Vine's victory extra special after son's birth, new leader Sheffield maintains form from Paris-Nice

It was a soaking wet day in Italy, and, just like on Wednesday, the Settimana Coppi e Bartali program included another tough hill climb. In the end, Jay Vine prevailed, taking a beautiful solo victory. However, the Australian had already been eliminated from the GC, so Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers) took the lead from Paul Double.

Vine thus took his seventh career victory and his first of the season. This victory is even more unique, he explains in a press statement. "It's fantastic to add a victory to my record," says the UAE Team Emirates - XRG climber. "It's my first victory in Italy, which is quite special. It's also my first victory since the birth of my son, so it's enormously motivating that he and my wife are cheering me on from home." My son Harrison was born on August 14 last year, less than a week after my last victory in the Tour of Burgos.

The 29-year-old Australian adds to another incredibly successful year for UAE Team Emirates. The team has already racked up 22 victories early in the year. On Wednesday, Juan Sébastian Molano was the best in the Classic Brugge-De Panne, and Juan Ayuso won the third stage of the Tour of Catalonia. "The team is on a roll at the moment, and I am very happy that I could add to that and put my name on the list of victories; that is very special."

Sheffield was 26 seconds behind Vine in the sprint for second place. The 22-year-old American is having a great month following his victory in Paris-Nice. He also performed well in Italy but was unable to win the stage. "We wanted to go for the stage win, but the guys rode very well because it was a very tough and demanding day," said the all-rounder in British service. "As I said, it was perhaps even colder than we expected for the stage. But we handled it well." Sheffield in the lead, Vine with the victory: with the successes of Double and Caleb Ewan in the first stages, the Italian race has become an all-English affair.

Thanks to his strong sprint, the man from Coon Rapids, Minnesota, is in first place in the GC, with a three-second lead on his closest competitor Ben Tulett (Visma | Lease a Bike). The program still has two difficult stages, so defending his lead will not be easy. But Sheffield is looking forward to it. "It's great starting the next few days as the leader. I'm looking forward to putting on the leader's jersey tomorrow. Hopefully, we can defend it until the end."