The Juniors of Giovani Giussanesi have conquered victory in the team classification of the Ronde de Saône-et-Loire U19, a stage race held from Thursday to Sunday in France.

The result in the team standings is the fruit of an outstanding performance that began in the first stage, which started and finished in Le Creusot, where Emanuele Parianotti finished third behind winner Tristan Hardy, a Mauritian rider with Team 31 Specialized, and Frenchman Gaspard Francoise of Guerin Energie.

In the team time trial on the second day, Giovani Giussanesi finished in sixth place with 39" behind Team U Lh, which won the stage by covering 15 kilometers in 20 minutes and 30 seconds.

On Saturday, in the third stage, it was Luca De Mercanti who stood out. The 2008-born rider, who celebrated his birthday just a few days earlier, finished fifth at the Gourdon finish line, where Belgian Florian Pirlot (SCV Marchovelette) took the victory.

The final stage, raced on Sunday in the surroundings of Viré, saw Niccolò Muraro climb onto the third step of the podium behind Francoise and Hardy, who swapped the positions they held in the opening stage. A good placement also for Samuele Brustia, who completed the 121 kilometers in ninth position.

The general classification thus took shape: final victory for Francoise (Guerin Energie) with 1'22" advantage over Ravon (Team U lh) and 1'28" over Pedersoli, a Frenchman riding for Academy Region Sud. Parianotti, the best Italian in the standings, brought Giovani Giussanesi to sixth place overall with a deficit of 2'22" from the winner. Meanwhile, Brustia finished second in the young riders' classification.

"These were intense days in which we demonstrated that we can be protagonists in high-level races alongside highly-rated foreign athletes who often race for development teams of professional squads. – commented Giampaolo Cheula upon returning from the trip – I am extremely satisfied with the performance of the boys and I thank President d'Aprile, Luca Poggiali, Roberto Brenna and all the management of Giovani Giussanesi for allowing us to have this important experience".

FIRST STAGE FINISHING ORDER

1 Tristan HARDY TEAM 31 SPECIALIZED U19 2h26'38"

2 Gaspard FRANCOISE GUÉRIN ENERGIE-L2A AGENCEMENT U19 33"

3 Emanuele PARIANOTTI GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 33"

4 Jules MARTIN VC VILLEFRANCHE BEAUJOLAIS U19 33"

5 Clément BOUYSSOU STADE TOULOUSAIN CYCLISME U19 35"

6 Florian PIRLOT SCV MARCHOVELETTE 40"

7 William VERHOEF AC BISONTINE U19 1'00"

8 Tom PÉRÉ TEAM U LH U19 1'01"

9 Robin BRUGIER CC ÉTUPES U19 1'01"

10 Tom PODEVIN VC CLUSES-SCIONZIER U19 1'01"

SECOND STAGE TEAM TIME TRIAL FINISHING ORDER

1. TEAM U LH 15.8 km in 20'30'' (avg. 46.219 km/h)

2. GUERIN ENERGIE L2A AGENC. MOYON PERCY 00:27

3. SCVM MARCHOVELETTE 00:29

4. REGION SUD CYCLING ACADEMY U19 00:29

5. TEAM 31 SPECIALIZED U19 00:35

6. GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 00:39

7. STADE TOULOUSAIN CYCLISME 00:41

8. SPORT EN STEUEN CYCLING TEAM 00:44

9. CORBAS HEXAGONE LYON METROPOLE 00:59

10. AC BISONTINE 00:59

THIRD STAGE FINISHING ORDER

1 Florian PIRLOT SCV MARCHOVELETTE 1h44'13"

2 Jules LEFEBVRE FOURNIER MIX TEAM FACTORY 80-PREMIER TECH/VC ROUBAIX 0"

3 Mathias RAUJOL AS VILLEMUR DEVO U19 0"

4 Nolan PEDERSOLI U19 ACADEMY RÉGION SUD POWERED BY GIANT 0"

5 Luca DE MERCANTI GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 0"

6 Matthias LÉOTHAUD MONTPELLIER MÉTROPOLE CYCLISME U19 4"

7 Clément TARDIEU MIMOSA SPRINT MANDELIEU U19 4"

8 Gaspard FRANCOISE GUÉRIN ENERGIE-L2A AGENCEMENT U19 4"

9 Romain GEYRE DISNARD STADE TOULOUSAIN CYCLISME U19 7"

10 Dimitri NIJSKENS SCV MARCHOVELETTE 15"

FOURTH STAGE FINISHING ORDER

1 Gaspard FRANCOISE GUÉRIN ENERGIE-L2A AGENCEMENT U19 3h08'51"

2 Tristan HARDY TEAM 31 SPECIALIZED U19 0"

3 Niccolò MURARO GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 3"

4 Nolan PEDERSOLI U19 ACADEMY RÉGION SUD POWERED BY GIANT 1'01"

5 Jorian RAVON TEAM U LH U19 1'01"

6 William VERHOEF AC BISONTINE U19 1'13"

7 Romain GEYRE DISNARD STADE TOULOUSAIN CYCLISME U19 1'19"

8 Emile ROMIEU MIX BOURG-EN-BRESSE AIN CYCLISME/VC COURNON D'AUVERGNE 1'19"

9 Samuele BRUSTIA GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 1'19"

10 Matthias LÉOTHAUD MONTPELLIER MÉTROPOLE CYCLISME U19 1'38"

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 Gaspard FRANCOISE GUÉRIN ENERGIE-L2A AGENCEMENT U19 7h41'16"

2 Jorian RAVON TEAM U LH U19 1'22"

3 Nolan PEDERSOLI U19 ACADEMY RÉGION SUD POWERED BY GIANT 1'28"

4 Tristan HARDY TEAM 31 SPECIALIZED U19 1'58"

5 Florian PIRLOT SCV MARCHOVELETTE 2'09"

6 Emanuele PARIANOTTI GS GIOVANI GIUSSANESI 2'22"

7 Romain GEYRE DISNARD STADE TOULOUSAIN CYCLISME U19 2'31"

8 Jules MARTIN VC VILLEFRANCHE BEAUJOLAIS U19 2'34"

9 Gabriel BERTIN U19 ACADEMY RÉGION SUD POWERED BY GIANT 2'51"

10 Gabriel RICHARD TEAM U LH U19 2'51"