Nicola Loda (Fassa Bortolo) won the first stage of the Giro della Riviera di Ponente, thereby continuing the winning form of the top team of the 2001 season which had absolutely dominated the Tour of the Mediterranean. Loda's win came at the end of a technical bunch sprint, that saw him edge out German Olaf Pollack (Gerolsteiner) and Alessio's Angelo Furlan.
It was 30 year old Loda's first win in Italy and it came in his ninth season as a pro. "A year ago in Alassio during this race, a crash by Sacchi in one of the final turns messed up my sprint," said Nicola Loda, one of Fassa Bortolo's top gregari. "Today I showed that I could make the winning move...I went real hard in a roundabout, then through two corners where I got a little gap. On the finishing straight I kept my gap and won my first race in Italy."
Loda thanked his motorpacer Felix, "who drives the Vespa during my training sessions. Above all this win is just more motivation for me to keep racing...this year, I hope to be selected to ride for the Italian team in the World Championships in Zolder. If Cipollini and Quaranta are goin to be the captains of the national team, I know I could be a big help to keep the race together for a sprint."
Favourite Ivan Quaranta abandoned today's stage, suffering from tendonitis of the left knee.
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
1 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3.33.33 (38.520 km/h) 2 Olaf Pollack (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio 4 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco Longoni Sport 5 Michel Van Haecke (Bel) Colnago-Landbouwkredit 6 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7 Graeme Brown (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria 8 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Lotto-Adecco 9 Wesley Van Speybroeck (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 10 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step General classification after stage 1 1 Nicola Loda (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3.33.33 (38.520 km/h) 2 Olaf Pollack (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.04 3 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio 0.06 4 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco Longoni Sport 0.10 5 Michel Van Haecke (Bel) Colnago-Landbouwkredit 6 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 7 Graeme Brown (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria 8 Stefan Van Dijk (Ned) Lotto-Adecco 9 Wesley Van Speybroeck (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 10 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step Mountains classification 1 Roberto Lochowski (Ger) Team fakta Courtesy of Frank Rud Jensen