62nd Giro dell'Appennino - 1.2

Italy, April 25, 2001

Back to the USSR

The podium
Photo: © Sirotti

Khazakh Alexandre Shefer gave his Alessio team its second win today (or perhaps it was the first) by taking the 62nd edition of the Giro del Apennino. Shefer beat Lithuanian Raimondas Rumsas (Fassa Bortolo) and Ukrainian Sergey Gontchar (Liquigas) in an all "Soviet" finish.

The race saw many notable riders, such as Michele Bartoli, Davide Rebellin, Gilberto Simoni, and Ivan Gotti, finish well off the pace but for different reasons. Davide Rebellin collided with Simoni, with the result that both had to go to hospital for examination. The others simply couldn't match the force of the Soviet three man torpedo.

As the rain fell while the peloton passed through Castellania, Fausto Coppi's home village, a group of 20 escaped. These included Barbero, De Paoli, Kokorine, Missaglia, Simoni, Noé and Buenahora, but the move was brought back in the Ligurean hinterland.

Shefer gets it
Photo: © Sirotti

Then it was the turn of Gontchar to attack near the bottom of the Bocchetta, the most difficult climb of the race. He was joined by Shefer and Rumsas, and the three rode away over the top. However, on the descent, Gontchar fall on a corner and lost his two companions. He quickly remounted, but was unable to chase them down before the finish.

In the sprint, Shefer easily accounted for Rumsas, giving Alessio its 18th win of the season. It was also Shefer's second win as a pro, and the Khazakh is rapidly earning the repuation as a strong man in the mountains.

Results

1 Aleksander Shefer (Kaz) Alessio                    5.14.52 (37.997 km/h)
2 Raimondas Rumsas (Ltu) Fassa Bortolo      
3 Sergey Gontchar (Ukr) Liquigas-Pata                   0.27
4 Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola 1.17
5 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo      
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) Saeco Macchine per Caffe      
7 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Tacconi Sport-Vini Caldirola     
8 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step      
9 Pascal Hervé (Fra) Alexia Alluminio      
10 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio                      2.07
...   
26 Michele Bartoli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step               3.41
29 Ivan Gotti (Ita) Alessio                             6.36