Emanuele Sella (CarmioOro - A-Style) wins ahead of teammate Francisco José Ventoso (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Italian Emanuele Sella (CarmioOro - A-Style) hopes his Cinturó de l'Empordà win will be the starting point for something bigger, as well as a return to the Giro d'Italia in 2010.
"It is a starting point and from here I will try to do even better. It is a small win, but you need small things in order to build something bigger," Sella told Cyclingnews.
He won the third and final stage of the Cinturó de l'Empordà yesterday in Figueras, Spain. Teammate Francisco José Ventoso helped dominate the race, winning stages one and two, and the overall. He finished second to Sella yesterday.
Sella's win came two months after his one-year doping suspension ended. The International Cycling Union (UCI) found Sella positive for blood booster Erythropoietin (EPO) CERA after an out-of-competition test July 23, 2008.
His last win was May 31, 2008, in the Giro d'Italia's stage to Tirano. He won three stages in last year's Giro – Alpe di Pampeago, Passo Fedaia and Tirano – and the climber's jersey.
Sella won his first professional race at the Giro d'Italia in 2004 after a solo escape on the stage Cesena. His dream is to return to the Giro next year.
Team CarmioOro is a Continental team and would need to be Professional Continental, second division, if Sella would have a chance to race.
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He races Coppa Sabatini, Giro dell'Emilia e GP Beghelli in the coming month. He hopes to have his next win in Emilia, at the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca in Bologna, Italy.
"Emilia is a high-level race and important for a rider to win," he continued. "It suits my style, but it will be difficult against the top cyclists."
