1998 Three Days of De Panne - Michele Bartoli

Until 2017, the peloton would compete in the Three Days of De Panne in the week before the Tour of Flanders. The race takes the riders through West and East Flanders in four stages. De Panne is a final test for the riders and an appetizer for the followers. The same names regularly appear in both competitions. Michele Bartoli's, for example. With a final victory in the three-day event (1995) and the Tour of Flanders (1996) to his credit, he was there lined up to start the Three Days of De Panne in 1998. Bartoli grabbed the lead after leader Dario Pieri took a fall with a flat tyre. The Tuscan rider added lustre to his final victory by finishing second in the final time trial, behind top specialist David Millar. But three days later, unbound Johan Museeuw was unstoppable in the Tour of Flanders, while Bartoli finished in the chasing group and came sixth.