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Mont Ventoux
Photo ©: Sirotti

39th Tirreno - Adriatico - 2.HC

Italy, March 10-16, 2004

Main Page    Stage details    Results    Next Stage

Stage 1 - March 10: Sabaudia - Sabaudia, 160 km

Petacchi strikes again

Alessandro Petacchi triumphs
Photo ©: Sirotti

Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) has taken his third victory of the season by winning the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, which started and finished in Sabaudia. The Italian was the quickest in the bunch sprint, beating German pair Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) and Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) at the end of the 160 km stage.

"In the final 400 metres, even though I thought it was early, I told Trenti to jump," said Petacchi of his sprint. "I was afraid of remaining boxed in and therefore I preferred to start from a bit longer out. It was a risk because the finish was slightly uphill. The last 50 metres I bogged down a little, but I had a good advantage and there were no problems.

"In the past few days, many wanted to see the Fassa Bortolo train in full flight and I say that it couldn't have happened better. I am also happy for my teammates who definitely understood that riders of their calibre should not be afraid of anything."

How it unfolded

Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros)
Photo ©: Sirotti

160 riders started the 39th Tirreno-Adriatico shortly before 11:00am in Sabaudia, on the west coast of Italy. After the first attack was made by Leonardo Giordani (De Nardi) at km 15, a counter attack with Médéric Clain (Cofidis), Cédric Hervé (Crédit Agricole), Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano (Liberty Seguros), Ronald Mutsaars (Rabobank), Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval), Mauro Gerosa (Vini Caldirola) and Juan Antonio Flecha (Fassa Bortolo). After an hour of racing, the eight leaders had an advantage of 4'05 over the sluggish peloton.

Saeco and Lampre took over the pace making in the peloton and did not want to let the break get too far in front. After climbing the day's only GPM at Sezze (km 63), the break's advantage had dropped to 3'12 over the peloton, which had picked up its speed. Bertogliati won the climb ahead of Hervé and Clain, thus taking the mountains jersey for the day.

At the sprint in Priverno (km 82.9), Flecha crossed the line first ahead of Hervé, Bertogliati and Clain, but the peloton was getting closer and was just 2'25" behind the break. However, after the feed zone, the lead crept up to 4'18 with 60 km of racing to go.

Gerolsteiner came to the front to help Saeco, and the gap began to fall again. In front, Mauro Gerosa got itchy feet just before the next sprint at Terracina (km 113) and attacked. He was caught, and Flecha won again ahead of Mutsaars, Hervé and Clain. Quick.Step-Davitamon came to the front of the peloton to help the chase, and the break's lead gradually diminished.

 

T-Mobile and Gerolsteiner
Photo ©: Sirotti

The sprint at Badino (km 124) was won by Gerosa in front of Hervé, with the peloton at 2'18 and closing. By the time they hit the three 6 km finishing circuits, the bunch was in full flight and the break was finally absorbed on the second lap. The last lap was raced at an incredible 55.85 km/h as the sprinters teams wound it up to put their men in front. In the end it was Petacchi taking a comfortable win over Zabel, Hondo, Pagliarini and Zanini, with the stage run at an average speed of 40.76 km/h.

Photography

Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti

Images by Olympia Photo

Results

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                       3.55.31 (40.761 km/h)
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                       
3 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                      
4 Luciano Pagliarini Mendonca (Bra) Lampre                             
5 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon                            
6 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) De Nardi                                      
7 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                 
8 Stuart O'grady (Aus) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone                
9 Dario Pieri (Ita) Saeco                                              
10 Julian Dean (NZl) Credit Agricole                                   
11 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank                                   
12 Grégory Rast (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                           
13 Mauro Zinetti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie              
14 Lilian Jegou (Fra) Credit Agricole                                  
15 Marco Zanotti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie              
16 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                      
17 Graziano Gasparre (Ita) De Nardi                                    
18 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon                            
19 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                                 
20 Alexandre Usov (Blr) Phonak Hearing Systems                         
21 Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie         
22 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Alessio-Bianchi                              
23 Igor Astarloa (Spa) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone                
24 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Liberty Seguros                           
25 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                            
26 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Liberty Seguros                              
27 Ludo Dierckxssens (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                     
28 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie           
29 Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                     
30 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Lampre                                         
31 Stefan Van Dijck (Ned) Lotto-Domo                                   
32 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Saeco                                         
33 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone    
34 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                         
35 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                      
36 Serguei Gontchar (Ukr) De Nardi                                       
37 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                     
38 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Saunier Duval-Prodir                             
39 Andrus Aug (Est) Domina Vacanze                                     
40 Michael Skelde (Den) Alessio-Bianchi                                
41 Piotr Wadecki (Pol) Lotto-Domo                                      
42 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                   
43 Guido Trenti (USA) Fassa Bortolo                                    
44 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Alessio-Bianchi                                 
45 Rubens Lobato Elvire (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                     
46 Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                 
47 Cédric Herve (Fra) Credit Agricole                                  
48 Marcell Strauss (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                  
49 Paolo Bossoni (Ita) Lampre                                          
50 Romans Vainsteins (Lat) Lampre                                      
51 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   
52 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   
53 Andrej Hauptman (Slo) Lampre                                        
54 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems                           
55 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Credit Agricole                             
56 Alexandre Naulleau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                     
57 Oskar Camenzind (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                        
58 Michael Albasini (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                       
59 Juan Antoinio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Fassa Bortolo                   
60 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                    
61 Robert Bartko (Ger) Rabobank                                        
62 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile Team                                  
63 Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres           
64 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                                 
65 Leif Hoste (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                         
66 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                 
67 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                  
68 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank                                      
69 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                 
70 Luca Paolini (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon                             
71 Marco Milesi (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie               
72 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco                                          
73 Roberto Sgambelluri (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie        
74 Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Domina Vacanze                               
75 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                
76 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                          
77 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                    
78 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole                           
79 René Andrle (Cze) Liberty Seguros                                   
80 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Rabobank                                      
81 Guillermo Bongiorno (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                 
82 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Lampre                                         
83 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros                                    
84 Mauro Gerosa (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie               
85 Rafael Diaz Justo (Spa) Liberty Seguros                             
86 Martin Derganc (Slo) Domina Vacanze                                 
87 Jan Schaffrath (Ger) T-Mobile Team                                  
88 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                     
89 Geert Van Bondt (Bel) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                       
90 Daniele Nardello (Ita) T-Mobile Team                                
91 Andrea Tafi (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                                   
92 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick.Step-Davitamon                           
93 Peter Farazijn (Bel) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone               
94 Serge Baguet (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                       
95 Rony Martias (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                           
96 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                   
97 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                     
98 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                   
99 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                     
100 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                 
101 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                             
102 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Saeco                                      
103 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres                      
104 Massimo Strazzer (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir                        
105 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi                              
106 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              
107 Médéric Clain (Fra) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone               
108 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre                                    
109 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                     
110 Sven Montgomery (Swi) Gerolsteiner                                 
111 Carlos Barredo Llamazales (Spa) Liberty Seguros                    
112 Eugeni Petrov (Rus) Saeco                                          
113 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank                                        
114 Servais Knaven (Ned) Quick.Step-Davitamon                          
115 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank                                           
116 Johan Museeuw (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon                           
117 Stéphane Auge (Fra) Credit Agricole                                
118 Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                   
119 Vladimir Duma (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                        
120 Christophe Kern (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                       
121 Guido Trentin (Ita) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone               
122 Devis Miorin (Ita) De Nardi                                        
123 Ronald Mutsaars (Ned) Rabobank                                     
124 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank                                       
125 Michele Gobbi (Ita) De Nardi                                       
126 Mickael Pichon (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                        
127 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                       
128 Eric Leblacher (Fra) Credit Agricole                               
129 Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                        
130 Ruggero Borghi (Ita) De Nardi                                      
131 Laszio Bodrogi (Hun) Quick.Step-Davitamon                          
132 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie              
133 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 
134 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                        
135 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                     
136 Peter Van Petegem (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                 
137 Sergio Barbero (Ita) Lampre                                        
138 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                      
139 Massimiliano Lelli (Ita) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone          
140 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco                                 
141 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Lotto-Domo                                  
142 Igor Gonzalez De Galdeano (Spa) Liberty Seguros                    
143 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                       
144 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick.Step-Davitamon                             
145 Timothy Johnson (USA) Saunier Duval-Prodir                         
146 Igor Pugaci (Mda) De Nardi                                         
147 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                             0.23
148 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco                                       
149 Mario Scirea (Ita) Domina Vacanze                              0.25
150 Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Domina Vacanze                           
151 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval-Prodir                  0.51
152 Uwe Hardter (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                 1.01
153 Jesus Hernandez (Spa) Liberty Seguros                              
154 Jaun Josè Cobo Acebo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                    
155 Jacky Durand (Fra) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago                         
156 Janek Tombak (Est) Cofidis, le credit par Telephone                
157 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Brioches La Boulangere                1.45
158 Leonardo Giordani (Ita) De Nardi                               2.14
159 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Saeco                                 2.18
160 Damien Nazon (Fra) Credit Agricole