Today Matteo Malucelli didn't know he had won, just as we didn't know and neither did Alexander Kristoff. In Pesir Puteh, the head-to-head between the two sprinters was so close that even the jury had to take their time to reveal the winner's name and when we told the Romagna rider, he could hardly believe it. After the finish, local photographers and cameramen were running around like crazy, first asking the Norwegian how it felt to be a step away from his hundredth victory, and equally asking Malucelli what it felt like to beat such a champion - in short, total confusion that contributed to making this Italian victory even more special.

It was a crazy sprint, absolute normality in Malaysia where wide roads allow high speeds, and that's why neither of them preferred to celebrate. After all, in sprints like these, it's difficult to make a mistake, to have the wrong perception of victory, and Malucelli himself admits that indeed the impression was that yes, Kristoff had overtaken him. The front photos leave more than one doubt, the photofinish would then show that it was practically nothing. "The finishes of these races are very simple, it's easy to take position and precisely for this reason, it's actually much more complicated, there's the risk of relaxing too much and losing your opportunity, you must remember that you have to fight until the end. My main goal was to enter the last curve in the top five positions, just behind the Uno X train and then give it all. At the beginning he was ahead, but right at the line, I saw my wheel in front, it came automatically to ask who had won, but not even he knew."

Today the XDS Astana Team's work was practically perfect and they achieved all the goals they had set: make the race hard and win, but also already start thinking about the real general classification. "Today we faced the first climbs of this race and as always, you never really know the value of your opponents, honestly I was a bit worried, especially about the last climb. When we realized that the Tudor Team was keeping a very low pace because De Kleijn was struggling a lot, we tried to accelerate. We feared an attack from the French and Spanish teams, but fortunately they all had men in the breakaway and therefore remained simply passive. As soon as we raised the pace, the Dutchman went into difficulty and so at the top of the climb we opened the gas. As predictable, Uno X came to help us and once the mission was completed, we dedicated ourselves to the next one, which was winning the intermediate sprints with Aaron Gate and putting him in a good position in the general. Today it went well, but it doesn't always go this way and so we must absolutely enjoy it." Matteo explains, who after helping Gate in the first sprint had the opportunity to recover some energy to play the finale at his best.

This is the second time Matteo beats Kristoff in a sprint and it always has a certain effect to put your wheel in front of someone who has carved their name in history, especially now that he is close to retirement. "Alexander is just two victories away from reaching 100, two like the times he came second behind me, almost I feel guilty because he is an extraordinary rider who deserves to end his career in the best possible way. Beating him always has a certain effect. Kristoff is Kristoff, he has won European championships, a Milan-Sanremo, and much more. I remember very well his successes in the northern classics and beating him still seems unthinkable to me," Malucelli explains to us, confirming his simplicity and love for a sport that has never made life easy for him.

While we are talking to Matteo, a real crowd of curious people has gathered around us, taking photos, looking at him in awe. Here the Romagna rider is an authentic celebrity, at every start and finish they acclaim him with screams and applause, and as soon as they discover that we are also Italian, they reserve another welcome, congratulating us for the victories. "Here it's practically another world, they experience cycling in their own way, every day is a big party and that's exactly why I like coming to race in these special places and with such simple and fascinated people," Matteo tells us before throwing himself among his fans who are loudly asking him to come closer. Selfies are taken and water bottles are kept like trophies, it's the purest expression of cycling, one that is not afraid to fight because it is totally in love.