It was an uncertain and thrilling sprint that decided the 79th edition of the Coppa Agostoni, a race that, thanks to a better burst in the final meters, Paul Lapeira claimed ahead of the newly crowned World Champion Brandon McNulty, who finished second after a day that saw him enter the action quite far from the finish line.

The Frenchman, with his second victory of the season following his success at the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, has thus become the second Frenchman after Laurent Jalabert to write his name in the honor roll of this prestigious race of the Trittico Lombardo, an event where in the recent past he had already had the opportunity to come close to victory.

"I'm really happy to have won this race. Two years ago, in fact, I finished third here and I knew it was a race that suited me quite well, so this morning I felt fairly confident" said the Decathlon CMA CGM rider in the press conference.

"I was aware that I couldn't approach it like a normal race because, the way it's designed, it could be decided quite early. So I tried to push from the first lap of the Lissolo circuit because I knew that if I fell behind it would be difficult to recover and that, at the same time, by taking a good advantage we could reach the finish line. Once we got to the final I was confident I could fight for victory in the sprint and indeed, even though it was a very tight sprint, I brought it home. It's nice to think that at home I'll have a photo where I beat the world champion" continued the twenty-six-year-old from Fougeres, even more pleased today, after his ninth career professional victory, than what he had achieved in this 2026.

"I'm quite satisfied with my season because I've been fairly consistent. I wasn't able to perform as I wanted at the Ardennes, which were the main objective of the year, because I crashed at the Amstel and that compromised the rest of the week. Apart from that, though, I'm quite happy with what I've accomplished" concluded a convinced Lapeira who from now until the end of the season will certainly try to make his mark again.