31st Giro Ciclistico d'Italia Internazionale U26 - 2.6

Italy, June 12- 24, 2001

Stage 9 - June 21: Marsico Nuovo-Cetraro Marina, 147 km

Karpatchev surprises everybody

Winning in Cetraro and saving his team's Giro

Andrei Karpatchev, 23 years-old from St. Petersburgh in Russia, won the ninth stage of the Giro d'Italia EliteThe Maserati Synclean rider surprised everybody with an attack 1200m from the finish. He managed to stay clear of the bunch and cross the line with his arms in the air. Sergey Krushevskiy of the Uzbekistan national team finished second two seconds behind, ahead of Alessandro Ballan (Ita, Trevigiani Mapei) at three seconds. Race leader Davide Frattini kept the pink jersey, finishing in fourth place.

The day's stage started calmly with the peloton riding steadily for the first part of the day before a spectacular finish full of attacks around Cetraro.

"I didn't think I'd win today. Yesterday I was struggling on the flat while the day before I was in a break but felt terrible. Things have finally gone right. I was slightly behind on the climb about ten seconds back, but I got back on during the descent. I attacked at 1200m from the finish. Because I'm not well placed in the overall classification I hoped they'd let me go and infact they hesitated a bit. That gave me about 100m which allowed me to make it to the finish."

Before the start of the stage the GS Luigi Maserati Synclean team had considered leaving the Giro after poor results in the previous stages. The great ride by Karpatchev made them change their minds and tomorrow the winner will happily be able to start the tenth stage.

The stage will be totally in the Calabria region from Cetraro Marina to Pizzo Calabro over 144km. The King of the mountaibs sprint just ten kilometres from the finish is the decisive climb of the day.

Winner's Profile: Andrei Karpatchev (Rus) Maserati Synclean)

Andrei Karpatchev was born in St. Peterburgh, Russia on January 2, 1978. He currently lives in San Nicolo' near Piacenza. He's a good rouler and climber, 1.85m high and weighs 71kg.

This is his third season in Italy. his first in the Luigi Maserati Synclean team. Today's win is his first important win of his career. Last year won the overall classification of the Trofeo Scalatore d'Oro.

Comments

Andrei Karpatchev (Rus, Maserati Synclean), Stage winner

"I didn't think I'd win today. Yesterday I was struggling on the flat while the day before I was in a break but felt terrible. Things have finally gone right. After the poor results of the first week, we were thinking about going home. I hope this win makes the team managers change their minds. I was slightly behind on the climb about ten seconds back, but I got back on during the descent. I attacked at 1200m from the finish. Because I'm not well placed in the overall classification I hoped they'd let me go and infact they hesitated a bit. That gave me about 100m which allowed me to make it to the finish."

Davide Frattini (Ita) Sintofarm Feralpi), overall leader

"The stage was relatively quiet even though it was a strange stage looking at the profile. The climb near the finish was difficult but we controlled things pretty well. I thought the stage was going to finish in a sprint but then Karpatchev attacked. We hesitated a bit before chasing him and when we did so it was too late."

Results

1 Andrei Karpatchev (Rus) Maserati Synclean      4.04.37 (40.471 km/h)
2 Sergey Krushevskiy (Uzb)                          0.02 
3 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Trevigiani Mapei          0.03
4 Davide Frattini (Ita) Sintofarm  
5 Giacomo Cariulo (Ita) Casprini Pitti Shoes  
6 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Zalf Euromobil Fior  
7 Vladimir Goussev (Rus)  
8 Balasz Rothmer (Hun) S. Paolo Saeco  
9 Wolodomir Starchik (Ukr) Parolin  
10 Denis Bondarenko (Rus) Resine Ragnoli  
 
General Classification after stage
 
1 Davide Frattini (Ita) Sintofarm               29.30.56
2 Andris Reiss (Lat) Sintofarm                      0.22
3 Denis Bondarenko (Rus) Resine Ragnoli             0.37
4 Sergej Krushevsky (Uzb)                           1.10
5 Francesco Magni (Ita) Eternedile                  1.33
4 Gianluca Cavalli (Ita) Vezza Brunero              1.38
7 Luca Solari (Ita) Sanpellegrino Bottoli           1.40
8 Damiano Giannini (Ita) Pagnoncelli                1.56
9 Emil Arnel (Swe) Podenzano Italfine               2.00
10 Wolodomir Starchik (Ukr) Parolin                 2.39