Diego Ulissi surprised himself by making it into the top 3 in the first WorldTour race of the season, the Tour Down Under. Having also won a stage during the six days in Australia, the Italian was pleased with the result and now hopes to keep up his high level for his later objectives.

When he arrived in Adelaide for the Tour Down Under, Diego Ulissi was very much in doubt about his own ability to perform at a high level in the first WorldTour race of the season. After all, it was the first race of the season and as the Lampre-Merida rider had ended 2013 in splendid condition, the race could be a bit too early for him.

At the end of the race, Ulissi has put those doubts firmly to rest. Already on stage 2 he proved he good condition when he beat eventual overall winner Simon Gerrans (Orica-GreenEDGE) in the uphill sprint in Stirling and yesterday he finished 2nd behind Richie Porte (Orica-GreenEDGE) on the queen stage.

As he also stayed attention in the flat stages and survived the crosswinds that dominated stages 4 and 5, Ulissi can travel home to Italy with Lampre-Merida's first ever podium place in the Australian race in his pocket. He finished a close 3rd, 5 seconds behind Gerrans and 4 seconds behind Cadel Evans (BMC).

"Being in good shape and to be able to count on a solid and generous team is the best you can ask for," he said. "So I thank my teammates, the staff, and the sponsors.

"This year's edition of the Tour Down Under has been very close," he added. "I had to pay attention to every detail to achieve this excellent result. Even today's stage with a flat circuit has not allowed us to breathe. We had to fight until the very end. It is so nice to start the season so well and with a stage win. Now the challenge is to remain at this level."

Today's stage offered Ulissi a chance to move up in GC as there were bonus seconds on offer in the intermediate sprints. However, he preferred to conserve what he already had instead of going for more glory.

"It’s been a difficult stage for me with the heat (33C), the tension of riding for GC, some dangerous riders in the bunch… It’s normal because we were just a few seconds apart but I managed to remain close to the front with my team," he said. "Third in the Santos Tour Down Under is a better result than I expected before coming here. I’m delighted"

Ulissi ended last year's season with a bang when he won Milan-Turin, Coppa Sabatini and Giro dell'Emilia in just a few weeks. This has put a lot of pressure on his shoulders and he is happy to confirm the results right from the beginning of the season.

“I didn’t expect to race at the front so early this year”, he said. “But the Santos Tour Down Under is an important race as it allocates a lot of WorldTour points, which is good for me and for my team. This is a very important season for me. My physique is getting better, so it’s a confidence booster to start with a third place overall and moreover the great victory I claimed on stage 2 in a beautiful way.

“I want to be on top form at Tirreno-Adriatico and keep the momentum for Milan-San Remo,” he added “My second goal will be the Ardennes classics. There, I’ll have to compete against the world’s best riders. That’s why it’s important to be already close to the level of the likes of Gerrans and Evans. I’m yet to understand what my real value is. Finishing on the podium here in Australia increases my belief in my capacities to fight at the highest level.”

After the classics, Ulissi will return to the Giro where he won a stage 3 years ago. However, he will not go for GC in his home race.

“I’ll target the medium-mountain stages”, he said. “Maybe in the future I’ll ride the Giro for GC but I have to improve step by step and win one-week long races before I focus on three weeks.”

Sports director Bruno Vicino shared the excitement.

"The result fully meets our expectations for the trip to Australia," he said. "A win and a podium finish allow us to open the season in a very good way. Ulissi had already demonstrated in the training we did in the first days in Australia that he felt good. His teammates have witnessed his strength and made themselves available to their captain in a beautiful, sacrificing way - even if it meant that they had to put aside their personal ambitions as it was the case for [Roberto] Ferrari. They should all be thanked and we will also send a though to [Rafael] Valls who was injured in a crash."

Ulissi will next ride the Challenge Mallorca, the Trofeo Laigueglia, the GP Camaiore and the Strade Bianche before lining up at the Tirreno-Adriatico.