HAMBURG, Germany, 5 August 2003 — Italian Paolo Bettini stole the show from local favorite Jan Ullrich by winning the Cyclassics World Cup race in an exciting finish on Sunday.
Bettini, last year’s overall World Cup champion, won the sprint of a group of five breakaway riders at the end of the 253.2-km ride around Hamburg for his second victory of the year in the showcase series after Milan-San Remo in March.
The Quick Step rider crossed the line in a winning time of five hours 58 minutes and 20 seconds, beating fellow Italian Davide Rebellin and Ullrich into second and third respectively.
Ullrich tried his best to please his home fans just a week after staging a remarkable comeback with his second place in the Tour de France but Bettini proved too strong in the final straight on a central avenue of the northern port city.
The leading group escaped after the last climb of the steep Waseberg hill 15 km from home and managed to retain a narrow lead on the chasing pack.
“This is a great race, no matter what people say,” said Bettini.
“Some criticize it because the course is relatively undemanding but look how exciting it was.
Ullrich, who was cheered on by hundreds of thousands of German fans lining the course in stifling heat, was left still chasing his first World Cup win.
But at least the 29-year-old confirmed he was back at his brilliant best after fighting a career-threatening operation on his knee and serving a doping ban for taking ecstasy during a personal crisis.
“I knew I had to try something because I would have had no chance in a mass sprint,” he said.
“It didn’t work out but if you don’t try, you don’t get anything,” added the German, who won the event in 1997 — the year before it gained World Cup status.
Spaniard Igor Astarloa came fourth ahead of Italian Mirko Celestino, with German Erik Zabel winning the sprint of the peloton for sixth place, three seconds back.
After six races out of 10 in the series, Belgian Peter van Petegem retains the overall lead but only just with Bettini now second three points behind.
Nothstein Wins New York City Championship
United States Olympic gold medalist Marty Nothstein outsprinted the rain and Victor Rapinski of Belarus on Sunday to win the New York City cycling championship.
Winner of the match sprint on the track at the Sydney Olympics, Nothstein has been making an impressive transition to road racing and blasted past Rapinski in the final 100 meters of the 100 km (62-mile) event through the streets of New York.
American David Clinger was third.
“Since winning the gold medal in 2000, this has been a big transition from the track to the road,” said Nothstein.
“With proper training and dedication, I was able to win today one of the biggest races of my pro career.”
Nothstein clocked a winning time of two hours, five minutes, 42 seconds, crossing the finish line just as a torrential downpour drenched an estimated crowd of 100,000 lining the route.
