Neo-pro Sacha Modolo finished in an excellent fourth place in the Milan-Sanremo Classic, which at almost 300 kilometers is the longest ProTour race. He was beaten by the three supersprinters Oscar Freire, Tom Boonen and Alessandro Petacchi, but left behind riders such as Daniele Bennati, Thor Hushovd or Philippe Gilbert.
The 22-year-old was quite modest at the Sanremo finish line. “I want to thank my team because without them this would not have been possible.” Modolo was caught behind in the group around Mark Cavendish, chasing after a large lead group until the second feed zone. “After the crash in the tunnel of the Turchino [where Garmin’s Murilo Fischer broke his collarbone -ed.] we were all in the second group and chasing 81 riders isn’t easy!”
Once it all was together, the young rider knew who to look out for. “I tried to be as close as possible to Boonen, Freire and Bennati.” This was a good strategy but Modolo admitted the going got tough. “In the Cipressa I started to get tired because there was a big cut [in the peloton], especially on the false flat just when the climb finished.”
Going well on the Poggio
Later he found his second wind. “Over the Poggio, on the other hand, I stayed in the middle to save my legs, and I was feeling well then.” He stayed with the favorites as attacks by Vincenzo Nibali and Filippo Pozzato fizzled out. “I was on the wheel of Freire, then on that of Boonen. In the last turn riders came from all over and I was more thinking of staying calm then to fight for position.”
This coolness was a benefit. “I started the sprint from the center and I did a long sprint, also because I saw the others were getting tired. I have a bit of a regret, because if I would have left from a better position, who knows where I would have finished?”
For a neo-pro, he was quite cool the evening before the race. “I was relaxed because it is my first pro year. To ride strongly like I did lately was going to be a plus, but I did not feel any pressure.”
Not everybody was surprised by the good result, as Colnago-Csf Inox’s manager Roberto Reverberi recalled. “In the days before the race, I talked to one of the sponsors and told them to watch the race because I was convinced that Modolo could finish in the top five.”
Reverberi confirmed the Colnago-Csf Inox strategy after the group split over the Turchino. “Our whole team pulled to get back to the group of favorites. Cavendish’s HTC Columbia lent a hand as well, otherwise our race would have ended here. On Le Mànie, Pozzovivo did a great job to cut the lead won to 30 seconds. We are quite happy, this is a beautiful day.”