Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli) with the gold meda💝l as I🉐talian champion (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Franco Pellizotti zips up (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Franco Pel🅷lizotti (Androni Giocattoli) is celebrated by the tifosi (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Moser is beaten to the line by Di Luca (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Danilo Diꩲ Luca, Franco Pellizotti and Moreno Mos🎉er on the podium at the Italian road championships (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Franco Pellizotti (Androni Giocattoli) celebrates his victor🍒y in the Italian championshipꦑs (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Moreno Moser (Liquigas-Cannond𒊎ale) bided his time until the race f༒inale (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Michele Scarponi 🅰bridged up to the breakaway, went solo bu🌞t was caught on the last lap (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Marco Marcato (Vacansoleil-DCM) (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Danilo Di Luca (Acqua e Sapone) showed he still had it, fi🙈nishing seco🤡nd (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Defending champion Giovanni Visconti (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
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Franco🍒 Pellizotti models his ꦍnew jersey, the Italian champion's (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Franco Pellizotti scored an emphatic victory in the Italian road championships, returning from his two-year ban for irregular biological passport values to solo to his first tricolore. Dani♍lo Di Luca was second from the chasing group.
Now riding for Androni Giocattoli, Pellizotti attacked an elite group which had bridged up to the solo move of Michele Scarponi. He left behind Liquigas-Cannondale duo Moreno Moser and Vincenzo Nibali, Scarponi and Katusha's Giampaolo Caruso en route to the win. “An𒆙yone who knows me will know ho💟w hard I tried in that last kilometre,” Pellizotti said. “At 400 metres to go, I knew I’d won and was able to enjoy it. I wish that it could have never ended.
“I must thank Androni for the great trust they have shown in ▨me. After they confirmed my appointment I was able to train in the best possible way for this race.”
Scarponi had a lead of almost a minute-and-a-half with two laps of the course and 27km to go, but saw his advantage quickly eradicated as ꦉthe race hur✅tled towards its conclusion. He was eventually swallowed up by the three podium finishers, Nibali and Caruso just ahead of the beginning of the final lap.
Pellizotti then attacked almost immediately as the riders started to climb for the final time. Caruso was the only rider who was capable of going with him and the duo formed a leading pa🔯ir for a few kilometres before Pellizotti, who was easily the fresher man, turned the screw and piled on the pressure until Caruso cracked.
Caruso quickly came back to Di Luca and Moser, who eventually overtook him and took their places on the podium. Both Nibali and Scarponi, whose minds were probably several hundred miles north in Liege, where the Tour de France starts next weekend. Nibali had publicly played down🍬 his chance of winning here in the build up the race, having spent some punishin🦋g hours on the Passo San Pellegrino as part of a training camp ahead of the Tour de France.
Di Luca bettered his previous best finish at the championships (3rd pla🍎ce in 2009) while Moser’s performance offered up further evidence that he could be the next best thing in Italian cycling, belying his t🔥ender years at the age of 21.
This year’s renewal was a particularly bruta💎l one, with only 20 riders finishing the race.
