98th  Milan San Remo - Preview & Start List
Teams, Rosters, bib numbers, race profile and a preview of the contenders. Five former winners of the race take the start line on Saturday.

By: Andrew Kappes

The Pro Tour season continues this weekend with the spectacular Milan-San Remo, the first big one day classic of the season. Many of the big riders are headed to Italy to take the crown, although all of them aren't arriving without their fair share of cuts, bumps, and bruises.

"I'm satisfied with my result, because I showed that I'm still a contender, that I can have something to say. I got this umpteenth third place result, but this makes me even more motivated to hold on and keep going, perhaps victory will come sooner or later", said Luca Paolini after finishing third last year.

 
Pozzato winning last year's Milan-San Remo. Photo c. Fotoreporter Serotti  

2005 champion Alessandro Petacchi and four-time winner Erik Zabel will lead their Milram train into the Milan-San Remo. Petacchi has recovered nicely from a problematic and frustrating 2006 season, he already has a few wins underneath his belt. Zabel will look to find the form that led him to the title in 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2001.

 Speaking of problematic, world champion and 2003 Milan-San Remo champion Paolo Bettini hasn't found early success yet in 2007, he crashed a couple of times in Tirreno-Adriatico last week, and is currently riding at less than 100%. His Quickstep teammate Tom Boonen is in good form already, he won the Tour of Qatar in late January, and he won Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne earlier this month. If there is one classics rider that would love to add this classic to his palmares it is Tom Boonen and this could be his year.

Fellow Belgian and Cofidis' Nick Nuyens is in good shape already. He won the Etoile de Bessèges in February, and has had recent success in the classic style race, winning Kuurne-Bruxelles-Kuurne in 2006.  

Unibet.com may have not been invited to Paris-Nice, but they did get a coveted invitation to Milan-San Remo, and they bring a couple of legitimate contenders. Jimmy Casper already has two big victories, Trois jours des Flandres Occid and Le Samyn. The French sprinter broke out last year when he won a stage in the Tour de France. Unibet also brings Aussie Baden Cooke to the race. He hasn't quite lived up to the expectations that were brought about by his Tour de France green jersey victory in 2003, but don't count him out in this long, one day classic.

If you think T-Mobile's roster is loaded for Saturday's race, just take a look at CSC. Frank Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Stuart O'Grady, J.J Haedo, and Karsten Kroon are all expected to start for the defending Pro Tour team champion. Juan Jose Haedo has his first outing in a monument of cycling and many will be watching the Argentine champion to see if he can measure up at the finish line in San Remo.

 
Sure, Fabian Cancellara is a peaceful guy, just don't expect him to be so peaceful at Milan-San Remo. Photo by Greg Parks Photo/Design

The rapid rising of Saunier Duval's Riccardo Ricco has led his name to be a top contender among the Italian press. He's already shown he can ride short, mountainous stages, but time will tell if he can handle this long classic. Italians can also look forward to good results from Lampre's Alessandro Ballan and Daniele Bennati if it comes to a sprint finish.

Gerolsteiner fields Davide Rebellin who is showing good early season form, and Stefan Schumacher and Fabian Wegmann each could contribute to a victory of the other. Speaking of strongmen if it comes to a late successful break Discovery Channels Yaroslav Popovych is one rider who is no stranger to the Italian roads around San Remo and could make an appearance in a break on the final hills.

With 5 former champions of the race at this year's Milan-San Remo; Pozzzto, Petacchi, Bettini, Freire and Zabel... three of them Italians each who would like once again to take the top step of the podium on Saturday; and more Italian star power wanting to add la Primavera to there palmares, it won't be a long shot to say that the home crowd might have a lot to cheer about on Saturday. However Oscar Freire's recent strength makes the Spanish rider not easily dismissed this year. The ever popular Erik Zabel would certainly please his fans if he raised his hands at the finish.

Will a new winner arise from the masses or will the recent champions have the fastest of the tired legs at the finish? The Daily Peloton will, as always, do a live ticker of the race starting at 7:30 am Pacific Coast time. Hope to see you there.

Previous live Milan San Remo Coverage:
97th Milano-Sanremo Live Report
96th Milano-Sanremo Live Coverage
95th Milan Sanremo - Live
94th MILANO - SANREMO: LIVE
93rd MILANO - SAN REMO
Milan San Remo - Primavera's History

Start List and Bib Numbers

LIQUIGAS
1 POZZATO Filippo Italy
2 CALCAGNI Patrick Switzerland
3 GASPAROTTO Enrico Italy
4 PAOLINI Luca Italy
5 PELLIZOTTI Franco Italy
6 PETITO Roberto Italy
7 QUINZIATO Manuel Italy
8 SPEZIALETTI Alessandro Italy

ACQUA & SAPONE/CAFFE MOKAMBO
11 ANDRIOTTO Dario Italy
12 BALDUCCI Gabriele Italy
13 CODOL Massimo Italy
14 DONATI Alessandro Italy
15 GARZELLI Stefano Italy
16 KUNITSKI Andrei Belarus
17 MASCIARELLI Simone Italy
18 PALUMBO Giuseppe Italy

AG2R PREVOYANCE
21 MANDRI Rene Estonia
22 CALZATI Sylvain France
23 DION Renaud France
24 DUMOULIN Samuel France
25 ELMIGER Martin Switzerland
26 KRIVTSOV Yuriy Ukraine
27 MONDORY Lloyd France
28 USOV Alexandre Belarus

ASTANA
31 DE KORT Koen Netherlands
32 HASELBACHER René Austria
33 IVANOV Serguei Russia
34 KEMPS Aaron Australia
35 KESSLER Matthias Germany
36 MIKHAILOV Guennadi Russia
37 MURAVYEV Dmitriy Kazahkstan
38 RAST Grégory Switzerland

BARLOWORLD
41 BONOMI Giosuè Italy
42 CACCIA Diego Italy
43 DEGANO Enrico Italy
44 EFIMKIN Alexander Russia
45 GUIDI Fabrizio Italy
46 HUNTER Robert South Africa
47 LONGO BORGHINI Paolo Italy
48 SIUTSOU Kanstantsin Belarus

BOUYGUES TELECOM
51 FLORENCIO CABRE Xavier Spain
52 GESLIN Anthony France
53 MARTIAS Rony France
54 PICHOT Alexandre France
55 PINEAU Jérôme France
56 PÜTSEP Erki Estonia
57 RENIER Franck France
58 VOECKLER Thomas France

CAISSE D'EPARGNE
61 REYNES MIMO Vicente Spain
62 BERTHOU Eric France
63 ERVITI Imanol Spain
64 FERTONANI Marco Italy
65 PERGET Mathieu France
66 LASTRAS GARCIA Pablo Spain
67 MARKOV Alexei Russia

CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE
71 BALIANI Fortunato Italy
72 DALL'ANTONIA Tiziano Italy
73 GRILLO Paride Italy
74 MAZZANTI Luca Italy
75 PRIAMO Matteo Italy
76 TOMEI Francesco Italy
77 RICHEZE Maximiliano Argentina
78 SELLA Emanuele Italy

COFIDIS, LE CREDIT PAR TELEPHONE
81 DE WEERT Kevin Belgium
82 ELIJZEN Michiel Netherlands
83 HEIJBOER Mathieu Netherlands
84 DUCLOS-LASSALLE Hervé France
85 MINARD Sébastien France
86 MORENI Cristian Italy
87 NUYENS Nick Belgium
88 SCHEIRLINCKX Staf Belgium

CREDIT AGRICOLE
91 BELLOTTI Francesco Italy
92 BODROGI Laszlo Hungary
92 BODROGI Laszlo Hungary
93 BONNET William France
94 DEAN Julian New Zealand
95 KAGGESTAD Mads Norway
96 HINAULT Sébastien France
97 HUSHOVD Thor Norway
98 LAURENT Christophe France

DISCOVERY CHANNEL PRO CYCLING TEAM
101 BILEKA Volodymyr Ukraine
102 CUMMINGS Steven United Kingdom
103 DAVIS Allan Australia
104 GUSEV Vladimir Russia
105 PADRNOS Pavel Czech Republic
106 POPOVYCH Yaroslav Ukraine
107 VAITKUS Tomas Lithuania
108 WHITE Matthew Australia

EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
111 ALBIZURI ARANSOLO Benat Spain
112 LUENGO CELAYA Anton Spain
113 BRU PASCAL Yon Spain
114 ETXEBARRIA ARANA Unai Venezuela
115 FERNANDEZ Koldo Spain
116 HERNANDEZ GUTIERREZ Aitor Spain
117 PENA IZA Aketza Spain
118 MAYOZ Ivan Spain

FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
121 AUGER Ludovic France
122 DETILLOUX Christophe Belgium
123 DACRUZ Carlos France
124 GILBERT Philippe Belgium
125 GUESDON Frédéric France
126 LÖVKVIST Thomas Sweden
127 MENGIN Christophe France
128 PATANCHON Fabien France

GEROLSTEINER
131 HAUSSLER Heinrich Germany
132 KOPP David Germany
133 MOLETTA Andrea Italy
134 REBELLIN Davide Italy
135 SCHUMACHER Stefan Germany
136 WEGMANN Fabian Germany
137 WROLICH Peter Austria
138 FOTHEN Thomas Germany

LAMPRE/FONDITAL
141 BALLAN Alessandro Italy
142 BENNATI Daniele Italy
143 NAPOLITANO Danilo Italy
144 BALDATO Fabio Italy
145 CORIONI Claudio Italy
146 RIGHI Daniele Italy
147 STANGELJ Gorazd Slovenia
148 VILA ERRANDONEA Francisco Javier Spain

PREDICTOR/LOTTO
151 AERTS Mario Belgium
152 HOSTE Leif Belgium
153 MCEWEN Robbie Australia
154 ROESEMS Bert Belgium
155 VANSEVENANT Wim Belgium
156 VAN SUMMEREN Johan Belgium
157 LEUKEMANS Björn Belgium
158 CIONI Dario David Italy

QUICKSTEP/INNERGETIC
161 BETTINI Paolo Italy
162 BARREDO LLAMAZALES Carlos Spain
163 BOONEN Tom Belgium
164 HULSMANS Kevin Belgium
165 ROSSELER Sébastien Belgium
166 TOSATTO Matteo Italy
167 VAN IMPE Kevin Belgium
168 VISCONTI Giovanni Italy

RABOBANK
171 BOVEN Jan Netherlands
172 FLECHA GIANNONI Juan Antonio Spain
173 FREIRE GOMEZ Oscar Spain
174 DE GROOT Bram Netherlands
175 HORRILLO MUNOZ Pedro Spain
176 HAYMAN Mathew Australia
177 VAN BON Leon Netherlands
178 VAN HEESWIJK Max Netherlands

SAUNIER DUVAL/PRODIR
181 MILLAR David United Kingdom
182 BELOHVOSCIKS Raivis Latvia
183 DEL NERO Jesus Spain
184 MAZUR Peter Poland
185 BENITEZ ROMAN Jose Alberto Spain
186 MORI Manuele Italy
187 RICCO Riccardo Italy
188 VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco José Spain

TEAM CSC
191 SCHLECK Frank Luxembourg
192 KROON Karsten Netherlands
193 CANCELLARA Fabian Switzerland
194 LJUNGQVIST Marcus Sweden
195 HAEDO Juan José Argentina
196 O'GRADY Stuart Australia
197 ROBERTS Luke Australia
198 BRESCHEL Matti Denmark

TEAM L.P.R.
201 BOZIC Borut Slovenia
202 MARCATO Marco Italy
203 GUTIERREZ CATALUNA José Enrique Spain
204 GUTIERREZ CATALUNA Ignacio Spain
205 SOLARI Luca Italy
206 BELLIN Maurizio Italy
207 TRAFICANTE Roberto Italy
208 DIETZIKER Andreas Switzerland

TEAM MILRAM
211 PETACCHI Alessandro Italy
212 ZABEL Erik Germany
213 ASTARLOA ASCASIBAR Igor Spain
214 CELESTINO Mirko Italy
215 KNEES Christian Germany
216 ONGARATO Alberto Italy
217 SACCHI Fabio Italy
218 VELO Marco Italy

TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
221 AGGIANO Elio Italy
222 BRUTT Pavel Russia
223 COMMESSO Salvatore Italy
224 KIRYIENKA Vasil Belarus
225 CONTRINI Daniele Italy
226 MINDLIN Anton Russia
227 IGNATIEV Mikhail Russia
228 SERRANO GONZALEZ Ricardo Spain

T-MOBILE TEAM
231 BERNUCCI Lorenzo Italy
232 CIOLEK Gerald Germany
233 EISEL Bernhard Austria
234 GRABSCH Bert Germany
235 HAMMOND Roger United Kingdom
236 KIRCHEN Kim Luxembourg
237 KLIER Andreas Germany
238 PIIL Jakob Denmark

UNIBET.COM
241 COOKE Baden Australia
242 COYOT Arnaud France
243 CASPER Jimmy France
244 TEN DAM Laurens Netherlands
245 GARDEYN Gorik Belgium
246 GOLAS Michal Poland
247 ZANOTTI Marco Italy
248 HUNT Jeremy United Kingdom

Milano - San Remo
PALMARES
2006 POZZATO Filippo (Ita)
2005 PETACCHI Alessandro (ITA)
2004 Freire Oscar (Esp)
2003 BETTINI Paolo (Ita)
2002 CIPOLLINI Mario (Ita)
2001 ZABEL Erik (Ger)
2000 ZABEL Erik
1999 Tchmil Andrei (Bel)
1998 ZABEL Erik (Ger)
1997 ZABEL Erik (Ger)
1996 Colombo Gabriele (Ita)
1995 Jalabert Laurent (Fra)
1994 Furlan Giorgio (Ita)
1993 Fondriest Maurizio (Ita)
1992 Kelly Sean (Irl)
1991 Chiappucci Claudio (Ita)
1990 Bugno Gianni (Ita)
1989 Fignon Laurent (Fra)
1988 Fignon Laurent (Fra)
1987 Maechler Erich (Sui)
1986 Kelly Sean (Irl)
1985 Kuiper Hennie (Hol)
1984 Moser Francesco (Ita)
1983 Saronni Giuseppe (Ita)
1982 Gomez Marc (Fra)
1981 De Wolf Fons (Bel)
1980 Gavazzi Pierino (Ita)
1979 De Vlaeminck Roger (Bel)
1978 De Vlaeminck Roger (Bel)
1977 Raas Jan (Hol)
1976 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1975 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1974 Gimondi Felice (Ita)
1973 De Vlaeminck Roger (Bel)
1972 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1971 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1970 Dancelli Michele (Ita)
1969 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1968 Altig Rudi (All)
1967 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1966 Merckx Eddy (Bel)
1965 Den Hartog Arie (Hol)
1964 Simpson Tom (Gbr)
1963 Groussard Joseph (Fra)
1962 Daems Emile (Bel)
1961 Poulidor Raymond (Fra)
1960 Privat René (Fra)
1959 Poblet Miguel (Esp)
1958 Van Looy Rik (Bel)
1957 Poblet Miguel (Esp)
1956 De Bruyne Alfred (Bel)
1955 Derijcke Germain (Bel)
1954 Van Steenbergen Rik (Bel)
1953 Petrucci Loretto (Ita)
1952 Petrucci Loretto (Ita)
1951 Bobet Louison (Fra)
1950 Bartali Gino (Ita)
1949 Coppi Fausto (Ita)
1948 Coppi Fausto (Ita)
1947 Bartali Gino (Ita)
1946 Coppi Fausto (Ita)
1943 Cinelli Cino (Ita)
1942 Leoni Adolfo (Ita)
1941 Favalli Pierino (Ita)
1940 Bartali Gino (Ita)
1939 Bartali Gino (Ita)
1938 Olmo Giuseppe (Ita)
1937 Del Cancia Cesare (Ita)
1936 Varetto Angelo (Ita)
1935 Olmo Giuseppe (Ita)
1934 Demuysere Joseph (Bel)
1933 Guerra Learco (Ita)
1932 Bovet Alfredo (Ita)
1931 Binda Alfredo (Ita)
1930 Mara Michele (Ita)
1929 Binda Alfredo (Ita)
1928 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1927 Chesi Pietro (Ita)
1926 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1925 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1924 Linari Pietro (Ita)
1923 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1922 Brunero Giovanni (Ita)
1921 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1920 Belloni Gaetano (Ita)
1919 Gremo Angelo (Ita)
1918 Girardengo Costante (Ita)
1917 Belloni Gaetano (Ita)
1915 Corlaita Ezio (Ita)
1914 Agostoni Ugo (Ita)
1913 Defraye Odile (Bel)
1912 Pelissier Henri (Fra)
1911 Garrigou Gustave (Fra)
1910 Christophe Eugène (Fra)
1909 Ganna Luigi (Ita)
1908 Van Hauwaert Cyrille (Bel)
1907 Petit-Breton Lucien (Fra)