News for May 13, 2002

Edited by Jeff Jones

Giro d'Italia: Post stage comments

Mario Cipollini (Acqua e Sapone, 1st stage and GC)

Mario Cipollini
Photo: © Sirotti

"This maglia rosa has a special meaning because I am convinced that I could have won the prologue without the puncture in the last two kilometres. The tire had a slow leak but the bike was almost uncontrollable in the last corners. I was very disappointed and, together with the team, we promised ourselves that we would obliterate those 15 seconds. With bonuses, I knew that it was possible. The team did an exceptional job, it surpassed itself. But the maglia rosa is not an objective. First the stage wins, then the maglia rosa comes as a consequence."

"The record of Binda? I take the stages as they come. As early as this year? I will try but I can promise nothing. What hit me today, is to see the encouragement of the public, all these crowds on the edge of the road. It was unbelievable! I remember a stage of the Tour that was also a big success. It makes me happy to see that our sport generates this enthusiasm."

Paolo Bettini (Mapei-Quick Step, 5th GC)

"One always speaks of me for the finish of tomorrow's stage in Ans. But I think that a group of 80 or 90 riders will arrive together, with the sprinters, such as Cipollini and Hondo. I do not think that the coast of St Nicolas is long enough to make the difference."

Stefano Garzelli (Mapei-Quick Step, 16th stage)

"I remained at the front to avoid the falls. That could be dangerous. There are gaps but I do not think that it will change anything for the final victory. I am sorry for Bartoli. This is very unfortunate."

Bartoli's abandonment continues Fassa Bortolo's woes

First there was Francesco Casagrande's crash in stage 1, then came Dario Frigo's expulsion and Wladimir Belli's disqualification for punching a fan, all in last year's Giro d'Italia. Giancarlo Ferretti has a right to expect that things would go right for him this year, as they have done in many other races.

It was not to be as first Gorazd Stangelj crashed and broke his collarbone in yesterday's prologue; then today Michele Bartoli was involved in a crash in the final 3 kilometres which saw him abandon the stage and taken to hospital.

Bartoli, the winner of the Tour of the Med and the Amstel Gold Race, has fractured his right iliac and will have to stop for six weeks. A bitter blow for the 31 year old who was just starting to come back to his best after fully recovering from a knee injury sustained 3 years ago.

The Fassa Bortolo team is the only one to lose riders in this year's Giro. There are now 196 riders left in the race.

Winner's profile: Mario Cipollini

Name: Mario Cipollini
Born : March 22, 1967
Birthplace: Lucca, Italy
Height: 1.90 m
Weight: 76 kg
Teams: Del Tongo (1989-1991), GB-MG (1992-1993), Mercatone Uno (1994-1995), Saeco (1996-2001), Acqua e Sapone (2002)
Career victories: 172

Major wins

Milan San Remo (2002)
Gent-Wevelgem (1992, 1993, 2002)
Grote Scheldeprijs (1991, 1993)
GP E3 (1993)
Trophée Luis-Puig (1999)
Giro di Siracusa (2001)
Milano-Vignola (1990)

Stage wins

35 stages in the Giro d'Italia, 2 points jerseys, maglia rosa for 5 days
12 stages in the Tour de France (1 in 1993, 2 in 1995, 1 in 1996, 2 in 1997, 2 in 1998, 4 in 1999), 6 days in the yellow jersey
8 stages in Paris-Nice
12 stages in Tour de Romandie
11 stages in Volta a Catalunya
9 stages in Giro di Puglia
6 stages in Vuelta a la Comunidad Valenciana
1 stage in Tirreno-Adriatico

Closer to 41

Mario Cipollini's 35th Giro d'Italia stage win puts him within 6 wins of Alfredo Binda's long standing record. Binda won 41 stages between 1926 and 1933, and if Cipollini keeps on going like he is, he'll overtake the Italian master next year. Cipollini's career span has been much longer than Binda's, winning stages between 1989 and 2002. However it could also be argued that the competition is a little tougher these days, and Cipollini is certainly one of the all time sprinting greats.

He is unlikely to win the Giro though - as Binda did five teams, a record equalled by only Coppi and Merckx.

Most Giro stage wins

41: Alfredo Binda (Ita) between 1926 and 1933
35: Mario Cipollini (Ita) between 1989 and 2002
31: Learco Guerra (Ita) between 1930 and 1937
30: Costante Girardengo (Ita) between 1913 and 1926 
25: Eddy Merckx (Bel) between 1967 and 1974
24: Giuseppe Saronni (Ita) between 1978 and 1985
23: Francesco Moser (Ita) between 1973 and 1986
22: Fausto Coppi (Ita) between 1940 and 1955
22: Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel) between 1972 and 1979
21: Franco Bitossi (Ita) between 1964 and 1975

Lombardi relegated and fined

The sprint
Photo: © Sirotti

Mario Cipollini's lead out man Giovanni Lombardi copped a 135 euro fine and was relegated to last position in the bunch (28th) after an irregular move in the final sprint. As Lombardi pulled off to the right after giving Cipollini a perfect spring board to win the stage, he managed to get in the way of Lotto's Robbie McEwen, who had started his sprint a little earlier. McEwen had to go to the right hand side of the road before coming back to the left, eventually finishing third behind Cipollini and McEwen's compatriot Graeme Brown (Panaria).

In addition to his fine, Lombardi also received a 30 second penalty on the general classification, and a 25 point penalty in the points classification.

Tomorrow's stage: Liege-Bastogne-Liege finish

Tomorrow's second stage from Köln (Germany) to Ans/Liege (Belgium) will be run over a similar finale to the Liege-Bastogne-Liege classic, finishing with the côte de Saint-Nicolas and then the final run up to Ans. Although this climb often produces the final selection in LBL, it's not expected to do so tomorrow as the rest of the stage is not anything like as hilly. The highest point (582m) comes after 107.1 km at Elsenborn, after a long, steady climb up from Düren. The stage undulates after that before the sharp finish.

This year's winner of LBL Paolo Bettini is a favourite to win the stage, but look out also for Cipollini, who can certainly sprint uphill, Alessandro Petacchi, Robbie McEwen and Danilo Hondo.

Live coverage starts at approximately 14:30 local time (8:30am Eastern, 5:30am Pacific, 10:30pm Australian Eastern time).

Giro stage 1 coverage

Results & report,
Live report
Photos

Mapei's 50th

It's not surprising that Mapei-Quick Step is the number one ranked division I team this season, after clocking up its 50th win today. The honour went to sprinter Tom Steels who won the final stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk, beating Jans Koerts (Domo) and Luca Pagliarini (Lampre) in a mass sprint. Steels had to avoid a crash in the finale but showed a good turn of pace to come around Koerts. It was his 62nd career win and marks something of a comeback to form after two seasons of health problems, including a bout of glandular fever (mononucleosis).

Millar on track too

There was some good news for David Millar (Cofidis), who has found his legs again after also suffering from glandular fever in the early part of the season. Millar finished second in the 17th Clasica Alcobendas, which finished with a mountain stage and time trial today. Millar was fifth in the morning's stage to the top of the Puerto de Navacerrada, conceding 14 seconds to teammate and eventual winner David Moncoutie. In the afternoon's time trial, he finished 3rd behind ONCE's Isidro Nozal and Jan Hruska. In the end, he finished only two seconds behind Moncoutie in the overall.