1997 Results
Past Winners
Complete Starting List
PreviewThe 78th edition of the cycling classic Paris-Brussels on Saturday will be a duel between the Belgians and the Italians, who make up the majority of the 160 riders who will leave Soissons, for the 256.2 kms journey to Brussels.20 teams will be at the start for this end of season race, one of the oldest on the calendar, that has suffered since the Vuelta a Espana has been moved to September. 7 of the teams are Italian - Mapei, Asics, Polti, Riso Scotti-MG, Ballan, Brescialat-Liquigas and Cantina Tollo) and 8 are Belgian - including Lotto-Mobistar, Vlaanderen 2002, and Collstrop. La Française des Jeux, Festina, Rabobank, Gerolsteiner and Home Jack and Jones make up the rest. Mapei will be with Johan Museeuw, victim of a fractured left patella in April during Paris-Roubaix, who made an effective return to racing at the Circuit Mandel-Lys-Escaut in Belgium last weekend. To help Museeuw, the organisers have sought a strong participation of his Italian teammates like Andrea Tafi (winner in 1996 in front of Museeuw and 3rd last year), Franco Ballerini, and Stefano Zanini. Other riders who have entered include Michele Bartoli (Asics), Fabio Baldato (Riso Scotti-MG), Davide Rebellin (Polti), Nicola Minali (Riso Scotti-MG). The Belgian riders who are fancied include the all-rounders Tom Steels (Mapei) and Jo Planckaert (Lotto), and Axel Merckx (Polti). Race ReportMarco Magnani wasn't allowed to start in Paris-Bruxelles. He failed a blood test and had a hematocriet level in excess of 50 percent.Italian Stefano Zanini (Mapei) chalked up a 9th Italian victory in this race, the third in a row after Andrea Tafi and Alessandro Bertolini, when he won the 78th edition of the classic race Paris-Bruxelles (256.2 kms), which was dominated climbers. Nicknamed "The Hercules from Varese" for his athletic qualities, Zanini attacked strongly to win by 3 seconds from his compatriat Mirko Celestino, with Michele Bartoli taking 3rd, just in front of Emmanuel Magnien. All three riders were given same time. The quartet lead the race after a decisive attack over Mont Saint-Roch, a cobbled hill which came at the 192 kms mark and constituted the main difficulty of the day. After several earlier attempts in the race to attack saw substantial shuffling in the peloton, two groups of around 30 riders crossed the border into Belgium (at 140 kms). The Italian Champion Andrea Tafi tentatively attacked at this point and built up a lead of around 25 seconds. He was caught before the main climb. 18 riders then moved away from the lead group going up to the Mont Saint-Roch. A finer selection came when the final 4 attacked hard over the hill and built up a good lead despite the attempts to counter attack. The 4 riders then went out to a lead of 2.12 after they went over Keperenberg (at 236 kms), the 5th and second last difficulty but from then they saw their lead being reduced quickly. Zanini told the assembled press later: "This win, which I dedicate to my family, is a good springboard for selection in the 'squadra azzurra' for the World Championships in Valkenburg in a month's time, especially after my stomach troubles and fever after the Grand Prix Suisse. I now have great confidence in Mapei and especially since our manager Patrick Lefevere knows these Belgian races very well." It was Zanini's second win for the season, the first being the 3rd stage of La Panne. He also won the Amstel Gold Race in 1996. Soissons - Brussels, 256.2 kms:1. Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 5.48.00 2. Mirko Celestino (Ita) Team Polti 0.03 3. Michele Bartoli (Ita) Asics 0.03 4. Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux 0.03 5. Franco Ballerini (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 1.16 6. Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 1.32 7. Fabio Sacci (Ita) Team Polti 1.32 8. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi 1.32 9. Germano Pierdomenico (Ita) Cantina Tollo 1.49 10. Adriano Baffi (Ita) Ballan 1.49 11. Brian Dalgaard (Den) Spar 12. Tom Desmet (Bel) Collstrop 13. Danny Nelissen (Ned) Team Home Jack and Jones 14. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) Mapei-Bricobi 15. Erwin Thijs (Bel) Vlaanderen 2002 16. Michel Van Haecke (Bel) Ipso 17. Luca Scinto (Ita) Asics 18. Jaime Hernandez (Spa) Festina 19. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Asics 20. Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Mobistar 1.49 Started: 162 Finished: 26 Complete Starting ListMapei Lotto-Mobistar Asics-CGA 1-Tom STEELS 11-Jo PLANCKAERT 21-Michele BARTOLI 2-Andrea TAFI 12-Peter FARAZIJN 22-Fabio ROSCIOLI 3-Franco BALLERINI 13-Christophe DETILLOUX 23-Paolo BETTINI 4-Wilfried PEETERS 14-Wim FEYS 24-Luca SCINTO 5-Bart LEYSEN 15-Fabian DEWAELE 25-David TANI 6-Johan MUSSEEUW 16-Rik VERBRUGGHE 26-Filippo SIMEONI 7-Daniele NARDELLO 17-Paul VAN HYFTE 27-Aleksandr SHEFER 8-Stefano ZANINI 18-Gert VERHEYEN 28-Kurt-Asle ARVESEN * Spar-RDM Team Polti La Française des Jeux 31-Rik CLAEYS 41-Rossano BRASI 51-Yevgeniy BERZIN 32-Benny HOEDEMAKERS * 42-Luc LEBLANC 52-Frederic GUESDON 33-Geert OMLOOP 43-Mirko CELESTINO 53-Stéphane HEULOT 34-Brian DALGAARD 44-Fabio SACCHI 54-Franck PERQUE 35-Michel CORNELISSE 45-Leonardo GUIDI 55-Emmanuel MAGNIEN 36-Rik VAN SLYCKE 46-Enrico CASSANI 56-Chris HORNER 37-Koen VAN DE VELDE * 47-Davide REBELLIN 57-Christophe MENGIN 38- nobody 48-Silvio MARTINELLO 58-Andrea PERON Vlaanderen 2002 Riso Scotti Rabobank 61-Kristof TROUVE 71-Fabio BALDATO 81-Maarten DEN BAKKER 62-Johan VERSTREPEN 72-Ermanno BRIGNOLI 82-Jan BOVEN 63-Kris GERITS 73-Andrea BROGNARA 83-Richard GROENENDAAL 64-Nico RENDERS 74-Bruno CENGHIALTA 84-Adri VAN DER POEL 65-Erwin THIJS 75-Nicola MINALI 85-Danny JONASSON 66-Jarno VAN FRACHEM 76-Moreno DI BIASE 86-Patrick JONKER 67-Kurt VAN LANCKER 77-Alessandro SPEZIALETTI 87-Jans KOERTS 68-Karel VEREECKE 78-Ondrej SOSENKA * 88- nobody Palmans-Ideal Ballan Festina 91-Frank CORVERS 101-Gabriele COLOMBO 111-Patrice HALGAND 92-Carlo BOMANS 102-Aleksandr GONCHENKOV 112-Fabian JEKER 93-Frank HOJ 103-Endrio LEONI 113-Bruno BOSCARDIN 94-Hans DECLERCQ 104-Stefano CATTAI 114-Wladimir BELLI 95-Johan DE GEYTER 105-Adriano BAFFI 115-André KORFF 96-Karl PAUWELS 106-Nicola LODA 116-Laurent LEFEVRE 97-Gianni RIVERA * 107-Rodolfo ONGARATO 117-Armin MEIER 98-Gert VANDERAERDEN 108-Matteo TOSATTO 118-Jaime HERNANDEZ Home Market - RDM Team Home Jack & Jones Brescialat-Liquigas 121-Sebastien DEMARBAIX 131-René JORGENSEN 141-Antonio FIGURA 122-Ludovic CAPELLE 132-Arvis PIZIKS 142-Ellis RASTELLI 123-Ronny ASSEZ 133-Marc Strange JACOBSEN 143-Simone BERTOLETTI 124-Jurgen DEBUYSSCHERE 134-Danny NELISSEN 144-Marzio BRUSEGHIN 125-Jurgen LANDRIE * 135- nobody 145-Marco DELLA VEDOVA 126-Jerome LAVEUR-PEDOUX 136-Juris SILOVS 146-Claudio CAMIN 127-Danny SWINNEN * 137-Michael Steen NIELSEN 147-Mauro BANFI 128-Gregory SCHOELENS 138-Mickaël ROSBORG 148-Enrico ZAINA Collstrop IPSO Tönissteiner-Colnago 151-Tony BRACKE 161-Oleg PANKOV 171-Franky DE BUYST 152-Danny BAEYENS 162-Michel VAN HAECKE 172-Hans DE MEESTER 153-Filip VEREECKE 163-Koen BECKMAN 173-Eddy TORREKENS 154-Bart EVERAERT * 164-Andy DE SMET 174-Jan HORDIJK 155-Erik DE CLERCQ 165-Stéphane HENNEBERT 175-Paul HERIJGERS 156-Steven DE NEEF 166-Bart HEIREWEGH 176-Masahiko MIFUNE 157-Dimitri FOFONOV * 167-Pauly BURKE * 177-Nicolas COUDRAY 158-Tom DESMET 168-Darius STROLE * 178-Davy DELME Team Gerolsteiner Cantina Tollo Team EC Bayer-Worringen 181-Frank ACKERMANS 191-Stefano COLAGE 201-Thomas BÖCKMANN 182-Raymond MEIJS 192-Giorgio FELIZIANI * 202-Boris GODO 183-Björn GLASNER 193-Alessandro BARONTI 203-Patrick KÖHLER 184-Ralf GRABSCH 194-Luca MAZZANTI 204-Jan RICHTER 185-Sascha HENRIX 195-Germano PIERDOMENICO 205-Holger SIEVERS 186-Wolfgang OSCHWALD 196-Paolo VALOTI 206-Lars TEUTENBERG 187-Michael SCHLICKAU 197-Marco MAGNANI ** 207-Lars WACKERNAGEL 188-Dirk SCHUMANN 198- nobody 208-Roger TANNER Notes: * Stagiaires ** Number 197 Marco Magnani did not start. UCI control early in the morning for several teams (Rabobank, Asics, Vlaanderen 2002, Ballan and Cantina Tollo). Only Magnani was over the maximum authorized. Complete starting list from Daniel Schamps, Paris Past Winners1906 A. Dunlop (Fra) 1907 Gusrave Garrigou (Fra) 1908 Lucien Petit-Breton (Fra) 1909 Francois Faber (Lux) 1910 Maurice Brocco (Fra) 1911 Octave Lapize (Fra) 1912 Octave Lapize (Fra) 1913 Octave Lapize (Fra) 1914 Louis Mottiat (Bel) 1919 Alexis Michiels (Bel) 1920 Henri Pelissier (Fra) 1921 Robert Raboul (Fra) 1922 Felix Sellier (Bel) 1923 Felix Sellier (Bel) 1924 Felix Sellier (Bel) 1925 Gerard Debaets (Bel) 1926 Denis Verschueren (Bel) 1927 Nicolas Frantz (Lux) 1928 Georges Ronsse (Bel) 1929 Pe Verhaegen (Bel) 1930 Ernest Mottard (Bel) 1931 Jean Aerts (Bel) 1932 Julien Vervaecke (Bel) 1933 Albert Barthelemy (Fra) 1934 Frans Bonduel (Bel) 1935 Edgard De Caluwe (Bel) 1936 Eloi Meulenberg (Bel) 1937 Albert Beckaert (Bel) 1938 Marcel Kint (Bel) 1939 Frans Bonduel (Bel) 1946 Alberic Schotte (Bel) 1947 Ernest Sterckx (Bel) 1948 Lode Poels (Bel) 1949 Maurice Diot (Fra) 1950 Rik Van Steenbergen (Bel) 1951 Jean Gueguen (Fra) 1952 Alberic Schotte (Bel) 1953 Loretto Petrucci (Ita) 1954 Marcel Hendrickx (Bel) 1955 Marcel Hendrickx (Bel) 1956 Rik Van Looy (Bel) 1957 Leon Van Daele (Bel) 1958 Rik Van Looy (Bel) 1959 Frans Schoubben (Bel) 1960 Pierre Everaert (Bel) 1961 Pino Cerami (Bel) 1962 Joseph Wouters (Bel) 1963 Jean Stablinski (Fra) 1964 Georges Van Coningsloo (Bel) 1965 Edward Sels (Bel) 1966 Felice Gimondi (Ita) 1973 Eddy Merckx (Bel) 1974 Marc Demeyer (Bel) 1975 Freddy Maertens (Bel) 1976 Felice Gimondi (Ita) 1977 Ludo Peeters (Bel) 1978 Jan Raas (Ned) 1979 Ludo Peeters (Bel) 1980 Pierino Gavazzi (Ita) 1981 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel) 1982 Jacques Hanegraaf (Ned) 1983 Tommy Priem (Swe) 1984 Eric Vanderaerden (Bel) 1985 Adri Van der Poel (Ned) 1986 Guido Bontempi (Ita) 1987 Wim Arras (Bel) 1988 Rolf Gölz (Ger) 1989 Jelle Nijdam (Ned) 1990 Franco Ballerini (Ita) 1991 Brian Holm (Den) 1992 Rolf Sörensen (Den) 1993 Francis Moreau (Fra) 1994 Rolf Sörensen (Den) 1995 Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) 1996 Andrea Tafi (Ita) 1997 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita)Past Winners by Mario Stiehl, Berlin |