Matej Mohoric put on a display of descending prowess that would make his Bahrain-Merida teammate Vincenzo Nibali proud, using a late attack and no brakes on the hair-raising finale to take out the victory in the GP Industria e Artigianato in Larciano.

The 23-year-old held off the chase of Marco Canola (Nippo-Vini Fantini) on the flat run-in to take out his first victory of the season. 11 seconds later, Davide Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli) took the sprint from a much-reduced bunch for third.

Mohoric played off a late attack from teammate Giovanni Visconti, who joined Ballerini and Bora-Hansgrohe's Cesare Benedetti in a breakaway with two laps to go. Benedetti, who initiated the move, was dropped on the climb during the final lap, while Mohoric sat in the ever-decreasing group behind waiting for the final ascent.

There was a flurry of attacks as Ballerini came back, with Rafal Majka's (Bora-Hansgrohe), Daniel Martinez (EF Education First-Drapac), Krists Neilands (Israel Cycling Academy), Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and Ivan Santaromita (Nippo-Vini Faniti) all putting in digs. But it was Mohoric's jump just before the crest and subsequent dare-devil descending that proved successful.

"I have to thank all my teammates for the great work they have done throughout the day," Mohoric said. "I knew that the climb was long and that I could get back in the first group without spending too much energy. I wanted to help Giovanni Visconti in the final and when Majka left I went after him. I found myself in the front and so I decided to go all the way.

"I have been studying the climb in the first three laps and I knew that if I had taken the last descent first I could have played my chances. Before the end of the descent, I turned around and saw that nobody was there, after that I did not turn around until I was over the finish line!"

The victory comes after a solid result in Strade Bianche, where he finished 11th, and is his first major one-day win since taking the U23 world title in 2013.

"It's a very important success because it's my first victory with the Bahrain Merida Team's jersey," Mohoric continued. "After Abu Dhabi Tour, I trained well and I had good feelings. Yesterday I did a good Strade Bianche and today it went even better! Now I will start to concentrate on the Giro d'Italia."

Canola's second place was also his best outing so far this season after closing out last year with a win in the Japan Cup, but he was still left wondering what if after latching onto the chasing group on the descent and then coming three seconds shy of catching Mohoric with his attack.

"It is a bittersweet podium," Canola said. "Probably if I had started to chase Matej Mohoric a few hundreds meters before without hesitating, I could have played for the victory. I almost caught him - he was only a few meters in front of me. Bahrain-Merida also played their cards very well, so congratulations to the winner.

"It is a very important podium for me and for my team in Italy, with all the team we have been working very well, with Santaromita and Bagioli also making a great final. Now I can look forward to Tirreno-Adriatico and most of all to Milan-San Remo and Amstel Gold Race, which are very important race for me and for the team."

Full Results