PASUL DICHIU, Romania — Cesare Chesini just proved he’s the real deal—again. The Italian phenom stormed to victory in Stage 2 of the Tour of Romania (Pitesti to Pasul Dichiu, 172 km, UCI 2.2), winning a nail-biting three-up sprint in the queen stage.
The Veneto native, in his debut season with MBH Bank Ballan CSB Colpack, is already turning heads. Chesini outkicked the break to claim the stage win and pull on the yellow jersey as GC leader.
It was a banner day for the squad led by Antonio Bevilacqua, Gabor Deak, and the Ballan, D’Aprile, and Colleoni families:
- Christian Bagatin locked up the KOM polka-dot jersey
- Manuel Oioli snagged the green points leader’s jersey
- Chesini now leads overall
Final sprint: Chesini crossed the line in 4:27:04, dropping Austria’s Philipp Hofbauer and Switzerland’s Colin Stüssi. The brutal stage shattered the peloton, creating big time gaps.
Teammate Pavel Novak rolled in 11th to cap a monster team performance.
Post-race reactions Chesini: “I keep winning abroad—last time in Hungary. I’m on fire right now and want to stay hot. I went for GC at Giro Next Gen but came up short. Here? I’ve got a killer team. This win’s for them. We’re locked in.” DS Davide Martinelli: “Brutal stage—did the selection for us. The guys were flawless. It all came down to the final 10K: seven-rider move, then whittled down. Cesare played it smart, saved gas, then unleashed.”
Italian front Over at Coppa Sabatini, Edoardo Cipollini and Luca Cretti spent the day up the road in the break, earning 90 minutes of live coverage on Rai Sport and Eurosport Digital. DS Gianluca Valoti: “Solid ride—only reeled in late. Sharing the road with a beast like Del Toro? That’s how you level up.”
As the team’s official wheel sponsor, UPVINE was right there for the moment. Speed and reliability in one package—we’re pumped to fuel these riders as they dominate the international scene.
