The Italian suffered in the cold weather that hit Tirreno-Adriatico last weekend, putting his participation in La Classicissima in doubt. After training fully on Thursday, however, Petacchi confirmed that he will be on the start-line in Milan.
“I still only feel so-so but I managed to do three and a half hours of training behind a motorbike,” Petacchi told Gazzetta dello Sport. “Obviously it was raining, but fortunately it wasn’t cold.”
In spite of a hugely truncated start to his season, Petacchi managed second place behind Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervélo) on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico and he explained that he is trained as well as his circumstances have allowed.
“My conscience is at peace because insofar as I have been able, I’ve trained to perfection,” he said. “The cold is getting better, the problem is the coughing, which even last night stopped me from sleeping.”
The 2005 Milan-San Remo winner is philosophical about his chances this time around, however, and he acknowledged that his illness could mean that he is lacking the necessary sharpness in the finale.
“At this point, things are going the way they’re going,” Petacchi said. “I’ll try even if I’m not at my best. To be at my best I’d need a miracle.”
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