According to official statistics, the victory achieved by Davide Ballerini at the finish line in Antalya during the seventh stage of the 2026 Tour of Turkey would be the tenth professional win of his career, a round number that is in itself quite significant. However, according to what the rider from Cantù himself revealed, it doesn't match at all with what his personal perception tells him.

"In reality, it feels like it's the first victory of my career. When you don't win for such a long time, especially for riders like me who are neither pure sprinters nor pure climbers, it's not easy to find the right day to strike, and for this reason, when it arrives, the feeling is almost the same" declared immediately after the awards ceremony the XDS Astana rider, who was not certain this morning or during the stage whether to throw himself into the sprint.

"I think that in the last 15 kilometers I asked perhaps 7-8 times on the radio how the situation was at the finish because I knew I had the legs to sprint but at the same time next week the Giro starts and so it would have been better not to take risks. In cycling, as you know, everything—training, altitude camps, dreams—can fall apart in less than a second, especially if you end up on the ground. In finishes with certain conditions you can never know what might happen, but if you can avoid running certain risks, it's always better. Today, however, despite the road being wet in some places and dry in others, when we reached the last three kilometers I turned off my brain and told myself: 'Okay, let's go.' Was it a long sprint? Yes, like two days ago I launched it rather early, but I had decided that if I found space and clear road I would go for it, and that's what I did".

Lady luck, in this case, came to Ballerini's aid and to all the riders in the group, allowing them to sprint in conditions that were still acceptable for a little while longer and sparing them the downpour that, in the moments immediately following the conclusion of the stage, poured down on the finish area, making it decidedly more dangerous than the athletes actually found it in the final rush.

"Given the conditions we found at the finish, let's say we were at the limit because the road was starting to get wet and it was about to start raining very heavily. I think you could see on the broadcast that someone went straight at the last corner and I too, at one point, lost the wheel in front of me, but fortunately it went well. This morning, talking with the sporting directors, I immediately said that if the road was wet, I wouldn't sprint because I didn't want to take risks" emphasized Ballerini, who had been involved in discussions that morning about how and whether to tackle today's effort.

"As a member of the CPA I took part in the discussions that took place before the start about how this stage would be run. I raced this event three years ago too and I remember that even then there had been problems in the final section. I don't think everyone knows the roads here: the asphalt is good but, as happened to me two days before the start when I suddenly found a wet patch in a corner and went down, when it rains it's really slippery. I don't know if it's because of the salt brought by the sea or something else, but it's like in southern Italy, you can't stay in the saddle. Even keeping the tires at 2.5 or 2.7 atmospheres, a very low pressure, you feel the bike going all over the place, even in the sprint. There, when you push too hard coming out of the corners, you have no grip at all...and if you happen to need to touch the brakes, like what happened at the Giro, you're on the ground. It's a problem that doesn't just concern the asphalt here but in these cases, here as in another country, we need to think about our safety. I can understand that local riders who live here and maybe know the roads want to show themselves in a very important race for them, but there's also those who have an important appointment after this race, so when it comes to talking about what to do, you always need to find the right compromise".

In the end, without any allowances and with the times for the general classification neutralized 15 kilometers from the finish, it was still decided to race and dispute a full stage that for Ballerini ended up taking on particularly sweet connotations, rewarding him and consequently those close to him for the sacrifices made in recent months.

"There would be so many people I should dedicate this success to. My girlfriend, my friends, everyone who stands by me and who manages to understand what it means to be a professional cyclist...I'm constantly away training and trying to do everything possible to give my best, from early January through the classics period until Roubaix I think I've been home for a total of seven days...it's nice that finally a joy like this has arrived" admitted the native of Cantù.

"It's a result that crowns the suffering I've accumulated inside me. I really aimed for the classics: I took care of everything in the smallest detail, especially with training at home, and there nothing ever happened to me (being a two-week period it's a moment when something can happen to you and you're forced to skip one of the two), but I always felt something was missing. I wasn't able to make the wheel turn as I hoped and to collect what I wanted despite everything I had sown" continued Ballerini before recounting how participation in the Tour of Turkey was actually not planned.

"After that period, according to my original schedule, I was supposed to stay home to prepare for the Giro, but the day immediately after Roubaix I called my coach and asked him what he thought if I went to race in Turkey to try to put intensity in my legs. He replied that he was eagerly awaiting my call because he was of the same mind, so I came here. I'd say the decision is bearing fruit".

In Turkish territory, in fact, Ballerini found the answers he was looking for about his legs and his condition, which, less than a week before the sixth Giro d'Italia of his career, promise very well both for him and for his team's ambitions.

"The victory doesn't change much the mood with which I'll arrive at the Giro. Yes, maybe it put the cherry on top of the cake, but the cake was already good because two days ago I had already realized I had excellent legs even if the sprint hadn't gone in the best way. I'm aware that I'm in condition, I feel I'm doing well. Then, obviously, it's one thing to measure yourself against the riders here at Turkey and another to do it with those who will be at the Giro d'Italia: there the pace will be a bit different. Now we'll go directly to Bulgaria and we'll see how it goes. In the team we'll have a sprinter like Malucelli with whom we'll try to do something right from the start. It can do me a lot of good, then we'll see. I honestly haven't looked in detail at all the stages of the Corsa Rosa, but I know that in the first week there are days that could be quite good for me".

But first there's a Tour of Turkey to finish and another potential chance to put another significant result in the bag.

"I definitely have the legs to do well and ideally I thought that precisely Sunday's stage was more suited to my characteristics than today's. If the weather is good and we don't have to take too many risks, I don't see why we shouldn't aim for a repeat or in any case do the best possible".