By Hedwig Kröner in Salzburg
Shaking hands and greeting old friends, the king of sprinters is also present in Salzburg for the world's; Mario Cipollini was enjoying the sunshine in the park adjacent to the Mirabellplatz, where the start/finish area is located. Asked what his opinion of the course was, the stylish Italian admitted that he hadn't ridden it on his bike.
"But what I can tell from just watching the Espoir race, I think that a group of 70 riders or so could make it to the finish together," Cipo told Cyclingnews. "At first, I thought it was harder, but now... The U23's came in just two seconds behind the breakaway, and as the pros race will be much more organised, it could very well boil down to a bunch sprint."
Asked if he thought in that case that Boonen was going to win, he said, "I don't know! There are many sprinters - also Zabel and McEwen."
