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Milano-Sanremo, Italy

19 March, 294K

La Classissima ... Petacchi gets big win.

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The riders and fans alike welcomed a warm spring day in Italy for this year's Milano-Sanremo. All the contenders were ready to give it a go, minus McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) and Hincapie (Discovery) who were out sick.

Practically from the start, there was the break of five riders: Jimmy Casper (Cofidis), Inaki Flores (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Daniele Righi (Lampre-Caffita), Mauro Santambrogio (LPR) and Filippo Simeoni (Naturino). They gained a maximum of about 11 minutes. As the breakaway approached the Cipressa climb, they still had a slight advantage, but it was fading quickly. The break was eventually dissolved, and it was a gruppo compatto as the peloton raced towards the last major climbs before the finish. There were not so many risky or climatic moves before the finish, however the most notable move was that of Paolo Bettini (Quick-Step) and Andrey Kashechkin (Credit Agricole). Their solid effort kept them ahead of the peloton until the base of the Poggio. On the Poggio, Panaria was attacking but their work didn't pay off for them, as Fassa Bortolo and Rabobank kept things under control. There were some other interesting attacks by Merckx, Rebellin, and Pellizotti.

All of the sprinting guns made it over the top with the main group. Mario Cipollini, Oscar Freire, Danilo Hondo, and also Petacchi were all there to make a move. With only 4K to go, it was bound to be a sprint finish, leaving only the question of who was going to pull off the win on the Via Roma. Cipollini was in there and looking like he might bag a second victory, but he faded fast in the final 400 meters. Freire could never come around Petacchi, who was able to turn on the gas and gap Tom Boonen and the rest. Alessandro Petacchi took the prestigious victory, a win which he had been hoping for ever since his winning streak began. Danilo Hondo came through on his form from Tirreno-Adriatico and took a fine second. Thor Hushovd pulled off a nice third place.

At the start-line, Petacchi displayed quite a serious and focused demeanor. After his win he became very lively and emotional at the finish. Hard training all winter and coping with his demanding D.S. (Ferretti) paid off for Petacchi's well-deserved win. He showed off quite an amazing sprint without the big lead out train that Fassa Bortolo normally provides. At the finish, Petacchi was greeted by his wife and teammates to congratulate and celebrate the emotional victory. Perhaps if Petacchi started wearing muscle styled skin suits to the startline or training behind smart cars, then the tifosi could get more excited for him.

Results: 7:11'39"!, ave: 40.8K/h
1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
2 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
4 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis
5 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
6 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française Des Jeux
7 Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
8 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick-Step
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
10 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
11 Vicente Reynes (Spa) Illes Balears
12 Josu Silloniz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
13 Laurent Brochard (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
14 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile
15 Allan Davis (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
16 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Davitamon-Lotto
17 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Domina Vacanze
18 Andreas Klier (Ger) T-Mobile
19 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak
20 Angel Edo (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
21 Roger Hammond (GBr) Discovery Channel
22 Anthony Geslin (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
23 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
24 Peter Wrolich (Aut) Gerolsteiner
25 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Panaria-Navigare
26 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Team CSC
27 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
28 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
29 Axel Merckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
30 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
31 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
32 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Panaria-Navigare
33 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Illes Balears
34 Alexander Vinokourov (Kaz) T-Mobile
35 Steffen Wesemann (Ger) T-Mobile
36 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
37 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
38 Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
39 Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
40 Kim Kirchen (Lux) Fassa Bortolo 0.05
41 Erik Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.06
42 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick-Step 0.07
43 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.09
44 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
45 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Crédit Agricole
46 Nicolas Jalabert (Fra) Phonak
47 Oscar Pereiro (Spa) Phonak
48 Fred Rodriguez (USA) Davitamon-Lotto
49 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile
50 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
51 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth
52 Alessandro Ballan (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.12
53 David Herrero (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.38
54 Pedro Horrillo (Spa) Rabobank
55 Bram Tankink (Ned) Quick-Step
56 Frédéric Guesdon (Fra) Française Des Jeux
57 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Panaria-Navigare
58 Francisco José Ventoso (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
59 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 1.05
60 Stijn Devolder (Bel) Discovery Channel
61 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
62 Rolf Aldag (Ger) T-Mobile
63 Ángel Vicioso (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth
64 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole
65 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française Des Jeux
66 Guido Trenti (USA) Quick-Step
67 Joerg Jaksche (Ger) Liberty Seguros-Würth
68 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC
69 Mario Aerts (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 2.29
70 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi
71 Maarten Den Bakker (Ned) Rabobank
72 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Team LPR
73 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 4.15
74 Joerg Ludewig (Ger) Domina Vacanze
75 Gregory Rast (Swi) Phonak
76 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
77 Guennadi Mikhailov (Rus) Discovery Channel
78 Wim Vansevenant (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
79 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
80 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
81 Bo Hamburger (Den) Acqua & Sapone
82 David López García (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
83 Jan Boven (Ned) Rabobank
84 Matthew White (Aus) Cofidis
85 Johan Van Summeren (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
86 Luca Ascani (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
87 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole 7.13
88 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Crédit Agricole
89 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel
90 Hayden Roulston (NZl) Discovery Channel
91 Baden Cooke (Aus) Française Des Jeux
92 Ruben Bongiorno (Arg) Panaria-Navigare
93 Cédric Vasseur (Fra) Cofidis
94 Ludovic Auger (Fra) Française Des Jeux
95 Nico Mattan (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto
96 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
97 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Domina Vacanze
98 Mirko Allegrini (Ita) Panaria-Navigare
99 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner
100 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Domina Vacanze
101 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak
102 Joan Horrach (Spa) Illes Balears
103 Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
104 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
105 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
106 Matteo Carrara (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
107 Marcus Zberg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
108 Iñigo Landaluze (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
109 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner
110 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Team LPR
111 Jure Golcer (Slo) Acqua & Sapone
112 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
113 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Rabobank
114 René Haselbacher (Aut) Gerolsteiner
115 Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Team LPR
116 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak 10.28
117 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
118 Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
119 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
120 Constantino Zaballa (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
121 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Française Des Jeux
122 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
123 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick-Step
124 Carlos Barredo (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth 12.30
125 Jimmy Casper (Fra) Cofidis
126 José Luis Arrieta (Spa) Illes Balears 13.40
127 Mikel Pradera (Spa) Illes Balears
128 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Panaria-Navigare
129 Pedro Arreitunandia (Spa) Barloworld-Valsir
130 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
131 Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
132 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank
133 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth
134 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
135 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
136 David George (RSA) Barloworld-Valsir
137 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
138 Mauro Gerosa (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
139 Ivan Ravaioli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
140 Maryan Hary (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
141 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) Panaria-Navigare
142 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
143 Daniele De Paoli (Ita) Team LPR
144 Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Quick-Step
145 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze 18.00
146 Eddy Serri (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
147 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
148 Giosuè Bonomi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
149 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) T-Mobile
150 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Domina Vacanze
151 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze
152 Antonio Bucciero (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
153 Matthew Wilson (Aus) Française Des Jeux
154 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team LPR
155 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
156 Aitor González (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
157 Roberto Laiseka (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
158 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Illes Balears
159 Iñaki Flores (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
160 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Illes Balears
161 Nicolas Inaudi (Fra) Cofidis
162 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Quick-Step
163 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Panaria-Navigare
164 Jans Koerts (Ned) Cofidis
165 Sergio Paulinho (Por) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Gerben Löwik (Ned) Rabobank
DNF Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Ukr) Acqua & Sapone
DNF Enrico Degano (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
DNF Antonio Salomone (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
DNF Giulio Tomi (Ita) Barloworld-Valsir
DNF Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Jérome Pineau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
DNF Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis
DNF Arnaud Coyot (Fra) Cofidis
DNF Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Crédit Agricole
DNF Leif Hoste (Bel) Discovery Channel
DNF Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel
DNF Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze
DNF Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
DNF Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Française Des Jeux
DNF Sebastian Lang (Ger) Gerolsteiner
DNF Unai Osa (Spa) Illes Balears
DNF Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita
DNF Aaron Kemps (Aus) Liberty Seguros-Würth
DNF Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas-Bianchi
DNF Marco Milesi (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
DNF Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Team LPR
DNF Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare
DNF Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak
DNF Robert Hunter (RSA) Phonak
DNF Cristian Moreni (Ita) Quick-Step
DNF Andrea Tafi (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir
DNF Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC
DNF Allan Johansen (Den) Team CSC
DNF Stephan Schreck (Ger) T-Mobile
DNS Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto
DNS George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel
DNS Ivan Fanelli (Ita) Team LPR