Battaglia Italiana, Simoni and Cunego Box?
Early Escape Action, stage 7 Giro
Giro: Bettini still in Pink, Cooke battles on.
Michael Barry "there were a few obstacles: garbage cans, cars, spectators, that we had to avoid."
Giro d'Italia, Italy
Rest Day 1, Ravenna
17 May
Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
From the Heart
Stage List, Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
With the first rest day upon us marking the close of the first portion of the race we've seen an exciting and unpredictable Giro d'Italia thus far!
It hasn't shaped up to be very much at all what I was expecting it to look like. And, if you can't tell by now, I think that's a good thing. I would like to share with you my philosophical slant on why the Giro d'Italia is superior (from a spectator's point of view) to the Tour de France.
![Di Luca Cunego](javascript:ImagePopup("../../photo/2005/Giro/03/BianchiDiLucaCunegoTightSprint.jpg", 650, 430, "Di Luca and Cunego"); "Di Luca and Cunego in a Tight Sprint, photo: Bianchi")
Di Luca and Cunego, photo: Bianchi
The Tour of Italy (Giro d'Italia) is often said to feature a totally different "kind" of racing than you will likely see in the Tour de France. Fast right from the get go. Hilly (not mountainous) stages in the first week with the main GC big boys up there duking it out, they have to or risk losing valuable time. You will also see riders like Bettini and Garzelli finishing second and third in sprints behind someone like Petacchi. In the Tour de France you would have to go back to the days of Bernard Hinault to see that kind of lunacy!
It's this lack of a "safe" formula that appeals so much to me. The Tour definitely has it's place. For a grand scale spectacle, it's second to none. But there is a beauty to the Giro that is difficult to duplicate. Mario Cipollini once said (when he was comparing the yellow jersey to the pink jersey) ‘the yellow jersey is the most beautiful, but the pink jersey is from the heart.' It's difficult to put ones finger on, but I know exactly what he's talking about!
![Robbie McEwen Wins](javascript:ImagePopup("../../photo/2005/Giro/02/DavitamonRobbieMcEwenWins.jpg", 640, 374, "Robbie McEwen Wins"); "Robbie McEwen Wins, photo: Davitamon-Lotto")
Robbie McEwen Wins, photo: Davitamon-Lotto
It's basically been a tug of war between Paolo Bettini and Danilo Di Luca for the pink jersey, with the jersey changing hands almost daily. Brett Lancaster took the prologue and initial pink jersey. And Robbie McEwen took it from Bettini on Stage 2. I (along with all of Italy) thought we'd be seeing a magenta-clad Alessandro Petacchi at this stage of the race. But he's been completely shut down, save for one victory yesterday. The 3-man Liquigas-Bianchi break on stage 3 giving Di Luca victory was absolutely awesome! If the Giro d'Italia ended right there, I'd walk away satisfied. That kind of racing with your emotions is what I'm talking about. Can you see Lance Armstrong doing that? Never.
Well, the best lies ahead I'm sure. The first "real" climbing is to come on Thursday. That will no doubt show us the first real sorting out of who is here to play and who the posers are.
The Dust Devil
Dave Zabriskie Getting Kisses at the Giro, Adding to Andy Hampsten, Greg LeMond and Ron Keifel, Fred Rodriguez and Tyler Hamilton before him, David Zabriskie put his name down as one of the few Americans to score a stage victory in the Giro d'Italia.
Stefano Garzelli - "I have heard of Danielson and I know that he is very strong in the climbs. Together with Paolo, they will be a very terrible twosome!"
Tom Danielson Interview, Before the Giro d'Italia, "We looked at Lance a lot for that stage. And if I was able to do it, then I was going to try to do it. Lance had a lot of faith in me, and kind of stressed me out a little bit..."
