Kazakh rider takes impressive solo win at Giro Ciclistico della Valle d'Aosta.

The rider of Astana Qazaqstan Development Team Ilkhan Dostiev finishes the first stage of Giro Ciclistico della Valle d’Aosta with no one else in the picture, Kazinform News Agency learned from the team's official website.

The first stage of 40,8 kilometers with an elevation gain of 1190 meters was held in France with start from Saint-Gervais Mont-Blanc and finish in Passy-Plaine Joux. The 22-year-old  Ilkhan covered the distance in 1 hour, 6 minutes and 55 seconds.

“I didn’t expect that I would be able to win at the first stage, since it was not easy at the last race, but today I already felt good. I think the team training camp paid off, we did a good amount of work. Today we had a short stage and at the end I managed to attack, there were several riders behind me, then only one rider remained with me, and I decided that I needed to try to attack again. When I saw that he was dropped, I kept the pace and with one kilometer to go, I realized that I would definitely be the first who made it to the finish. I’m very happy to start the stage race with a victory and I will try to protect the leader’s jersey until the very end," said Ilkhan Dostiev after the finish.