VERONA, Italy, 2 October 2004 — Belarussian Kanstantsin Siutsou took a positive step toward life as a professional rider in Italy after winning the men’s under-23 road race crown at the World Cycling Championships here yesterday.
The 22-year-old Siutsou, who next year will ride for Italian team Fassa Bortolo, rode alone over the line of the 177km race, held over 12 laps of a 14.75km circuit around Verona, in a time of 4hr 33min 33sec.
Dutchman Thomas Dekker came second to take the silver medal ahead of Mads Christensen of Denmark. Both riders arrived around a minute later.
In an exciting race involving some of the peloton’s future stars Siutsou’s win came after a stylish breakaway in the final lap which ultimately left his longtime breakaway companion Domenico Pozzovivo out of the medals.
Pozzovivo had been with the Belarussian for the latter part of the race but the 22-year-old Italian ended up finishing fourth as Dekker and Christensen bore down on him.
“We didn’t realize we had such a big gap on the chasing group,” explained Siutsou. “And we only started believing we had the chance of a medal near the end.”
Siutsou however didn’t hang around to sprint with the Italian at the finish line.
Instead, he attacked Pozzovivo on the way up the three-kilometer Torricelle climb a few kilometers from the finish.
Pozzovivo had trouble giving chase, and by the time he had got his legs back Dekker and Christensen — who had managed to leave the Italian contingent behind them on the last climb — had overtaken him.
The little Italian, an engineering management student, kept up with the pair but had nothing to offer at the home straight.
Christensen attacked first with 600 meters from the finish, but Dekker found the legs to overtake him in the final 200 meters.
“I’m not a great sprinter, so I’m not really surprised Thomas beat me,” said Christensen, who has received contract offers from both CSC and Liquigas for next season.
Dekker also took a silver medal in the under-23 men’s time trial, a result which left him feeling gutted.
“We weren’t really going so fast, so we had to attack on the final climb,” said Dekker, who will begin his first full year as a professional with Rabobank next season.
Meanwhile, France’s top ranked cycling team Cofidis have confirmed they will remain in the professional peloton beyond 2005.
Company director Francois Migraine, who almost withdrew sponsorship when the team was embroiled in a recent doping controversy, said he had decided to place his trust in cycling’s new ProTour series.
“If we’re going to take part in the ProTour, it’s not just to be in it for a year,” Migraine said.
“The only thing that will force us out (of the ProTour) would be revelations from the ongoing investigation that we might feel does not fit in with the direction we want to go in.”
In Italy, meanwhile, Italian teams Saeco and Lampre are to merge ahead of the introduction of the new ProTour, which is scheduled for January 2005. The team will be led by Italians Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni, currently with Saeco, and Lampre’s reigning world road race champion Igor Astarloa.
Cioni Withdrawn From Worlds After Blood Test Italian cycling officials yesterday withdrew the entry of Dario Cioni after the cyclist returned an abnormal blood test.
An internal test by the Italian Cycling Federation showed that Cioni’s hematocrit level, which shows the volume of red blood cells in the blood, was higher than the allowed 50 percent. This could show that illegal blood boosting has taken place, but is not proof.
As the test was an internal one and not undertaken by the governing body, UCI, the 29-year-old Cioni can be replaced. His place in Sunday’s race will be taken by Franco Pellizotti.
Italian Sports Doctor Sentenced in Doping Trial An Italian sports doctor who has worked with six-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was yesterday sentenced for malpractice and fraud in sport by an Italian court, the Ansa news agency reported.
Michele Ferrari, a former doctor of cycling team Refin, was given a 12-month suspended jail sentence by judges in Bologna. He was acquitted of distributing harmful doping products.
Ferrari’s main accuser, cyclist Filippo Simeoni, said: “From a human point of view, I regret Ferrari’s sentence but it shows my statements were justified and that there is justice in this world.
“Everyone knew what was going on but no one said anything,” Simeoni added, “but I spoke out and I am happy that my comments have been considered worthy of consideration, especially after the attacks I received from Lance Armstrong and other cyclists.”
Ferrari said he remained convinced of his innocence and announced he would be appealing the decision.
