Enrico Battaglin (Colnago-CSF Inox) won the Coppa Sabatini to take his first ever professional victory at the end of the 200km 1.1-ranked race. The 21-year-old, who is related to 1981 Vuelta-Giro double winner Giovanni Battaglin, outsprinted Davide Rebellin (Miche-Guerciotti) – nineteen years his senior – on the uphill sprint, with Daniel Moreno (Katusha) beating Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini-Neri) to third place.
Battaglin has been riding as a stagiaire with the Professional Continental team since August, and adds this victory to a second place in the GP Capodarco and third in the Coppa Placci.
"It was an finish that really suited him,” said Battaglin’s sports director Roberto Reverberi. “He was told to be quiet to the finish and sit tight marking Visconti.
“Winning with an stagiaire is a great satisfaction,” he added. “Battaglin's victory has surprised a lot of people, but not us at Colnago-CSF, because we knew the value and quality of the rider."
The race began, unusually, from a landfill site just outside Legoli and, after just 13km Rafaâ Chtioui (Acqua e Sapone), Gianluca Brambilla (Colnago-CSF Inox), Davide Torosantucci (D'Angelo & Antenucci Nippo) escaped. At the 20km point, the three leaders were a minute clear of the peloton, as Stefano Borchi (De Rosa-Ceramica Flaminia) and Juan Sebastian Tamayo (WIT) set off in pursuit.
After 43km, at the end of the first of six laps of the first circuit, the three leaders had an advantage of six minutes over the peloton. Borchi and Tamayo were still three minutes behind them though, and not making any progress, and so they steadily drifted back to the bunch.
Gradually the peloton reeled in Chtioui, Brambilla and Torosantucci, until they were caught after 140km, on the last lap of the first circuit, with 60km still to race.
With the race all back together, Tamayo attacked again, along with Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Geox-TMC), Stefano Pirazzi (Colnago-CSF Inox) and Luca Barla (Androni Giocattoli-CIPI). With Visconti’s Farnese Vini-Sottoli team controlling the front of the peloton though, they were not able to get far.
As the new breakaway group approached the four 12.2km finishing circuits, Pirazzi attacked and the resulting chase say Tamayo drop back to the peloton. The four remaining riders were just eight seconds clear of the peloton as they finished the first lap but, despite further efforts from Pirazzi, it was all back together shortly afterwards.
The second lap saw numerous attacks from small groups, but nobody was able to get clear until Rigoberto Uran (Team Sky) escaped with 22km to go. As he reached the end of the lap, with a lead of almost thirty seconds, the Colombian raised his arms in triumph; only to hear the bell ring to announce the start of the final lap. Shortly afterwards, the embarrassed Uran was caught by the peloton, and the attacks began once more.
The last lap saw attacks from a number of riders, including Paolo Tiralongo (Astana), Rebellin, and Filippo Pozzato (Katusha). It was all together as the peloton hit the base of the climb to the line with Pozzato, Visconti and Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre-ISD) at the head of affairs.
Pozzato made the early move, but was overtaken by Visconti. The Italian champion was the first to open up his sprint but was unable to sustain it and was overtaken by the flying Battaglin, and then lost his place on the podium to Rebellin and Moreno on the line.