Edoardo Zardini confirmed the talent he had already shown at the end of last season when he took an impressive solo win in toda's first mountain stage of the Giro del Trentino. The 24-year-old Italian could not believe his own performance that saw him beat rider like Cadel Evans, Michele Scarponi and Domenico Pozzovivo, and wrote it down to a combination of getting through last year's Giro and a recent training camp at altitude.

In his first professional season, Edoardo Zardini gave several indications that he has the skills to become one of the next great Italian climbers and especially his performance in the Giro dell'Emilia at the end of the year drew some attention. Today he got his big breakthrough when he took a surprising solo win on the first big mountain stage of the Giro del Trentino.

Instead of waiting for the race favourites, he attacked early on the climb when he joined a move that also included his Bardiani teammate Stefano Pirazzi, Jacques Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka), Damiano Caruso (Cannondale) and later also Mikel Landa (Astana). While Bradley Wiggins led the chase for Sky in the peloton, the group opened up a big gap that reached more than 30 seconds at one point.

Caruso and Van Rensburg were the first to get dropped before Zardini launched his solo attack. All his former companions were caught but he continued to press on.

Behind, the war between the race favourites started when Fabio Aru (Astana), Cadel Evans (BMC), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2r), and Fabio Duarte (Colombia) escaped. The quartet was joined by Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) and started to get closer to the lone leader.

However, it was all too late and the young Italian held on to take the win, even with a big 19-second margin over the riders that had been expected to battle it out for the win. The 24-year-old Italian could not believe that he had taken his first professional victory in such a high-level race.

”It’s an immense joy and I still cannot believe it," he said. "I came to  Trentino after a long training camp on the Etna volcano and I was confident that all the hard work made would pay off. Today it all happened on the final climb and it’s incredible because this is also my first pro win.

"When we attacked with Pirazzi and the other riders with 9km to go, we already set a good tempo but with 5km to go I felt really well and I decided to attack solo. From that moment, I made a long uphill time trial, I gave it all and I made it.

"I was super happy and I struggled to believe it. I knew I was good but it is always difficult to win, especially for a rider like me who is not fast. I have never won a lot of races, this is my first success among the professionals.

"To be able to beat important riders in a big race like this is unbelievable. When I watch the race on TV tonight or tomorrow, I will realize that I can do great things thanks to my excellent condition.

"I started riding at age 14 and won my first race in my second year. As said, I have never won much even though I have always been near the top . With my characteristics, I have to do like today if I want to win. I have to drop them all, but to do that I have to be 110% fit. Every now and then I think. I'm fine, now I drop them all. Vey often I can't, but when I hit the right day, I can.

"The 2013 Giro gave me the basis to take a step forward. I had bronchitis, I had a hard time, and I finished the race completely exhausted but then I was another rider.

"Trentino was one of my goals this year, I live not too far from here, so I have seen all my fans, relatives, friends in Marano di Valpolicella. They are all passionate and they give me a lot of strength. I'm glad I won in front of them.

"First let's finish this Giro del Trentino in a good way. I have seen that my legs are good. In the Giro, Bardiani CSF want to get noticed, especially in the hard stages, ad we have so many climbers. I was on Etna with Manuel Bongiorno, we did 4.000-5.000 meters of altitude each day. I hated it, but now I'm reaping the rewards of all the hard work."

Zardini is now second overall, just 9 seconds behind new leader Cadel Evans.

”Edoardo was super today, he did a fantastic performance," sports director Roberto Reverberi said. "From 9km to the top, he set a really fast pace and also in the final km when the GC top contenders attacked behind, he was still brilliant. This success means a lot for him and the team as he worked hard during the last month."