First road race of the 2003 season on Croatian territory, and first win of the season for an amateur team. Words that perfectly sum up what happened on Sunday afternoon in the Istrian town of Porec, a coastal resort on the Adriatic sea, where the opening round of "Trofej Plave Lagune" ("Blue Lagoon Trophy"), a 131-km. long, UCI-1.5 sanctioned race, featuring professional and amateur riders alike, took place.

And the first Under 23 winner of the year on European soil was 22-year-old Angelo Ciccone from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, riding with the Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site squad. The young gun, an excellent sprinter and also a good track specialist, such that he was part of the Italian line-up for the team pursuit race at the 2002 World Cup in Colombia, edged out breakaway companion Radoslav Rogina of Slovenia to take line honours.

Two more riders of the Marchiol Frezza team, Michele Maccanti and Antonio D'Aniello, came in third and fourth respectively, while the best-placed Croat, Massimo De Marin, ranked fifth.

The second race of Trofej Plave Lagune is set to run on Sunday, February 16th, with both the starting and finishing line located in Porec. But even next Sunday professional and amateur riders will get on their bikes in Istria again, for the first round of the UCI-1.5 GP Istria, a lap around the town of Umag.

Trofej Plave Lagune 1 (Porec, Croatia): Full Results

1. Angelo Ciccone (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - 3h29'25" (37.532 km/h)

2. Radoslav Rogina (Slo- Perutnina Ptuj) - s.t.

3. Michele Maccanti (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - at 07"

4. Antonio D'Aniello (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - at 14"

5. Massimo Demarin (Cro - Perutnina Ptuj) - s.t.

6. Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - at 22"

7. Tomislav Danculovic (Cro - Perutnina Ptuj) - s.t.

8. Gregor Zajc (Slo - Kamen Cremcaffé Kavaimpex) - s.t.

9. Andrej Omulec (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - s.t.

10. Maurizio Biondo (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - s.t.

11. Igor Kranjec (Slo - Kamen Cremcaffe Kavaimpex) - at 28"

12. Dean Podgornik (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - at 03'20"

13. David Demanuele (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - at 05'20"

14. Gregor Gazvoda (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - at 15'01"

15. Fabio Lucchin (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - s. t.

16. Anatoliy Varvaruk (Ukr - Kamen Cremcaffé Kavaimpex) - s. t.

17. Dejan Vracic (Slo - TBP Lenart) - s. t.

18. Vanja Satinovic (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - s. t.

19. Denis Inamo (Slo - TBP Lenart) - s. t.

20. Gregor Kodric (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - s. t.

21. Luigi Bonfrate (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - s. t.

22. Francesco Conserva (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - s. t.

23. David Crmelj (Slo - Perutnina Ptuj) - s. t.

24. Marko Baloh (Slo - TBP Lenart) - s. t.

25. Mauro Dadalto (Ita - Marchiol Frezza Safi-Site) - at 15'26"

Porec Trophy: Recent Winners

2002 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr - Landbouwkrediet-Colnago)

2001 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro - Krka Telekom Slovenije)

2000 Endrio Leoni (Ita)