Filippo
Pozzato (Quick Step) has won Milan-San Remo. The Italian took a bunch sprint to
win the 294-km classic in 6:29:40. Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) finished second,
and Luca Paolini (Liquigas) took third.
Pozzato takes the win ahead of Petacchi. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
The
racing began early. At 27
km, Daniele Contrini (LPR), Unai Etxebarria (Euskaltel),
Staf Scheirlinckx (Cofidis), Ludovic Auger (Francaise des Jeux), Kjell Carlstrom
(Liquigas), Mirko Allegrini and Sergei Matveyev (both from Panaria), and
Giampaolo Cheula (Barloworld) attacked. The octet ran up a 10:30 lead by
95
km.
Quick
Step began to chase, and eventually, Milram and Credit Agricole took over at the
front. With 52
km remaining, the break’s advantage was down to 3:00.
With
50 km
left, Allegrini attacked and Etxebarria joined him. Eighteen km later, the
leaders had 0:15 on the bunch, which had just absorbed the other six members of
the break. Five km later, at the base of the Cipressa, the gruppo was compatto.
Peter
Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) attacked, Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas) joined him.
Wrolich’s teammate Andrea Moletta countered, and Frank Schleck (CSC) followed.
Schleck was dropped, but Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC), Luca Mazzanti (Panaria), and
Pozzato caught Moletta. Pozzato led Quick Steppers Paolo Bettini and Tom Boonen
up the ascent, and the bunch was reduced to perhaps 70 riders.
At
the base of the descent, Koos Moerenhout (Phonak) attacked, and Guido Trenti
(Quick Step), Schleck, and Vicente Reynes (Caisse d’Epargne) followed. Clearly,
Trenti was policing the break for Boonen. Nonetheless, the quartet led the bunch
by 0:25 with 15
km remaining.
Milram,
Lampre, and Gerolsteiner, which were not represented in the break, chased. At
the base of the Poggio, the day’s final climb, the bunch led the break by 0:18.
Rabobank powered to the front. With eight km left, Schleck attacked his
companions and led them by 0:10 with seven km remaining. The peloton was at
0:15.
Alessandro
Ballan (Lampre) attacked, and Igor Astarloa (Barloworld) and Pozzato joined
him.Rinaldo Nocentini (Acqua &
Sapone), Samuel Sanchez (Eusakaltel), and Schleck got across. At the base of the
descent (291
km), the sextet led the Milram-led field by
0:08.
Schleck leads the breakaway. Photo copyright Roadcycling.com.
A
cooperating break might have stayed away. They did not cooperate, however.
Pozzato was under orders not to work, and Sanchez had ambitions of his own. He
sallied off of the front with 1.5 km remaining. The bunch caught the
break in the last 600
m.
With
600 m
left, Nocentini lunged into the lead. Pozzato powered past him with
350 m
left. Petacchi was 10
m behind and had the better sprint, but it was a case so
near and yet so far.
Pozzato
won by one bike length.
Look
for the participants in Milan-San Remo to butt heads again later in the classics
season. Who will prevail? Check in at Roadcycling.com
and find out! … and while you’re at it, why not add a link to Roadcycling.com to
your Web site or blog?
