22-year-old dedicates victory to recently deceased rider and footballer
Fabio Felline (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) won the 73rd edition of the Giro dell’Appennino after outsprinting a 22-man breakaway group at the end of the tough, hilly, 194.5km race. The 22-year-old third year pro was the fastest as the front group hit central Genova’s Via XX Settembre, beating Gianluca Brambilla (Colnago-CSF Inox) and Francesco Reda (Acqua & Sapone) into second and third.
“My first thoughts are of Nicolò Scotto, who I used to ride with, and who died suddenly two years ago,” said Felline at the finish, “and also Piermario Morosini, the Livorno footballer, whose disappearance from sport has shocked me greatly. So it is to them that my thoughts and success are dedicated.
“The death of these young people,” he said, “must serve as a warning sign that should not go unnoticed for us athletes that subject ourselves to considerable stress.”
The breakaway of the day came when Marco Canola (Colnago-CSF Inox), Federico Rocchetti (Utensilnord-Named), Matthias Brändle (NetApp), Andrea Palini (Team Idea), Marko Kump (Adria Mobil) and Enrico Rossi (Meridiana-Kamen) escaped early in the race. The sextet managed to open up a maximum lead of 6’45” over the peloton, by the 59km point, but were ultimately reeled in on the steep slopes of the Passo della Bocchetta after 140km.
The capture of the break was the cue for Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) to attack, with Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) and Carlos Betancur (Acqua & Sapone). The trio managed to stay away for around forty kilometres, until they were caught by a counterattacking group of eighteen riders that included Felline, Brambilla and Reda.
Stefano Locatelli (Colnago-CSF) tried a last-ditch attack close to the finish, but his move was anticipated by Emanuele Sella (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) and Marco Marzano (Lampre-ISD). All that was left for the 22-man group was to sprint for the line, and Felline took the victory a length clear of Brambilla, with Reda a few metres behind.
The peloton was led across the line, 1’18” later, by Danilo Di Luca (Acqua & Sapone).
Result Giro dell’Appennino
1. Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela
2. Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox
3. Francesco Reda (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
4. Eros Capecchi (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
5. Matthias Brändle (Aut) Team NetApp
6. Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-ISD
7. Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Adria Mobil
8. Radoslav Rogina (Cro) Adria Mobil
9. Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-ISD
10. Miguel Angel Rubiano (Col) Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela