Michela Fanini, born in Lucca on the 23rd of March in 1973, became National Road Race Champion of Italy in 1992 and won the Giro Donne in 1994. She was a rider with enormous potential, one who gave all the signs of becoming one of cycling’s greatest stars had she not have been tragically killed when her Peugeot 205 hit a wall and rolled over on the 16th of October 1994. Her memory lives on, in the team S.C. Michela Fanini-Rox and in the name of this race.
The race consists of a prologue and four stages. In the case if Stages 2 and 4 the organisers have, for some reason, decided not to employ the standard technique of naming stages after the towns in which they start and end, using the names of the : Stage 1, Bottegone – Massa e Cozzile, actually ends in Montecatini Terme; Stage 3, Segromigno in Piano – Capannori, starts and finishes in Capannori. It’s their race, I suppose.
The 2.HC classification designates this as being one of three Hors Categorie races, intended by the UCI to promote races awarded the status as being especially prestigious (the organisers of the Thuringen Rundfahrt declined the designation in favour of the standard 2.1, while the other 2.HC race, the Exergy Tour, is no longer held following sponsorship problems). As such, the points awarded to the winning riders are greater than in other races – first place in the General Classification receives 80 points, equal to two standard 2.2 events, second place receives 60 points, third place 45 points.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qx1eA6Iaijc
1 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Wiggle Honda 3:21:12 2 Rossella Ratto (Ita) Hitec Products UCK 3 Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant 4 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica AIS 5 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Orica AIS 6 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Sengers Ladies Cycling Team 7 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Team Tibco – To The Top 8 Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:00:03 9 Evelyn Stevens (USA) Specialized Lululemon 10 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:00:05 11 Noemi Cantele (Ita) Bepink 12 Joelle Numainville (Can) Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies 13 Andrea Dvorak (USA) USA National Team 14 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Hitec Products UCK 0:01:50 15 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) Rabobank Liv Giant 16 Annamiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant 0:02:03 17 Francesca Cauz (Ita) Top Girl Fassa Bortolo 18 Valentina Scandolara (Ita) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:02:39 19 Kristin Mcgrath (USA) USA National Team 20 Shelley Olds (USA) Team Tibco – To The Top 0:05:59 21 Sofie De Vuyst (Bel) Sengers Ladies Cycling Team 22 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Argos Shimano 23 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) Pasta Zara Cogeas 24 Lauren Hall (USA) Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies 25 Roxanne Knetemann (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant
1 Marianne Vos (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant 3:24:01 2 Giorgia Bronzini (Ita) Wiggle Honda 0:00:05 3 Tiffany Cromwell (Aus) Orica AIS 0:00:10 4 Rossella Ratto (Ita) Hitec Products UCK 5 Emma Johansson (Swe) Orica AIS 0:00:12 6 Anna Van Der Breggen (Ned) Sengers Ladies Cycling Team 7 Tatiana Guderzo (Ita) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:00:18 8 Noemi Cantele (Ita) Bepink 9 Evelyn Stevens (USA) Specialized Lululemon 10 Claudia Hausler (Ger) Team Tibco – To The Top 11 Tatiana Antoshina (Rus) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:00:19 12 Andrea Dvorak (USA) USA National Team 0:00:34 13 Joelle Numainville (Can) Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:00:46 14 Pauline Ferrand Prevot (Fra) Rabobank Liv Giant 0:02:02 15 Elisa Longo Borghini (Ita) Hitec Products UCK 0:02:05 16 Annamiek Van Vleuten (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant 0:02:10 17 Francesca Cauz (Ita) Top Girl Fassa Bortolo 0:02:35 18 Valentina Scandolara (Ita) Cipollini Giordana Galassia 0:02:47 19 Kristin Mcgrath (USA) USA National Team 0:02:55 20 Shelley Olds (USA) Team Tibco – To The Top 0:06:05 21 Kirsten Wild (Ned) Team Argos Shimano 0:06:08 22 Lauren Hall (USA) Optum P/B Kelly Benefit Strategies 0:06:11 23 Roxanne Knetemann (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant 24 Inga Cilvinaite (Ltu) Pasta Zara Cogeas 0:06:12 25 Lucinda Brand (Ned) Rabobank Liv Giant
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