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World Championships - CM
Verona, Italy, September 27-October 3, 2004
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Race 10 - Sunday October 3 : Road Race - Elite Men, 265.5km
Course description
Similar to the Verona World's of five years past, the 2004 road circuit is one and a half kilometres shorter at 14.75 kilometres, tougher with more ascensions of the Torricelle climb, and in all cases bar the Under 23 men, a longer race overall.
With the start/finish at the Piazza Brā, the pletone head in a northerly direction for three kilometres of flat before the start of the 3.1 kilometre-long Torricelle climb that begins from the Viale dei Colli. The final part of the Torricelle is the hardest, where the Viale dei Colli turns to the Via Santa Giuliana 700 metres from the top, marking the 'Cima Coppi' (highest point of the race).
Cresting the Torricelle with mouths wide open and gasping for air (km 6.1), riders then swoop down the twisty street bearing the same name at breakneck speed for just over four and a half kilometres before two 90-degree right-handers in close succession, the first coming at km 10.7 at the intersection of Vie Caroto and Cipolla. (Definitely a place to grab something to eat, with streets named after carrots and onions... )
Hopefully something a little more digestible awaits with the rifornimento (feed station) at km 12.3, before riders cross the Ponte Aleardi bridge and execute a large 'U' that brings them back along the finishing straight of the Corso Porta Nuova.
Road map
