The 11th edition of the Memorial Marco Pantani was held today over 190 kilometers, starting and finishing in the Italian town of Cesenatico. Sonny Colbrelli (Bardiani CSF) won out in the sprint ahead of Grega Bole (Vini Fantini Nippo) and Fabio Chinello (Area Zero).

Tiago Machado of Team NetApp – Endura dominated the race for long periods but lost out in the final stretch.

"Tiago made a good effort today in the course of his preparation for the world championship, and he did all he could to avoid the mass sprint. Tiago tried to attack over and over again. Of course, then you also need to hope that fortune will favor the bold, but today we were denied that. We tried to hang in there for the victory. It didn't work out, so in the end we have nothing to show for it," says Christian Pömer, Sport Director of Team NetApp – Endura.

A six-man leading group formed early on in the race and the field let them build up a lead of almost seven minutes. On the first climb of the day, after around 50 kilometers, the peloton was already riding at high speed.

As the race continued, this pace was kept up under the leadership of the Italian National Team, so the breakaway riders were caught again. On the last lap, a new leading group formed around Tiago Machado. Behind this, a following bunch of 15 riders was established, including Bartosz Huzarski.

When they caught up with the leaders, Machado launched another attack. He maintained a lead over the bunch right up to the final stretch. Just four kilometers before the finish they all closed up again, resulting in a mass sprint.