MILAN - Italy's Damiano Cunego has confirmed that will not be participating in this year's Tour de France, despite finishing as the best young rider in the 2006 race.

The 25 year-old finished fifth in the recent Giro d'Italia, which he surprisingly won in 2004, and has decided to race the Tour of Switzerland next instead of the sport's big event.

"I left the Giro d'Italia in excellent condition and having confirmed my decision not to participate in the Tour, its seems interesting for me to try to take advantage of my good shape in a competition with a challenging and stimulating distance like the Tour of Switzerland," Cunego told his Lampre team Web site (www.lampre-fondital.com).

Ivan Basso has taken a slap in the face from the Italian Cyling Federation, recieving a 2 years,s

The Italian cycling federation (FCI) on Friday gave Ivan Basso a two-year ban for his involvement in Operación Puerto, but deducted the time he has spent on the sidelines after first being identified as a suspect in the blood-doping scandal.

He will decide wth his lawyer to fight the suspension or just prepare for the 2009 cycling season.He will be missed in the pelotin, and the all important Tour De France.

Sicily start for 2008 Giro
There's another island start on tap for the 2008 Giro d'Italia. After its successful depart in Sardinia (if you don't count the botched overnight ferry transfer), next year's Giro will start in Sicily. The opening stage will be in Palermo, the first time the Giro will back on Sicily since 1986

Giro 9: Napolitano by inches

21/05/2007
Napolitano takes Giro Stage 9 by inches as Pinotti retains Maglia Rosa.

Photo: Tim de Waele

Stage 9 of the Giro d’Italia saw the riders tackling a relatively modest 177km course from Reggio Nell'emilia to Lido Di Camaiore which featured just one Cat. 2 climb. The peloton was content to amble along a sedate 26.5 km/h for the first hour and after two hours the average speed was still only 27km/h with nobody prepared to mount an attack. The first move of the day eventually saw Stage 6 winner Luis Felipe Laverde taking the points for the climb up the Passo del Cerreto before his mini four-man breakaway was caught. With the day’s ascending all over after just 72km, a new breakaway comprising Andrei Kunitski, Frederic Bessy, Nicolas Crosbie and Simone Masciarelli formed on the fast descent towards the long flat run home.

The quartet maintained their advantage until just before the 5km kite where they were enveloped by the peloton as the sprinters began to move into position. The pace was now extremely brisk and Petacchi, Förster, Hushovt, Dean and Napolitano were all well placed as the bunch entered the final kilometre. At around 150m to the line and with the sprint well underway the French rider Gene crashed but miraculously failed to bring anyone else down with him. As the sprint entered the final few metres Robbie McEwen appeared to be in the boss seat but a sweetly executed late surge from Danilo Napolitano saw the Lampre-Fondital rider take the stage by a matter of inches. Indeed the first three places appeared to be separated by less than half a wheel, but it was glory for the 26 year-old Sicilian ahead of McEwen and Alessandro Pettachi. T Mobile’s Marco Pinotti, meanwhile, retains his leader’s pink jersey.

Stage 9 results

1 Danilo Napolitano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 04:57:08
2 Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 00:00:00
3 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Team Milram) 00:00:00
4 Paolo Bettini (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 00:00:00
5 Koldo Fernandez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 00:00:00
6 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Credit Agricole) 00:00:00
7 Ariel Maximilian Richeze (Arg, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 00:00:00
8 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 00:00:00
9 Robert Forster (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 00:00:00
10 Juan José Haedo (Arg, Team CSC) 00:00:00
11 Alexei Markov (Rus, Caisse d'Epargne) 00:00:00
12 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 00:00:00
13 Lloyd Mondory (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 00:00:00
14 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa, Rabobank) 00:00:00
15 Nikolai Trussov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 00:00:00
16 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 00:00:00
17 Paride Grillo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 00:00:00
18 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin, Française des Jeux) 00:00:00
19 Aliaksandr Usau (Blr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 00:00:00
20 Assan Bazayev (Kaz, Astana) 00:00:00

Giro 7: Petacchi takes second win on Mugello track

19/05/2007
Alessandro Petacchi won his second Giro stage after beating Thor Hushovd and Paolo Bettini in a bunch sprint on the Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia. Jeff Jones reports for procycling.com.

Milram delivered Alessandro Petacchi to pole position on the Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia as the Italian sprinter claimed his second stage win in this year's Giro. Petacchi had the perfect lead out from Brett Lancaster and Alberto Ongarato, and was able to hold off Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) to the finish. Overnight leader Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile) had few problems in today's stage, finishing comfortably in the pack to keep the maglia rosa.

From start to finish

At 254km, the seventh stage was easily the longest of the Giro. Starting in Spoleto, it featured just one climb, the 12.4km Valico Croce di Mori with 55km to go. It finished on the famous Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia.

It took nine kilometres before the break of the day was established, with four riders forming the move: Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Beñat Albizuri (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Fabien Patanchon (Française Des Jeux) and Elio Aggiano (Tinkoff Credit Systems). Albizuri was the best placed rider on GC but was 22'00 behind leader Marco Pinotti, so the breakaway group wasn't a big threat to the T-Mobile man and his team.

The quartet averaged 39km/h for the first three hours, passing from Umbria into Tuscany and reaching its maximum advantage of 11'30 after 125km in Montecchio. The fourth hour saw the average lift to 39.9km/h, but Predictor-Lotto had stepped on the gas in the bunch and pegged the group back to 7'30. The breakaways suffered on the Valico di Croce and were just a minute ahead of the peloton at the top, with Bertogliati taking the points ahead of Patanchon and Albizuri. Tinkoff's Aggiano was already dropped from the break, but the remaining three were caught just inside 40km to go.

The climb saw several sprinters lose contact with the peloton, including Thor Hushovd, Max van Heeswijk, Danilo Napolitano, Roberto Förster and Juan Jose Haedo. They were able to regain the main group with 20km to go, as Quick.Step powered away on the front for its world champion Paolo Bettini. Petacchi's Milram squad took advantage of this to save all its men for the finale, but Predictor-Lotto contributed a rider to the pace making.

After passing through Scarperia with 10km to go, the peloton reached the Mugello track with 5km left. Milram took over from Quick.Step and kept the pace high around the 15 bends that characterise the circuit. Salvatore Commesso (Tinkoff) attacked with 2km left to try to steal the stage, but was hauled back at the kilometre to go mark. Then CSC's Fabian Cancellara went as Brett Lancaster and Alberto Ongarato wound it up for Petacchi, with Bettini glued to Petacchi's wheel.

Cancellara wasn't quite fast enough to hold off the sprinters, and lasted until 250m left. Petacchi came off Ongarato's wheel inside the final 200m with Bettini making a huge effort to come past, but the world champion was no match for Petacchi's power and faded to third. Thor Hushovd was second, his chasing efforts in the last 40km perhaps costing him the necessary energy to overtake Petacchi. Marco Pinotti finished 95th, in the same time as the winner, and kept the race lead.

Sunday's eighth stage is a tough one between Barberino Di Mugello and Fiorano Modenese over 200 km and crossing the Apennine mountains. It finishes on Ferrari's test-track, celebrating 60 years of the famous Italian automotive brand.

Results

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Team Milram) 6:14:44
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
3 Paolo Bettini (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
4 Danilo Napolitano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
6 Aliaksandr Usau (Blr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
7 Ariel Maximilian Richeze (Arg, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
8 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
9 Assan Bazayev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
10 Koldo Fernandez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
11 Robert Forster (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
12 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor, Team CSC) 0:00:00
13 Gabriele Balducci (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
14 Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
15 Franck Renier (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
16 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
17 Nikolai Trussov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
18 Alexei Markov (Rus, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
19 Paride Grillo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
20 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned, Rabobank) 0:00:00
21 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
22 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
23 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
24 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
25 Alberto Ongarato (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
26 Steve Zampieri (Swi, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
27 Lloyd Mondory (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
28 David Canada Gracia (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
29 Nick Gates (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
30 Pavel Brutt (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
31 Stefano Garzelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
32 Andrei Kunitski (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
33 Alexandre Pichot (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
34 George Hincapie (USA, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
35 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
36 Steve Morabito (Swi, Astana) 0:00:00
37 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
38 Matti Breschel (Den, Team CSC) 0:00:00
39 Christophe Riblon (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
40 Andy Schleck (Lux, Team CSC) 0:00:00
41 Sven Krauss (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
42 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
43 Matthias Russ (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
44 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita, Astana) 0:00:00
45 Massimo Codol (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
46 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
47 Dario David Cioni (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
48 Fabian Cancellara (Swi, Team CSC) 0:00:00
49 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita, Astana) 0:00:00
50 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
51 Riccardo Ricco' (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
52 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
53 Lilian Jegou (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
54 Damiano Cunego (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
55 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
56 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
57 Hubert Schwab (Swi, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
58 Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Spa, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
59 William Walker (Aus, Rabobank) 0:00:00
60 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
61 Marco Marzano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
62 Andrea Noe' (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
63 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
64 Franco Pellizotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
65 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
66 Luca Mazzanti (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
67 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
68 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col, Rabobank) 0:00:00
69 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
70 Hubert Dupont (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
71 Gilberto Simoni (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
72 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
73 Evgeni Petrov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
74 Arnaud Gerard (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
75 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
76 Mario Aerts (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
77 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
78 Wim Vanhuffel (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
79 Oliver Zaugg (Swi, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
80 Christian Knees (Ger, Team Milram) 0:00:00
81 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
82 Danilo Di Luca (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
83 Tristan Valentin (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
84 Emanuele Sella (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
85 Branislau Samoilau (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
86 Julian Dean (NZl, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
87 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
88 Axel Merckx (Bel, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
89 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
90 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
91 Koos Moerenhout (Ned, Rabobank) 0:00:00
92 Davide Rebellin (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
93 Eric Berthou (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
94 Stefano Zanini (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
95 Marco Pinotti (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
96 Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
97 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
98 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
99 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
100 Laurent Mangel (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
101 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
102 Dario Andriotto (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
103 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
104 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
105 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
106 David Arroyo Duran (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
107 Francis Mourey (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
108 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
109 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
110 Pavel Padrnos (Cze, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
111 David Zabriskie (USA, Team CSC) 0:00:00
112 Fortunato Baliani (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
113 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro, Liquigas) 0:00:00
114 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
115 Maxim Gourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
116 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
117 Francesco Bellotti (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
118 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
119 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
120 Mauro Facci (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
121 Benoit Joachim (Lux, Astana) 0:00:00
122 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
123 Simone Masciarelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
124 Julien Loubet (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
125 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
126 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
127 Amael Moinard (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
128 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
129 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
130 Charles Wegelius (GBr, Liquigas) 0:00:00
131 Brett Lancaster (Aus, Team Milram) 0:00:00
132 Matthew Lloyd (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
133 Angelo Furlan (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
134 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa, Rabobank) 0:00:00
135 Andrea Pagoto (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
136 Daniele Contrini (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
137 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr, Team CSC) 0:00:00
138 Matthew White (Aus, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
139 Gregory Henderson (NZl, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
140 Ivan Rovny (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
141 Manuele Mori (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
142 Carl Naibo (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
143 Salvatore Commesso (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
144 Matteo Tosatto (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
145 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
146 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
147 Steven Cummings (GBr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
148 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
149 Thomas Fothen (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:31
150 Angel Gomez Gomez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:54
151 Fabio Sabatini (Ita, Team Milram) 0:01:02
152 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:01:07
153 Frédéric Bessy (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:01:07
154 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:01:16
155 Oscar Gatto (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:01:32
156 Michael Blaudzun (Den, Team CSC) 0:01:32
157 Nicolas Roche (Irl, Credit Agricole) 0:01:52
158 Tim Klinger (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:01:52
159 Juan José Haedo (Arg, Team CSC) 0:02:03
160 Arnaud Labbe (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:02:32
161 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:02:32
162 Mathieu Perget (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:03:07
163 Yohann Gene (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:03:18
164 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus, Rabobank) 0:03:31
165 Martin Müller (Ger, Team Milram) 0:03:40
166 Michael Rasmussen (Den, Rabobank) 0:03:40
167 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus, Team CSC) 0:03:40
168 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:03:40
169 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita, Team Milram) 0:03:40
170 Frantisek Rabon (Cze, T-Mobile Team) 0:03:55
171 Giovanni Visconti (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:05:15
172 Elio Aggiano (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:05:15
173 Addy Engels (Ned, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:05:15
174 Brian Bach Vandborg (Den, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:15
175 Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:05:31
176 Mickael Buffaz (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:05:34
177 Fabien Patanchon (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:05:34
178 Aaron Olson (USA, T-Mobile Team) 0:05:34
179 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:06:20
180 Thomas Voeckler (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:06:39
181 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:06:44
182 Matteo Bono (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:08:26
183 Christophe Kern (Fra, Credit Agricole) 0:09:46
184 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:16:00
185 Pierre Drancourt (Bel, Bouygues Telecom) 0:16:53
186 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:16:53

General classification after stage 7

1 Marco Pinotti (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 5:59:16
2 Hubert Schwab (Swi, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:03:30
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:12
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:38
5 Andrea Noe' (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:47
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:47
7 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:04:49
8 Andy Schleck (Lux, Team CSC) 0:05:05
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:06
10 David Zabriskie (USA, Team CSC) 0:05:15
11 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita, Astana) 0:05:19
12 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita, Astana) 0:05:19
13 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:05:19
14 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz, Astana) 0:05:19
15 Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Spa, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
16 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
17 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
18 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
19 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr, Team CSC) 0:05:36
20 Stefano Garzelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:05:37
21 Riccardo Ricco' (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:05:45
22 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:55
23 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:55
24 David Arroyo Duran (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:02
25 Evgeni Petrov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:06:10
26 Gilberto Simoni (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:12
27 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:12
28 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:29
29 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:31
30 Dario David Cioni (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:34
31 Wim Vanhuffel (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:34
32 Massimo Codol (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:06:36
33 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:06:36
34 Luca Mazzanti (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:39
35 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:06:44
36 Emanuele Sella (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:46
37 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:48
38 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz, Astana) 0:06:51
39 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:55
40 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:57
41 Christian Knees (Ger, Team Milram) 0:07:05
42 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:07:07
43 Steve Zampieri (Swi, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:07:12
44 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:07:12
45 Mario Aerts (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:07:17
46 Charles Wegelius (GBr, Liquigas) 0:07:21
47 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:07:23
48 Hubert Dupont (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:07:23
49 George Hincapie (USA, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:07:23
50 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:07:27
51 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:07:30
52 Francesco Bellotti (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:07:41
53 David Canada Gracia (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:07:42
54 Branislau Samoilau (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:07:45
55 Matthew Lloyd (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:07:56
56 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col, Rabobank) 0:08:00
57 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:08:01
58 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa, Predictor-Lotto) 0:08:06
59 Matthias Russ (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:08:10
60 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:08:17
61 Amael Moinard (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:08:21
62 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin, Française des Jeux) 0:08:24
63 William Walker (Aus, Rabobank) 0:08:25
64 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:08:41
65 Davide Rebellin (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:08:44
66 Marco Marzano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:09:04
67 Oliver Zaugg (Swi, Gerolsteiner) 0:09:10
68 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:12
69 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:09:17
70 Andrei Kunitski (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:09:21
71 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:28
72 Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:44
73 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:10:18
74 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:10:21
75 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:10:32
76 Paolo Bettini (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:10:39
77 Francis Mourey (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:10:40
78 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:11:48
79 Koos Moerenhout (Ned, Rabobank) 0:12:23
80 Fortunato Baliani (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:12:42
81 Pavel Padrnos (Cze, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:12:46
82 Carl Naibo (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:12:53
83 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:13:16
84 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:13:35
85 Pavel Brutt (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:14:06
86 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:14:14
87 Andrea Pagoto (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:14:23
88 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro, Liquigas) 0:14:26
89 Frantisek Rabon (Cze, T-Mobile Team) 0:14:28
90 Lilian Jegou (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:14:32
91 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus, Team CSC) 0:14:57
92 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:15:00
93 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor, Team CSC) 0:15:08
94 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun, Credit Agricole) 0:15:12
95 Mauro Facci (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:15:54
96 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Team Milram) 0:16:15
97 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita, Team Milram) 0:17:20
98 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita, Team Milram) 0:17:53
99 Assan Bazayev (Kaz, Astana) 0:17:58
100 Steve Morabito (Swi, Astana) 0:18:10
101 Daniele Contrini (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:18:49
102 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita, Liquigas) 0:18:56
103 Salvatore Commesso (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:19:21
104 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo, Lampre-Fondital) 0:19:40
105 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:19:44
106 Aliaksandr Usau (Blr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:20:04
107 Axel Merckx (Bel, T-Mobile Team) 0:20:23
108 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:20:29
109 Steven Cummings (GBr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:21:00
110 Mathieu Perget (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:21:08
111 Tristan Valentin (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:22:29
112 Brian Bach Vandborg (Den, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:23:23
113 Ariel Maximilian Richeze (Arg, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:23:24
114 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:23:28
115 Simone Masciarelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:23:36
116 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:24:02
117 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa, Rabobank) 0:24:28
118 Matti Breschel (Den, Team CSC) 0:24:35
119 Brett Lancaster (Aus, Team Milram) 0:24:53
120 Angel Gomez Gomez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:24:54
121 Maxim Gourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:25:00
122 Frédéric Bessy (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:25:03
123 Christophe Kern (Fra, Credit Agricole) 0:25:05
124 Matteo Tosatto (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:25:10
125 Matthew White (Aus, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:25:15
126 Julien Loubet (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:25:49
127 Julian Dean (NZl, Credit Agricole) 0:26:16
128 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:26:40
129 Angelo Furlan (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:26:47
130 Manuele Mori (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:26:55
131 Franck Renier (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:27:01
132 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:28:01
133 Fabian Cancellara (Swi, Team CSC) 0:28:50
134 Giovanni Visconti (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:28:52
135 Christophe Riblon (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:28:54
136 Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:29:03
137 Michael Rasmussen (Den, Rabobank) 0:29:06
138 Addy Engels (Ned, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:29:09
139 Fabien Patanchon (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:29:15
140 Robert Forster (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:29:20
141 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus, Rabobank) 0:29:28
142 Ivan Rovny (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:29:31
143 Thomas Fothen (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:29:45
144 Benoit Joachim (Lux, Astana) 0:29:48
145 Alexei Markov (Rus, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:30:11
146 Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:30:14
147 Alberto Ongarato (Ita, Team Milram) 0:30:39
148 Lloyd Mondory (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:30:44
149 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:30:51
150 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned, Rabobank) 0:30:53
151 Eric Berthou (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:31:03
152 Dario Andriotto (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:31:35
153 Paride Grillo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:31:47
154 Michael Blaudzun (Den, Team CSC) 0:33:01
155 Arnaud Gerard (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:33:07
156 Martin Müller (Ger, Team Milram) 0:33:11
157 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:33:35
158 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita, Team Milram) 0:33:37
159 Koldo Fernandez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:33:44
160 Nicolas Roche (Irl, Credit Agricole) 0:33:48
161 Gabriele Balducci (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:35:20
162 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Credit Agricole) 0:35:34
163 Danilo Napolitano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:35:45
164 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:35:47
165 Stefano Zanini (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:36:06
166 Thomas Voeckler (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:37:13
167 Yohann Gene (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:37:18
168 Tim Klinger (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:37:38
169 Juan José Haedo (Arg, Team CSC) 0:37:41
170 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:37:58
171 Arnaud Labbe (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:38:18
172 Sven Krauss (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:38:30
173 Laurent Mangel (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:38:49
174 Fabio Sabatini (Ita, Team Milram) 0:41:24
175 Mickael Buffaz (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:41:48
176 Oscar Gatto (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:43:01
177 Pierre Drancourt (Bel, Bouygues Telecom) 0:43:12
178 Aaron Olson (USA, T-Mobile Team) 0:43:28
179 Alexandre Pichot (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:43:38
180 Gregory Henderson (NZl, T-Mobile Team) 0:44:46
181 Nick Gates (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:46:40
182 Nikolai Trussov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:48:57
183 Elio Aggiano (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:51:41
184 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:51:49
185 Matteo Bono (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:54:21
186 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 1:06:10

Team LiquiGas takes opening Team Trial Stage of Giro De Italia.Gasparatto Wears the Maglia Rosia as the new team leader. Then there was an added touch of seeing Liquigas rider Enrico Gasparotto squirt ahead of team captain Danilo Di Luca to snag the Giro's first maglia rosa after the Italian team upset favorites such as Team CSC and Discovery Channel.

Looking forward to seeing JJ Haedo in the first feild sprints, try his luck against the likes of Paulo Bettini,Graeme Brown,Italian Speedster Alessandro Petacchi, and old psrinters like Olaf Pollack!

Results - Stage 1
1. Liquigas, 33:35
2. Astana, 33:51
3. CSC, 34:08
4. Lampre-Fondital, 34:17
5. Discovery Channel, 34:27
6. Acqua & Sapone-Caffè, 34:38
7. Tinkoff Credit Systems, 34:42
8. Crédit Agricole, 34:51
9. Caisse d'Epargne, 35:01
10. Quickstep-Innergetic, 35:01
11. Saunier Duval-Prodir, 35:03
12. Predictor-Lotto, 35:06
13. Gerolsteiner, 35:10
14. Milram, 35:11
15. Cofidis, 35:16
16. T-Mobile, 35:23
17. Rabobank, 35:23
18. Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 35:39
19. Bouygues Telecom, 35:45
20. Ag2r Prévoyance, 35:55
21. Euskaltel-Euskadi, 36:28
22. Française Des Jeux, 36:28
Full Results

Overall Standings
1. Enrico Gasparotto (I), Liquigas, 0:00
2. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas, 0:00
3. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas, 0:00
4. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, 0:00
5. Andrea Noe' (I), Liquigas, 0:00
6. Charles Wegelius (GB), Liquigas, 0:00
7. Alessandro Vanotti (I), Liquigas, 0:02
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, 0:13
9. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), Astana, 0:13
10. Andrey Mizourov (Kaz), Astana, 0:13

Start List - 2007 Giro d'Italia

QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC
1. Paolo Bettini (I)
2. Addy Engels (Nl)
3. Mauro Facci (I)
4. Leonardo Scarselli (I)
5. Hubert Schwab (Swi)
6. Andrea Tonti (I)
7. Matteo Tosatto (I)
8. Jurgen Van De Walle (B)
9. Giovanni Visconti (I)

ASTANA
11. Paolo Savoldelli (I)
12. Maxim Gourov (Kz)
13. Benoit Joachim (Lux)
14. Assan Bazayev (Kz)
15. Serguei Yakovlev (Kz)
16. Eddy Mazzoleni (I)
17. Andrey Mizourov (Kz)
18. Steve Morabito (Swi)
19. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kz)

SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR
21. Gilberto Simoni (I)
22. Rubens Bertogliati (Swi)
23. Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat)
24. David Canada Gracia (Sp)
25. Angel Gomez Gomez (Sp)
26. Manuele Mori (I)
27. Iban Mayo Diez (Sp)
28. Leonardo Piepoli (I)
29. Riccardo Ricco' (I)

LAMPRE - FONDITAL
31. Damiano Cunego (I)
32. Marzio Bruseghin (I)
33. Giampaolo Caruso (I)
34. Danilo Napolitano (I)
35. Gorazd Stangelj (Slo)
36. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol)
37. Paolo Tiralongo (I)
38. Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Sp)
39. Morris Possoni (I)

ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFE' MOKAMBO
41. Stefano Garzelli (I)
42. Alexandr Arekeev (Rus)
43. Gabriele Balducci (I)
44. Massimo Codol (I)
45. Dario Andriotto (I)
46. Andrei Kunitski (Blr)
47. Giuseppe Palumbo (I)
48. Branislau Samoilau (Blr)
49. Michele Scarponi (I)

AG2R PREVOYANCE
51. Rinaldo Nocentini (I)
52. Hubert Dupont (F)
53. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr)
54. Rene Mandri (Est)
55. Laurent Mangel (F)
56. Lloyd Mondory (F)
57. Carl Naibo (F)
58. Christophe Riblon (F)
59. Aliaksandr Usau (Blr)

BOUYGUES TELECOM
61. Olivier Bonnaire (F)
62. Nicolas Crosbie (F)
63. Pierre Drancourt (B)
64. Yohann Gene (F)
65. Arnaud Labbe (F)
66. Yoann Le Boulanger (F)
67. Alexandre Pichot (F)
68. Franck Renier (F)
69. Thomas Voeckler (F)

CAISSE D'EPARGNE
71. David Arroyo Duran (Sp)
72. Eric Berthou (F)
73. Joan Horrach Rippoll (Sp)
74. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Sp)
75. Alberto Losada Alguacil (Sp)
76. Aitor Perez Arrieta (Sp)
77. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Sp)
78. Ruben Plaza Molina (Sp)
79. Constant. Zaballa Gutierrez (Sp)

CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE
81. Emanuele Sella (I)
82. Luca Mazzanti (I)
83. Paride Grillo (I)
84. Fortunato Baliani (I)
85. Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col)
86. Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex)
87. Domenico Pozzovivo (I)
88. Matteo Priamo (I)
89. Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg)

COFIDIS
91. Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col)
92. Mickael Buffaz (F)
93. Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (F)
94. Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Sp)
95. Mathieu Heijboer (Nl)
96. Amael Moinard (F)
97. Frédéric Bessy (F)
98. Tristan Valentin (F)
99. Steve Zampieri (Swi)

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE
101. Pietro Caucchioli (I)
102. Francesco Bellotti (I)
103. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun)
104. Julian Dean (NZ)
105. Angelo Furlan (I)
106. Patrice Halgand (F)
107. Christophe Kern (F)
108. Thor Hushovd (N)
109. Nicolas Roche (Irl)

DISCOVERY CHANNEL
111. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
112. Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr)
113. Steven Cummings (GB)
114. George Hincapie (USA)
115. Pavel Padrnos (Cz)
116. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Sp)
117. Brian Bach Vandborg (Dk)
118. Jurgen Van Goolen (B)
119. Matthew White (Aus)

EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
121. Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Sp)
122. Koldo Fernandez (Sp)
123. Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Sp)
124. Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Sp)
125. Markel Irizar Aranburu (Sp)
126. Anton Luengo Celaya (Sp)
127. Aketza Pena Iza (Sp)
128. Ivan Velasco Murillo (Sp)
129. Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Sp)

FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
131. Carlos Da Cruz (F)
132. Arnaud Gerard (F)
133. Timothy Gudsell (NZ)
134. Lilian Jegou (F)
135. Ian Mcleod RSA
136. Cyrille Monnerais (F)
137. Francis Mourey (F)
138. Fabien Patanchon (F)
139. Jussi Veikkanen FIN

GEROLSTEINER
141. Davide Rebellin (I)
142. Robert Förster (G)
143. Thomas Fothen (G)
144. Oscar Gatto (I)
145. Tim Klinger (G)
146. Sven Krauss (G)
147. Volker Ordowski (G)
148. Matthias Russ (G)
149. Oliver Zaugg (Swi)

LIQUIGAS
151. Danilo Di Luca (I)
152. Enrico Gasparotto (I)
153. Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro)
154. Vincenzo Nibali (I)
155. Andrea Noe' (I)
156. Franco Pellizotti (I)
157. Alessandro Spezialetti (I)
158. Alessandro Vanotti (I)
159. Charles Wegelius (GB)

PREDICTOR - LOTTO
161. Robert Mc Ewen (Aus)
162. Dario David Cioni (I)
163. Josep Jufre Pou (Sp)
164. Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
165. Mario Aerts (B)
166. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (B)
167. Wim Vanhuffel (B)
168. Stefano Zanini (I)
169. Pieter Mertens (B)

RABOBANK
171. Michael Rasmussen (Dk)
172. Leon Van Bon (Nl)
173. Graeme Brown (Aus)
174. Max Van Heeswijk (Nl)
175. Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Sp)
176. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus)
177. Koos Moerenhout (Nl)
178. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col)
179. William Walker (Aus)

CSC
181. Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
182. Andy Schleck (Lux)
183. David Zabriskie (USA)
184. Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus)
185. Juan José Haedo (Arg)
186. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (N)
187. Matti Breschel (Dk)
188. Michael Blaudzun (Dk)
189. Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)

MILRAM
191. Alessandro Petacchi (I)
192. Alessandro Cortinovis (I)
193. Sergio Ghisalberti (I)
194. Christian Knees (G)
195. Brett Lancaster (Aus)
196. Martin Müller (G)
197. Alberto Ongarato (I)
198. Fabio Sabatini (I)
199. Fabio Sacchi (I)

TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
201. Salvatore Commesso (I)
202. Evgeni Petrov (Rus)
203. Daniele Contrini (I)
204. Ivan Rovny (Rus)
205. Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Sp)
206. Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus)
207. Pavel Brutt (Rus)
208. Elio Aggiano (I)
209. Ruggero Marzoli (I)

T-MOBILE
211. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr)
212. Lorenzo Bernucci (I)
213. Adam Hansen (Aus)
214. Gregory Henderson (NZ)
215. Axel Merckx (B)
216. Aaron Olson (USA)
217. Marco Pinotti (I)
218. Frantisek Rabon (Cz)
219. Thomas Ziegler (G)

Freire nails it.

photo: Graham Watson

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) unleashed a masterful sprint to win Saturday's centenary celebration of Milan-San Remo ahead of Allan Davis to claim victory in emphatic style to erase the memories of 2004 when he won by a whisker ahead of the celebrating Erik Zabel.

Freire, 31, came off Alessandro Petacchi's wheel with about 100 meters to go in the season's longest classic and swept up the left side of the Via Roma to surge across the line clear by a bike length ahead of Davis (Discovery Channel) and Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic).

"I felt good and I was on the wheel of Petacchi and I had good legs," the smiling Freire said at the line. "In the end it's only the victory that counts and I am very happy for myself and the team. What would make me happy now? To win the world's a fourth time."
Full Results

The traditional start in Milan...

photo: Graham Watson

Strong tailwinds along the final 50km helped the peloton keep a tight rein on any would-be escapees to assure a sprint finish.

... the usual celebration in San Remo...

photo: Graham Watson

This time around, Freire was sure he was safely across the line before throwing both arms up into the cloudy Italian sky in delight. Three Aussies finished in the top 5 with Davis second, Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) fourth and Stuart O'Grady (CSC) fifth.

... with a long and beautiful ride in between.

"Everything was perfect, until the last 150 meters," Petacchi said. "I don't have any real excuse. The team was perfect and the only one who wasn't was me. I felt good on the final climbs and in the sprint, well, it shouldn't be forgotten that I broke my kneecap seven months and perhaps I'm still paying for that."

A good part of the day involves a pleasant ride along the coast

photo: Graham Watson

The oft-injured Spaniard has an uncanny nose for big-time results.

He hardly raced after winning the Vattenfall Cyclassics last July, suffering from headaches and dizziness from complications of a neck treatment. The Rabobank captain returned to racing in style this spring, winning his first race at the Challenge Mallorca and then two stages and the overall at the Ruta del Sol in Spain.

Ricco and Gilbert were caught with 2km to go

photo: Graham Watson

On Saturday, he was among the five-star favorites and he read the race perfectly. After coming off the torturous Poggio descent, he snagged the ideal position of being on Petacchi's wheel, with Boonen, McEwen and O'Grady stacked up behind him in the final 300 meters.

"I decided to get behind Petacchi in the final kilometer because I knew his team would lead him out and that it was the best position," Freire told Eurosport. "I had the legs, the position and even had the space to get past Petacchi, so it was a perfect sprint."

Freire has one of the best finishing sprints in the business and made easy work of the dying Petacchi and easily stayed ahead of the surging Boonen. The surprising Davis came off the sixth wheel to power into second.

The victory marks the fourth win on the Via Roma by Spanish riders. Freire owns two and Miguel Poblet the other two with wins in 1957 and 1959, respectively. There was another Spaniard in the top-10 in the form of Vicente Reynes of Caisse d'Epargne with ninth.

"I was in good position with 400-300 meters to go when McEwen tried to pass me on the left and it closed me off," Reynes said. "I had to brake and as a result I couldn't make the sprint as I wanted. It's too bad because I felt really good and I believe I could have finished third or fourth on the Via Roma. Now I just have to forget it and think about the upcoming classics. I have big hopes for Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Roubaix, where I hope to be at the front with all the favorites."

Early breaks
The race started in downtown Milan with a good-sized crowd of enthusiastic fans to cheer on Milan-San Remo's centenary celebration. José Joaquín Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne), Thor Hushovd and Francesco Belloti (both Crédit Agricole) didn't take the start, but some 197 riders did.

The day's escape was expected...

photo: Graham Watson

Following a script typical of Milan-San Remo, the peloton enjoyed a Saturday morning siesta while the sextet chugged away, building up a lead of nearly eight minutes at 120km. Frédéric Guesdon (FDJ) and José Enrique Gutierrez (LPR) both crashed in the feed zone, but continued in the race.

.. chased when things got worrisome...

photo: Graham Watson

Sella led the way up the climb as the peloton remained at about seven minutes back. Three riders - Guennadi Mikhailov (Astana), Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff) and Marco Fertonani (Caisse d'Epargne) - crashed on the descent with the last two abandoning.

... and eventually reeled in.

photo: Graham Watson

Lampre and Milram upped the pace and trimmed the lead to 3:24 at Alassio. Several riders crashed, including Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Axel Merckx (T-Mobile), as the peloton zeroed in on the breakaway.

Kopp suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

photo: Graham Watson

Marco Zanotti (Unibet.com) crashed coming through Imperia. The final three - Kunitski, Hernandez and Brutt - are swept up with about 30km to go.

Cipressa and Poggio
The Cipressa and Poggio presented the last chance for the head-bangers to spoil the chances for the sprinters.

Voeckler on the attack.

photo: Graham Watson

The trio held a slender lead over the summit and went snaking down the descent when Moletta misjudged a corner and skidded off the road, slamming his bike into a cement wall and light post. Moletta twisted and flipped into light post and was KO'd for the race.

Popovych quickly countered that move, leaving Voeckler behind, but Pellizotti stayed with him for a while.

Quick Step-Innergetic with some help from Team CSC helped neutralize the Celestino/Vila move on the flats between the two climbs while Pellizotti and Popovych held a 28-second gap.

Popovych was caught at the base of the Poggio.

CSC's Karsten Kroon and Quick Step's Carlos Barredo led the way to reel in Popovych and Pellizotti when Gilbert, Riccò and Matthias Kessler (Astana) attacked. Popovych tried to hang on, but Riccò punched the accelerator once more to drop everyone except Gilbert.

Gilbert leads on the Poggio

photo: Graham Watson

The leading pair hit the flats coming into San Remo with a slender gap of seven seconds, but they were swarmed by the lead pack with just under two kilometers to go to set up the sprint.

Lampre and Milram were in good position, but it was Freire without the help of teammates who sprang away for the win.

2007 Teams

Discovery Team Info Team Website	CSC Team Info Team Website	Credit Agricole Team Info Team Website
Team Predictor-Lotto Team Info Team Website	Quick Step-Innergetic Team Info Team Website	T-Mobile Team Info Team Website
Rabobank Cycling Team Info Team Website	Liquigas Team Info Team Website	Healthnet Team Info Team Website
Navigators Insurance Team Info Team Website	Team Slipstream/Chipotle     Team Info Team Website	Toyota-United Pro Team Info Team Website
Priority Health Cycling Team Info Team website	USA National Team Team Info Team website	Colavita/Sutter Home Team Info Team Website
BMC Racing Team Team Info Team Website	Jelly Belly Team Info Team Website	Gerolsteiner Team Info Team website