The 28-year-old Italian kicked with 200 meters to go and accelerated around the final corner, a huge grin spread across his face. He shouted for joy as he crossed the line. It took quick thinking and a massive team effort, but his first victory at the top level of the sport was his.

“It’s my first victory in the WorldTour, and in this fantastic race in Switzerland. I’m very happy and I’d like to thank all my team. It was a fantastic job from all of them in the final kilometers. I’m very, very happy,” Vincenzo said once he had caught his breath.

The team took care of Vincenzo all day, with stage 2 of the race from Aarau to Schwarzsee comprising of almost 2,500 meters of vertical climbing. Inside the final 20 kilometers, Vincenzo and his teammates took control of the peloton, positioning Vincenzo and fellow sprinter Madis Mihkels near the front of the race and ensuring that the remnants of the early break were caught before the line.

A few last-ditch attacks were neutralized in the closing stages before Vincenzo and Madis were dropped off under the red kite with around one kilometer to go.

The initial plan was for Vincenzo to lead out Madis, but when several riders attacked on the uphill drag towards the line, the Italian remained calm, jumped on their wheels, and forced several rivals to close gaps. He kicked once to open up space on his left-hand side, and his second acceleration took him all the way to the line.

This victory marks Vincenzo’s first win since joining EF Education-EasyPost in the winter, and his first triumph at WorldTour level.

“I felt good from the start. My role today was to lead out Madis, but in the last kilometers Quinn Simmons and some other guys attacked, and I followed. Then I saw that it was 200 meters from the finish and I went full towards the line. This is my first WorldTour victory and we’ll see what happens in the next few days,” he said.

Congratulations, Vincenzo! This Tour de Suisse is just getting started!