49th Coppa Placci, Cat 1.1

1998 Results     Past Winners Report: 25-year old Mirko Celestino from Team Polti won this year's edition by cms from Sergio Barbero having attacked just 150 metres from the end. Third and 4th places went to Vini Caldirola teammates Francisco Casagrande and Massimo Donati, who with a km to go thought they would have the race in their pocket. Celestino said afterwards: "I was feeling good and the team sacrificed themselves for me. I heard Casagrande say to Donati something that led me to believe he did not have the strength to attack and was relying on a finish to win. Barbero attacked in the last 150 metres. I got his wheel and in the last 50 metres I went down a gear to have more power for the final sprint." Team Polti manager Gianluigi Stanga said: "We saw Mirko's talent when he was 17 years old and he joined our junior team. He has grown up with the team and it is like a family. This is the type of satisfaction that cycling can provide those involved." In 1992, Celestino went to Almè to live with Antonio Bevilacqua, the former Italian professional. A group of 14 juniors were under his guidance with the Gatorade amateur squad. His first passions were soccer and baseball. He has certainly developed since then. He met his fiance in Almè and they are building a villa there. She is a former women's racer. Celestino said: "My career took a positive turn when I won the Under-23 European title in 1995. Now I am going very well. I am aiming for a place in the Italian team for the worlds and to be there at the end of the road race. I feel I am the third best Italian at present behind Davide Rebellin and Casagrande." Italian team coach Antonio Fusi said: "All riders are being observed at present. This performance though have shown the athletic qualities of the rider with an average speed of nearly 43." The first hour of the race saw the AVS around 45 in very wet conditions. At km 40, just before Forlì, several riders were involved in the first serious move - Mancini, Panetta, Hvastija and Muller went away and gained a lead of 3.30. The peloton was controlled by Casagrande's Vini Caldirola teammaters and they eventually closed down the break. Mancini was the last to be reeled in about 35 kms from the end. As they came into San Marino, Sciandri and Barbero attacked. Casagrande jumped out of the peloton alone in pursuit and as he caught them he accelerated. At the beginning of the first lap of the Monte Titano, Casagrande was alone. A chase group of 18 was behind him and they were 50 seconds down. A succession of short attacks came from that group. Siboni and Sciandri were very active and with 8 kms to go the peloton was back together. With 3 kms to go, Donati attacked hoping to set up Casagrande but Celestino and Barbero marked his move closely. Casagrande then joined them in the front. It was Celestino who outsmarted them all at the end. Imola - San Marino, 200 kms: AVS: 42.492 km/h 1. Mirko Celestino (Ita) Team Polti 4.43.15 2. Sergio Barbero (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 3. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Vini Caldirola 0.03 4. Massimo Donati (Ita) Vini Caldirola 0.10 5. Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 0.25 6. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Ballan-Alessio 0.15 7. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia 0.15 8. Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia 0.18 9. Marco Velo (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 0.25 10. Felice Puttini (Swi) Costa Almeria-Amica Chips 0.28 11. Marcello Siboni (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 0.38 12. Maximilian Sciandri (GB) La Française des Jeux 0.47 13. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) Team Polti 0.58 14. Benoît Salmon (Fra) Casino 1.03 15. Marco Bellini (Ita) Selle Italia 1.05 16. Luca Belluomini (Ita) Navigare-Gaerne 1.07 17. Roberto Conti (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Bianchi 1.07 18. Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia 1.58 19. Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Alexia 2.56 Started: 137 Finished: 57 Past Winners There was no event for the years 1929-45, 1947 and 1951-61. 1923 Enea Dal Fiume (Ita) 1924 Emilio Petiva (Ita) 1925 Emilio Petiva (Ita) 1926 Ermano Vallazza (Ita) 1927 Aleardo Simoni (Ita) 1928 Pietro Fossati (Ita) 1946 Nedo Logli (Ita) 1948 Luigi Casola (Ita) 1949 Renzo Soldani (Ita) 1950 Giacomo Zampieri (Ita) 1962 Franco Cribiori (Ita) 1963 Ercole Baldini (Ita) 1964 Guido De Rosso (Ita) 1965 Michele Dancelli (Ita) 1966 Felice Gimondi (Ita) 1967 Luciano Armani (Ita) 1969 Roberto Ballini (Ita) 1970 Ugo Colombo (Ita) 1971 Ugo Colombo (Ita) 1972 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel) 1973 Italo Zilioli (Ita) 1974 Roger De Vlaeminck (Bel) 1975 Francesco Moser (Ita) 1976 Fausto Bertoglio (Ita) 1977 Marino Basso (Ita) 1978 Gianbattista Baronchelli (Ita) 1979 Giovanni Battaglin (Ita) 1980 Giovanni Battaglin (Ita) 1981 Alfio Vandi (Ita) 1982 Alfredo Chinetti (Ita) 1983 Mario Amadori (Ita) 1984 Acacio Da Silva (P) 1985 Silvano Contini (Ita) 1986 Guido Bontempi (Ita) 1987 Massimo Ghirotto (Ita) 1988 Pierino Gavazzi (Ita) 1989 Claudio Chiappucci (Ita) 1990 Mauro Gianetti (Swi) 1991 Laurent Dufaux (Swi) 1992 Johan Bruyneel (Bel) 1993 Maximilian Sciandri (Ita) 1994 Angelo Lecchi (Ita) 1995 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) 1996 Andrea Tafi (Ita) 1997 Beat Zberg (Swi) 1998 Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Vini Caldirola Past Winners by Mario Stiehl, Berlin