|
Past Winners
Brief:Mapei-Bricobi rode beautifully to neutralise the stronger Casagrande to give Andrea Tafi his first victory in front of the true Italian "tifosi" since becoming Italian Champion.There were 50,000 enthusiastic spectators watching the race. Andrea Tafi, along with support from Podenzana and the Galletti, thrilled the crowd with aggressive riding all day despite very humid weather conditions and the tough short climb of the Pitoro which they had to ride up 6 times. The major action began at the half-way mark with about 100 kms left to ride. mount to repeat six times. At first, given the distance to go, it looked to be a futile attempt to attack. But it soon became obvious that it was a very smart tactical move by Mapei-Bricobi who wanted to keep it a very fast race to allow for only one clean break at the end. A small group of 16 riders formed at the font - with Mapei-Bricobi dominating (Tafi, Nardello, Ballerini and Di Grande), while the other teams had only single representations. Francisco Casagrande was there for Cofidis and despite his excellent form since the Tour ended knew that the Mapei-Bricobi quartet would be the obstacle. The race then was a series of surges and attacks. Mapei-Bricobi only really concentrated on neutralising Casagrande prior to launching Tafi up the Pitoro for the last time. When he went he showed great power with only Podenzana and Galletti in his wake. The three worked hard while Ballerini was working the block in the pack to penalise Casagrande. The three at the front then had to finesse the finish. Galetti was exhausted at the end, and Podenzana appeared to know that Tafi was going to take the final sprint. Tafi told reporters after the race: I knew I was the fastest rider of the 3 of us. This is my third win for the season after Malaysia and the Nationals. It is a beautiful win for me carrying the tricolor in front of my tifosi. I had a single fear. To be caught by Casagrande who is faster than me at the end. I also was not sure about my form after the Tour. 4 of the top 5 today did not ride the Tour. My recovery has been good. I am now 8th in the UCI classification and I want to do well in the Worlds. I will ride in San Sebastian on Saturday and then in Hamburg." Podenzana was also happy: "I knew that Tafi would be faster in the sprint. I was also suffering from cramps. I worked hard in the breakaway because I knew that in the top group I did not have any support. I had to get it down to a small number to have a chance." And Galetti: "I was spent at the end. This is my best result in my career." Casagrande was not so happy: "Tafi, Podenzana and Galletti were able to get away because Ballerini controlled the bunch perfectly. I have tried to get something happening with Piepoli, who ultimately made no contribution at the end and just sat my wheel." Camaiore, 198 kms:1. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 4.43.25 (41.900) 2. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) Mercatone Uno 3. Alessandro Galletti (Ita) Amore e Vita 4. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Cofidis 0.18 5. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saeco 6. Stefano Colage (Ita) Cantina Tollo 1.41 7. Alessandro Varocchi (Ita) Ros Mary 8. Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Amore e Vita 9. Luca Scinto (Ita) Asics-CGA 1.41 10. Francesco Frattini (Ita) Team Deutsche Telekom 11. Maximilian Sciandri (GB) La Francaise des Jeux 12. Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 13. Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 14. Stefano Faustini (Ita) Vini Caldirola 15. Ruggero Borghi (Ita) Vini Calidrola 16. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 17. Stefano Cattai (Ita) Ballan 18. Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 19. Michele Lattomada (Ita) Scrigno 20. Simone Borgheresi (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 21. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 22. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics 3.36 23. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco-Cannondale 24. Maurizio De Pasquale (Ita) Amore e Vita 25. Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Vini Caldirola 26. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 27. Michele Bartoli (Ita) Asics 3.42 Started: 156 Finished: 75
1966 Bruno Mealli (Ita) 1967 Lucien Dalla-Bona (Ita) 1968 Gianpiero Macchi (Ita) 1969 Ernico Paolini (Ita) 1970 Mauro Simonetti (Ita) 1971 Eddy Merckx (Ita) 1972 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel) 1973 Emilio-M. Rodriguez (Col) 1974 Giacinto Santambroggio (Ita) 1975 Francesco Moser (Ita) 1976 Walter Riccomi (Ita) 1977 Franco Bitossi (Ita) 199 kms at 4.59.00 1979 Giuseppe Saronni (Ita) 199 kms at 4.58.00 1980 Silvano Contini (Ita) 1981 Giuseppe Saronni (Ita) 209 kms at 5.03.00 1982 Jean-Marie Wampers (Bel) 210 kms at 5.10.00 1983 Moreno Argentin (Ita) 263 kms at 6.21.58 1984 Roberto Ceruti (Ita) 218 kms at 5.22.52 1985 Alberto Volpi (Ita) 1986 Claudio Corti (Ita) 5.02.00 1987 Gianni Bugno (Ita) 229 kms at 5.00.35 1988 Rolf Sörensen (Den) 233 kms at 5.41.00 1989 Franco Ballerini (Ita) 1990 Giorgio Furlan (Ita) 253 kms at 6.14.07 1991 Gianni Faresin (Ita) 259 kms at 4.57.00 1992 Davide Cassani (Ita) 209 kms at 5.06.25 1993 Massimo Podenzana (Ita) 209 kms at 4.55.55 1994 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) 209 kms at 5.17.32 1995 Luca Scinto (Ita) 209 kms at 4.52.53 1996 Alberto Elli (Ita) 209.5 kms at 4.46.42 1997 Alexander Gontschenkov (R) 198.2 kms at 4.30.41Past Winners from Mario Stiehl, Berlin |