Federico Iacomoni finishes in a photo finish in the second stage of the Tour of Armenia

Stepanavan (Armenia) – A photo-finish victory with a view to the heavens. Federico Iacomoni (Team Ukyo) was filled with joy and emotion at the finish line in Stepanavan, edging out a desperate Leonardo Vesco (Biesse-Carrera-Premac) by just a few millimeters. Immediately after finishing on the podium, his thoughts turned to his grandmother Tecla, who passed away just as he was about to leave for the Tour of Armenia. Another uncertain and exciting stage in the new UCI Europe Tour race also saw a change at the top of the general classification, with Alexandre Balmer (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) taking the red jersey from yesterday's winner, Poland's Michal Pomorski. The second stage started from Kirants, a tiny village in the Tavush region, famous for its 7th-century monastery. The start was given by Khoren Zargaryan, CEO of the local organizing committee (Sport Management Center). Just as happened on the opening stage, the breakaway formed immediately, with Leonardo Vesco (Biesse-Carrera-Premac) taking the lead after 3 kilometers, followed shortly thereafter by James Jack Ward (Lidl-Trek Future Racing), Alexander George Wood (MG.K Vis Costruzioni e Ambiente), and Kirill Miller (ARM Cycling Club). The Australian from Lidl-Trek took first place in both the intermediate sprint and the first categorized climb in Lermontov. At kilometer 134, only Wood and Vesco remained, with the 21-year-old from Lombardy (Biesse-Carrera-Premac) leading the way on the second categorized climb of the day in Odzun and then again on the third in Mghart to secure the first blue jersey of the new race. The two attempted to hold on, but Federico Iacomoni (Team Ukyo) launched an attack behind them, having broken away from the red jersey group. In the final ten kilometers, only Vesco and Iacomoni remained in contention for the sprint victory, with the Trentino native finding the spark to beat the powerful Lombard. This further confirms his recent bronze medal at the Mediterranean Games in Taranto, and also helps his teammate Tommaso Dati win gold.