Oscar Gatto of the Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli team won the sprint of the Giro della Romagna after 200 kilometers. He beat Liquigas rider Simone Ponzi and a Colnago - CSF Inox pair, Enrico Battaglin and Gianluca Brambilla. Battaglin is a stagiaire and his third place was good advertisement for himself.
Gatto turned around his luck from the recent Settimana Lombarda. "When you are well,it is not always working out as it should. At the Settimana Lombarda I was good, but I didn't get a result." This time, he crossed the line first. "Today I wanted the win and everything went according to plan, also thanks to my teammates," Gatto said.
Even the Italian champion put himself to Gatto's service. "Everybody did a perfect job and especially [Giovanni] Visconti. He is a great rider and a great professional."
Directeur Sportif Luca Scinto was confident that Gatto could win. "In the final, when there was the break of six with [Luca] Mazzanti in it, I asked my team to take control of the race." Scinto deemed the chances of Mazzanti not high enough. "The break was too dangerous," he said. "Visconti was determined and again today he showed that he is not only the champion of Italy, but also rider with a lot of class,professional and a champion of the hearts."
Visconti proved that he can not only sprint. "In fact,Visconti pulled for the last three kilometers," Scinto explained. "He sacrificed himself for Gatto, who was on the wheel of Ponzi, the fastest of the rivals."
Scinto dreams of both riders making the Worlds team. "We hope that he [Gatto] together with Giovanni, will be selected for the National team at the Worlds by coach Bettini," Scinto said.
They will try to make another impression at the Giro di Padania, from September 6 to 10.
For Gatto, it was the fourth win of the season. He started the season with a win in January, taking stage two of the Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria. His biggest victory came in stage eight of the Giro d'Italia, where he beat Alberto Contador after 214 kilometers between Sapri and Tropea. He also took the Trofeo Matteotti in July.
Results
1. [ITA] GATTO Oscar FAR
2. [ITA] PONZI Simone LIQ
3. [ITA] BATTAGLIN Enrico COG
4. [ITA] BRAMBILLA Gianluca COG
5. [ITA] FERRARI Roberto AND
6. [COL] RUBIANO CHAVEZ Miguel Angel DAN
7. [ITA] TABORRE Fabio ASA
8. [ITA] CORIONI Claudio ASA
9. [COL] SERPA PEREZ Jose Rodolfo AND
10. [ITA] GINANNI Francesco AND