Bertagnolli does the biz
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ByEurosport
Published 13/03/2006 at 16:18 GMT
Pulling away in impressive fashion in the final kilometre, Cofidis Italian puncher Leonardo Bertagnolli won the weather-altered penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Monday. Alessandro Petacchi finished second as Rabobank's 21-year old Dutch sensation Th
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
With snow in the mountains preventing the big climb up the San Giacomo, the stage concluded with five hilly loops around Torricella Sicura.
Three names stood out.
First Michael Boogerd, who was part of an all-star trio that included Oscar Freire and Juan Antonio Flecha. They enabled Rabobank team-mate Dekker to coast in their wake as they gobbled up a series of breaks in the final 20 kilometres.
In the final loop, Boogerd took it upon himself to singlehandedly maintain a frantic tempo up to town, moving aside when he saw the "1km to go" banner.
Then it was Bertagnolli's turn.
The recent winner of the Tour du Haut Var attacked, but almost fluffed his effort by making his move in a bend. Unperturbed, the 28-year old Italian made a second push and took off for good this time in the uphill straight to the finish.
Behind him, a third name stood out, that of Alessandro Petacchi.
True, Marco Velo paved the way for his Milram team-mate, but two seasons ago, you would not have seen Petacchi dominating the peloton sprint in an uphill finish.
Last year's winner of Milan-Sanremo warned that he was in even better shape this season ahead of next Saturday's Primavera. On Monday, he certainly threw down the gauntlet.
MILAN-SAN REMO: 25 teams at the start
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