March 22, 2007 – This morning Paolo Bettini had to suspend his training due to the pain he was in. This recurring pain is a direct consequence of a fall he had during stage 4 at Tirreno-Adriatico. The Road World Champion visited a specialist medical centre at Parma this afternoon and underwent an ultra sound and x-rays that highlighted a fracture of his fourth rib on the left side and a lesion of his left pectoral greater muscle.

“I’d like to underline that it is my intention to take part in the Milano Sanremo race,” said Bettini, “this will be my 10th participation in a row and I really want to be there to honour the race that sees the 100th edition this year, my fans and my jersey. With my present condition I really can’t say whether I’ll be competitive or not. As so often happens, kilometre after kilometre it will be the sensations I have that will decide what role I’ll be able to have in the race”.