Coppa Sabatini, Cat 1.2

Preview

In fact, 7 riders are already certain to be in the 11 person squad from which the final team of 7 will be chosen. Bartoli, Tafi, Rebellin, Bugno, Scinto, Celestino (today absent) and Bettini. The latter has a small fracture in his left hand but that is not considered to be an impediment for Valkenburg. There is agreement about these riders. But there are 4 other riders that most agree will be in the squad - Zanini, Faresin, Simeoni and Nardello.

Andrea Tafi agrees but would also select Franco Ballerini, his Mapei teammate. This would heavily weight the team with Mapei-Bricobi riders (5). He said: "You should be concerned which team they come from. It is the form that matters and their usefulness in relation to the overall Italian team objective. I would also have Bartoli's teammates Bettini and Simeoni."

Tafi also said: "Today I will also be watching rather than attacking. I won this race last year. I would rather conserve for the Worlds. But if there is a decisive move in the race then I will take part in the attacks."

Bartoli also said he was promising nothing for this race. "I will take the opportunities if they arise. But I will not burn my energy needlessly. My cold? It is nearly gone. After Peccioli I will ride in the Giro d'Emilia and then Vignola. And then I will spend a week in Tuscany with some teammates (Scinto) and then ride Paris-Tours the weekend before the Worlds."

Bartoli is calm and determined and convinced he will make it to the Worlds in top condition. It is probablet that he will use the Giro d'Emilia as a real test before Valkenburg.

Rebellin, a third certainty for the team said: "I don't think I have more to demonstrate to get my ticket to Valkenburg."

Race Report

The first 2/3 of the race was highlighted by the escape of Paluan, Napolitano, Artunghi, Durand, Michaelsen, and McGee. Tafi was also dangerous and managed to drop the watching Asics teammates of Bartoli. The action was very fast and the finale was even better. Around 50 kms from the end a group with Rebellin, Faresin, Gasperoni, Bettini, Rodolfo Ongorato, Pellicioli, Belli, Magnien, Richard and Gontchenkov (the last two being dropped quickly) escaped. Behind them Tafi and Bartoli and their teammates. Bartoli then surprised everyone by attacking from this smaller group around 15 kms from the end. It was a deadly move. Very fast. He jumped from the side of the road and left all his companions in his wake. They did not have time to organise a reply. Only Donati and for a while Roscioli managed to keep his wheel.

The survivors of the top group - Rebellin, Faresin, Gasperoni, Ongorato, Belli, Magnien and Bettini - were not working together but soon realised that unless they increased the tempo Bartoli would bridge the gap too easily. Tafi was also trying to organise the chase of Bartoli. But that was not proving very successful and his group was more than a minute down.

With 5 kms to go, Bartoli (and Donati glued to his wheel) made contact with the leading group. Then the 1 km kite passed and Ongarato chanced his hand. Then Faresin and finally Donati. All of them were run down. The long sprint started with Rebellin making the move and Bartoli and Magnien on his wheel. At the end, it was the Frenchman who proved to be the quickest, followed by Bartoli.

Bartoli said: "I felt good and tried to win. I did not have it in the end because I used a lot of energy chasing them down. Magnien is also very fast. I also have a slight cold still. But I am happy that I am close to my top. Tafi certainly was unable to counter my move. I also think this clarifies the position of the Italian team for the Worlds. Since I will be taking the major responsibility I think that my teammates in Asics - Simeoni, Roscioli, Scinto and Bettini - should be selected. It is clear that they worked hard and efficiently for me. They understand my riding."

And what did Tafi say after a relatively disappointing day? "I tried to answer Bartoli's attack, but nobody gave me a hand. It doesn't amount to anything. It does not change anything."

Peccioli, 205 kms:

 1. Emmanuel Magnien (Fra) La Francaise des Jeux     4.56.33 
 2. Michele Bartoli (Ita) Asics 
 3. Davide Rebellin (Ita) Polti
 4. Massimo Donati (Ita) Saeco
 5. Gianni Faresin (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi			0.10 
 6. Rodolfo Ongarato (Ita) Ballan			0.22 
 7. Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Amore e Vita		0.32 
 8. Paolo Bettini (Ita) Asics				0.37 
 9. Wladimir Belli (Ita) Festina			0.47 
10. Sandro Giacomelli (Ita) Amore e Vita		1.37 
11. Andrea Tafi (Ita) Mapei-Bricobi			1.37 
12. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) Mercatone Uno		1.41 
13. Alberto Elli (Ita) Casino				2.23 
14. Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Asics				2.23 
15. Dario Frigo (Ita) Saeco				2.23

Past Winners

1952	Primo Volpi (Ita)
1953	Primo Volpi (Ita)
1954	Rino Benedetti (Ita)
1955	Angelo Miserocchi (Ita)
1956	Idrio Bui (Ita)
1957	Giambattista Gabelli (Ita)
1958	Giuseppe Pardini (Ita)
1959	Rino Benedetti (Ita)
1960	Graziano Battistini (Ita)
1961	Dino Bruni (Ita)
1962	Giovanni Sabbadin (Ita)
1963	Dino Bruni (Ita)
1964	Italo Zilioli (Ita)
1965	Luciano Armani (Ita)
1966	Franco Bitossi (Ita)
1967	Michele Dancelli (Ita)
1968	Franco Bitossi (Ita)
1969	Romano Tumllereo (Ita)
1970	Gösta Pettersson (Swe)
1971	Roberto Poggiali (Ita)
1972	Antoine Houbrechts (Bel)
1973	Mauro Simonetti (Ita)
1974	Wilmo Franconi (Ita)
1975	Giovanni Battaglin (Ita)
1976	Piero Spinelli (Ita)
1978	Francesco Moser (Ita)
1979	Leonardo Mazzantini (Ita)
1980	Gianbattista Baronchelli (Ita)
1981	Claudio Bortolotto (Ita)
1982	Giuseppe Saronni (Ita)
1983	Moreno Argentin (Ita)
1984	Silvano Contini (Ita)
1985	Marino Amadori (Ita)
1986	Jean-Francois Bernard (Fra)
1987	Gianni Bugno (Ita)
1988	Claudio Corti (Ita)
1989	Maurizio Fondriest (Ita)
1990	Moreno Argentin (Ita)
1991	Franco Chicccioli (Ita)
1992	Stefano Zanini (Ita)
1993	Claudio Chiappucci (Ita)
1994	Maurizio Fondriest (Ita)
1995	Davide Cassani (Ita)
1996	Bjarne Rijs (Den)
1997	Andrea Tafi (Ita)