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News :: May 2005

25 May 2005

26 May News ...

Iván Parra: Hero of the Dolomites

Parra Wins 2nd stage, photo: Capture-The -Peloton.com

Who is Iván Parra and where did this guy come from? Those in the know are probably not too surprised that Parra has just won two of the most difficult stages in this year's Giro, consecutively at that.

Parra, who was born October 14, 1975, hails from the South American nation of Colombia. He was born in the town of Sogamoso, but now resides in the nation's capital, Bogotá. His last name may sound familiar to you. That's because his big bro, Fabio, was a top rider in the 80's, bagging a third place on GC in the 1988 Tour de France. Always a hotbed of cyclists, and particularly climbers, the roll call of riders from this nation is quite impressive: Lucho Herrera, Oliverio Rincon, Hernan Buenahora, Chepe González, Victor Hugo Peña and of course, Santiago Botero.

Parra cut his teeth on the professional racing scene in 1997 with the Lotería Boyaca squad and quickly moved up to bigger and better things. The late 90's saw him move to division I squad, Vitalicio Seguros where he won a stage of the 2000 Vuelta a Galicia. Since then he's ridden for ONCE, Kelme and Cafés Baque.

His victories up until now have been few, but what he lacks in his palmarès, he more than makes up for in pure climbing panache. You can't deny that the exploits of Parra and his Selle Italia-Colombia teammate, José Rujano Guillén, have made this year's Giro d'Italia one of the best.
- Paco

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

Marco Pinotti, Rest Day Ride, Looking Ahead

At Team Car, photo: Graham Watson, Saunier Duval

Marco Pinotti (Saunier Duval - Prodir) writes on rest day 2. It has been a long Giro d'Italia and he is looking forward to the remaining stages. Also, Marco was able to fit in a ride to his home! "After breakfast I was really excited because I wanted to ride my bike home (I live 25 km far from here)." Read BiciRace.com's Inside Scoop from Marco.

Ivan Basso Is Happy To Continue

We caught up with Team CSC after Monday's wet stage 15. Basso was satisfied after finishing the stage. Basso commented, "I made it all the way to the finish and I felt much better than yesterday. However, I'm still not at 100%, so it was good for me, the course was changed. Tomorrow's rest day is highly appreciated, and I hope to recover before we hit the mountains."

The former 2005 Giro hopeful is now aiming for a stage victory, "I still believe I'm capable of making a big result, so that's why I continue." BiciRace.com extends a 'in bocca al lupo' to Basso (it means 'good luck').

Stages 10 to 15, A Rest Day Recap

Rest Day Recap (10 to 15): a summary of the stages 10 to 15. It is a good idea to catch up and recap the race action now, because a tornado of attacking is expected during the last week of the Giro before we have our winner four days later in Milano.

Three Important Stages, 17, 18, 19

The days are numbered in this year's Giro, but there are some exciting stages left. Stage 17 (Varazze - Limone Piemonte, 194K), Stage 18 (Chieri - Torino TT, 34K) and Stage 19 (Savigliano - Sestriere, 190K) are going to be the final deciding factors. Riders will be out to attack Il Falco, Paolo Savoldelli from all quarters on these three Piemonte stages (Northeast Italy). It is best you lock your doors and stay tuned to BiciRace.com.

Stage 17

Stage 17 will waken the riders' climbing legs, from a four day respite (Stage Profile). After 131K into the stage the riders face the Madonna del Colletto, the first GPM of the day. The climb is an appetizer to the following climb, Colletto del Moro, 20K later. The Moro is no joke and will zap the legs of the riders. It is only 3.7K in length, but has a average gradient of 8.9% and a maximum of 21%!

Surely the riders will be tired after the first two GPM's, but they have to finish on the Colle di Tenda. It directly follows the Colletto del Moro, offering no time to regroup and catch a breath. The Tenda is 26K in length, taking the riders up to 1795 meters (detail of the Colle di Tenda).

Stage 18 is a chance to test the legs against the clock. A time trial like this is no place for the 100% pure TT men. The legs will be fried and cooked after 2 solid weeks of racing over mountain passes. Unexpected results could happen on a 34K course from Chieri to Torino (Stage Profile). It is flat TT, but with a big hump right in the middle of the test, 8K in length. This final TT of the Giro will give us a great idea of what to expect heading into stage 19, the last mountain stage.

Stage 19

Stage 19 is really going to put the pain into the riders legs, giving them a long lasting memory of the 2005 Giro d'Italia. There are about 55K of flat roads before the climbs kick into action (Stage Profile). The riders will tackle the Sestriere twice, with the feared Colle delle Finestre sandwiched between.

The Sestriere is about 50K in length, and an elevation gain of 1500m! A climb like this leaves the door open for huge time gains or losses. Dropping down quickly from the Sestriere the riders will battle the Colle delle Finestre. You might have heard about this climb; it is nasty. The Colle delle Finestre is more cow path than race route, with the final 8.5K being gravel and dirt. The inclusion of this climb harks back to the days of Bartali and Coppi. The riders will be cursing this, but the tifosi will be grinning ear to ear.

Finally, it is an 8K descent of the Finestre before the riders take the final 18K to Sestriere. A mountain top finish will top off the final mountain stage. There will be all sorts of fall out from the Finestre and we will see the true Giro champion emerge on the slopes of Sestriere.

Read about Marco Pinotti's (Saunier Duval - Prodir) preview of the Finestre.

24 May News ...