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Giro finale
Photo ©: Bettini

 UCI codes explained

7th Giro della Provincia di Lucca - 1.1

Italy, March 7, 2005

2004 Results    Results    Past winners

Cipollini triumphs in Altopascio

Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi)
Photo ©: Sirotti
Click for larger image

Mario Cipollini (Liquigas-Bianchi) has won his first duel of 2005 against Alessandro Petacchi, beating the Fassa Bortolo sprinter into third place at the end of the 7th Giro di Lucca. Wedged in between the pair of super sprinters was Panaria's Paride Grillo, who has already shown good form this year at the Jacob's Creek Tour Down Under.

After a magnificent victory salute to notch his 189th career win in Altopascio, Cipollini explained that, "My win is really thanks to the serenity I've found at the Liquigas-Bianchi team. They've given me the possibility to race without a lot of pressure, with the ideal psychological and technical conditions."

Cipollini further explained who he put together his win today, saying, "The last man in the train was supposed to be Bäckstedt, but he had a flat. So we decided to make the race against Petacchi's team. My teammates brought me perfectly to the last kilometre and from then on, I just marked my man Alessandro. Velo and Petacchi led into the last corner with 500m. to go. I jumped early and got a two bike length lead on Petacchi which I held to the finish line."

With Tirreno-Adriatico starting the day after tomorrow's, Cipollini explained that he's looking further ahead. "My real thoughts are already for Milano-Sanremo. That's my first, real objective of the season. If I can get over il Poggio in good position, I may be a factor there."

159 riders started in Viareggio at 11:34, with the peloton riding at a steady 31.6 km/h for the first hour. The second hour saw a few more attacks, with Andriy Grivko (Domina Vacanze), Nicola Scattolin (Team Androni Giocattoli) and Lars Michaelsen (CSC) going clear after 64 km and getting a gap.

After two hours, the average speed had lifted to 36 km/h and the trio reached a maximum lead of 4'57 the first time they passed through Altopascio. The bunch began to pick up the pace, and on the first descent after the climb of Montecarlo, which was lined by large numbers of people, it split into two parts. It came back together again for the second passage of the finish line, with Fassa Bortolo at the front having brought the gap down to 3'23.

On the second lap of the circuit, the leaders lost more time and with 63 km to go, they had just 2'30. In front, Grivko put in an attack on the climb but could not stay away. Meanwhile, the peloton split into two again on the descent. At the end of the lap, the three leaders had just 1'34 of their advantage intact, the average speed now up to 39.87 km/h.

A happy Cipo
Photo ©: Sirotti
Click for larger image

Michaelsen was the first to be dropped as the break started the third lap, and was caught by the bunch with 40 km to go. Grivko and Scattolin followed a few kilometres later. By the end of lap three, the peloton was together as the speed continued to increase. On the final time up the Montecarlo climb, Vincenzo Nibali (Fassa Bortolo), Elio Aggiano (Team L.P.R.) and Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) attacked but were immediately caught.

In the centre of Montecarlo, Ivan Basso (CSC) crashed, but was not seriously hurt. On the descent after the climb, the bunch split yet again. Mario Cipollini and Alessandro Petacchi made the front group, which stayed away until the finish. With 3 km to go, Aggiano tried another attack but was caught very quickly. The bunch sprint saw Cipollini put his nose into the wind over the last 75m and cross the line ahead of Grillo and Petacchi.

Photography

For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here

Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti

Results - 177 km

1 Mario Cipollini (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                4.24.36 (40.13 km/h)
2 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                                
3 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                      
4 Giosuè Bonomi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                           
5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                         
6 Sergio Marinangeli (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                             
7 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                        
8 Ivan Fanelli (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                               
9 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                               
10 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak Hearing Systems                                 
11 Marlon Alirio Perez Arango (Col) Colombia-Selle Italia                      
12 Stefano Guerrini (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                                    
13 Davide Vigano (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi               0.06
14 Enrico Degano (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir                                  
15 Enrico Franzoi (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                     0.08
16 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                        0.13
17 Massimiliano Mori (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                         0.16
18 Alexandre Bazhenov (Rus) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                            
19 Slawomir Kohut (Pol) Miche                                                  
20 Manuele Spadi (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                                       
21 Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia                                
22 Juan Pablo Magallanes Aranda (Mex) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi    
23 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir                           
24 Aitor Galdos Alonso (Spa) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                         
25 Tom Southam (GBr) Team Barloworld-Valsir                                    
26 Fabio Baldato (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                           
27 Luca Ascani (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                                   
28 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                 0.26
29 Raffaele Ferrara (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi            0.28
30 Jonas Ljungblad (Swe) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                           
31 Cristian Gasperoni (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                            
32 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                              
33 Roberto Petito (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                          
34 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                          
35 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                         
36 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                       
37 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                               
38 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                             
39 Marco Osella (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi                    
40 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                    
41 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                          
42 Michele Gobbi (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                          
43 Dmitri Konyshev (Rus) Team L.P.R.                                           
44 Ivan Degasperi (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                            
45 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas-Bianchi                                  
46 Devis Miorin (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                         
47 Artur Krzeszowiec (Pol) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                         
48 Brian Vandborg (Den) Team CSC                                               
49 Jonas Holmkvist (Swe) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                           
50 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                      
51 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC                                             
52 Andris Nauduzs (Lat) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                                
53 Manuel Calvente Gorbas (Spa) Team CSC                                       
54 Peter Luttenberger (Aut) Team CSC                                           
55 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                         
56 Fabio Borghesi (Ita) Miche                                                  
57 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Phonak Hearing Systems                                   
58 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                                 
59 Ignacio Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems                     
60 Moreno Di Biase (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia                                 
61 Paolo Bailetti (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi                  
62 Marco Marcato (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi                   
63 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                           
64 Radoslav Rogina (Cro) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                             
65 Kristjan Fajt (Slo) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                               
66 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Team Barloworld-Valsir                               
67 Massimo Giunti (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                          
68 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                        
69 Dainius Kairelis (Ltu) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                          
70 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                                
71 Ivan Quaranta (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                          
72 Domenico Passuello (Ita) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                        
73 Luca De Angeli (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia                                  
74 Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr) Team L.P.R.                                         
75 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC                                                   
76 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                                 
77 Grégory Rast (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                                   
78 Gianluca Bortolami (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                     
79 Andrea Peron (Ita) Team CSC                                                 
80 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                       
81 Przemyslaw Niemec (Pol) Miche                                               
82 Alessio Galletti (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                              
83 Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                         
84 Matej Mugerli (Slo) Liquigas-Bianchi                                        
85 Ruslan Ivanov (Mda) Domina Vacanze                                          
86 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                          
87 Marco Righetto (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                                       
88 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                 
89 Antonio Bucciero (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                           
90 Valery Kobzarenko (Ukr) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                          
91 Sean Sullivan (Aus) Team Barloworld-Valsir                                  
92 Stefano Cavallari (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir                              
93 Eddy Serri (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir                                     
94 Stefano Boggia (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                                      
95 Antonio D'aniello (Ita) Miche                                               
96 Pasquale Muto (Ita) Miche                                                   
97 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Team L.P.R.                                              
98 Maurizio Varini (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                                     
99 Giuseppe Muraglia (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                         
100 Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze                                        
101 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) Team L.P.R.                                
102 Stefan Adamsson (Swe) Team Barloworld-Valsir                               
103 Philippe Schnyder (Swi) Colombia-Selle Italia                              
104 Konstantin Klyuev (Rus) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi              
105 Kimmo Kananen (Fin) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                            
106 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                  
107 Leonardo Caneschi (Ita) Miche                                              
108 Zoran Klemencic (Slo) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                            
109 Blazej Janiaczyk (Pol) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi               
110 Oleksandr Kvachuk (Ukr) Lampre-Caffita                                     
111 Sascha Urweider (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                               
112 Kacper Sowinski (Pol) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                          
113 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Domina Vacanze                                         
114 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                            
115 Francesco Chicchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                                      
116 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC                                           
117 Filippo Simeoni (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                              
118 Samuele Marzoli (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                       
119 Cristiano Frattini (Ita) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                         
120 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Colombia-Selle Italia                            
121 Nicola Scattolin (Ita) Team Androni Giocattoli-3C Casalinghi               
122 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                                
123 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Domina Vacanze                                          
124 Scott Davis (Aus) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                                
DNF Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                        
DNF Andrea Ferrigato (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                          
DNF Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                         
DNF Claudio Astolfi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                           
DNF Leonardo Moser (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Adria Mobil                            
DNF Claudio Bartoli (Ita) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                          
DNF Mateusz Mroz (Pol) Amore & Vita-Beretta-Polska                             
DNF Luca Celli (Ita) Team Barloworld-Valsir                                    
DNF Francesco Cipolletta (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                               
DNF Dmitri Gaynitdinov (Rus) Ceramica Flaminia                                 
DNF Massimiliano Martella (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                              
DNF Krzysztof Szczawinski (Pol) Ceramica Flaminia                              
DNF Guido Trombetta (Ita) Ceramica Flaminia                                    
DNF Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                             
DNF Graeme Brown (Aus) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                               
DNF Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                       
DNF Alejandro Alberto Borrajo (Arg) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                  
DNF Mariano Giallorenzo (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia                            
DNF Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Colombia-Selle Italia                             
DNF Andrus Aug (Est) Fassa Bortolo                                             
DNF Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Fassa Bortolo                                    
DNF Dario Pieri (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                                           
DNF Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Liquigas-Bianchi                                    
DNF Daniele Masolino (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                         
DNF Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Team L.P.R.                                        
DNF Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Miche                                                  
DNF Alberto Tacconi (Ita) Miche                                                
DNF Manuel Mattiuz (Ita) Miche                                                 
DNF Ivailo Gabrovski (Bul) Miche                                               
DNF Gabriele Colombo (Ita) Naturino-Sapore di Mare                             
DNF Niki Aebersold (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems                                
DNF Lars Michaelsen (Den) Team CSC                                             
DNF Ruslan Pidgornyy (Ukr) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                           
DNF David Mcpartland (Aus) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                           
DNF Gianluca Tonetti (Ita) Tenax-Nobili Rubinetterie                           

Past winners

2004 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Alessio-Bianchi
2003 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
2002 Fabiano Fontanelli (Ita) Mercatone Uno
2001 Mario Aerts (Bel) Lotto-Adecco
2000 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo
1999 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step

Past winners by Mario Stiehl, www.world-of-cycling.com