Excellent start for Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber at the Baku-Khankendi Azerbaijan Cycling Tour. In the first stage, Filippo Cettolin, born in 2006, came close to the podium by finishing fourth in the sprint won by Aliaksei Shnyrko, thus also securing the leadership of the young riders' classification. For the Veneto rider, this represents his best result of the season. Marco Manenti also put in a good performance, finishing seventh at the finish line.

Here are Cettolin's words: "I'm happy with the result and the sensations I had during the race. This year I'm experiencing an important growth process with the team and race after race I feel I'm making progress, especially in managing the finishes and in competing with more experienced riders. Coming close to the podium and winning the best young rider jersey gives me confidence to continue working well in the next stages."

FINISHING ORDER:

1. Aliaksei Shnyrko (Li Ning Star) — 3h30'02"

2. Gleb Syritsa (XDS Astana Team) — s.t.

3. Timothy Dupont (Tarteletto - Isorex) — s.t.

4. Filippo Cettolin (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) — s.t.

5. Cristian David Pita (Roojai Insurance Winspace) — s.t.

6. Tilen Finkšt (Solution Tech NIPPO Rali) — s.t.

7. Marco Manenti (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) — s.t.

8. Sander Inion (Universe Cycling Team) — s.t.

9. Iñigo Elosegui (Equipo Kern Pharma) — s.t.

10. Yevgeniy Fedorov (XDS Astana Team) — s.t.