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Giro d'Italia, Italy

Stage 13, Mezzocorona - Ortisei, 218K,

21 May

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
Il Falco Rosa

Stage List, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap

I was amazed that the break, containing eventual stage winner Ivan Parra, managed to stay away. It has to be Parra's greatest victory of his pro career.

I almost burst out laughing when Simoni and Cunego attacked with just inside 70km still to race. "Surely they will die trying" I thought to myself. But, I have to admit, a small part of me was a little concerned. Usually when somebody has the audacity to attempt such an apparently ridiculous move, it is for one of two reasons: Either they are stark raving mad and have seriously overestimated their legs, or they know something the rest of us don't. Perhaps they were testing Ivan Basso, who was apparently suffering from stomach problems all day.

Basso had the good fortune of an escort of some stellar CSC boys, namely Zabriskie, that kept that his brush with death under control. Had he been isolated, we might have seen a whole different outcome to today.

Basso has to be pretty cooked right about now. A 200+ km stage with 5 mountain passes and a finish that saw him lose his lunch, can't be good for morale. I hope he has a speedy recovery tonight, because tomorrow certainly won't get any easier. I would not be surprised if we saw Basso as a non-starter or a DNF tomorrow. I hope that's not the case though.

Il Falco in rosa, photo: Rabobank

Paolo Savoldelli on the other hand is enjoying the form of his life. I can't recall a time when I've seen a more authoritive Savoldelli. Currently he is looking to be the strongest candidate for the final Maglia Rosa. If he can hang on through the rest of the mountains then he will be the overwhelming favorite in the final TT. His Discovery Channel team is (with the exception of Padrnos and Joachim) a pretty inexperienced bunch. Fortunately for Salvodelli, he has the experience under his belt of being outright winner in 2002 and second in 1999 to draw from. And, in the Giro, unlike the Tour, it doesn't appear that a dominating team is quite a necessity.

My heart skipped a beat on the final climb when Simoni attacked and Il Falco went with him. And then il Falco attacked Simoni! And dropped him! When was the last time you saw Simoni dropped on a climb in the Giro? Oh yeah, last year, by Cunego. Well, anyway, it's not easy to drop a pure climber of Simoni's class. And we are seeing a rebirth of Savoldelli since his move from the talent graveyard of T-Mobile. How many talented riders have gone into the abyss of the T-Mobile squad to be cryogenically frozen and see the best years of their careers gone forever? The list is too long to mention here. I am ecstatic to see Il Falco free from black hole that was 2003 and 2004!

Di Luca continues to hang in there, far beyond what I though he was capable of. Although I can't see him being anything more than top 10. Juan Manuel Garate made a big leap in the GC today from 12th to 5th. I don't see him much more than a top 6 or 7 though.

Tomorrow features the Stelvio. Which will surely see Simoni come to the fore. He'll need to do something to frighten his rivals soon, otherwise he'll be just another one of the also-rans.
The Dust Devil