Filippo "Pippo" Pozzato was the figure of delight as he sprinted home to beat the peloton and win the Roma Maxima race – or so he thought.
The Lampre rider outstretched his arms in cycling's classic victory pose as he crossed the line but there was just one small problem – another rider had finished up the road over a half a minute before him.
Ag2r-La Mondiale's Blel Kadri was the actual winner of the 127km race. The Frenchman was part of a five-man attack early in the race before he left his fellow escapees to claim a solo win.
With ear-piece radios banned for the race, Pozzato was left in a state of confusion after being told he hadn't actually won at the finishing line.
"I'm gutted not to win but it happens" he said.
"I put my arms up because I thought I'd won. When I saw that my soigneur (assistant) was hiding instead of celebrating, I knew there was something wrong.
"Most sports are happy to accept the advantages of new technology, but cycling likes to ignore them. But this isn't the moment for a debate about radios. I made a mistake.
"The only consolation is that my form is good."
Pozzato is sure to get quite a slagging from some of the other riders on tour with Vincenzo Nibali having already tweeted him to say: "I wanted to tell you, but there wasn't time - hahaha."
