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83rd Giro d'Italia - GTItaly, May 13 - June 4, 2000 |
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Main Page Results Photos
Prologue - May 13: Vatican, Rome, 4.6 km
Summary
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Jan Hruska won the prologue by a few fractions of a second ahead of one of the main favourites, Paolo Savoldelli. Mario Cipollini's strong ride showed his ambitions to grab the pink leader's jersey via bonus seconds on the early stages.
Ivan Gotti, last year's winner did not reach top 25 but he has never been a top time trialler. Marco Pantani was not able to make it among the top 130 among the 179 riders. One rider was missing. 1994 winner Evgenij Berzin (Mobilvetta) did not pass the blood test.
Erik Dekker, the ITT-specialist, had a flat tyre in the prologue. He lost too much time changing his wheel and came in 177th, 43 seconds behind Hruska.
Vitalicio's Czech comes good
By Gabriella Ekström, cyclingnews.com correspondent
Czech Jan Hruska riding for Spanish team Vitalicio Seguros was one of the favourites for the win before the race had started. Hruska showed that his ability to time trial should not be doubted when he took the lead from early starter Jose Enrique Gutierrez of Kelme-Costa Blanca by six seconds. The 26 years old Spaniard, José Enrique Gutierrez is not to be confused with the much younger U23 TT World Champion José Ivan Gutierrez, who rides for non-participating team ONCE.
The prologue was contested on a pretty tricky course, with a lot of sharp corners close to eachother. The fact that most of the course was cobbled didn't help improve the riders comfort either, and more than one rider was grateful that it did not rain. In fact, some of the bigger Italian names wouldn't still be alive if it had been raining. One of them is Mario Cipollini, who appeared in a bright white body suit, to the amusement of his fans and of course his sponsors. Super Mario had clearly set his target for today. He was to win the prologue, or at least finish so close to the winner that he could take over the much wanted maglia rosa at one of the following stages. We know what kind of pink spectacle to expect if that happens. His ride over the 5 kilometer course was somewhat dangerous as he on more than one occassion threatened to rip the spectators of the sidewalks. He did not make the podium, but his efforts still payed off, and Cipollini will be within four seconds reach of the maglia rosa tomorrow.
Another Italian rider who cared more about results than style was Paolo Savoldelli. The 27 years old Saeco rider did not have a smooth ride at all. His knees were pointing out, and his wheels were sliding all over the cobbles, but still he went on to finish second, less than a second behind Hruska. If his bike had gone straight through the corners instead of all over the place, he would had been the winner, but on the other hand, Paolo Savoldelli did not come to win the prologue.
So what happend to the Italians' fallen hero? Did Marco Pantani appear at least. Yes he did, with his golden ear ring and his goateee, but he looked rather pale and sat quietly as he waited for his start. He messed his chain up about midways during the race, and lost about ten seconds, but he finished 40 seconds down on Jan Hruska in 174th place. Marco Pantani was never much of a prologue rider, and it is not possible to tell if he will survive the three week race, or if he has been out of the action for too long, just by watching the prologue.
He still knows how to attract attention though, and he did not seem less popular with the fans. One thing that is certain is that his presence is appreciated by the journalists and the Italian fans, and therefore it is also good for the race.
The last rider rolling off the podium was last year's winner, the sharp nosed Italian from San Pellegrino, Ivan Gotti. In the name of his victory last year he was carrying the pink leader's jersey, but it didn't lift him above his normal time trial level, instead he just travelled through the stage, waiting for the stages to come that will suit him better.
All the riders were checked and blood tested before the start, and there was one rider who did not pass. The winner of the 1994 edition, Evgeni Berzin, riding for Mobilvetta, was found with a too high hematocrit and was not allowed to start.
"I have been a bit ill, and that might have been what brought my hematocrit up." said Berzin. He continued, "I dont think it is legal to judge me without any kind of proof, but that has already happened and I'm not happy about going home in this condition." Berzin was immedeately fired by his team Mobilvetta.
Results
1 Jan Hruska (Cze) Vitalicio Seguros 5.38 (48.93 km/h) 2 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 3 Bradley McGee (Aus) La Française des Jeux 0.01 4 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 5 José Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.06 6 José Enrique Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 7 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 0.07 8 Mirko Gualdi (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 9 Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 10 Servais Knaven (Ned) Farm Frites 0.08 11 Denis Zanette (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 12 Marco Velo (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 13 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 0.09 14 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 15 William Chann McRae (USA) Mapei-Quick Step 16 Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.10 17 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) Liquigas-Pata 18 Alvaro Gonzalez de Galdeano (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 0.11 19 Simone Bertoletti (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 20 Marcel Duijn (Ned) Rabobank 21 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei-Quick Step 22 Matthew White (Aus) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 23 Dario Pieri (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 24 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 25 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 0.12 26 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 27 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Francaise des Jeux 28 Ludo Dierckxsens (Bel) Lampre-Daikin 0.13 29 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 30 Maximilian Sciandri (GBr) Linda McCartney Racing Team 31 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Polti 32 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 0.14 33 Enrico Zaina (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 34 Candido Barbosa (Por) Banesto 35 Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 36 Tayeb Braikia (Den) Linda McCartney Racing Team 37 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 38 Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Vitalicio Seguros 0.15 39 Sergio Barbero (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 40 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Banesto 41 Enrico Cassani (Ita) Polti 42 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 43 Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) Polti 44 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Saeco-Valli & Valli 45 Axel Merckx (Bel) Mapei-Quick Step 46 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.16 47 Andrea Noè (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 48 Miguel Angel Martin Perdiguero (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 49 Marco Milesi (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 50 Massimo Codol (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 51 Pascal Richard (Swi) Linda McCartney Racing Team 52 Biagio Conte (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 53 Andris Nauduzas (Lat) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 54 Simone Borgheresi (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 55 Grzegorz Gwiazdowski (Pol) La Française des Jeux 0.17 56 Andrea Peron (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 57 Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 58 Daniel Schnider (Swi) La Française des Jeux 0.18 59 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Rabobank 60 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank 61 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 62 Francisco Casagrande (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 0.19 63 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank 64 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 65 Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 66 Jean-Michel Tessier (Fra) La Française des Jeux 67 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 68 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 69 Ivan Basso (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 0.20 70 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 71 Addy Engels (Ned) Rabobank 72 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) La Française des Jeux 73 Ivan Quaranta (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 74 Mario Scirea (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 75 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 76 Riccardo Forconi (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 77 Orlando Sergio Gomes Rodrigues (Por) Banesto 0.21 78 Bart Voskamp (Ned) Polti 79 Ivan Gotti (Ita) Polti 80 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 81 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 82 Coen H. Boerman (Ned) Rabobank 83 Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 84 Niklas Axelsson (Swe) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 85 Yvon Ledanois (Fra) La Française des Jeux 86 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Farm Frites 87 Roberto Conti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 0.22 88 Silvio Martinello (Ita) Polti 89 Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 90 Davide Bramati (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 91 Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Fassa Bortolo 92 Santiago Blanco Gil (Spa) Vitalicio Seguros 93 Hernan Buenahora (Col) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 94 Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre-Daikin 95 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 96 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 97 Mauro Gerosa (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 0.23 98 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Banesto 99 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Vitalicio Seguros 100 Thomas Brozyna (Pol) Banesto 101 Oscar Sevilla Ribera (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 102 Daniele De Paoli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 0.24 103 Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 104 Mauro Zanetti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 105 Eladio Jimenez Sanchez (Spa) Banesto 106 Alessandro Pozzi (Ita) Costa de Almeria 107 Vitali Kokorine (Rus) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 0.25 108 Gianpaolo Mondini (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 109 Michel Lafis (Swe) Farm Frites 110 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Farm Frites 111 Ermanno Brignoli (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 112 Unai Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Banesto 113 Miquel Van Kessel (Ned) Farm Frites 114 Aart Vierhouten (Ned) Rabobank 0.26 115 Cristiano Frattini (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 116 Franck Perque (Fra) La Française des Jeux 117 Graziano Recinella (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 118 Björnar Vestöl (Nor) Linda McCartney Racing Team 119 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col) Vitalicio Seguros 120 Mario Manzoni (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 0.27 121 Pieter Vries (Ned) Farm Frites 122 Filippo Casagrande (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 123 Alessio Girelli (Ita) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 124 Chepe Gonzalez (Col) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 125 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 126 Enrico Degano (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 127 Raul Montana (Col) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 128 Martin Van Steen (Ned) Farm Frites 129 Filippo Baldo (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 0.28 130 Jimmy Casper (Fra) La Française des Jeux 131 Francisco Mancebo Perez (Spa) Banesto 132 Guido Trenti (USA) Cantina Tollo-Regain 133 Jose Manuel Uria Gonzalez (Spa) Polti 0.29 134 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 135 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 136 Félix Cardenas (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 137 Daniel Clavero Sebastian (Spa) Polti 138 Marco Fincato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.30 139 Matthé Pronk (Ned) Rabobank 140 Luis Oran Castaneda Ramos (Col) Vitalicio Seguros 141 Tom Leaper (Aus) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 142 Marco Della Vedova (Ita) Lampre-Daikin 0.31 143 Antonio Varriale (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 144 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Farm Frites 145 Paolo Valoti (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 0.32 146 José Javier Gomez Gonzalo (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 147 Stefano Cattai (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 148 Maurizio De Pasquale (Ita) Linda McCartney Racing Team 149 Matthew Stephens (GB) Linda McCartney Racing Team 150 Massimo Donati (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 151 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Banesto 0.33 152 Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 153 Giuseppe Calcaterra (Ita) Saeco-Valli & Valli 154 Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.34 155 Ciaran Power (Irl) Linda McCartney Racing Team 156 Marco Vergnani (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 0.35 157 Diego Ferrari (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 158 Evgueni Seniouchkine (Blr) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 159 David McKenzie (Aus) Linda McCartney Racing Team 160 Julio Alberto Perez (Mex) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 0.36 161 Luca Cei (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 162 Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) Polti 163 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 164 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Pata 165 Milan Kadlec (Cze) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 0.37 166 Ricardo Ochoa (Spa) Kelme Costa Blanca 0.38 167 Domenico Romano (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Gaerne 0.38 168 Ruggero Borghi (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Sidermec 169 Ruber Albeiro Marin (Col) Nectar-Selle Italia 170 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Cantina Tollo-Regain 0.39 171 Fredy Martinez (Col) Aguardiente Nectar-Selle Italia 172 Juan José De Los Angeles Segui (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.40 173 Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Amica Chips-Tacconi Sport 174 Marco Pantani (Ita) Mercatone Uno-Albacom 175 José Joaquim Castelblanco (Col) Kelme-Costa Blanca 0.41 176 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin 177 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.43 178 Justina Spinelli (USA) Farm Frites 0.45 179 Benjamin Brooks (Aus) Linda McCartney Racing Team 0.51 DNS Evgeni Berzin (Rus) Mobilvetta Design-Rossin (failed HCT test)