 In 1997 he scored his first UCI Road World Cup victories by winning the Clásica de San Sebastián and the Züri-Metzgete (then known as "Grand Prix de Suisse").Over the following years he won many Italian classic races, such as the Giro del Veneto and Tre Valli Varesine.In 2001, he won the Tirreno–Adriatico stage race.