point, I wondered if it was too early but ultimately it was enough and luckily, no one passed me.

”Yesterday I felt good sensations and today I wanted to improve but honestly I didn’t think I could beat Cavendish that was super in the last two stages. But thanks to the great support of the whole team this dream came true.

"In the finale I was behind him and when his lead-out man Renshaw moved to the front, I started my sprint with 300m to go. I gave all of myself and also made a last-gasp effort because I didn’t want to have any bad surprise.I want dedicate my first pro win to my best friend Daniele Moggia who is my strongest supporter."

”Nicola today was fantastic today," Bardiani sports director Mirko Rossato said. "To beat Cavendish and the other sprinters here means a lot and it’s a strong signal about his future possibilities. A victory as a neo pro gives you assurance and a huge motivation. I also want to point to the performance of Piechele [who was 4th] who is growing really well race after race."