Paolo Bettini is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably one of the strongest of all times, he won gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics road race and in the 2006 and 2007 World Road Race Championships. He is nicknamed Il Grillo for his repeated sudden attacks and his sprinting style.
Damiano Cunego is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2002 and 2018 for the Saeco, Lampre–Merida and Nippo–Vini Fantini–Europa Ovini teams.
The UCI Road World Cup was a season-long road cycling competition held from 1989 until 2004 and comprising ten one-day events.
Davide Rebellin was an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 1992 and 2022 for twelve different teams, taking more than sixty professional wins. He was considered one of the finest classics specialists of his generation with more than fifty top ten finishes in UCI Road World Cup and UCI ProTour classics.
Michele Bartoli is a retired Italian road racing cyclist. Bartoli was a professional cyclist from 1992 until 2004 and was one of the most successful single-day classics specialists of his generation, especially in the Italian and Belgian races. On his palmarès are three of the five monuments of cycling—five in total: the 1996 Tour of Flanders, the 1997 and 1998 Liège–Bastogne–Liège and the 2002 and 2003 Giro di Lombardia. He won the UCI Road World Cup in 1997 and 1998. From 10 October 1998 until 6 June 1999, Bartoli was number one on the UCI Road World Rankings.
Hendrikus Andreas "Hennie" Kuiper is a Dutch former professional road racing cyclist. His career includes a gold medal in the Olympic road race at Munich in 1972, becoming world professional road race champion in 1975, as well as winning four of the five "Monument" classics. He rode the Tour de France 12 times, finishing second twice and winning the stage to Alpe d'Huez on two occasions. Kuiper, Ercole Baldini and Paolo Bettini are the only riders to have won both the Olympic road race and the world professional road race.
Philippe Gilbert is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three Ardennes classics – the Amstel Gold Race, La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège – in a single season, which he accomplished in 2011. Gilbert also finished the 2011 season as the overall winner of the UCI World Tour.
The 2004 Liège–Bastogne–Liège took place April 25, 2004 and saw Davide Rebellin win his first Liège–Bastogne–Liège, capping a victorious week having already won the Amstel Gold Race and La Flèche Wallonne to complete a rare Ardennes triple. The previous year's winner, Tyler Hamilton, finished in ninth position.
The 2003 UCI Road World Cup was the fifteenth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It had the same calendar of the 2000 edition.
The Ardennes classics are three cycling classics held in mid-April in the Belgian Ardennes and southern Limburg in the Netherlands: Liège–Bastogne–Liège, La Flèche Wallonne and Amstel Gold Race. First held in 1892, 1936 and 1966 respectively, the races are notable for their hilly courses, and often have similar riders competing for the top positions as the races are held closely following each other. Cyclists that are specialized in these hilly courses are known as puncheurs. In recent years, the three classics have been held within an 8-day timeframe.
Fränk René Schleck is a Luxembourgish former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2003 and 2016, for Team Saxo Bank and Trek–Segafredo. Schleck is the older brother of Andy, winner of the 2010 Tour de France. Their father, Johny Schleck, was a professional road bicycle racer between 1965 and 1974, as was their grandfather, Gustave Schleck, who contested events in the 1930s.
The 2001 UCI Road World Cup was the thirteenth edition of the UCI Road World Cup.
The 1996 UCI Road World Cup was the eighth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It was won by Belgian classics specialist Johan Museeuw of the Mapei–GB team.
The 1997 UCI Road World Cup was the ninth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It was won by Italian classics specialist Michele Bartoli of the MG Maglificio–Technogym team.
The 85th running of Liège–Bastogne–Liège was held on 18 April 1999. It was the fourth leg of the 1999 UCI Road World Cup, held between Paris–Roubaix and Amstel Gold Race. Belgian Frank Vandenbroucke won the race after a solo attack on the Côte de Saint-Nicolas. Dutchmen Michael Boogerd and Maarten den Bakker completed the podium. 71 of 191 riders finished the race.
The 1998 UCI Road World Cup was the tenth edition of the UCI Road World Cup, cycling's season-long competition of the ten top-tier one-day classics. It was won by Italian classics specialist Michele Bartoli of the Asics–CGA team. Italian team Mapei–Bricobi won the team competition and placed four riders in the individual top-ten.
The 84th running of the Liège–Bastogne–Liège cycling classic was held on 19 April 1998. It was the fourth leg of the 1998 UCI Road World Cup, coming between Paris–Roubaix and the Amstel Gold Race. Italian Michele Bartoli won the race, for the second year running, after a solo attack at 16 km (9.9 mi) from the finish. As in the previous edition, Frenchman Laurent Jalabert was second; Rodolfo Massi completed the podium. 102 of 193 riders finished the race.
The 2002 UCI Road World Cup was the fourteenth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It had the same calendar of the 2001 edition.
The 2000 UCI Road World Cup was the twelfth edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It was won by Erik Zabel. Zabel led the classification after all the single races, the only time this feat happened in World Cup history.
The 1999 UCI Road World Cup was the eleventh edition of the UCI Road World Cup. It was won by Belgian classics specialist Andrei Tchmil.
Paolo Bettini (ITA) (Quick-Step–Davitamon)
