Saturday, June 23, 2012

Franco Pellizotti, New Men's Italian RR Champion




After a very difficult race of 254.7 km, in which only 20 riders finished, Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) was the winner after 6h 43'12". Finishing 2nd and 3rd were Danilo Di Luca (Acqua&Sapone) at 27" and Moreno Moser (Liquigas-Cannondale) in same time.

Michele Scarponi was the main protagonist of the race having lead the race, first with 12 attackers and then by himself, for 120 km.

Scarponi attacked on Telve climb at 50 km to go and was the solitary leader until the penultimate loop (15 laps of the final circuit of 13.8 km) when he was joined by Vincenzo Nibali, Moser, Giampaolo Caruso, Di Luca and Pellizotti.

Pellizotti attacked on the last climb of the Telve and was not able to be caught.

"Since my return to racing this was my number one goal," said Pellizotti who just returned to racing on May 16th after a two year ban due to abnormalities in his biological passport. "Honestly, I considered myself a favorite on the eve of the race because I knew I felt good. In the end, especially in the penultimate lap, I realized that I was the one who was strongest and that it was time to act."



Top 10:
1. Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela)
2. Danilo Di Luca (Acqua&Sapone) at 27"
3. Moreno Moser (Liquigas-Cannondale)
4. Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha)
5. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 2'11"
6. Michele Scarponi (Lampre-Isd)
7. Simone Ponzi (Astana)
8. Daniele Ratto (Liquigas-Cannondale) at 3'16"
9. Francesco Gavazzi (Astana)
10. Matteo Rabottini (Farnese-Selle Italia)

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