- HOT TOPICS:
- The new VeloNews.com (BETA)
Bettini earns emotional win at Lombardy
Heartbroken world champion dedicates win to his brother
In Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia, Paolo Bettini discovered the best way to ease the pain of the recent death of his older brother was to win in his name.
The recently crowned world champion nearly retired after his brother, Sauro, died in a car crash just days after Bettini won the rainbow jersey Sept. 24 in Salzburg, Austria. Only insistence by Bettini’s father convinced the Quick Step-Innergetic captain to carry on. On Saturday under cool fall skies, an emotional Bettini poured all his anguish into his pedals to win the season final in the 245km Lombardia.
“Today I was not pedaling alone,” said Betttini, who crossed the line in tears and pointed his fingers to the heavens. “I will never forget this day.”
It was a touching victory for the 32-year-old Olympic champion, who won his first classic of the season and the ninth of his career. He would have preferred to win under different circumstances.
FullResults
“The person who used to cheer me from the roadside can’t do it anymore, but he was with me today. I didn’t win by chance,” said Bettini, who held off a late charge by Samuel Sanchez and Fabian Wegmann.
Bettini opened his bid for victory by charging up the mythical Madonna del Ghisallo climb with about 45km to go in the hilly fall classic to drive a wedge into the peloton. Only the stubborn Wegmann could stay close to Bettini who rode like a man possessed over the final two climbs to solo in for the poignant win in Como.
“After winning the world title I was still on form but I wasn’t sure how mentally strong I was,” Bettini said. “During the race I felt good and so decided I wanted to win to remember Sauro.”
It’s Bettini’s second win at Lombardia and he becomes the first world champion since Oscar Camenzind to win the world title and Lombardia in the same season.
Bettini buries his pain
The 100th edition of the “Race of the Falling Leaves” started with plenty of polemica to make the Italians happy. A frustrated Alejandro Valverde (Caisse d’Epagne) only grudgingly decided to race after the long-running spat between the UCI and the grand tours (Lombardia is organized by RCS, the same company that owns the Giro d'Italia) threatened to spoil his post-race ProTour awards ceremony. Following the lead of Vuelta a Espana organizers - when the ProTour awards ceremony was nixed ahead of the final stage in Madrid - Lombardia officials didn’t want to let the UCI to conduct its podium protocol. An angry Valverde threatened not to race if he wasn’t going to receive his overall ProTour jersey and trophy at the end. Cooler heads prevailed (to go along with cool fall temperatures) and Valverde lined up in Mendrosio, Switzlerland, among 194 starters, but he wasn’t among the 97 finishers. Still, with big wins at Flèche Wallone and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Valverde inherited the overall ProTour prize from Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas). Not among field was Team CSC star Ivan Basso, who was cleared of doping charges late this week by Italian authorities after they deemed there wasn’t enough concrete proof to sanction Basso for alleged links to a Spanish blood doping ring. The decision meant the 2006 Giro champion had the green light to possibly start, but Team CSC boss Bjarne Riis decided it was not the opportune moment for Basso's return. The pair is scheduled to meet Monday to discuss Basso's future with the team.
The opening hour was relatively quiet as the route wound around northern Italy’s Lake District when four riders – Andrea Pagoto (Panaria-Navagare), Diego Caccia and James Perry (both Barloworld) and Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) – formed the day’s main breakaway about 80km into the race. The quartet built up a 13-minute lead, but that soon dwindled as the bunch roared along the sparkling shores of Lake Como toward the base of the decisive Madonna del Ghisallo climb with about 45km to go.
Cofidis, Rabobank and Team CSC helped drive the bunch to the base of the Ghisallo, but it was The Cricket who bounced out of the pack to show his cards early. Quick to follow the wheel were several big hitters, among them Di Luca, Sanchez, Frank Shleck (CSC), Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner). The 14-percent grades of the Ghisallo fractured the main pack and the early leaders were duly gobbled up. Sanchez lost contact, but found company with Wegmann on the chase. Two lead groups came together to form about 12 leaders in the front bunch with about 25km to go as Ricardo Ricco (Saunier Duval), Cristian Moreni (Cofidis) and Matteo Carrara (Lampre) also caught the wheel. The two final speed bumps - the Civiglio with 15km to go and San Fermo with 5.6km to go - would prove decisive. Bettini buried himself up the Civiglio to blow apart the lead bunch, with only Wegmann strong enough to immediately follow the acceleration. Riding with reckless abandon, Bettini risked all on the treacherous descent to drop Wegmann with Sanchez, Schleck, Rebellin and Boogerd chasing at about 10 seconds back with 12km to go. The stubborn Wegmann chased back on, but eventually lost contact for good on the short but steep San Fermo as the emotional Bettini poured everything into his pedals.
Schleck was aggressive out of the chase group, but it was Sanchez - winner of the Zuri Metzgete two weeks ago - who slipped away. Sanchez chased down Wegmann and pipped him for second to confirm his second place overall ProTour ranking while Schleck came through seventh to bounce to third overall in the season-long series.
100th Tour of Lombardy
1. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step, 245km in 6:08:06 (39.927kph)
2. Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Sp), Euskaltel, at 0:08
3. Fabian Wegmann (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:08
4. Cristian Moreni (I), Cofidis, at 0:14
5. Davide Rebellin (I), Gerolsteiner, at 0:46
6. Matteo Carrara (I), Lampre, at l0:46
7. Frank Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 0:46
8. Michael Boogerd (Nl), Rabobank, at 0:48
9. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas, at 2:32
10. Andrea Pagoto (I), Panaria, at 3:53
FullResults
