James Piccoli took a few minutes to recover from a huge effort in the breakaway that decided his victory on stage 3 of the Tour of the Alps and avenge the disappointment of not winning.

The Canadian rider from Israel-Premier Tech finished in sixth place, just four seconds and a few meters behind stage winner Leonard Kemna (Bora-Hansgrohe). As Kemna crossed the finish line embraced by teammate Sian Uitdebrooks, Piccoli was pushed aside by cameramen and television crews, but he barely noticed. He hung his head on his bike and took deep breaths to ease the pain of the stage and the disappointment of defeat.

He soon realized that he should have no regrets after giving it his all in a 154-km stage that included the 1789-meter-high Passo Fulcia on the edge of the Dolomites.

"I really gave it everything," explained Piccoli. "I set the pace on the main climbs, I attacked on the downhills, I attacked a few times on the flats. I did everything I could and I'm happy with that."

"The wind was strong at the end, so I was just playing games. It was a bit of a gamble, but Leonard was super strong and deserved the win."

The front row was able to watch the attack on the deep valley road that climbs from Bolzano to Bressanone and then to Val Pusteria. I even had time to look at the snow-covered mountains surrounding the race route.

"The start of the stage was really tough, there were a lot of attacks from a lot of riders and a lot of teams looking to build a breakaway group.

"It took almost 60km for the breakaway to make it, but it was decided at the first downhill section. The break started on the first downhill section.

"It has actually been a super hard three days and fatigue is starting to show on the riders. But I'm happy because it's a beautiful race with spectacular scenery and weather."