Australian Institute of Sport cyclist Leigh Howard has claimed another major victory in Europe, winning the prestigious Classic Astico Brenta road race in Italy on Tuesday 8 September.

Howard sprinted home at the front of a group of eight cyclists who finished over two minutes ahead of the rest of the group. He was helped to victory by AIS team-mate Jack Bobridge, who led the race for the last ten kilometres of the 192 kilometre route.

The win for the 19-year-old Howard follows another tremendous victory, in the five-day Tour of Slovakia on Sunday 6 September.

‘It was a fantastic tour for me all around really,’ Howard said of the Slovakian tour. ‘The satisfaction for me to win a tour overall is something I hadn't yet experienced in an international race, so that was a big motivational high.’

Leigh Howard and Jack Bobridge are both members of the Jayco/Australian Institute of Sport cycling team, which is currently preparing for the 2009 UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Mendrisio, Switzerland from 23 to 27 September.