Team corratec comes close to success in the Giro della Provincia Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria, a 2.1 category race that returned to the race calendar after a 11 year break.

The race was challenging right from the start due to the weather and the high race pace imposed by the peloton. One of the first to try was Stefano Gandin, accompanied by Martin Marcellusi, but the duo's breakaway was curbed on the first climb of the day, Piano Maschera, which was tackled at such a high speed that only 33 riders made it to the top in the peloton, including Valerio Conti, Nicolas Tivani and Veljko Stojnic.

On the next climb, Monte Sant'Elia, the peloton thinned out even more under the attacks of Valerio Conti, who took the lead to form a breakaway group of 11 riders, with the other Team corratec rider Nicolas Tivani, who would then go on to battle for victory on the Lungomare Falcomatà.

The rider from Lazio tried a second time in the last 10km, along with Lorenzo Tonelli, but a counter attack by Kevin Colleoni ensured that the peloton came back together.

In the sprint, Jhonatan Restrepo took the lead at 150 metres, fending off the counter attack from our  Tivani, who had to settle for second place, team corratec's first podium of the season. Mirko Maestri finished in third place.

A few seconds after crossing the finish line, Nicolas Tivani said: "I am satisfied with my performance, although I’m a bit disappointed about the result in the final sprint. It was a very tough race from the start, you needed to be in good shape to stay in front and I am happy with my performance. The team had a great result today and this should be shared with everyone. It’s great morale for the upcoming races and it’s a good sign because it means we are improving."

The next events for Team corratec will be the Tour of the Alps and the Belgrade Banjaluka.

Photo credits: Città Metropolitana di Reggio Calabria