cyclingnews.com,
9 April 2007
Battling Belgian cobbles
Alessandro Ballan succeeded in doing what no Italian has done since 'The Gladiator', Andrea Tafi, did in 2002: he won the monumental Spring Classic Ronde van Vlaanderen. The 27 year-old bolted away from the likes of Tom Boonen, Fabian Cancellara and Paolo Bettini on the Muur.