“I’m incredibly happy with this”, the eighteen-year-old Baruzzi says afterwards. “I know I have a fast race in me and can achieve good results, but to do it right away here is crazy. This is the perfect start to my season and my time with the team. We made a good plan for this four-day race, and this is already a fantastic start.”

The Italian joined the Dutch Development Team past winter. The Istrian Spring Tour is only his second race in the yellow and black colors, after making his debut at the Porec Classic last week. “He worked incredibly hard all winter”, sports director Sierk Jan de Haan says. “This was a great opportunity for him, and he took it with both hands.”

De Haan continues: “If you can win such a short prologue with a field this strong, it shows you have a lot of talent. Francesco is beating riders here that he used to compete against in the junior ranks. What he’s showing is fantastic. It’s a great achievement from him, but I’m also proud of the rest of the guys. In the end, we have three riders in the top ten. That is promising for the rest of the week.”