Tour de France 1997, July 5-26

Stage 13, Saint Etienne - L'Alpe d'Huez, 203.5 kms:


  1. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER 		        5.02.42 (avs. 40,336 km/h )
  2. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                         0.47 
  3. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                    1.27 
  4. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                2.27 
  5. Bjarne Riis (Dan) TEL                         2.28 
  6. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                          2.59 
  7. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                           2.59 
  8. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                       2.59 
  9. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                     2.59 
 10. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                    3.22 
 11. Marco Fincato (Ita) ROS                       3.22 
 12. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                       3.25 
 13. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                   3.30 
 14. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                      3.46 
 15. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                   4.14 
 16. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                     4.25 
 17. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                      4.27 
 18. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                    4.27 
 19. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                  4.27 
 20. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                  4.27 
 21. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                        4.27 
 22. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                     4.31 
 23. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                      4.31 
 24. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                    5.09 
 25. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                 5.19 
 26. David Etxebarria (Spa) ONC                    5.24 
 27. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                        5.24 
 28. Jean-Philippe Dojwa (Fra) MUT                 5.24 
 29. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                     5.24 
 30. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                        5.24 
 31. Peter Meinert (Dan) USP                       5.24 
 32. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                     5.24 
 33. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                   5.24 
 34. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                    5.34 
 35. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                        5.34 
 36. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                       5.47 
 37. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                      5.53 
 38. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                     5.53 
 39. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL                 5.53 
 40. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                     5.53 
 41. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP                 6.13 
 42. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                     6.26 
 43. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                       6.34 
 44. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                     6.34 
 45. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                         7.05 
 46. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                      7.05 
 47. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                      7.05 
 48. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                        7.05 
 49. Arturas Kasputis (Lit) CSO                    7.05 
 50. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS               7.05 
 51. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                        7.05 
 52. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                         7.05 
 53. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                      7.05 
 54. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                         7.33 
 55. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                     7.34 
 56. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                    7.44 
 57. Jesper Skibby (Dan) TVM                       7.44 
 58. Zenon Jaskula (Pol) MAP                       7.44 
 59. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                      7.44 
 60. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                       7.44 
 61. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                     8.02 
 62. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                      8.14 
 63. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                    8.57 
 64. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) USP                  9.03 
 65. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                       9.13 
 66. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                           9.13 
 67. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                    9.13 
 68. Rolf Sorensen (Dan) RAB                       9.18 
 69. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                       9.33 
 70. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                   9.36 
 71. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS              10.08 
 72. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                     10.08 
 73. Gerard Rue (Fra) GAN                         10.08 
 74. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                   10.08 
 75. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                     10.08 
 76. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                       10.08 
 77. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                      10.08 
 78. Luc Leblanc (Fra) PLT                        10.35 
 79. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                   10.35 
 80. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                     10.35 
 81. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                       10.35 
 82. Bo Hamburger (Dan) TVM                       10.47 
 83. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                   10.56 
 84. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                    10.56 
 85. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                   10.56 
 86. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                  10.56 
 87. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                      10.56 
 88. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                        10.56 
 89. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                      10.56 
 90. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                  10.56 
 91. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                 11.42 
 92. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                         11.42 
 93. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                  11.42 
 94. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                   11.42 
 95. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                  11.42 
 96. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                 11.42 
 97. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                 11.42 
 98. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                    11.42 
 99. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                      11.42 
100. George Hincapie (USA) USP                    11.42 
101. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                     11.42 
102. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                 11.42 
103. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                     11.42 
104. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                      11.42 
105. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO               11.42 
106. Fabio Baldato (Ita) MAG                      11.42 
107. Dario Frigo (Ita) SAE                        11.42 
108. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                     11.42 
109. Claude Lamour (Fra) MUT                      11.42 
110. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                        11.42 
111. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                     11.42 
112. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                   11.42 
113. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                  12.15 
114. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                     12.18 
115. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                 12.29 
116. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ                12.29 
117. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                    12.29 
118. Cyril Saugrain (Fra) COF                     12.56 
119. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                         12.56 
120. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                 12.56 
121. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                    12.56 
122. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                        13.01 
123. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                      14.09 
124. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                   14.09 
125. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                   14.09 
126. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                    14.09 
127. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                      14.40 
128. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                    15.23 
129. Luca Colombo (Ita) BAT                       18.06 
130. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                      18.06 
131. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                     18.06 
132. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                          18.06 
133. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                      18.06 
134. Laurent Pillon (Fra) MUT                     18.06 
135. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                     18.06 
136. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) SAE                   18.06 
137. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                     18.06 
138. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE                18.06 
139. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                 18.06 
140. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                      18.06 
141. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                    18.06 
142. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                      18.06 
143. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                       18.06 
144. Giusvan Piovaccari (Ita) MER                 18.06 
145. Anthony Morin (Fra) BIG                      18.06 
146. Francesco Frattini (Ita) BAT                 18.06 
147. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                     18.06 
148. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                     18.06 
149. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                     18.06 
150. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                  18.06 
151. Andreo Tchmil (Ukr) LOT                      18.06 
152. Pascal Lance (Fra) BIG                       18.06 
153. Marc Wauters (Bel) LOT                       18.06 
154. Jo Planckaert (Bel) LOT                      18.06 
155. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                    18.06 
156. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                      18.06 
157. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                  18.06 
158. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                   18.06 
159. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                       18.06 
160. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                        18.06 
161. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                          18.06 
162. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                  18.06 
163. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                  18.06 
164. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                  18.06 
165. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                      18.06 
166. Gilles Maignan (Fra) MUT                     18.06 
167. Pascal Lino (Fra) BIG                        18.06 
168. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                     18.30 
169. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                   18.30 
170. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                   18.30 
171. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                   19.16 

Abandoned.

Chris Boardman (G-B) GAN 

GC after Stage 12

  1. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL                      66.26.10  
  2. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES                     6.22 
  3. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER                        8.24 
  4. Bjarne Riis (Dan) TEL                          9.42 
  5. Abraham Olano (Spa) BAN                       10.38 
  6. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE                12.56 
  7. Fernando Escartin (Spa) KEL                   14.36 
  8. Oskar Camenzind (Swi) MAP                     16.59 
  9. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN                  18.32 
 10. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES                      18.46 
 11. Peter Luttenberger (Aut) RAB                  19.47 
 12. Beat Zberg (Swi) MER                          19.59 
 13. Roberto Conti (Ita) MER                       20.48 
 14. Alberto Elli (Ita) CSO                        21.53 
 15. Laurent Madouas (Fra) LOT                     22.10 
 16. Daniele Nardello (Ita) MAP                    22.20 
 17. Cedric Vasseur (Fra) GAN                      25.57 
 18. Marco Fincato (Ita) ROS                       26.08 
 19. Joona Laukka (Fin) FES                        26.25 
 20. Manuel Beltran (Spa) BAN                      27.09 
 21. Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) USP                    27.46 
 22. Frangois Simon (Fra) GAN                      29.07 
 23. Michael Boogerd (Ned) RAB                     30.58 
 24. Pascal Lino (Fra) BIG                         31.35 
 25. Laurent Jalabert (Fra) ONC                    34.29 
 26. Pascal Chanteur (Fra) CSO                     34.31 
 27. Hernan Buenahora (Col) KEL                    37.23 
 28. Christophe Moreau (Fra) FES                   37.59 
 29. Jean-Philippe Dojwa (Fra) MUT                 39.10 
 30. Laurent Roux (Fra) TVM                        39.10 
 31. Marcello Siboni (Ita) MER                     40.20 
 32. Santiago Blanco (Spa) BAN                     40.47 
 33. Stephane Heulot (Fra) FDJ                     42.30 
 34. Kevin Livingston (USA) COF                    42.55 
 35. Massimo Podenzana (Ita) MER                   43.20 
 36. Peter Meinert (Dan) USP                       43.28 
 37. Bobby Julich (USA) COF                        44.37 
 38. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES                    45.17 
 39. Thierry Bourguignon (Fra) BIG                 50.47 
 40. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL                           51.08 
 41. Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) FES                  51.50 
 42. Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) USP                  52.18 
 43. Jose de los Angeles (Spa) KEL                 53.00 
 44. Didier Rous (Fra) FES                         54.00 
 45. Javier Pascual (Spa) KEL                      55.13 
 46. Orlando Rodrigues (Por) BAN                   56.37 
 47. Pascal Herve (Fra) FES                        58.28 
 48. Rolf Aldag (Ger) TEL                          58.30 
 49. Peter Farazijn (Bel) LOT                    1.00.15 
 50. Fabrice Gougot (Fra) CSO                    1.00.17 
 51. Erik Breukink (Ned) RAB                     1.00.47 
 52. Angel Casero (Spa) BAN                      1.02.05 
 53. Jon Odriozola (Spa) BAT                     1.02.42 
 54. Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) SAE                1.05.05 
 55. Georg Totschnig (Aut) TEL                   1.05.49 
 56. David Delrieu (Fra) MUT                     1.09.05 
 57. Benont Salmon (Fra) LOT                     1.10.28 
 58. Oscar Pellicioli (Ita) MER                  1.10.36 
 59. Neil Stephens (Aus) FES                     1.10.41 
 60. Marino Alonso (Spa) BAN                     1.11.06 
 61. Davide Rebellin (Ita) FDJ                   1.12.06 
 62. Bo Hamburger (Dan) TVM                      1.13.06 
 63. Tyler Hamilton (USA) USP                    1.14.18 
 64. Patrick Jonker (Aus) RAB                    1.14.21 
 65. Andrea Tafi (Ita) MAP                       1.15.03 
 66. Mikel Zarrabeitia (Spa) ONC                 1.15.38 
 67. Giuseppe Guerini (Ita) PLT                  1.16.50 
 68. Andrea Peron (Ita) FDJ                      1.17.47 
 69. Zenon Jaskula (Pol) MAP                     1.17.53 
 70. Daniele Sgnaolin (Ita) ROS                  1.18.13 
 71. Miguel Arroyo (Mex) BIG                     1.18.15 
 72. Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) TVM                1.19.02 
 73. Erik Zabel (Ger) TEL                        1.19.02 
 74. Marco Zen (Ita) ROS                         1.19.21 
 75. Frank Vandenbroucke (Bel) MAP               1.19.58 
 76. Christophe Mengin (Fra) FDJ                 1.20.02 
 77. Marty Jemison (USA) USP                     1.22.07 
 78. Maximilian Sciandri (G-B) FDJ               1.22.07 
 79. Alexandre Gontchenkov (Rus) ROS             1.24.54 
 80. Giusvan Piovaccari (Ita) MER                1.25.25 
 81. Arturas Kasputis (Lit) CSO                  1.25.34 
 82. David Etxebarria (Spa) ONC                  1.25.37 
 83. Aitor Garmendia (Spa) ONC                   1.26.16 
 84. Rolf Sorensen (Dan) RAB                     1.26.26 
 85. Giorgio Furlan (Ita) SAE                    1.27.02 
 86. Jose Angel Vidal (Spa) KEL                  1.27.09 
 87. Francisco Benitez (Spa) KEL                 1.28.44 
 88. Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) USP                1.30.09 
 89. Erik Dekker (Ned) RAB                       1.30.36 
 90. Claude Lamour (Fra) MUT                     1.31.10 
 91. Frankie Andreu (USA) COF                    1.31.20 
 92. Jens Heppner (Ger) TEL                      1.33.46 
 93. Bruno Cenghialta (Ita) BAT                  1.33.47 
 94. Jose Luis Arrieta (Spa) BAN                 1.33.51 
 95. Javier Mauleon (Spa) ONC                    1.34.47 
 96. Inigo Cuesta (Spa) ONC                      1.35.30 
 97. Jaime Gonzalez (Col) KEL                    1.35.37 
 98. Luc Leblanc (Fra) PLT                       1.35.44 
 99. Stuart O'Grady (Aus) GAN                    1.36.03 
100. Giuseppe Tartaggia (Ita) BAT                1.36.21 
101. Wilfried Peeters (Bel) MAP                  1.37.42 
102. Henk Vogels (Aus) GAN                       1.39.36 
103. Frederic Moncassin (Fra) GAN                1.40.12 
104. Dominique Rault (Fra) MUT                   1.40.46 
105. Inigo Chaurreau (Spa) PLT                   1.41.26 
106. Robbie McEwen (Aus) RAB                     1.42.08 
107. Nicola Loda (Ita) MAG                       1.42.17 
108. Gerard Rue (Fra) GAN                        1.42.20 
109. Roberto Sierra (Spa) ONC                    1.42.44 
110. Jesper Skibby (Dan) TVM                     1.42.47 
111. Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) SAE               1.42.49 
112. Francisco Cabello (Spa) KEL                 1.43.17 
113. Arnaud Pretot (Fra) GAN                     1.43.28 
114. Marco Artunghi (Ita) MER                    1.43.50 
115. Paul Van Hyfte (Bel) LOT                    1.44.09 
116. Mauro Gianetti (Swi) FDJ                    1.45.49 
117. Anthony Morin (Fra) BIG                     1.46.02 
118. Andreo Tchmil (Ukr) LOT                     1.46.29 
119. George Hincapie (USA) USP                   1.46.32 
120. Nicola Minali (Ita) BAT                     1.46.38 
121. Gerrit De Vries (Ned) PLT                   1.46.44 
122. Jeroen Blijlevens (Ned) TVM                 1.46.55 
123. Johan Museeuw (Bel) MAP                     1.47.03 
124. Rolf Jaermann (Swi) CSO                     1.47.15 
125. Marcelino Garcia (Spa) ONC                  1.47.28 
126. Frederic Guesdon (Fra) FDJ                  1.47.33 
127. Mario Traversoni (Ita) MER                  1.47.54 
128. Flavio Vanzella (Ita) FDJ                   1.47.58 
129. Pascal Lance (Fra) BIG                      1.48.16 
130. Thierry Gouvenou (Fra) BIG                  1.48.30 
131. Servais Knaven (Ned) TVM                    1.48.51 
132. Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) TEL                 1.49.09 
133. Fabio Baldato (Ita) MAG                     1.49.19 
134. Adriano Baffi (Ita) USP                     1.49.41 
135. Mirco Crepaldi (Ita) PLT                    1.49.41 
136. Dario Frigo (Ita) SAE                       1.50.39 
137. Gianluca Valoti (Ita) PLT                   1.50.44 
138. Christophe Rinero (Fra) COF                 1.50.52 
139. Christian Henn (Ger) TEL                    1.50.58 
140. Christophe Agnolutto (Fra) CSO              1.51.11 
141. Laurent Desbiens (Fra) COF                  1.51.21 
142. Peter Van Petegem (Bel) TVM                 1.51.23 
143. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) MAG                   1.52.41 
144. Laurent Genty (Fra) BIG                     1.52.52 
145. Carlo Finco (Ita) MAG                       1.53.22 
146. Tristan Hoffman (Ned) TVM                   1.54.48 
147. Viatcheslav Djavanian (Rus) ROS             1.55.14 
148. Lauri Aus (Est) CSO                         1.55.16 
149. Serguei Outschakov (Ukr) PLT                1.56.45 
150. Luca Scinto (Ita) MAG                       1.57.41 
151. Bart Voskamp (Ned) TVM                      1.58.05 
152. Rossano Brasi (Ita) PLT                     1.58.42 
153. Matteo Tosatto (Ita) MAG                    1.59.08 
154. Cyril Saugrain (Fra) COF                    1.59.17 
155. Pascal Derame (Fra) USP                     1.59.17 
156. Jo Planckaert (Bel) LOT                     2.02.24 
157. Francesco Frattini (Ita) BAT                2.04.15 
158. Marco Saligari (Ita) CSO                    2.04.39 
159. Eros Poli (Ita) GAN                         2.06.44 
160. Marc Wauters (Bel) LOT                      2.07.10 
161. Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) COF                  2.09.52 
162. Philipp Buschor (Swi) SAE                   2.10.04 
163. Torsten Schmidt (Ger) ROS                   2.10.18 
164. Laurent Pillon (Fra) MUT                    2.14.16 
165. Gilles Maignan (Fra) MUT                    2.14.26 
166. Stephane Cueff (Fra) MUT                    2.14.26 
167. Philippe Gaumont (Fra) COF                  2.22.22 
168. Ludovic Auger (Fra) BIG                     2.29.49 
169. Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) SAE                  2.30.37 
170. Gianluca Pierobon (Ita) BAT                 2.30.39 
171. Luca Colombo (Ita) BAT                      2.41.00

KOM

1. Richard Virenque (Fra) FES 299 pts 2. Laurent Brochard (Fra) FES 206 3. Jan Ullrich (Ger) TEL 197 4. Marco Pantani (Ita) MER 174 5. Francesco Casagrande (Ita) SAE 142 6. Pascal Hervi (Fra) FES 102 7. Laurent Dufaux (Swi) FES 94 8. Jose Maria Jimenez (Spa) BAN 75 9. Bjarne Riis (Dan) TEL 72 10. Udo Bolts (Ger) TEL 64

Stage 12 Reports

Marco Pantani looked at his shattered left leg and thought of quitting cycling after he was hit by a car two years ago.

On Saturday, the Italian returned to the top with a superb 13th stage victory at Alpe d'Huez in the Tour de France.

``More than a rebirth, it's a recovery of all the time lost,'' Pantani said after finishing 47 seconds ahead of yellow jersey holder Jan Ullrich of Germany to climb to third overall.

Dubbed The Little Devil after his idol Claudio ``Diavolo'' Chiappucci, Pantani said his second successive Alpe d'Huez victory was a wonderfully emotional moment.

``I saw people crying that I'd never have imagined I would see like that,'' the 27-year-old ardent AC Milan fan from Cesenatico on Italy's Adriatic coast said.

``This is the great present I've made to all those friends who believed the old Pantani could come back.

``This was a more beautiful victory (than the first at Alpe d'Huez in 1995) after a very serious injury. So many things happened in 1995...So much has changed since then but what was the same was the Pantani that crossed the line first.''

Pantani shattered his left shin when he collided with a Jeep going in the opposite direction during the Milan-Turin race in October 1995. He was out of action for 16 months and missed last year's Tour de France.

``Right after (the accident) I thought of quitting. My leg looked a mess,'' Pantani said.

``I started to think about recovering as a person, then I began going out on a bike. But I only thought about quitting for a week.''

The accident followed an earlier one in May 1995 when he injured his knee in a crash with a car during training. He also needed five stitches in a cut on his right eyebrow.

But the same year the Italian, who also suffered collarbone, wrist, instep and shoulder injuries as an amateur between 1985 and 1990, won two stages on the Tour de France.

Pantani said he has some way to go to retain the fitness of 1994 when he was third overall in the Tour de France. That year he also won two stages of the Giro d'Italia.

``The best Pantani, physically, was in 1994. I was better prepared then but less experienced.

``I'm not 100 percent. In 1995 it was a different stage (at Alpe d'Huez). We came to this one fresher,'' said Pantani, who came back in the Milan-San Remo race in March.

``I've been improving over the last few days and my legs are stronger but I've had a throat problem.''

Ideally built for a climber at 1.64 metres and 56 kg, Pantani said he thought he could have ridden even faster on Saturday.

``When you're fitter you can do more or less the same time with far less effort,'' said Pantani, who prepared for the classic by racing in the Tour of Switzerland. ``What came out was more grit and tenacity than legs.''