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| Milan-San Remo, 20 March 2004,
Preview |
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Saturday 20 March
2004 will see Milan-San Remo open the Cycling
World Cup as it has done every year since 1989.
The course returns to its traditional route and
distance for the first time since 2000.
The Capo Mele was omitted last year and the
Turchino in 2001 and 2002 due to the effects of
landslides. The distance to be covered is 294 km
making it the longest one-day race of the season.
In Milan on Saturday morning the riders will
start arriving on the Piazza Sant Ambrogio from
0730 with signing on from 0800 to 0840. The field
of around 200 will then roll out of the Piazza
Sant Ambrogio at 0915 for the official departure
on the via della Chiesa Rossa at 0930. The
Peloton then crosses the Lombardy plain before
encountering the first climb of the day, the 532m
high Turchino Pass which is just short of half
distance. The snow on the Turchino should have
decreased due to the very warm temperature over
Italy during the last few days. 12 km of rapid
descending brings the race onto the Ligurian
coast at Voltri. From here the race mainly
follows this coastal route apart from short
excursions inland to tackle the capi. The capi,
or hills, come with 50 km remaining and is where
the excitement really begins.
For some time there was talk of a new climb, the
Pompeiana, being inserted between the Cipressa
and the Poggio. Apparently this climb was to be
'tested' during the first stage of the Giro Della
Liguria last February. The stage
Castellaro-Castellaro did not get permission for
safety reasons because the necessary
documentation had not been sent in time. Also the
newspapers in Italy speak about the possible
Cipollini-Petacchi duel on the via Roma which may
be why the organisers have not changed the final
run in hoping for a sprint finish between the two
Italian riders. Cipollini may be past his best at
almost 37 years of age with Petacchi getting the
better of him recently. San Remo though is a
different matter altogether with 'Cipo' saying,
"I'll be 150 per cent motivated and out to
win again."
The defending champion Paolo Bettini must start
as hot favourite following his overall victory in
Tirreno-Adriatico. However Bettini would join an
elite group as only Girardengo, Bartali, Coppi,
Petrucci, Merckx, De Vlaeminck, Fignon and Zabel
have ever won the Milan-San Remo in consecutive
years. Filippo Pozzato who won stage three of the
Giro Della Liguria and the Trofeo Laigueglia
earlier this season is a possible winner. Pozzato
was given a maximum five stars before the
Tirreno-Adriatico which he had won in 2003. He
did however have a quiet race finishing in 35th
place behind Bettini. Pozzato's chances of
victory in San Remo last year came to an end when
he crashed on the descent of the Cipressa.
Others who have a good chance of victory include
Igor Astarloa, Mirko Celestino, Peter Van Petegem
and Max Van Heeswijk, but come 4pm on Saturday
afternoon there is a good chance Italy will be
celebrating their 49th victory in 'La
Classicissima' |
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