Alpecin-Deceuninck may have found a new great climber in the peloton… and again thanks to virtual cycling. This Sunday the Italian Luca Vergallito added his first victory as a professional in the Oberosterreich Rundfahrt in which, in addition, he took the general classification.
Vergallito prevailed in a tight finish on the ramps of Hinterstoder Höss, with his 9.7 kilometers at 8.2% to the Spanish Óscar Cabedo, who is playing this season in the ranks of the Austrian Voralberg after leaving Burgos-BH at the end of last season. The Italian’s victory also allowed him to take the general by just one second difference over Cabedo.
Notably Vergallito, 25, has been competing in the Alpecin-Deceunick branch since this season after being proclaimed champion of the Zwift Academy Road in 2022, which allowed him to earn a contract as a professional with the Belgian team.
A case that is also reminiscent of another outstanding climber who was also champion of the Zwift Academy Road and who competed in the Alpecin-Deceuninck: the Australian Jay Vine, one of the revelations of the 2022 season with his victories on the tops of Pico Jano and in the Collau Fancuaya in the Vuelta a España before making the leap this season to the ranks of Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Emirates. Time will tell if Vergallito follows the same path as Jay Vine after Alpecin-Deceuninck has found a real breeding ground for climbers on Zwift rollers.