Kevin Vauquelin claimed fourth place on the tough uphill finish to the opening stage of Il Giro d'Abruzzo.
The Frenchman was led into the climb by his Netcompany INEOS teammates, with the team working hard to pull back a late two-man breakaway on the run into Controguerra.
Peter Øxenberg drove into the foot of the climb, before Vauquelin and Dorian Godon took it up as the contenders went toe to toe. Vauquelin crossed the line two seconds behind stage victor Alessandro Fancellu (MBH Bank CSB Telecom Fort). Despite the steep gradients, Godon held on well to finish 12th.
The team got through a lot of work on the day, with Racing Academy members Mattie Dodd and Milkias Maekele helping set the tempo on the front to manage the gap to the early break, alongside Bob Jungels and Ben Swift.