BORA – ARGON 18 won the opening stage of the Giro del Trentino. The young second division team beat the favorites of Team Sky by the tiny margin of 0.3 seconds after 13.3 kilometers. Astana set the third best time, 4 seconds down on the winning time. On the technical course from Riva del Garda to Arco, Cesare Benedetti crossed the line first and now leads the general classification of the stage race. By leading his home race Benedetti scored the most significant result in his career to date. 22-years old German neo-pro Emanuel Buchmann of BORA – ARGON 18 leads the young rider classification.

"It was a perfect race and it was crowned by the victory. We felt already beforehand, that the guys are absolutely determined to score a top result. They were all totally focussed when we scouted the course this morning as well as during the warm-up. In the end, it was tight but we won. This was a victory by the entire team, including our mechanics and physios. We all fought together to get this result“ says Enrico Poitschke, Sport Director of BORA – ARGON 18.

"A dream comes true for Cesare. This is his home race and he is in the lead now. He felt really strong today and in the end he had the will to cross the line first. That says a lot about his motivation“, Poitschke continues.

"With 350m to go I just went full gas but I didn’t think that we could win here," Benedetti said. "I had no idea about the jersey, we just wanted to be as fast as possible. This win is very special because it’s a team result. It was only possible because we showed perfect teamwork today. Of course, I’m proud to wear the jersey here in my home region. That’s the little extra.

"I am happy. Winning here is a great satisfaction for me. It's a pleasure to be able to raise my arms to the sky in front of my family. I dedicate it to my wife Dorota, with whom I live in Mori. She is Polish and has a past as a cyclist. She has now stopped to focus on her studies bacuse women's cycling does not give a living. She supports me in the ups and downs and she deserves this.

"Yes, I've already had the chance to wear the leader's jersey in the baby Giro and Coppi e Bartali three years ago, also after a team time trial. I really wanted to do well today because last year we were second behind BMC. This morning at breakfast I joked with my friends, telling them that it was enough to improve a single position."

It was not the plan for Benedetti to take the jersey.

"No, but already last year I had been closed towards the barrier," he said when asked about the pre-race plans. "This time I didn't want to miss the wonderful opportunity when we went down the finishing straight. I feel good in this Bavarian team. Bora makes exhaust systems for kitchens and Argon 18 makes bikes. The team manager is very ambitious and we have grown year after year. This year we were invited to the Tour de France, but at the moment I think it will be tough for me to get selected."

Tomorrow Benedetti will be on home roads.

"I started to run in Dro Cycling and I train on these roads every day," he said Realistically, the climbs are too hard for me but I am already happy that we were able to beat the specialists from Sky in this stage. I have the determinaton to defend the jersey but tomorrow I need the legs. I know the ascent of Monte Velo well, but I think I need more than knowledge about the course."