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20 May 2005

21 May News ...

Stage 11: Il Falco Flies, Basso in Rosa

The Dolomites provided the first explosions of the Giro d'Italia. The first mountain stage set the race on fire, with Ivan Basso in Pink, Paolo Savoldelli with a stage win, and Damiano Cunego losing huge time.

Yesterday, stage 11, reshaped the Giro d'Italia with an impressive show of force by Basso, the man Lance Armstrong picked as a favorite. Savoldelli rode impressively as well, and now we have our two favorites for the following stages. Because team Lampre-Caffita and Liquigas-Bianchi (besides Di Luca) really failed to show. Simoni showed mediocre results and Cunego flat out bombed, at 6 minutes back.

For Basso it was a huge day that saw him ride like a leader. The GC leader commented, "The pink jersey is a great emotion for me. But the thing most beautiful is how I read this stage. At La Mongie [Tour de France 2004] I won, but I was always on the wheel of Armstrong. Here I took on the stage from the front, after the first attack of Simoni on the Duran I took in my hands the situation without watching the faces of my rivals."

Read the stage 11 report or the Dust Devil's Daily Wrap for more information.

Simoni on Cunego and the Giro

Gilberto Simoni on Damiano Cunego, "I certainly did not expect him to lose so many minutes. Now he will feel liberated, in the head and also the legs. This will give him some freedom to make moves. ... Damiano has had a moment of crisis, he has had his first KO of his life."

Simoni regarding the race ahead, "Now in the classification Basso and Savoldelli are ahead, and we behind them. Now we will take more risks, and attack. I will wait for the right moment to do my talking. Because the podium, in this moment, is not finished, not as far as I am concerned. It was only the first true mountain day, and there are many other days of mountains, enough to write another story."

Toe-to-knee coverage on the 88th Giro d'Italia
Startlist, Classifications, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Key Stages, Stages and Maps, Overall Map
Photos

Popo and Piepo at Volta Ciclista a Catalunya

Italiano Leonardo Piepoli helped his team, Saunier Duval - Prodir, to obtain their first ProTour victory. In the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya stage 4, on the slopes of Pal-Arinsal, Piepo turned on the gas, followed home by Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel). Popovych rode well enough to move into the GC lead, thanks to Discovery Channel's impressive stage 1 TTT. Surely it was a good win for the yellow squadra after being embattled in the politics of the ongoing Giro d'Italia.

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap: The 4th of July comes early

It was quite a stage yesterday and the Dust Devil was excited beyond belief. Check out was the DD has to say in his Daily Wrap.

"Salvodelli delivered one of his legendary hair-raising descents and in a matter of a few KM's, he opened up a 15 second gap!! I'd like to discuss that for just a moment. To be able to get a gap of that size in such a short distance going downhill is mind-blowing! That is crazy-fast. Add to that, he had a few nasty crashes during his stint at T-Mobile and he's still got the cajones to descend like a stone! I think the only way to do it is to take every risk imaginable, while your opponents play it conservative. It's a skill not many have-if anybody else does have it, that's why he's 'Il Falco'." Read the Dust Devil's Daily Wrap, The 4th of July comes early

Giro d'Italia Classifications

Maglia Rosa: Stage 11 provided quite the shake up. Ivan Basso took over the maglia rosa from Di Luca, thanks to a smashing ride on the Zoldo Alto. Di Luca rode his heart out and is in 4th at 1'01". See the complete results.
Maglia Ciclamino: Robbie McEwen, McJet, did not figure in the day's points, due to the uphill finish. But he remains the points leader thanks to THREE stage wins. Look for McJet in the peloton today in the purple jersey. Standings: McEwen 116, Bettini 112, Di Luca 106
Maglia Verde: Koldo Gil (Liberty Seguros-Würth) could not contain Rujano Guillen (Selle Italia-Colombia) in stage 11. The Venezuelan topped the Passo Duran first, and also scored points on the Passo di Cadera and the Forcelle Aurine. Stage 12 will see Guillen back in the Green jersey, after it was with Gil for a few days. Standings: Guillen 31, Gil 21, Basso 18.
Maglia Azzurra: Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) continues to wear the blue jersey for the Intergiro leader. Bettini is fighting like made to take the lead from the German. Standings: Krauss, Bettini at 26", Zanini at 40". Intergiro Explanation
Read the complete Giro d'Italia classification break-down.

Nardello Out
T-Mobile strong-man, Daniele Nardello, is out of the Giro d'Italia. Unfortunately for Nardello, he had pull out of stage 11 due to back pains, "the pains to the back they were unbearable". BiciRace.com wishes Nardello a fast recovery.

For all the updates on riders that have left the Giro d'Italia, go to our updated startlist. The names, like 214 Nardello Daniele, have been crossed out for easy viewing.

Stage 12: Mostly Downhill
Today's stage 12 should not be that difficult for the riders. Early on is the Passo San Pellegrino, at 27 K into the race action. This will surly prompt an early move, while the majority of the peloton will fill up their bottles with some sparkling water on the famed mountain. But the length 178K, from Alleghe to Rovereto, will provide some difficulties after a rough stage 11. Look for a move to stay clear, and the sprinter's teams fail to reel it in. Sunny skies, and temperatures around 23°C for the peloton. A nice day before the weekend's suffer-fest.

Weekend Ahead in the Giro
If you are a fan mountain passes, small roads, and screaming tifosi, then this could be the weekend for you. In store for the riders of the Giro d'Italia are two mountainous stages, stage 13 to Ortisei and stage 14 covering lo Stelvio. Both stages should really put Ivan Basso and Paolo Savoldelli to the test, Lampre-Caffita are sure to be out for blood.

The blood-shed starts with Saturday's stage 13 to Ortisei, containing five GPM's 218K. The Passo delle Erbe (Km 161), a 1st category pass, should see the Giro in pieces. The Erbe is 15.2K with an average grade of 8.7%, and only 57K to the finish at the summit. Expect to see the contenders trying to sort out the GC, then a thrilling decent by il Falco to the valley below.

From the valley it is a matter of the Pontives, the category 1 stage finish. Here, just like in stage 11, we should see 2 to 4 favorites trading blows. The stage should establish some sort of supremacy leading into Sunday's stage 14.

Stage 14 contains the feared Stelvio. This climb is the Giro's "Cima Coppi", a name given to the highest pass of every Giro d'Italia. The Passo dello Stelvio will surely create a mountain legend out of one of our Giro warriors. Maybe we will see an opportunist get away, with enough time to give him a cushion on the Passo di Foscagno. After the peak of Foscagno there is a matter of 14K remaining, slightly up and down.

Just how fearsome is the Passo dello Stelvio? Well, it is scary, most of the BiciRace.com staff members shutter when they think of their last ride over lo Stelvio. It is 24.7K in length, with an average grade of 7.5%. The length, combined with portions at 12% gradient, should really be a knock-out punch for the peloton.

Di Luca Looks to a Milano Podium

Danilo Di Luca rode like a man possessed yesterday, doing the maglia rosa proud. Today Di Luca is back in the white jersey for the leader of the ProTour. Yesterday, after finishing only 61 seconds down to Paolo Savoldelli, the Liquigas-Bianchi rider appeared as a possible podium finisher for the Giro. But is this effort only to gain points in the ProTour? Di Luca says no, "this Giro I want to finish well. The ProTour classification is an objective but after this race I will have two months of rest, and to prepare for a grand season finale. Then, as well, the Giro will give points [to the ProTour]."

Di Luca is thankful for his Liquigas-Bianchi, "I would like to say that this squad has believed in me." He is still at the service of his teammates, "In this condition I would like to work for the others." Perhaps indicating that he does not realistically have the legs for a podium in Milano.

Tour of California News

It appears that the California Tour may happen in February 2006. Last March, the AEG marketing group announced the Tour of California and now the tour is slated as a UCI race with invitations for European teams.

Just this last week there were meetings, with cities from San Francisco to Los Angeles, to map out the route. Early planning shows that the tour will start in San Francisco and finish in Los Angeles. Taking in the cities of San Luis Obispo and the famed Santa Barbara. These are the same roads that are used by Lance Armstrong's Discovery Channel in the Spring for training.

19 May News ...