Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini) once again shone on the biggest stage as he took another second place in a summit finish in the Giro del Trentino and ended up second overall. With the Italian once again fighting the sport's biggest stars, his team feels that their captain is severely underrated.

Mauro Santambrogio has had a breakthrough this year. He showed glimpses of his potential in his final year with the Lampre team in 2009 but for 3 years he was a loyal domestique at the BMC team without many opportunities to go for personal glory.

That all changed this year in his first year as one of the leaders of the Vini Fantini team. The Italian has been on fire all season and while his previous results have mostly been obtained in one-day races, he has been one of the stars in a number of stage races. Today's second place has been preceded by a 6th in the Tour de San Luis and 7th in the Tirreno-Adriatico.

As the new kid on the block, Santambrogio has not got the same kind of recognition and attention as the likes of Bradley Wiggins and Vincenzo Nibali and this has been a source of frustration for team manager Luca Scinto.

"Today Santambrogio was the last to be dropped by Nibali which demonstrated that he is up there with the best," he said. "Santambrogio has always been with the big stars in this Giro delTrentino because he is a star too, although this is not recognized enough. I'm sorry that Mauro is almost overshadowed by the fame of all these stars and that he does not get the deserved attention. However, we know that we have a great champion."

Santambrogio will get another chance to prove his stardom when he lines up as the team's captain in next month's Giro d'Italia.