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Older Tour Reports: 2002 Giro D'Italia
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Cyclofiend Tour Reports - "Race-Report" @ cyclofiend.com These reports were originally distributed by direct email to folks who were interested. They now are sent via a mailing list. You can sign up for the reports by going here. These Mailman-distributed reports are now archived here 2002 Giro D'Italia Prologue - 5/11 Goningen - Netherlands This was a truly odd start to the Giro. Tight, tight course, with
180's over the canals and narrow turns. Some guy whose name I don't
recall gets an early lead, and all the heads of state fail to catch
him. Finally, Juan Carlos Dominguez, late of iBanesto.com and now
with Phonak manages to scoot across the line a second faster, taking
the day and the first Maglia Rosa. I won't go into the details of
the stage, other than to say Pantani was deep, deep in the back,
and Simoni looked slow as well. Of course, he's at least recovering
from a cracked tibia, so he has an excuse. It happened a couple
days ago, and I'm tying from memoryh, so if you need more details
on the rankings, check the VeloNews report... Doninguez utterly
cannot open the champage, taking minutes to crack the first cork,
and finally giving up on the second. Bob Roll calls it the new record
for time needed to open a bottle of champage. They should train
for that... Oh, and Tyler Hamilton tumbles into a barrier because
he follows a wide white stripe around a tight corner that turns
out to be the vertical of a large "P" or "R". It continues 30 degrees
away from where he wants to go, and Tyler's clearly focused upon
it before he locks up and tumbles upside down against the metal
barriar. Some other rider gets 10 feet down the start ramp and you
can see his handlebar jiggling from a snapped stem bolt. Starts
the prologue by changing to his spare bike before the follow car
even has a chance to straighten out onto the road. Damn. Stage 1 - 5/12 Groningen to Munster Another Day in the North...Germans everywhere Overcast and spring
classic skies, without the occurence of rain. Textbook example of
a great team leadout, without the wasteful excess of the late, lamented
"Red Train" of Saeco - Aqua & Sapone lead out Super Mario to let
him hit hyper-drive. All a thing of beauty. No one coming near him,
but a big chunk of the pack got chopped off as a crash occurs on
the third cirucuit in Munster. Looks like they lost about 2/3rds
of the peloton, but there's a healthy 40-45 riders rubbing bar tape.
Germans crowd the barriers 20 yards deep in places, and Telekom
tries but fails to take control. Coast cannot pull things together,
but Phonak makes another strong punch and gets two riders into the
top 5. Stage 2 - 5/13 Cologne to Liege... Serious Belgian roads doing some damage to the pretenders. Finish
runs into the Liege-Bastogne-Liege finish, and the speed increases
as the stage ends. Brutal bursts and a strong accelleration up the
climb in town by Francesco Casagrande splits the lead pack, and
a mad scramble occurs as Bettini, Garzelli and others claw their
way back. Suddenly, Bettini is off the back and out of contention
as he flats. This frees Garzelli, who muscles his way up to Casagrande's
rear wheel. A minor regrouping becomes a growing gaggle of a dozen
riders as the roads level out. Simoni struggling, but looking like
he has power, if not the accelleration to match Casagrande's burst.
The elastic stretches again as the speed keeps raising to an incredible
degree. But, then Garzelli dips out of the slipstream and rides
away on the flat, winning the stage. Casagrande second, and a bunch
of others duking for third. Cipollini loses the pink jersey, coming
in about a minute down. He had tried to keep the pace high in the
last 5 km, but the hill of Liege saws him off. However, the pretender
to the sprint throne Ivan Quaranta is jettisoned with about 20 km
to go, and struggles quickly as the pace quickened in anticipation
of the Liege climb.
Stage 3 - Liege to Esch-sur (Luxembourg) Didn't tune in right away at 6:30 this morning, as I am still
hoping to hear my name called on CNET radio for a free computer...
When I turned the TV on, it looked like dry roads and a long breakaway,
but this is Belgium, so I hope you brought a raincoat... The stage
so far: Marc Streel (white over red - Lanboukredit/Colnago, but
there's another main sponsor) takes a flyer 30km in, and gets about
8 minutes or so up, but then the rains begin to hit. Everyone gets
soggy and begin to break out the rain capes, but the time gap begins
dropping as they cover the rain-soaked pavement. 43 km to go: Intergiro
sprint coming up at 40km, and the temperature drops as the peloton
suffers. Streel cruises into town and takes the max points as the
sun breaks through slightly and adds glare to the rain-covered roadways.
2:40 later a small bunch launches from the peloton and snag the
other salient points. Massimo Strazzer of Phonak takes the next
points, and Phil and Paul politely argue who leads the competition.
Rain capes begin to be jettisoned, and the gap is down to 1:33.
Peloton shakes the water out of their ears as the sun comes out
in earnest. They consider the gap like a cat playing with a caught
bird. 35 km to go: Gap dangles to 1:48, but there are two or three
circuits once they get into town, so the sprinters will leave him
out there for a bit. Bob Roll relates a story from the Tour of Britain,
in which he lost a cleat and then a chain while leading over the
cobbled finish. Phil, "...we were in Wales, and I don't think they'd
ever heard that language before..." 25 km to go: Gap at about a
miniute. The last suffering continues... 17 km to go: Onto the finishing
circuit. My mistake earlier - only one circuit. Peloton goes through
:53 behind Streel. Still very bunched. They could grab him whenever
they want to....all are together. 13 km to go: 22 second gap. Falling.
15 km go: Groupo Compatto The peloton begins to frolic a bit, as
Quaranta's team begins some agitations - Paolo Salvodelli is a teammate
- and the Zebra Brigade of Cipo begin to stake out their turf. Paolo
Bettini leads the peloton for a bit on a short moderate climb, while
another Phonak rider (Alexandre Moots) jets away and Munoz joins
him. Verbrugghe suddenly appears and the group of three scratches
out a slight gap. Verbrugghe's presence alerts everyone and it is
shut down. The speed cranks up quickly and things begin to stretch
as Mapei's Bettini and Robbie Hunter get back in control to keep
Garzelli on the front and in the maglia rosa. Cipo has a group of
5 zebras quietly sitting behind ready to strike. 10 km to go: Lotto,
Phonak, Aqua & Sapone all jostling 5 km to go: Maximillian Sciandri
takes a flyer as they come out of a tight corner and gets about
5 seconds. I miss the regrouping because Tashi needs to go out back
and do, um "dog stuff".... 1 km to go: Three zebras lead the peloton
as they go under the kite, and peel off in well-drilled precision,
while Strazzer and Danilo Hondo from Telekom figure they'll pop
around at the end. Broad roadway with a straight finish. Speed is
phenomenal as the pretenders squiggle backwards. Last zebra peels
off with about 400 m to go and Cipollini throws it into gear - a
gear that no one else has. Strazzer goes to his right and Hondo
goes left, but both are bouncing in the wake of the flying striped
lion. He wins hands up and roaring, accellerating away. Strazzer
takes second, and Hondo nabs third. Yes, he has won 36 Giro Stages.
Other notes: Phonak lists Jim Ochewicz as their technical director and has been a main animator both in the prologue and early stages. Bob Roll is the star of a series of OLN Giro D'Italia ads that has him riding a bike and relating stories in Italian while wearing a maglia rosa Didn't mention it specifically, but Cipo's win gives him 35 total Giro wins, second to Alfredo Binda. He needs 6 more to equal the record. Stage 4: Esch-sur Alzette (Luxumbourg) to Strasbourg (France) (7:15 am) I tune into the stage as the peloton crosses a high river
bridge and chaos immediately ensues. The narrow bridge causes a
correctioin in the full peloton and many riders go down hard. Several
Mercatone Uno riders are down, one down very hard, which is not
a surprise because they have been (as usual) dinking around in the
back. A couple Aqua & Sapone riders bounce down and up. Juan Julio
Perez is back there two, but he manages to keep his new teeth intact.
They must have been flying through the beautiful French sunny weather,
because we're at 19 km to go Tears begin to fly as the pace stays
high and the "silly crash" victims claw their way back. 15 km to
go: Many teams are cranking up the pace, and riders are scooting
through the car caravan trying to get back in place in the peleton.
Pavel Tonkov gets back on, and other pairs are nipping in and out.
Lotto is visible at the front. 10 km to go: Lotto stays near the
front, with Phonak and Telekom working to keep their sprinters in
contention. The pace on these flat French, tree-lined roads remains
blistering. 8 km to go: Telekom leading for Danilo Hondo & working
hard, while Aqua & Sapone slowly gathers the remaining members and
waits quietly. It's shaping up to be a slightly more disorganized
sprint with risks & elbows flying. Traffic islands fly past in a
blur and Aqua & Sapone start pushing their noses into the wind with
5 km to go: Phonak try to push their man Mario Strazzer (currently
leading the Intergiro competition) up a bit, but Telekom still keeps
the pace at 34 - 35 mph and they have trouble organizing. 3 km to
go: A hard tun on a wide bridge takes them over the river and another
zebra pops up into the lead to push out the pace again - I can't
get his name, but he was one of the guys involved in the narrow
bridge crash. Clearly, he understands what his job is. Suddenly
they have three A&S riders on the front and Cipollini is sitting
in ideal position on third position into the last kilometer. These
guys are phenomenally well-drilled - doing better with probably
a little less raw speed than the old red train of Saeco. 1 km to
go: Hondo drops 6 or 7 places as they scrunch around a traffic circle.
McEwan from Australia sits in the catbird seat and they hit the
final straight.The last A&S leadout mand drifts off and Cipollini
fires away from the field and everyone growls and explodes towards
the line.Cipo guns it down the barriers and then edges out as toward
the center of the road as the line grows near. McEwan claws his
way up on his left as the background blurs and no one else has the
raw speed to be in the mix. McEwan works his way up Cipo's left
side and hurls his bike forward towards the line - AND GETS IT BY
A TIRE WIDTH! Yep, confirmed by the photo finish! Robbie McEwan
(current Australian national champ) of Lotto beats the zebra/lion
king... Stage Winner: Robbie McEwan Maglia Rosa: Stephano Garzelli Garzelli will wear the maglia rosa as they go into Italy on Friday for the first time. Warmer weather awaits - many in the peloton still wearing vests and armwarmers today, despite full sun on the race course. I neglected to mention that Tyler Hamilton has looked strong, particularly in the climb to Liege yesterday. Unfortunately, he was delayed a bit by the crash, though not directly involved. The speed in the last 500 meters was stunning, as expected sprinters fell off the back like hung over club riders. 5/16/02 - Rest Day Soon the Giro D'Italia will actually begin taking place in Italy, as the entire cast and crew of the 2002 Giro move down to the northwest corner of the country for which the race is named. They are broadcasting a "highlights" show today on OLN, but frankly, there's something a bit self-congratulatory about doing something like that this early. The riders certainly have left some skin upon pavement and quite a bit of sweat misting through the air of western Europe, but it's a three week bike race, and the real demonic chapters remain in the future. Watching cycling is a strange thing, as is sometimes pointed out to me by my dog. It is of course a very complex series of events with a simple outcome - at the end someone crosses the line first. Yet, it is the complex interactions of the unfolding race which captivates--small alliances between uncommonly linked teams, riders finding themselves suddenly out of gas and flailing behind supportive teammates, the amazing logistics of moving nearly 200 cyclists over 100 miles along major roadways. All these things combine each day in unexpected ways. A tour becomes a living organism of itself. I'm not sure where this report is heading - it was originally intended to point out the difference between process-oriented events and results-oriented events. But, that idea was discarded, as every serious rider is looking for results, and even the most banal grudge match on WWF has a process to it. Listening to Bob Roll, Paul Sherwin and Phil Liggett, with their easy patter behind the race, I find so much of the history and heritage of cycling unfolding. Whether it's Phil telling stories of past racers and the rivalries of older days, Paul relating searing intensity of the day's course, or Bob describe the exquisite pain of hanging onto the speeding peloton, the history of bicycle racing always manages to demonstrate that it is a larger canvas than one rider, one race or one year's tour. We can argue about riders and courses from early this century, the effects of technology upon the dynamics of racing, and find endless nuances to the pressures and demands of a very hard sport - all because of the multi-layered history of events reaching back over the last century. Despite all the distractions of modern civilization, this anachronism exists - someone has to push the pedals harder, remain a touch more clever and figure out a way to get their front wheel across the line first. ...and we are richer for it. Stage 5 - Fossano (Italy) to Limone Piemonte - 150k As Phil & Paul like to say, this stage has a "sting in the tail", with a couple serious climbs on the way up to Limone Piemonte 45 km to go Someone else wins today's computer giveaway on the radio, so I switch headphones and tune into the Giro coverage to find a small break of 9 or so about 1:10 off the front, while Bob Roll points out in logical detail why Marco Pantani makes life so bloody difficult for everyone on his squadra because he lives at the back of the peloton. The break has a pretty good makeup, with Gelosteiner (on their Kleins) represented by David Rebellin and Paolo Bettini from Mapei. There's a few Lanboukredeit and Rabobank riders in there too. The group edges out to a 2:40 gap, before the peloton works things out a little and begin to work together enough to match the speed. There are several "heads of state" positioned near the front of the peloton, eyeing one another. The first part of the climb will begin at about 127 km -- it's a nasty little spike on the course, popping up to 21% in places -- up to 1400 m from 600 m -- and Bob Roll notices that a few riders are running a 25. Lead group paces underneath the 35 km to go mark Peloton not quite loafing along, content to remain within striking distance and ready to put the hammer down...which they sort of begin to do as we go to a commercial. The climb is about 5 or 6 km away, and the peloton has closed it down to about 1:00. Rabobank at the front, while a shave-headed Garzelli is sitting in about 4th position - he has had a special set of Mapei shorts made in pink to match his jersey - nothing like the array of Latexco "jello cubes" on a pink background. A Rabobank rider (Addy Engles) in the break takes a flyer as they hit the climb, while we pass under 25 km to go as the peloton begin to pick up faltering members of the break. Paolo Bettini jumps as Engels legs lock up and he starts to falter. Bettini gets a noticable gap and climbs as only the bird-boned can do. Back in the main group, Garzelli is on the front, with Casagrande right on his shoulder, and Simoni & Tyler Hamilton sitteing right with him. Cadel Evans, riding for Mapei, sits right there as well. The gradiant is brutal, but these guys remain the animators at the head of the peloton - now stretched noticeably with riders faltering and dropping off the pace. Geologically speaking, there's a first climb, followed by a steep, twisty descent and then the continued climb to the finish. A Telekom rider (Hickman?) scratches his way back up to Bettini. Huge crowd on narrow, narrow twisty, hairpin road. They could probably join hands above the riders without working too hard at it. Bettini pops away again as the entire Italian population howls, runs alongside and pours water over his head - he might be in danger of drowning before he reaches the GPM (Grande Premio Mountania) banner. 3,084 ft summit reached by Bettini as the lead group catches on right at the top. Bettini is sitting in the lead, and Garzelli, Hamilton, Casagrande, Simoni and Evans latch on. Mapei now has 3 strong climbers in the lead break. Behind them, the peloton is splintered and the big boys drag themselves painfully over the last of the 2 1/2 mile climb. Pantani loses 2:09 on the climb. He was not helped by starting DFL in the peloton. In fact, his climbing speed was quite high, but the sheer idiocy of being on the end of the line as they hit a steep, narrow climb is glarinigly evident. There's still a 14 km climb to go after a treacherous descent. Unfortunately, OLN has to pay the bills, so we get to watch ads for Michelin tires as the lead group negotiates 270 degree switchbacks next to stone farm buildings on turns that were designed in the mid 1600's. Oh well. Base of the descent. The lead group spins through town, with about 32 seconds away from a second group. As the camera pans the group, it is obvious that Tyler hamilton went down on the descent - the back of his jersey shredded - but has stayed in touch with the leading groups. He looks like he's just off the back of the second group. The second group with a gang of Gerolsteiners is bending the will of all around them to get attached before they hit the final climb. The last bit won't be as steep, but it is a longer bit. Lead group has Garzelli, Simoni, Casagrande among others. Ohhhh, ow! They show the crash of Tyler. S-turn with a bad line into the first part, then a slightly panicked brief lockup. He seems to make it through the second part of the corner when all of a sudden, the bike wiggles and slips out, bad tumbling ensues in a fast, hard crash. Looks like he hits knees and elbows hard before rolling over once. As he gets up, he's already signalling for a spare bike. But, he's pretty bloody as the cameras find him in the second group, pushing the pace with the Gerolsteiners. Tyler pops off the front and rejoins the lead group as the wide, easier climb begins. The pace elevates and all the contenders are positioned. Grouppettos coalesce and join up, and with 10 km to go, the lead pack is now in the 40-45 rider range. There are 4 or 5 Mapei riders sheltering Garzelli. Bettini continues to set the pace. Pantani still chases in a fragment of the group and is sitting in a group now at least 2:20 back. Hamilton grabbed Carlos Sastrere's bike, and the team car is directly behind him with his replacement bike - they decide not to switch bikes as the pace remains high. 6 km to go - Pace remains strong, while Bettini drops away after having set the pace in a heroic fashion. Another of the Mapei riders takes up the charge, and they continue climbing. Pantani is suffering and his gap growing. (Phil, "...the only reason we're seeing the pictures of this group is befcause Pantani is in it.."). Luis Jimenez from Fromaggio Trentini (formerly Mobilvetta) takes a flyer under the 5 km banner - a Columbian rider hitting it hard and jumping away. 4 km to go - Still on a 6 - 7% gradiant wide main roads rolling along in the big ring, although they are saying that the road gets steep in the last 1 1/2 km. A Kelme rider takes off, catches and pops away from Jimenez. Tyler Hamilton leads a counter move and they lift the tempo as the road steepens. Pellizotti from Alessio jumps away and the screws start to get tightened down in the following group. 2 km to go - Pellizotti riding strongly, but there's a lot of road to go - and it's definitely steepening. Cadel Evans on the front of the group, leading a comfortable-looking Garzelli. Pellizotti is stretching his gap and holds a 10 second lead. Lampre rider (Garete) pops away - his team leader Pavel Tonkov is sitting on the back of the lead group and managing to hold on. Garete is crawling up to Pellizotti as they are in the last kilometer. Now the leaders surge and Garzelli leads a charge with the group. Pellizotti is caught immediately and Garete gets swept up at the same time. Garzelli leading and Casagrande is right on his shoulder, with Simoni and a couple Kelme riders in the mix. The course goes through a couple quick switchbacks and climbs - the power of Garzelli is evident as simply rides away from everyone. His form is clearly on. Casagrande falls back a bit, and the group follows him across the line. Stage Winner: Stephano Garzelli - Mapei Tyler Hamilton comes in 9th, about 9 seconds back Maglia Rosa: Stephano Garzelli Notes: Pantani comes in with two teammates 7:02 minutes down. Garzelli unfortunately cannot open the champagne bottle. This has been a consistent thread. Dario Frigo is suffering, and has dropped out of the top 10 in GC. Stage 6 - "Rainy Stage and Strange Days" - Cuneo to Varraza (Italy) Ok, something strange happened last night - our goofy VCR considers "EVERY DAY" to be "EVERY _WEEK_ DAY", so the tape didn't fire up until I awoke a few moments ago (7 am). Unfortunately, that's _NOT_ what is strange this morning: There's a breakaway, but instead of talking about the race sitaution, I'm coming into a discussion about Stephano Garzelli, including the phrases "Probenecid" and "Non-negative Result" It seems to be from a control sample which was taken in Belgium after the Liege stage. There will be a follow up test - as all three (plus Davis Phinney via telephone) noted, Probenecid is an older drug, shows up easily on tests, and has a dirutic effect, so that it would tend to boost hematocrit. Still, as we start the stage, Garzelli remains in the race, and in the maglia rosa. Panaria (the squad of crowd favorite Juan Julio Perez - the guy who last year snapped a chain on a mountain breakaway he could've won, lost his front teeth in a crash two days later, and finally won a mountain stage and found an Italian girlfriend during last year's Giro) might be in trouble. No. Let's correct that statement. Panaria is in deep shit: Nicola Chesini was arrested by Italian authorities - taken away from the race start, Faat Zakirov tested positive for the newest version of EPO and Filippo (something or other) has a warrant out for his arrest, but seems to have disappeared. It could be said that a few small clouds have formed over the 2002 Giro... Meanwhile on a snotty, rainy looking day, the peloton has let a break get over 6 minutes away from them with about 50 - 55 km to go Correcting the spelling from yesterday's posting - the KOM in Italian is GPM = Gran Premio della Montanga The lead group holds 5 - 6 minutes over a climb which has a GPM, but isn't a decisive gradiant, and they are 20 miles from the finish. Mariano Piccoli from Lampre is the most known rider in the breakaway group, and there is a zebra in there as well (Giovanni Lombardi). Others include Eddy Mazzollini - a couple Kelmes and a Phonak rider in the mix as well. The zebra Specialized bikes are the most visible in the rain. The discussion had really focused upon Garzelli, so there was really no discussion of the contents of the break, and then Tashi woke up and needed to eat breakfast, so we've lost a little info as the stage continues to drive through the wet, wet weather - it also looks like Jens Heppner of Telekom is in the break, and he's only 1:33 back on the GC. I wonder how the Italians feel about Germans leading their race...and if a Telekom rider wears pink, can anybody tell? More evidence that the leaders and contenders aren't pushing the pace - Marco Pantani has actually marshalled his forces towards the front and they are leading the peloton toward the peak - a sluggish, stuttering pace as the leaders seem disinterested in catching the break. They go under the banner 5:52 in arrears. A slick twisty descent. Nothing like having an old English Sheepdog appear from nowhere and try to bite your tire. The breakaway riders avoid it somehow. The devil passes quickly through the camera. Strangely, Phil admits that he doesn't know his name. I thought it was "Didi", and I remember reading an article on him - Phil laments that he doesn't seem to get as much camera time as he used to, and has now started showing up with his wife and child dressed as devils... Those hilarious, lighthearted Germans... Yaroslav Popovich (Lanboukredeit) who is in the break is either the current or a past under-23 Champion. Definitely a strong looking rider. Another rise stretches the lead group at 25km to go. Lombardi (not a climber) sets the pace in an aggressive manner to keep things intact. The peloton chases at just over 6 minutes behind, and they do not look like they will catch the break. Others take over the pace, as they all seem to be interested in dropping Lombardi if possible, as his leadout speed has netted him a couple of Giro wins. Cauchiolli is in the break, and he won a couple stages last year, so there are actually some very strong riders involved. Saeco tucks in behind the last Mercatoni Uno pacemakers in the peloton, and the pace quickens a bit, cutting 30 seconds off the break's lead. In the break, Heppner pops off the front as they head down a slight descent. The rain is not strong, but the roads are soaked and the overcast sky seems to be leaking steadily. Paul Sherwin shares some of his descending tips, Bob Roll chimes in a bit, and talks about Sean Yates' ability to "put the fear of God into other riders on the descent" 15 km to go as the descent continues on slick, slippery roads In the breakaway group, Angel Vicioso of Kelme attacks as the road begins to climb, and has another rider in the break. Eddie Mazzolleni jumps and tries to get on his wheel as they climb the last little rise. He hooks up after a strong effort and the rest of the breakaway dink around tryiing to encourage the others to go, losing a quick 10 seconds to the hard-charging climbers. 10 km banner passes overhead as the chasing breakaway riders begin to splinter a bit under the strain of the climb.Mazzolleni tries an accelleration, realizing that Viscioso is a stronger rider and will nip him in a sprint. But Vicioso cranks right back up to him after four quick punches on the pedals while out of the saddle. Phil mentions that Kelme has been having trouble paying riders since April, and may not be able to continue sponsoring the team - they are the longest single title sponsor still involved. That would be sad. They drop down more crazed Italian roads - nice and wide, but hellishly twisty. Great fun in the dry, but nightmare inducing in these slick, wet conditions. The course is musch more twisty and technical than anyone really thought it would be - everyone seemed ready for a nice broad stage to the coast. But, that seems to be consistent in the Giro Race Book - a general ignoring of major geological features and conditions. 5 km to go for the break. Breakaway reforming, but it seems as though the Mazzoleni/Vicioso combo is up the road. Cauchioli has made any moves. Phil is saying that they have caught the pair, but I'm not positive. But, they are no longer showing a separated pair, and Heppner is on the front hammering along the coast road. Lombardi is tucked into second, waiting... waiting... Salvodelli exploded out of the peloton on the descent as only he can, and is stuck between the group and the break. He's put a good gap between him and the peloton - this was Simoni's trick last year on the rainy stages. The break slides under the 1 km banner as the peloton goes under the 5 km Now the tightly bunched group eyes one another, spreading slightly as no one wants to take over the front. Lombardi is midpack, and Heppner is in the back end of the bunch. It coalesces with Mariano Piccoli pushed into the front position They head towards the finish line. Lombardi in the center mid-pack throws it into gear and accellerates away. Now, there's a man with some serious speed. No one is coming around that guy. Lombardi shows his stripes in an emphatic hands-up finish. The slow motion replay shows him continuing to gain distance on every rider as they head to the line. What acclleration! The peloton is now on the road and the clock has passed 3 mnutes, which guarantees Heppner moving into the maglia rosa Salvodelli comes across at around 4 minutes. The peloton crosses 5:05 back This shuffles things around a bit in the GC, with 4 of the top 5 riders having been in the breakaway today. Stage Winner: Giovanni Lombardi (Aqua & Sapone) Maglia Rosa - Jens Heppner Stage 7 - "Criterium Grande" Circuito della Versilla This day's course is a large circuit course with the finish line in the center of this seaside resort town, with three circuits of an approximately 53 km course. There is a high cloud cover, giving the appearance of an overcast day, but it's more of a "coastal high fog" than anything particularly threatening, meterologically speaking. There's one notable climb on the circuit, as it heads into the inland foothills in a large, almost rectangular course. We begin with 54 km to go - the riders are just about to get onto the bell lap. I didn't see it, but there seems to be a breakaway that has formed over the climb and stretched out a 50 second lead over the content peloton. Your Italian word for today is "Rifornimento" - Feeding Station on a bike race. Which curiously enough is where the peloton currently finds itself. Race Notes: Yesterday, two more Panaria riders (including Graham Brown) came across more than 10 minutes behind the time cutoff. This may not end up being their greatest Giro. Back to the current situation: Telekom, with Jens Heppner in the maglia rosa, seems content to let the break stretch away. Behind the peloton, there is another group at least a couple minutes back, and they seem to have gotten separated at the climb. They struggle to find the have the speed to catch back on, even with the slowing of the main peloton through the feed zone. From the flock of manic Italian moto drivers and their courageous camera operators, we get a closeup of Garzelli's left elbow shows some missing skin and leaking fluids. He seems to have some trouble on the descent of the climb. Nevetheless, he finds the time to chat easily with other teammates and looks much calmer than one would think he might be. The breakaway is now 1:12 ahead. It's 10 riders strong, and includes Max Sciandri, which makes Phil happy. It has a diverse makeup, with almost every major team represented - Phonak, Lampre, Gerolsteiner, Saeco, Lotto, Coast, Alessio, Fasso Bortolo - all of whom are taking good pulls and rotating nicely. I haven't as Gianni Faresin (Gelolsteiner) Bob Roll mentions that Marco Pantani was whining (my words, not Bob's) to the press this morning, saying that he "can do it no more" and the new riders "are just too fast". Bob does allow that Pantani had spectacular results in past races, but he'd appreciate it if he would restrain his comments about the peloton in general. Break now at 1:35 Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto), Giani Faresin (Gerolsteiner on their Kleiners), Christian Moreni (Alessio) are the only immediately recognizable names of those in the break. I wonder if I could find a list of the bib numbers on the Giro site, so I wouldn't have to rely on the 1/3 second flash of riders' names from Italian television. More "Cloud Over the Giro" expostion - The gang in the studio get Massimo Testa in a telephone interview to give his thoughts on the Garzelli "non-negative" test. Mentions that it was Mapei's decision to announce the first result to "maintain transparency" on the situation, pointing out that in most drug results, the official statement is almost never given until the second test is conducted. Agrees with the strangeness of the situation - specifically, the minute amount in the test sample, and the absolutely "off-the-back" nature of the substance identified in the sample, as we mentioned yesterday. On the course, the moto/camera pans past Tyler Hamilton, who has large bandages on both knees and his left elbow. He pedals a touch stiffly, but is in the main group and seems ok, if not as comfortable as he was a little over 48 hours ago. Here's your historical Giro factoid for the day - Jens Heppner is the first German to wear the maglia rosa since Gregor Braun in 1981 - Heppner is nearly 37 years old, and seems genuinely pleased as punch to be in pink.He's been a devoted team member for many years, and appreciates the glory as only a veteran can, it seems. But, there is an actual race going on, and there is 35 km to go The climb is about 20 km away, making it ideal for a hard solo attack. The break is around 1:40. 30 km to go. Both the breakaway and the peloton have passed under the banner, and the break has slimmed down by 10 seconds as Telekom and a couple odd riders begin increasing pressure upon the front of the pack. The break looks great, continuing a nice rotating paceline. Sciandri (Lampre) seems to have the only more or less conventional wheelset in the bunch. The peloton rolls under 25 km to go banner, and the break has lost a couple more seconds - down to 1:20 Cippollini had trouble on the last climb, but has his full compliment of teammates around him now as they move into the beginnings of the climb. The pace has come up, with Telekom still doing the majority of the work to make sure that things don't suddenly spiral out of control on the GC. We are heading up the Colli de Pedona - about a 6 km climb with an average gradiant of about 5% - the crest of the hill is 18 km from the fiish. The gap is now a minute and they are beginning to pull out the team cars. A group of three crack off the front of the peloton, with Addy Engles from Rabobank and Johannes Kessler of Telekom, as well as someone I can't quite recognize - where the heck is that list? The speed of the breakaway group increases as they turn over monsterous gears and maintain speeds that we would have trouble holding on the flats - Christian Morenei of Alessio manages to pop a gap with a strong attack as they continue upwards. Verbrugghe goes hard to close down the gap, with Dario Cioni (former mtb rider - now of Mapei) on his wheel. Verbrugghe accellerates strongly, pulling up even with and then ahead of Moreni while a gapped Cioni claws and slobbers to get on the tail of the pair. Sciandri tries to maintain contact with a group of 4 other riders as the break splits up on the climb. Verbrugghe increases pressure and moves smartly away from Moreni at the head of the events, passing under the 20 km banner in a powerful, seated position. He has pushed a serious gap from the others, and they've brought his team car up behind him as he continues climbing strongly. The peloton is stretched out as they too are firing up the climb on all cylinders. Verbrugghe is just gunning it in a huge effort as he pulls between a huge crowd near the summit. Climbing on a narrow road that runs between high stone walls, then popping out between screaming fans lined 5 or 6 deep behind barriers. It's a classic Italian countryside summit. He goes under the banner and tries to uncross his eyes, and now holds about 20 seconds over the chase groups, while the peloton is about a minute behind him. You could say he has pretty much committed himself to a breakaway. The motorbike has trouble maintaining contact with Verbrugghe as he gives a master class in descending - nipping up to 50 mph on tortuously twisting roads - If he maintains his time gap on the descent, Verbrugghe will have to time trial for 11 km to maintain his lead to the finish. The peloton, lead by the sprinters teams have swept up a few break members. Verbrugghe showers spectators with gravel and dirt as he uses every millimeter of roadway to maintain his speed. Back in the chasing peloton some poor rider washes out his front tire and goes down on a switchback. Somehow another 10 riders, two motos and a team car do not run over him. Faresin, Sciandri, Perrero (the Phonak rider) try to reorganize and find their way back up to Verbrugghe, who passes under the 10 km to go banner in beautiful time trialing style. He looks low and powerful on the bike, ready to push the big gears through to the finish. He will face a slight headwind, and there are those in the peloton who have a strong interest in making it a bunch sprint. But, these are the conditions which Verbrugghe seems to shine. There is a group of 6 remaining of the break who have reformed. The time split from Verbrugghe to the peloton stretched back out to 1:55 on the descent, 33 seconds between Verbrugghe to Cioni who sits between him and the breakaway remnants. Working well together, Moreni, Faresin, Sciandri and the others roll up to Cioni, who grasps onto the last wheel. Verbrugghe ticks over the big gear and you can see the pain sneak into his upper body just a bit. But, he still holds a 1 minute gap to the chasing breakawy remnants. Another English Dog Story: Today, a Yorkshire terrier attempts to see the underside of Verbrugghe's bike, but a quick flick and all are safe. He's holding a steady 55 km and has been for the last 5 km. The dinking around begins in the chase group, with an attack screwing up the rotation, and letting Verbrugghe continue his lead. Now 3 km to go for Verbrugghe, who holds 48 seconds on the chase, who now seem to have decided that they should be simply working the tactical moves to pick up the second place on today's stage. Verbrugghe's effort is clearly evident. He allows himself the last look over the shoulder as he rolls under the 1 km kite. There's only a long clear road behind him and he powers unmolested to the line with only race official autos and a camera moto behind him.The only thing that would make it a more perfect victory would be a sudden beam of sunlight breaking through the overcast. Victory Solo! Magnifico! The chase group has splintered into single riders, and Raphael Schweda, whose move actuallly caused this break originally, takes second place easily moving away from the chasing members of the break. Moreni, whose failed attack on the climb provided Verbrugghe's springboard to victory takes 3rd ahead of Faresin. Dmitiri Konyshev leads the peloton across the line 1:45 behind the winner. Stage Winner: Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) Maglia Rosa: Jens Heppner (Telekom) Notes: Verbrugghe gives himself a champagne eyewash when the bottle opens suddenly. Only four teams have won stages in this years Giro - Lotto, Phonak, Aqua & Sapone and Mapei. Cipollini holds the points jersey still. In a rare display of childlike giddiness, Jens Heppner spins a 360 while opening the champage, with a big smile on his face. He gets everyone on the stage.
Stage 8 - "The Sprinters' Day to Stay Away???" Capannori to Orvieto The longest stage lies before the riders. (And the longest rewrite
lies before me - I had this almost finished when the flippin' app
crashed... dratted Windows boxes...luckily, it didn't eat my notes..
so I apologize for any brevity of information, but chalk it up to
the capricious nature of silicon and wire...) Today's stage is a southern route heading along a roughly straight
main roadway. First, a couple points on the GC - Francesco Casagrande
- 4:43 Gilberto Simoni - 4:45 Tyler Hamiton - 4:46 Cadel Evans -
4:47 Marco Pantani is in 54th place, about 12:45 back. Our Maglia
Rosa wearing friend Stephano Garzelli's Mapei team was weakened
slightly, as Paolo Bettini abandons with a torn calf muscle he has
been nursing over the past days. He could not walk unassisted at
the end of yesterday's stage. Earlier, the South African sprinter
Robbie Hunter abandoned over the weekend. I've been trying to get
an actual list of those who have retired already, but other than
a few notes I've made, it's difficult to get official withdrawal
info. In other topics, nothing has been announced about the second
test for Garzelli - but it does seem strange. Probenecid (what they
found in minute traces in his sample) was chiefly used as a masking
agent for steroids back in the 80's and 90's, but with the specificity
of tests used now, masking agents in general are useless. It does
have the dubious distinction of being used...oh hell, I'm gonna
screw this up.. well, there was a rider who was leading the Tour
de France, and Probenecid showed up in his sample. They were all
ready to dump him out and strip him of the Yellow Jersey, but they
found that the substance wasn't actually outlawed by the UCI (or
Tour commitee, or whoever was the overseeing organization at that
time) -- it was specifically outlawed by the International Olympic
Committee, but scince they didn't have jurisdiction over the cycling
event, they reinstated the rider - now, was it Delgado? Hmm, either
I'll have to do some research, or someone might recall... Anyway,
enough talk of drugs and injuries, on the roads of Italy, it's becoming
a clear, sunny day as they head south, riding out from under cloud
cover on good roads. A breakaway has gone up the road, but rather
than the regular group of opportunists you might expect, this is
a group of three sprinters: Fabrizio Guidi (Coast), Massimo Strazzer
(Phonak - currently the InterGiro leader) and Allessandro Petacchi
(FB) - with Guidi the highest placed man in the break @ 7:37 behind
the leader. Rolling along the wide roadway, they hold about a 5
minute lead, with Mercatone Uno actually on the front pushing a
fast moving peloton -- moving in excess of a 42 kph average, the
teams are ahead of the fastest estimated time, despite having started
the stage 10 minutes behind schedule. Fasso Bortolo and of course
Telekom are chiming in with organized pull. There were 175 riders
who started the day (down from 198 at the start of the Giro D'Italia
in, um, the Netherlands) and boom, we're now down to 174, as Santiago
Perez of Kelme goes down hard early on the day's stage. They show
a stunned rider with a nasty, bloody head injury, feeling gingerly
at his jaw and mouth. But, he's able to sit up, and his eyes are
opened, if still highly unfocused. He gets a ride to the nearest
hospital and will not be rejoining the race today. Phil takes a
moment to correct his mistake from yesterday. It seems that one
Herman Busse was the first German rider to wear the Maglia Rosa
way back in 1932, but there is no record of him finishing the race.
He gently chastizes the watching & listening audience for not pointing
out his gaffe. If the three sprinters on the front stay away to
the finish, they will have executed a nearly 200 km break. All three
commentators (and one typist) openly doubt the possibility of the
break's success. The time has come down to 4:20, even though the
threesome has been trading off well, rolling along with strong efforts
over the fairly flat roads. There is some conjecture that the change
of the InterGiro sprint point from 47 km to the roughtly 150 km
point may not have been relayed to the riders, which is why Petacchi,
Strazzer and Guidi popped off the front. When they didn't find the
sprint point, they may have just decided to keep rolling. Y' just
never know.... How'd you like to hear this in your earpiece, Stage Winner: Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) Overall Classification - Unchanged
"Big Men At the Front" Stage 9 - Tivoli to Caserta Under clearing skies, the peloton rolls south on good roads. The conditions are dry and quite warm, and a high cloud cover retreats on what should be a day for the sprinters. Mariano Piccoli (17:46 back from Lampre), Ruber Marin (Colombia-Selle Italia) and Domenico Gualdi (Fromaggi Trentini) are up the road in what looks to be a failing breakaway. 174 riders start today. Mauro Zanetti leaving at the first feed drops the attendance to 173.. At 2:30 today, Garzelli's second sample gets tested. Mariano Piccoli punches it as the speed of the breakaway drops with 39 miles to go. Aqua & Sapone is beginning to drive the peloton, and even with the theatrics, he seems doomed. Nevertheless, he's giving it a shot, and gains 30 odd seconds pretty smartly. Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) today rides in the cyclamina jersey of points leader. His finish yesterday placed Cipollini back into his actual team colors for the first time in several days. German Herman Buss, the maglia rosa holder in the 30's, held the jersey for 5 days, so if Jens Heppner holds it through tomorrow, he will have equalled that record. Telekom is riding in a very relaxed fashion, with no real team leader to ride for. The Germans all seem uncharacteristically giddy and smiley. Took a break to feed Tashi, and fully expected to find a "gruppo compatto" upon a return to the TV, but unless Italian TV is lying, he's still sitting out about a minute on his breakaway ex-companions, while they remain a couple minutes up on the peloton. But, it looks like we in the veld, as a pack of zebras are running the speed up, with assists from Lotto. Off the front, Piccoli looks like he's tiring, and ready to be reabsorbed. He is now the remaining member of the breakaway, with Marin & Gualdi having been caught. The tension is building among the sprinters' teams, and they anticipate more of a technical sprint with a bit of danger today. The cars are cleared out, and the pack rolls up behind Piccoli, ending his breakawy that began at 16 km. What did you do for the last 4 hours? A couple of Aqua & Sapone riders dawdle near the Pantani end of the peloton, signalling the team cars for the last little set of supplies before the seriousness of the sprint begins. Quaranta's team begins to play well with the others, for the first time in the Giro, and he may be thinking well about his chances today. (and in case you are worried, I've been saving after nearly every sentance...) There's around 24 km to go, and a dozen riders are working well in a double paceline at the front of the peloton. Aqua & Sapone, Phonak, Fromaggio Trentino all have a few riders in the mix there, with odd men from Lotto, Telekom. They pass under the 20 km to go banner and the pace increases steadily. Overhead shots show how fast the pace has elevated. Massimo Strazzer gets towed back up to the peloton, and his team members begin the difficult task of picking through the peloton to get in the mix. He had some technical difficulties on his machine and had to drop back to the team cars. Lampre is leading the charge, with Saeco appearring near the front -- neither teams wants to contest the sprint, but Pavel Tonkov and Gilberto Simoni respectively have designs for the GC, and maybe they want to make sure they do not lose contact and drop silly time before the finish. Mapei is evident, but tucked in a bit smarter behind them, protecting Garzelli. Some kid in a pink jersey on a Magna mountain bike is passed by the peloton. He was out on the road course riding as fast as he could go, which nevertheless was a fraction of the speeding peloton. Humorous and very, very dangerous to the riders. They throw bottles at him and cuss in colloquial dialects. With 9 km to go, the speed remains high and the pack intact. The hours of drills and practice are evident on the Aqua & Sapone squad. It looks like all they've worked on for the past few months was how to instantly collect in the front of the group and lead Ciplollini to the line. They may be the BORG. Enrico Degano, the sprinter from Panaria puts it down into a turn - looks like his front wheel was flat or collapsed - and sits in the middle of the road facing the oncoming riders. How these events seldom turn into a mass crash is more evidence of the handling abilities of these riders. Cipollini finds and drops in behind Giovanni Lombardi - his big leadout man.He's kitted up with his helmet and looks ready to fire.Rabobank is now up front and the lead third of the pack is so tight, it looks like they are stuffed into a bike rack at a major university. Marc Streel (Lanboukredeit) punches out with 4 km to go, gets a lead, but Lotto powers up to him as the pace somehow continues to increase. Scirea (Aqua & Sapone) peels off having kept the pace too high for any other team to keep ahead. Elbows and wiggling in the pack, and everyone with designs on the stage wants to be where Cipolleni sits. Quaranta is pretty far back in the mix. Mcewan bumps against Cipo, who sits patiently on the wheel of Lombardi and doesn't even move an inch. They fly under the kite for the last kilometer, and those whose blood runs with triple espresso become even more animated. From Fasso Bortolo, Allessandro Petacchi is on Cipos shoulder, but disappears suddenly into the slipstream. The roadway runs perfectly straight, and the Aqua & Sapone leadout mimics the perfection. Mcewan positions himself as the spoiler directly behind Cipo as the pace goes up again.. Behind Mcewan, two or three riders push together vying for one space and others try to get move up. Violent, controlled, high-velocity madness ensues as the tarmac screams beneath their wheels. Everybody wants to be on Cipos wheel, but Cipollini knows what he wants as he follows his last two teammates. Crunch time: The 2nd to last Aqua & Sapone rider peels back, but maybe its just the acceleration of Giovanni Lombardi -- he's leapt into full sprint mode and cranks it so fast - his speed is incredible and he could easily win stages and sprints himself. Lombardi provides the world's most perfect leadout and Cipollini accellerates strongly from his slipstream in well-drilled perfection. . No messing around with anything other than straight-ahead speed. Mcewan cannot move up on him, nor can any other rider. Quaranta throws himself up the ranks from a poor position, but his efforts are fighting the wind and he cannot move up any further. The gap widens as Cipo shoots straight up the roadway - there will be no complaints about direction on this sprint - it's all about horsepower - and the man with the most is the dynamic Italian from Lucca!. With a hands up salute and open air between him and the 2nd rider, Cipo wins it easily, riding on the crest of the efforts of his exceedingly well drilled team - Giro win number 37! He opens the champage with no problem and showers the mosh pit in front of the stage. Hooligans begin jumping up and he clears quickly while the gendarmes push the enthusiastic boys back into the pit. Stage Winner - Mario Cipollini Heppner displays his 360 patented spin with the champagne as he retains the Maglia Rosa. No changes overall as the peloton follows the sprinters in. Overall Classification - Unchanged "There is no Joy in Mudville..." ...for Garzelli now is gone." Stage 10 - Maddaloni to Benevento The stage is a bit secondary today, as the official announcement
confirms that the other shoe has dropped - the "B" sample from Stephano
Garzelli has also shown 29 nanograms of Probenecid. He has been
removed from the race, it seems likely that he will be stripped
of his stage victory in Limone Piamonte. He will face a suspension
of 6 months, and at this point is emphatically stating that he had
taken nothing. He has not decided if he will remain in the sport,
but has a few months to decide. In another drug story, Gilberto
Simoni has gone through an odd situation as well. He was visited
at the Giro Trentino, which took place before the Giro D'Italia,
by officials of the World Anti-Doping Association. His urine sample
tested positive for cocaine, of all things. But, it seems that he
had been at the dentist that day to have a crown put in and bridge
work done - unfortunately, he neglected to note that in his "doctor
book" which all pro cyclists are required to keep. Further complicating
the issue: the officials were Austrian and Australian, did not speak
Italian, and he doesn't speak very good English and no German. He
was trying to tell them something during the visit, but could not
make himself understood. Even further complicating things: the World
Anti-Doping Association does not operate under the jurisdiction
of the UCI, so any sanctions against Simoni will come from the Italian
Cycling Association, so it is possible that he could be done (and
have won) the Giro well before a decision is made about this event.
Let's move on to bike racing... With Garzelli's suspension, 172
riders start today. We begin the day watching the Intergiro being
won by Massimo Strazzer of Phonak There follows an immediate attack
by Frank Hoj of Phonak, and Maximillian Sciandri & another Phonak
rider tag on with about 42 miles to go. They are quickly shut down
and the peloton stretches out as everyone tries to get the pace
up to prevent another move. All riders seem a bit more attentive
than they've been today. The stage today is only 118 km on a flattish
course. They will finish in the town of Benevento, with three 6
km cirucuits with a hill on the final circuit, so there will be
three times on the climb and a fast circuit to the finish line.
It is a hot day, approaching 90 degrees with little wind to speak
of. A number of riders catch road crap and a rash of flats goes
through the peloton - Hamilton, Rebellin, and others are being ferried
back up after visiting the side of the road among the team cars.
As the peloton roll along Cipollini grabs the door frame of his
team car and gets his stem and bars adjusted while they roll along
flat roads. His stem and bars. Adjusted. On an aheadset system.
His stem and bars. As they roll along at 25-30 mph... 60km to go
The accellerations which followed the InterGiro also managed to
shell Ivan Quaranta out the back, and he is dragged up by his too-patient
teammates. On the other end of the specturm, Cipollini easily comes
up to the peloton after getting things adjusted. Hector Mesa Mesa
of Fromaggi Trentini, a Colombian rider, scoots off the front and
gains about 15 seconds. The pack decides to let him cook up in the
heat and don't worry too much about increasing their speed. They
ease back up towards him and end his pain. The last time we've finished
in Benevento, Beppe Saronni won in 1978. 56 k to go They've been
easily riding up an _incline_ - not even a rated climb - and Quaranta
pops off the back again. Telekom is rolling along easily at the
front into a light headwind. Yauheni Seniushkine (Panaria - from
Byelorus) rider sweeeps up and away, and Max Sciandri (Lampre) marks
him quickly. A Rabobank rider moves out in concert with a CSC-Tiscali
rider and hook up with the pair. Behind, the peloton cracks their
knuckles and the long hairy arm, led by Aqua & Sapone and Telekom
reaches out to bring the quartet back. Ricardo Forconi of Mercatone
Uno has now abandoned. This is third rider that Pantani has lost
from his team. 44 km Riders are all finding their helmets and strapping
them on, in anticipation of the finishing circuits. Every team is
sending domestiques back to the team cars for "tanker duty" to fill
up their jersey and bike with water bottles. They sprint back up
through the cars to deliver their payload, and most then immediately
head back for more bottles. The pace seems to ease a bit with about
37 km to go, which may allow Quaranta and his teammates to catch
up. They still dawdle behind. They are mentally focusing upon the
struggle and efforts to come. Stage Winner - Robbie Mcewan - Lotto GC - Maglia Rosa - Jens Heppner Interestingly enough, that means that Cadel Evans is now the highest placed Mapei rider, which could mean he's now the team leader - he certainly was able to climb with the big dogs when necessary. Tomorrow's Stage - Benevento to Campitello Matese There seem to be a couple moderate peaks, then Campitello Matese goes to 1430 meters elevation at the finish. "Let's All Gather at the Mountain" Stage 11 - Benevento to Campitello Matese There's a sting in the tail, as they like to say - today's really the first testing climb. Today we go over a 140 km route with about a 13 km climb to the finish, gaining just under 3,000 feet, with a number of switchbacks to a deadend at a ski station. Kinda like L' Alp D'huez, but without the quite the right scale or grandeur. It climbs at around 7%, but there are stretches at up to 12% As we pick up the stage today, there's an established breakaway -- Steve Zampieri (a former Swiss national hillclimb champion, riding for Tacconi Sport) and Renzo Mazzoleni (brother of Eddy, rides for Team Colpak - Astro) edge up towards 8 minutes while the pack lags under Telekom's direction and considers the impending climb. Freddy Gonzalez retired before the start of the stage. I cannot quite recall who he rides for, .... aha!... Selle Italia. There are approximately 55 km to go on a another still, overcast, hot day. Last evening, the last (and only, eh?) US winner of the Giro, Andy Hampsted, visited the evening dinner table of CSC-Tiscali, with some of his homemade olive oil. They do not mention whether Tyler Hamilton used it on his copious wounds -- he definitely looks "well-padded" in profile. In other words, the announcers are focusing on the "human stories" since there isn't too much happening on the roadway. The breakawayers are reaching the top of the small climb which precedes the final climb and are about 8:15 ahead. However, the peleton seems to be finding another gear and starting to stretch with increasing speed. Fasso Bortolo and Saeco seem to be behind the increase in pressure. There seems to be a few chinks in the armor of the two leaders, and they labor more noticably as they work their way to the crest. The gap has dropped to 7:30 with only a few kilometers passed, as the Dmitiri Konyshev and the Fasso Bortolo big boys take over the pace on the moderate climb. The breakaway twosome tuck their chins behind their stems and try to make their profiles whisper-thin as they now head down the far side of the hill. There's now about 34 km to go. They've been in the saddle for just under 3 hours so far today. Mazzoleni dabs at his chin with a pad - it seems he's picked up a stone or something which now is bleeding a bit. The time gap is down another minute as they are now within 30 km of the finish, Fasso Bortolo still pushing things to prepare for the launch of Francesco Casagrande, with Saeco and CSC-Tiscali well positioned. Even Rabobank are keeping their noses to the front of the peloton. They show a split-screen as they pass the town of Bojano, and show a variety of desserts and meat dishes - I guess that's the thing which they are known for...but the climb also begins there, so the calories will be earned. The leaders have scooted under the 25 km to go banner, with a lead of 6:00 exactly. The roadway hasn't really kicked up yet, and the peloton spreads across the roadway and begin jostling for position. Pantani brings up the rear with the remnants of his team. Today, the helmets are going from riders to the cars, as the roadway will go only upward soon. (I still crack up every time I see either of the versions of either of the two Bob Roll - Mr Cycling promo spots...I've got to get you the first three tapes so you know what the hell I'm talking about.) 20 km to go - 5:20 gap. Bojano is the last town before the climb begins - an Intergiro point is their little snackie for being such a fine host city - and Mazzoleni goes through first, uncontested by Zampieri. The peloton snakes suddenly through an "S" turn and over a river and must be heading for town now. Another minute has gone out of the break as Strazzer sprints through hard to get the maximum amount of points. He remains the leader of the Intergiro. The increased speed of the peloton continues, and the time gap at the IG sprint point is now only 3:53. Paul and Bob begin reminiscing about the "grupetto", and the theories of managing to stay within the time limit on a climbing stage. These men know the suffering of the damned. The leaders are now under the 15 km to banner, which means the road will only go up now. It does, and the break partners are now partners in suffering, until suddenly Zampieri punches away. He snakes over his bike, and you can see his leg muscles beginning to form into cubes, yet he can still move the bike uphill and he leaves Mazzoleni behind by 5 seconds. Pantani and teammates cannot stay attached to the climber-led peloton. Maybe he's saving himself for a steeper climb. He's forming his own grupetto. Both Bob Roll and Paul Sherwin openly wonder how he can remain enthused to grind himself up day after day. From the other end of the peloton - that's the front - Hector Mesa Mesa pops away with the easy style of the pure climber. Heppner and his Telekom buddies are again setting the pace at the front as they reabsorb the feisty Colombian rider. A little over 2 minutes ahead of that action, Mazzoleni grinds his way back up to Zampieri, they go under the 10 km banner and Mazzoleni moves ahead to return helpful plate of suffering. They both now are beginning to pedal squares and seem to have placed some lead insoles in their shoes. They'll toil more before they are caught, but it seems they won't hold off the serious contenders. In the peloton, Gilberto Simoni rolls upward in a much slower cadence, out of the saddle pounding a big gear and looking well within himself. Casagrande spins along in the saddle. They are in a group of about 40 riders or so who have moved away from the non-climbers. Joaquim Castelblanco from Selle Italia spins away from the group, looks back and seems to find a nice rhythm (which would kill either of us). He seems to have a shoe/cleat problem, and has to come to dead stop to adjust something. They need a new shoe/cleat sponsor now.... The pack envelopes him and continues on hitting the switchbacks of this climb with an increasing fervor. Julio Perez of Panaria roars away from the peloton and immediately has a strong gap. Back off the front of the lanky frame of Marious Sabaliauskus from Saeco rolls off the front as the climbers clear the grunge out of their lungs and legs. Perez flies up to Zampieri, who bleeds through his eyeballs to catch onto his wheel to try to stave off the inevitable catch by the peloton. Casagrande accellerates strongly out of the pack, and picks up Verbrugghe who had seemed to get free with no one noticing. Simoni roars up to him, and Belli, Cadel Evans and a few others match his speed. Back behind the men firing up the pace, Heppner maintains contact with the group and is riding strong cadence to the crest. The leaders coalesce and then Sabaliauskus follows Castelblanco who jumped from the pack. A few seconds later, Rik Verbrugghe jumps again and uses the strength gained from the cold Belgian roads to strongly ride toward the lead pair of Castelblanco and Julio Perez. It's amazing how Verbrugghe climbs with such power. So - quick recap - under 6 km to go Perez & Castelblanco off the front Sabaliauskus & Verbrugghe about 7 seconds back Group of about 30 riders with the potential GC leaders. Sabaliauskus cracks suddenly and drops back. Simoni rolls over his big gear and tests the waters, but Casagrande matches him immediately, bringing the pack with him. The accelleration brings them quickly up to Verbrugghe, who tucks back into the group. The wind is howling as they reach the more exposed parts of the hill. The tiny climbers seem to suddenly go to a standstill, Yaraslav Popovych suddenly drops off the pace as Simoni punches it again. Pietro Caucchioli hits it hard, and the big boys let him go as they eye one another. 4 km to go now, and the crowds line the roadway. Sabaliauskus suddenly revives and leads Simoni again for a while. Perez has hammered off the front again, leaving Castelblanco to the approaching Caucchioli. But, the speed of the Simoni group increases and they roll upwards. First the C&C pair, then Perez are suddenly caught with 3 km to go, with Simoni still on the head of the group. He is in the drops, still in the big ring, rolling over a massive gear and making everyone work hard to stay with him -- still in touch are Casagrande (small ring), Evans (small ring), and others I cannot quite recognize. Simoni's position would look like a sprint if they weren't going up a 7% grade. He hits it again and the lead group begins to fracture. Serious competitors begin to fall off - Hamilton, Evans, et.al. The only rider who seems to be able to force themselves after him is Pellizotti of Allessio (he was the guy whose handlebars loosened right at the start of the prologue, and he's shown strong will if ultimately not enough power on the climbs) who has latched onto them. Another sudden powerful attack which causes a further splintering of the group. A Kelme rider - Aitor Gonzalez - comes up and tries to settle in behind Casagrande. Simoni is out of the saddle again and just punishing the everyone. Soon, there is open roadway between the pair of Simoni & Casagrande over another bunch who were hoping to play. A team car has to stop suddenly soas not to run over a group of tifosi/simoni hooligans and the chase group adjusts quickly soas not to become bumper fodder. Dario Frigo is shown suffering at the head of a group, suddenly appearring as Casper the Ghost fashion, but I'm not sure he is near the lead pair. Under 1 km to go, and Simoni looks back to see who is left. The group behind is only about 7 or 8 seconds away. Casagrande takes a quick look back, and sits presumably in the catbird seat as the roadway flattens somewhat. The two riders split across the roadway and Simoni finds another gear and moves away despite having set the tempo for the last 3 kilometers - Simoni wins from the front, punctuating his victory with a fist in the air. He seems to have been fueled by the anger of having had no help from Casagrande. A group of 6 riders hammer across about 5 seconds later. Pantani finishes in a small group about 8 minutes down. The mountaintop winds send the champagne spray almost sideways Stage 11 - Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) GC - Maglia Rosa - Jens Heppner - 1st German to hold MR for 6 days
"STUNNER" Gilberto Simoni has withdrawn from the tour. Simoni, Simoni, Simoni, how are we going to keep you down on the farm now? He seems to have been told by the organizers and the other teams in the Giro to leave. There may be more to the story, indeed. There's conjecture & guesses, but no real information yet. All we know is that the sponsors of the other teams came together to push for the removal of Simoni. What the heck is going to happen for the Tour - will they be removed? Replaced by Aqua & Sapone? Coast? Who knows? But, again, there's a race - Stage 12 - Champobasso to Chieti The weather suddenly drops from 90's to the 60's and rain, rain rain. A cold, snotty day. Agressive early moves end with a 6 rider breakaway that has stayed away after a big split in the peloton 21 - Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio) 69 - Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) 103 - Lorenzo Bernucci - (Landoubkredeit) 155 - Bert Grabsch - (Phonak) 151 - Matthias Buxhofer - (Phonak) 191 - Deni Lunghi (Colpack-Astro) rattling along 3:30 to 4:00 ahead, depending upon which split you put credence to. The riders roll along with all the layers they can find - arm warmers, rain capes, tights or leg warmers. 44 km to go The finishing town presents two loops - not quite short enough to be considered a "curcuit", and there will be a twisty descent that will have to be addressed each time. The first time it finished in Chieti was in the first running of the Giro D'Italia. The gap is down to 3:14 Phil says urine "you-rine" 35 km Chase group is under three minutes and has dwindled down to about 30-40 riders, with the sprinters and other suffering b's having formed themselves into grupettos another 8 to 11 minutes behind. The finishing circuit is about 10 km's and with the splitting of the groups in the nasty weather, there may be some overlapping of groups when they hit the finish. Rabobank has been grinding away at th front as if they are in a spring classic, trying to reduce the gap. They may be trying to take advantage of strong form of Michael Boogerd. 32 km to go In the breakaway, Denis Lunghi moves smartly off the front, (17:38 behind on the GC), looking pretty smooth as he moves past olive groves and switchbacks. He easily has the speed on the climb that the others seem to lack. The maglia rosa group spreads out a bit as they begin to climb - Rabobank not exactly populated by climbers. As they head upwards, Dario Frigo gets tripped up by some mechanical - a new push from his mechanic gets him moving, and he moves strongly through the carnage falling away from the main group with an assist from two teammates. Lunghi rolls into the streets of Chieti before heading back out for the two circuits across slippery smooth looking streets of the town. Under 26 km to go and the gap is around 3:00 from Lunghi to the group of the maglia rosa. Conditions are worsening and the rain is hellish while Lunghi tries to extend his lead of 30 seconds over the original members of the breakaway. He flies over the roads of the town seeming to rub elbows on the ancient walls and buildings. Now out on the open road, he goes edge to edge on the descent which heads to the finish. You wouldn't want to walk down it in this weather. He's going as fast as you can imagine. And then some. But, will it be enough to keep him out in front? As Denis Lunghi goes over the finish line, he now has two circuits before him, with his original group behind him. Peter Wrolich seems to have been dropped by the remnants of the breakaway group. The remaining four seem to have trouble organizing, each suffering in their own soggy world 48 seconds behind. Wrolich is another 50 seconds back. The maglia rosa group 3:20 behind the lone rider. Lunghi seems to have gambled well today, as the trepidation of the peloton is clearly evident on the descent. Lunghi is climbing well and doesn't seem to be losing much time over the group. As soon as the descent begins, he's got the edge, because they don't want to risk it in these conditions. Now the lead group of the peloton seems to be easing - deciding that they are too cold, too hungry, too tired to mess with a sloppy chase on this damp day. The 30 riders are spread across the road, riding a steady tempo and not torturing anyone. It seems that agreement has been made. Lunghi begins the descent again on the twisty roadway, hearing noises coming off of his tires that would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Edge to edge on the turns, 180's and chicanes. Tomorrow's high mountain finish must be on the leader's minds, as they have let Lunghi get out to 4:55. As Phil says, "he has made the best decision of his sporting career". The clouds have moved on a bit, and there is no evident rain right now. Lunghi has moved his lead up to 1:30 over his immediate chasers. The peloton just wants to come home with no damage. The gap to the peloton seems to have moved up to 6:25. In the group (as opposed to the original breakaway), everyone is in "shut down" mode. Between them, the immediate chase group has splintered into two groups of two. Lunghi strips down to his racing jersey, and shows his numbers. He is ready for the photographers. The roads look like they are drying a bit more, although it couldn't be described as easy - following the intestine-like route of the road. He solos to victory waving to his director, pulling down his jersey and pointing at the sponsor, and punctuating the victory with both fists in the air. There is enough time to change a wheel before the next rider rolls over the line. You could adjust a pair of finicky cantilever brakes before the first part of the peloton comes across 7:47 behind the winner. Stage 12 - 1st - Denis Lunghi - Colpack-Astro GC Maglia Rosa - Jens Heppner Stage 13 - Chieti to Giacomo A difficult mountain top finish (followed by the first time trial on Sunday) (This report filed at the end of a looong day.... je3) "The Roads Edge Upwards" Stage 13 - Chieti to Giacomo Too long of a day yesterday, so I slept through the first hour of coverage. So, with a quick dog feeding to start the day, we pick up today's stage after climb of the Ceppo at about 1330 meters. This is the second of three climbs, though the first one wasn't significant in its effect upon the riders. They are now descending on less than optimum pavement. Yesterday's rains put a lot of gravel onto the roadways, and it proves unlucky for Massimo Codol of Lampre - down hard on a turn and wrapped himself around a safety barrier (guard rail). After a few minutes of poking and prodding by the race doctor, he is back using gravity again, but the size of his bruises tomorrow morning will be significant. There are 30 km to go in the stage today. About 4 hours and 15 minutes have been spent in the saddle today so far, over the roads of the eastern side of the leg of Italy. Matthias Kessler of Telekom & Michael Rasmussen from CSC-Tiscali stretch off the front of the peloton as they scream down from the first climb. Off the front, Marc Lotz of Rabobank has about 2:30 lead on Kessler & Rasmussen and another 30 seconds on the peloton. His lead was as great as 8:40 or so, after a move with only 40 km gone. He's now bending through corners on some relatively sketchy pavement - it looks a bit like the descent to the Alpine Dam from Bolinas Ridge - or for those of you in the east bay, like that descent where you can smell the tree. A number of riders - including Dario Frigo - have been dropped on the climb of the Ceppo. It was a fairly long climb, and accellerations & high climbing pace have dolled out suffering with a ladel. The trailing riders who feel they can still compete now are taking incredible risks to catch back on before the final climb of the day. The leader is 20 km from the finish, and the climb runs about 11 km. It's a little strange to see Rassmussen and Kessler holding a gap on the peloton, as neither of them are renowned climbers. It also left Tyler Hamilton a little weak back in the peloton, as his teammates are only now getting back onto the group as they descend. With a 3:25 gap between the leader and the peloton, as Marc Lotz rolls on before the climb hits. It will hit pretty hard, first because of its placement as a finishing climb, with an average gradiant 6%, and second because of the steeper sections of 15% Of course, that chasing Kessler is a strong feller, having finished 6th in Leige-Bastogne-Leige. The pack eases a bit, jettisoning helmets to the team cars and water bottles to the side of the road, and then seem to stretch out again and snake quickly through the roads in what is one of Italy's largest national parks. Riders reattach and the peloton swells up to 60 or 70 riders. Ahead of the field, Oscar Periera of Phonak (currently leading the team competition) & Mariano Piccoli (Lampre) pop off the front. Marc Lotz is beginning to suffer openly as he begins climbing in earnest. The now open roadway switches back over itself repeatedly, and climbers can see one another as they begin heading upwards. Periera drops Piccoli as they roll under 10 km. Michael Rasmussen suddenly pulls up with what seems to be a mechanical. But the neutral service vehicle pulls past him. He's off his bike with his right thigh visibly cramped up. The former mountain bike world champion works his muscle a bit, while Periera scoots past and Kessler fires up the road with renewed vigor. The peloton increases their pace as they climb, and roll over Rasmussen like a tank - he's spat out the back with little fanfare. He will have a bunch of partners as the recently swelled peloton is jettisoning riders without any serious attacks having yet occurred. Periera & Piccoli seem to have been reabsorbed as well. A quick pan throgh the peloton shows Tyler Hamilton with a teammate leading him, Wladimir Belli & Francesco Casagrande, Julio Perez and Cadel Evans all alert and ready for the gunfight. Tyler looks very relaxed and is ticking over a moderate gear with a high, easy cadence. At the head of events, Marc Lotz finds new levels of pain and begins pedalling in a chunkier manner. Behind Kessler climbs strongly and easily, seemingly levitating up the mountain. However, the peloton has begun chewing up the gap and roars along just a few bends in the road behind. They have gotten close enough that Dario Cioni feels confident enough to fire out and mark Kessler. They still have not hit the steeper bits, and the real climbers rev their engines in anticipation. The stage is set and the serious competitors pop their clutch, squealing rubber as they accellerate. Cioni fires past Lotz and Kessler, and with 4 km to go Pavel Tonkov has moved strongly out and moves up to Cioni. Back in the pack, Casagrande begins to accelerate, Cadel Evans marking him, along with Perez, Pellizotti and climbers tagging along. Heppner has locked himself into a pace which should keep him in pink. Cadel blows the snot out of his nose and rolls off the front, away from the leaders with Julio Perez. He remains seated while Perez uses his easy out-of-the-saddle style. They establish a gap with a strong accelleration. Sensing the seriousness of the move, Ivan Gotti comes to life for the first time in the Giro and climbs away from everyone in the group. This is finally too much for Casagrande, who raises the pace firmly, shadowed by Pellizotti. He is not shaking anyone, however and doesn't have the superior strength to dominate on this stage. Others realize this and renew their efforts. Up ahead, Cadel and Perez have a smart gap, now about 12 seconds. Kelme's Aitor Gonzalez remembers he can climb, and moves away with 2 km to go He halves the gap and moves with good speed, while up front, Cadel rapidly ticks over a smallish gear and loooks good. But, looking good does not a lead guarantee - Perez moves up out of the saddle and suddenly attacks. Cadel increases his cadence but has already tapped his tanks - and is smart enough to know how not to blow. Gotti makes another push which is marked by Casagrande. They are not afraid to attack the supposed strongest man left. It's clear that Cadel cannot answer the climbing explosion of the Mexican rider, and Perez flies up the road as the air thins and crowds increase. In the lead group Pellizotti goes up the road and suddenly Dario Frigo materializes out of nowhere to take a shot at catching him. The leaders group raises the pace slightly and stay with him. Perez goes under 1 km with open roadway. Ivan Gotti has moved moved out again and no one in the main group can immediately answer him as the road heads upward. They mark one another and consider where to make their moves. Perez will not be caught as he rolls past a Basque flag and a huge crowd pressed against the barriers on the smooth, cleanly paved roadway. He rolls across in climber's glory, again winning the 13th stage of the Giro. Cadel continues to knock out the gear, maintains his lead and follows him across the line. I still don't know where Frigo came from - it's almost as if he was hiding on the side of the roadway like they do in the Boston Marathon. Nevertheless, he's across in third place. Tyler cannot come up with the big stage today, and finishes in touch with the lead group, forty seconds back.. Heppners pink jersy comes across in 1:30 back. He will remain in the maglia rosa tomorrow. No sign of Pantani as they begin to take down the finishing barriers. Stage 13 - Winner Julio Perez - Panaria The balance of leaders group within 40 seconds. GC Jens Heppner - Day 8 in the Maglia Rosa Stage 14 - Numana 30 km time triall Look for a serious effort by Tyler Hamilton, and Casagrande to sweat a bit as he is not quite in his element, nor has he stamped his authority upon this race. "The Race of Truth" Stage 14 - Numana Time Trial On the eastern coast of Italy - a hilly course with a twisty beginning, a climb midway, finishing with a long, straight finish. The surface and course look absolutely beautiful, with a balance for all types of riders. On one of the descents, they will touch nearly 70 mph. It looks like there are time checks at 9.2 km and at around 20 km. 154 riders remain in the race today, as Massimo Codol who crashed nastily yesterday did not line up at the start today. That leaves only four teams with a full complement of a riders: Aqua & Sapone, Rabobank, Coast, and CSC-Tiscali. Time Trials are a statistician's dream, and during the tour, I've been known to set up spreadsheets to run rider's split times through during the course. I'll spare you that, as this is only a 30 km time trial. But, there is not much I can do to releive the "linearity" of today's story. And I'm sure you've noticed that this stage is being posted a day late, as between mother-in-law's birthdays and other obligations over the weekend, I'm only now catching up... Trivia Tidbit: The first Giro D'italia time trial was in 1933. It was won by Alfredo Binda. Before we dive into the day's results and efforts, Phil takes a moment to mention that Lance Armstrong has taken the lead in the Midi Libre, after an excellent time trial and a mountaintop stage victory. His training seems to be good. Andrea Peron of CSC-Tisacali sets the early time at 43:00. He seems to be doing what for Tyler Hamilton that which Tyler Hamilton used to do for Lance Armstrong - burning up the course and giving a report back to the team leader. Dario Cioni, the former mountain biker from Mapei, fires out onto the course with a new lowest time at the first checkpoint. 9.2 km - 14:54. Vladimir Duma of Panaria rolls across the finish at 42:55 to drop the lead down by about 7 seconds. Ivan Gotti, sitting in 25th overall, at 7:10, rolls away. He certainly seems to be quietly riding himself into form over the last few climbs, and remains a dark horse in this Giro. So far, non of the riders have been seen wearing anything that might be confused as being an aerodynamic helmet. Sergei Honchar (formal world TT champion) hits the first checkpoint at 14:22 - this is a new low time. Cioni comes through at 30:50 at the second checkpoint, about 13 seconds ahead of Duma. Michele Scarponi is one zebra lookin' SOB, sitting in the starthouse. His time will be insignificant, but, man, the Italians are probably the only ones who could pull off that outfit... Honchar is currently turning over a 54 x 11 on the flat, with a slight headwind. Ow. Pavel Tonkov rolls off - another rider coming into form as the race continues. Gotti rolls through the first time check at 15:04, 5th best time on the road currently. Dario Cioni rolls through at 42:23, 32 seconds less than Duma's time, so he now sits in provisional 1st place. He was wearing an aero helmet. Those clever Mapei boys don't miss a trick. Honchar runs up on and passes Castelblanco the climber, who started two minutes ahead of him. He caught him on a slight rise, pounding out a massive gear. Honchar is not a pretty, smooth rider - he hammers and grinds and moves around almost as bad as a triathlete - but man, he moves a bike fast. Honchar rolls through the second checkpoint at 30:11 - 40 seconds ahead of the previous best time. . Tyler Hamilton fires away from the start house as Sergei Honchar screams in toward the finish - he's covering the corners of the final chicane and comes through at 41:52 - avg 43.4 kph - he finishes 31 seconds ahead of Dario Cioni, so he actually dropped a few seconds over the last third of the race, if we want to be picky.... Rik Verbrugghe eloquently covers the early miles on the course. He looks so easy on the bike - a Litespeed actually stickered "Litespeed" - and yet he manages to go so very fast. He hits the first check at 14:48 - fourth fastest at that checkpoint. Frigo prefers the aero helmet, as does Cadel Evans. Evans definitely has the wind profile of a sideways zipper. Frigo likes the look of these time trials, and has publicly stated that these suit him well. His time trial form always seems choppy, but it seems a bit worse than usual today. Hamilton hammers through the first time check at 14:09, 13 seconds better than Honchar Gotti finishes well, notching into 6th place, about one and half minutes behind Honchar's leading time. He's quickly knocked down a slot by the finish of Oscar Pereira, who comes in about a minute behind Honchar's time. Hamilton is on a flat stretch right now, and just spinning over a big gear with a really relaxed upper body - he looks powerful as he plows along next to some grocery warehouse/fufillment center. He looks like he's running about a 55 or 56 front chainring. I am dead serious. He's jettisoned the Michelin Man bandages, and rolls along clean-skinned for the first time in a few days...well, actually for the first time since the prologue. Paolo Savoldelli rolls through the first time check, about 53 seconds behind him - that gap will jump Tyler up a spot in the GC. Frigo rolls through the first check 28 seconds behind Tyler. Cadel follows through with almost the identical time. Cauchioli rolls through ahead of both of them by a few seconds. Heading toward the finish line, Yaraslav Popovych, the first year pro who was duking it with the big dogs for a few days, locks it up into the 3rd to last corner, graphics on his rear disc wheel suddenly, sickeningly readable. They suddenly begin turning again and somehow he doesn't plaster himself along the barriers. He was hammering a huge gear and suddenly realized that he had to make a 90 degree left hand turn. Good morning Yaraslav! Ok - quick note to retailers - you might want to order up a few more Look frames, blue Castelli shorts, and some CSC-Tiscali team togs... Tyler's lighting up the roadway and everyone's gonna want his kit... Tyler buzzes throught the second time check with a 16 second lead over Honchar's time. Tyler is the only rider who has gone under 30 minutes at the second time check. He didn't look quite as good over the second section of the course, but still has managed to grab another 3 seconds. Another fascinatiing tidbit of trivia: Francesco Moser holds the Giro record with 12 career time trial victories. Good ol' Francesco Casagrande is not in the mix for breaking that record, as he hits the first time check at 14:59 - 49 seconds behind Tyler -- and he only holds a 1:50 GC lead over Tyler. Up ahead on the roadway, the camera moto follows closely as Tyler screams through a twisty descent, and then hammers out of the saddle as the road edges up again. It's a thing of beauty. Verbrugghe flies around the last long right turn, and may manage to notch into the top three. He doesn't lock up his wheels on that last 90 degree left, but his tire is absolutely into the last centimeter of usable roadway. His time of 42:14 puts him into 2nd right now, 22 seconds behind Honchar's time. Maglia Rosa wearin' Jens Heppner's time at the first check is ugly, and he's conceded 1:21 Hamilton.. Tyler is 3:38 behind him on the GC. Remember, the first part of the time trial course is mostly uphill - in fact Julio Perez was in front of Heppner at the first check. Tyler is about 400 meters away from the finish. He has a hard left turn which he handles, put right his foot pulls out of the pedal as he punches the final sprint. He comes close to doing the squggle-crash from a few days ago. But, he pops it back in, and crosses the 41:21 - 31 seconds ahead of Honchar. More Tidbits for your reading pleasure: Andy Hampsted and Ron Kiefel are the only two US riders to have won a stage in Giro D'italia. They may just have a new partner in their group. Cadel Evans and Dario Frigo are matching each other almost second to second at the splits. Wladimir Belli is coming in over two minutes behind Tyler's time. That will be a nice buffer when the roadway turns upward. Aitor Gonzalez from Kelme gives up over 50 seconds to Tyler. Mr. Hamilton has clearly taken a page from Lance Armstrong's playbook - ripping some big chunks out of his rivals on the time trial. With the momentum he gains from this, it could turn out to be a very interesting Giro. Molasses-peddlin' Casagrande hits the second check at 1:26 behind Tyler. Paolo Savoldelli rolls around the last few turns to the finish, but dribbles down the standings quickly, 1:36 down on Tyler. Frigo goes under the last kilometer banner, but somehow it seems he's got a long way to go. He crosses the line at 42:20, giving up 59 seconds to our boy from CSC-Tiscali. Cadel is actually in the camera for the first time since the start house. I guess the live cameras will always favor the Italian riders. He screams through the last corners and finishes at 42:02, nailing a great ride on the course. He slots into third place provisional. He's managed to hold onto a 10 second lead on Hamilton in the GC. Heppner suffers his way along, but Casagrande actually looks like a club rider as they pass along fields of some sort of vegetables. He's limping along only about 40 seconds ahead of Heppner. He rolls under the 1 km to go banner, and is already in 3rd place with a bit to go. His lead over Cadel Evans is slipping through his fingers as he sweeps through the last right and sets himself for the hard left and the punch to the finish. In large yellow letters on a black background reads the bad news: 43:12 on the line. He's lost 1:51 to Tyler Hamilton. That's what you get for wearing a bandana in a time trial when you are Italian. Heppner needs to finish in 44:41 to maintain the pink jersey. He's hit the long right hand sweeper, and just about to roll through the left hand sharpie... He's across the line at 43:53! The maglia rosa remains his by about 50 seconds! Wave them flags cowboys! Tyler Hamilton is only the third US rider to win a stage in the Giro D'Italia! He waves easily to crowd and basks in the glory on the podium - his 21st win as a professional, and probably the one that means to the most to him so far. Stage 14 - Time Trial Tyler Hamilton - 41:21 GC - ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-changes! Jens Heppner - maglia rosa - that is 10 days in pink! ....but, they don't bother to show the GC.... As near as I can tell, it's Cadel Evans Tyler Hamilton Francesco Casagrande....but, I'll actually have to hit a website or wake up for the earlier than usual (6 am) start of tomorrow's stage. Stage 15 - Terme Euganee to Conegliano - after a rest day (well
it was Monday) we'll cover a fairly flat stage to the north of Italy,
before the days in the Dolomites take place. "And with the north came the rains..." Stage 15 - Terme Euganee to Conegliano The zebra kits of Aqua & Sapone are getting a new stripe added today, as the road grit flung from their tires give them a single stripe. The planes, trains and automobiles which have brought the riders to the north have awakened to rain and soggy roads. Who would you expect to see off the front in these conditions other than a Belgian? Theirry Mariachal from Lotto cranks along about a minute in front of the rain-caped peloton. He must've spilled the olive oil on the director sportif at last night's dinner. "Eh, Thierry? Why don't you head up the roadway for us today..." He shakes his head and mugs a bit for the drenched cameraman on the lead moto. In the Intergiro - Strazzer ignor |