Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Alessandro Petacchi took his first win of 2006 with the sprint victory in the GP delle Costa Etruschi. AleJet responded in the “Battle of Sprint Kings” with a convincing win on home turf.

(photo from Grande Ciclismo)

The win was not easy as the race was hard from the start with several attacks. Team Milram and Lampre then took control of the race for their respective sprinters. Petacchi took the wrapping off his new team, while Lampre were setting up for their new sprint man Daniele Bennati.

A break involving two riders-Pietropolli (Tenax) and Cuesta (Endeka)-had a lead of 3 minutes going into the final circuit, but the gap was brought back down in time to allow Petacchi and Bennati to place 1,2 respectively.

“My teammates did a great job to keep the race together. I took off too early in the sprint because I saw Napolitano breaking away at 250 meters. I thought that he was trying to contest the sprint, so I started sprinting. He was actually working for Bennati, but it was too late for me to do anything about it. I can now say that I am happy with my form after a 200km race. I am not as good on the climbs, but in the sprints I am going well. I will now train very intensively this week and then head out to the Ruta del Sol.” — Petacchi

“Today Petacchi showed a great deal of strength. There was nothing anyone could do, so I am satisfied with the result and how we raced. The team worked perfectly. My next goal is the Giro del Mediterraneo” — Bennati

Grande Ciclismo