Gasparotto grabs victory in Amstel Gold Race

 　　THE HAGUE, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Enrico Gasparotto secured the biggest victory of his cycling career by claiming the first place in the Amstel Gold Race in the Dutch province of Limburg on Sunday.

　　The 30-year-old Italian took the win by beating his rivals in a sprint¹ on the final climb of the Cauberg. Belgian rider Jelle Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) finished second and Peter Sagan of Slovakia (Liquigas-Cannondale) was third.

　　In the 47th edition of the Dutch cycling classic the competitors had to overcome 31 hills in the race over 256.5 kilometers from Maastricht to the Cauberg in Valkenburg. After 50 kilometers a breakaway group was formed with nine riders, reaching a maximum lead of 13 minutes and 20 seconds.

　　Alex Howes (USA, Garmin) and Romain Bardet (FRA, AG2R), were the last two to survive, but were caught up by the bunch with only ten kilometers remaining. Oscar Freire was the next to escape and the Spanish Katusha rider seemed on his way to victory, but he collapsed² on the final climb on which Gasparotto was the strongest.

　　"Two years ago I already finished third and last year I did not have enough patience," Gasparotto told afterwards to Dutch TV channel NOS. "I remembered that. I knew I had to be concentrated, because this race race suits me perfectly³. My team mates did a good job for me. It's my biggest victory together with my Italian title in 2005."

　　WorldTour leader Tom Boonen, who won the prestigious⁴ classics Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix this season, did not participate in the Amstel Gold Race because of a foot infection.

1 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

2 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

3 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。