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6th Giro della Provincia di Lucca - 2.3
Italy, February 24-27, 2004
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Stage 3 - February 26: Lucca-Castelvecchio Pascoli, 176km
Bertolini best of what's left
Field reduced to just 18 riders
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Alessio-Bianchi's Alessandro Bertolini has assumed the lead of the Giro della Provincia di Lucca after claiming victory in the third stage. Thanks to the decision by local officials in Castelvecchio Pascoli, eager to keep roads closed to traffic for as short a time possible, all but 18 riders in this year's Giro were eliminated from the race. As a result, tomorrow's final stage from Castelnuovo di Garfagnana to Altopascio has been reduced in length from 188 to 145 kilometres.
Prior to the confusion, the race was run at a fast pace as a number of riders dared to attack and challenge race leader and double stage winner Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo). After only 14km, a group of 19 riders had formed, but on the first ascension of the climb to Perpoli, the field managed to pull back most of the move. A new attack went, with several of the initial escapees, this time creating the split that would ultimately shape the race.
The new group of fourteen featured eventual winner Bertolini and Alessio-Bianchi teammate Vladimir Miholjevic, Matteo Tosatto (Fassa Bortolo), Gabriele Balducci and Nicola Gavazzi (Saeco), Nicki Sorensen (CSC), Florent Brard (Chocolade Jacques), Dean Podgornik and Oscar Pozzi (Tenax), Thomas Ziegler (Gerolsteiner), Emanuele Sella (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres), Francesco Secchiari (Domina Vacanze), Nicolas Vogondy (FDJeux.com), and Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Acqua & Sapone). The leaders quickly opened a gap of nearly a minute on the field, as four riders jumped clear behind in an effort to bridge across.
With an average speed of 41 km/h, the fourteen leaders pressed on as Pavel Tonkov (Vini Caldirola), Elio Aggiano (Team LPR), Przemyslaw Niemec (Miche), and Igor Pugaci (De Nardi) began to gain ground and leave the peloton behind.
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The second trip up the Perpoli climb eventually put Podgornik in trouble. As the Tenax rider slipped back, and Gavazzi lost a little ground to the leaders, Niemec put in an acceleration from the chasing four. By kilometre 108, the main escape had 50" on Niemec, Tonkov, Podgornik and Aggiano, while Pugaci suffered a puncture and slipped behind the chasers. By this point the peloton had lost all interest in chasing, dropping to nearly 20 minutes behind.
There was no rest for the leaders, who battled each other relentlessly to force a smaller selection. Brard crashed on the descent from Barga to Fornaci di Barga, but rejoined with the help of Sorensen, Vogondy and Secchiari, who had each lost contact on the climb. The lead group was down to nine as Brard's group chased 45" behind, followed by the five man Tonkov group another minute and a half back.
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On the penultimate descent from Perpoli, Bertolini put in his winning attack, swiftly leaving his companions behind and setting off on a 25km time trial to the finish. The 32 year old Italian was able to maintain his advantage over the final climb, cresting the summit with 13km to race and a comfortable lead of 2'35 in hand over Ziegler, Sorensen, Miholjevic and Tosatto. Mission accomplished for Alessio-Bianchi as Bertolini cruised home to take victory and don the leader's jersey in the process. Ziegler closed to within 1'48 to take second place, while Tosatto won the sprint for third ahead of Miholjevic.
It was at the entrance to the final circuit that the peloton, languishing over half an hour behind the leader Bertolini, was stopped in its tracks by local officials and ejected from the race. An extreme measure, but of virtually no consequence for the general classification, as the big bunch sealed its fate when it let the breakaway go clear on the day's first difficulty.
Photography
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio-Bianchi) attacked alone to win stage 3 and take the race lead
- The Colombia-Selle Italia team leads the chase, but it's already too late
- Elio Aggiano (Team LPR) leads the breakaway on the Perpoli climb
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) tests his legs in the main pack
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) bides his time on a cold, wet day
- Giuliano Figueras (Ceramiche Panaria-Margres) in action during stage 3
- Danilo Di Luca (Saeco) didn't make the decisive break
- The peloton arrives in time for a rude surprise
- Race organisers stop the main pack, ending the race for all but the 18 leaders
- Alessandro Bertolini enjoys his new leader's jersey
- Race director Castellano discusses the decision to eject the peloton
Results
1 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 4.11.58 2 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.47 3 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.48 4 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio-Bianchi 5 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 2.52 6 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Saeco 3.15 7 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres 3.48 8 Nicola Gavazzi (Ita) Saeco 6.11 9 Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Ukr) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo 6.34 10 Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Tenax 8.02 11 Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze 8.20 12 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL 8.24 13 Florent Brard (Fra) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 8.29 14 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie 8.31 15 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com 8.33 16 Przemyslaw Niemec (Pol) Miche 8.34 17 Igor Pugaci (Mda) De Nardi 13.02 18 Dean Podgornik (Slo) Tenax 16.16 DNS Angelo Furlan (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi DNS Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres DNS Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Lampre DNS Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL DNF Sven Montgomery (Swi) Gerolsteiner DNF Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL DNF Renzo Mazzoleni (Ita) Tenax DNF Christophe Detilloux (Bel) Lotto-Domo DNF Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Lotto-Domo DNF Guillermo Bongiorno (Arg) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres DNF Russel Van Hout (Aus) Colombia-Selle Italia DNF Trent Wilson (Aus) Colombia-Selle Italia DNF Marek Wesoly (Pol) Amore & Vita Beretta DNF Dario Pieri (Ita) Saeco DNF Serguei Lelekin (Rus) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave' HD Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Crescenzo d'Amore (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Bo Hamburger (Den) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Ruggero Marzoli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Gerhard Trampusch (Aut) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo HD Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi HD Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi HD Andrea Noe' (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi HD Ellis Rastelli (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi HD Andrea Tafi (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi HD Stefano Ciuffi (Ita) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Ivan Fanelli (Ita) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Jamie Burrow (GBr) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Kjell Carlstrom (Fin) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Mateusz Mroz (Pol) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Jonas Ljungblad (Swe) Amore & Vita Beretta HD Giuliano Figueras (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres HD Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres HD Paolo Lanfranchi (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres HD Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres HD Scott Davis (Aus) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres HD Andoni Aranga Azkune (Spa) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Dave Bruylandts (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Zbigniew Piatek (Pol) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Maxim Rudenko (Ukr) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf HD Freddy Excelino Gonzalez Martinez (Col) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Ruber Alveiro Marin (Col) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Huberlino Mesa Estepa (Col) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia HD Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) De Nardi HD Simone Cadamuro (Ita) De Nardi HD Graziano Gasparre (Ita) De Nardi HD Leonardo Giordani (Ita) De Nardi HD Michele Gobbi (Ita) De Nardi HD Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) De Nardi HD Devis Miorin (Ita) De Nardi HD Mario Cipollini (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Martin Derganc (Slo) Domina Vacanze HD Gian Matteo Fagnini (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Alessio Galletti (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Mario Scirea (Ita) Domina Vacanze HD Dario David Cioni (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Massimo Codol (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Dario Frigo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo HD Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJeux.com HD Carlos Dacruz (Fra) FDJeux.com HD Nicolas Fritsch (Fra) FDJeux.com HD Philippe Gilbert (Bel) FDJeux.com HD Mark Renshaw (Aus) FDJeux.com HD Jean-Cyril Robin (Fra) FDJeux.com HD Giuseppe Di Grande (Ita) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave' HD Jure Golcer (Slo) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave' HD Bostjan Mervar (Slo) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave' HD Sulpizi Giuliano (Ita) Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave' HD Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner HD Uwe Hardter (Ger) Gerolsteiner HD Danilo Hondo (Ger) Gerolsteiner HD Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner HD Marcus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner HD Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner HD Jan Svorada (Cze) Lampre HD Wladimir Belli (Ita) Lampre HD Mariano Piccoli (Ita) Lampre HD Francisco Javier Vila Errandonea (Spa) Lampre HD Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre HD Marco Pinotti (Ita) Lampre HD Simone Bertoletti (Ita) Lampre HD Santo Anza (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Sergiy Adyeyev (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Yuri Mitlushenko (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Sereiy Lagutin (Uzb) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Ruslan Gryschenko (Ukr) Landbouwkrediet-Colnago HD Christophe Brandt (Bel) Lotto-Domo HD Axel Merckx (Bel) Lotto-Domo HD Ief Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo HD Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto-Domo HD Piotr Wadecki (Pol) Lotto-Domo HD Maurizio Varini (Ita) Miche HD Fabio Borghesi (Ita) Miche HD Dmitri Semov (Rus) Miche HD Balazs Rohtmer (Hun) Miche HD Antonio d'Aniello (Ita) Miche HD Massimiliano Martella (Ita) Miche HD Leonardo Caneschi (Ita) Miche HD Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Saeco HD Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Saeco HD Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Saeco HD Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Saeco HD Andrea Tonti (Ita) Saeco HD Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC HD Bekim Christensen (Den) Team CSC HD Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Team CSC HD Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC HD Brian Vandborg (Den) Team CSC HD Manuel Calvente Gorbas (Spa) Team CSC HD Claudio Bartoli (Ita) Team CSC HD Massimo Boglia (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL HD Angelo Lopeboselli (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL HD Daniele Contrini (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL HD Daniele Masolino (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL HD Andrei Karpatchev (Rus) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL HD Radoslav Rogina (Cro) Tenax HD Kristjan Fajt (Slo) Tenax HD Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax HD Nicola Loda (Ita) Tenax HD Zoran Klemencic (Slo) Tenax HD Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Marco Zanotti (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Dario Andriotto (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Oscar Mason (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie HD Marco Milesi (Ita) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie General classification after stage 3 1 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi 12.52.13 2 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.51 3 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 2.54 4 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Alessio-Bianchi 2.58 5 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 3.02 6 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Saeco 3.25 7 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramiche Panaria-Margres 3.58 8 Nicola Gavazzi (Ita) Saeco 6.21 9 Kyrylo Pospyeyev (Ukr) Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo 6.44 10 Oscar Pozzi (Ita) Tenax 8.12 11 Francesco Secchiari (Ita) Domina Vacanze 8.30 12 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Team L.P.R.-Piacenza Management SRL 8.34 13 Florent Brard (Fra) Chocolade Jacques Wincor-Nixdorf 8.39 14 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Vini Caldirola-Nobili Rubinetterie 8.41 15 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) FDJeux.com 8.43 16 Przemyslaw Niemec (Pol) Miche 8.44 17 Igor Pugaci (Mda) De Nardi 13.12 18 Dean Podgornik (Slo) Tenax 18.34 * HD= Hors delai (outside time limit)
