BiciRace.com

• News
• Races
• Photos
• Interviews
• Inside Scoop
• Gear & Gadgets

89th Giro d'Italia - presented by

Stage 4, Wanze - Hotton, 193K

9 May

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap
McJet the Sure Bet

Dust Devil's Daily Wrap, Stage List, Stage Profile, Photos

McJet the Sure Bet

It's hardly a surprise that Robbie McEwen took today's stage. All my money goes on McEwen for any remaining flat stages that he contests. He hardly has any competition left in the form of sprinters after Alessandro Petacchi's exit yesterday. Speaking of which.....it's a good example of how cruel the sport of cycling can be sometimes. Petacchi showed up with high hopes of winning a handful of stages and then going to the TDF and bagging a few more. But instead he leaves with a broken kneecap victory-less and without a chance to ride the Tour either. It's never over 'til it's over.

This year's Giro has a very early rest day after only the fourth stage. Bringing the peloton back to Italy just in time for the team time trial on Thursday. This stage should prove very interesting indeed. Especially since the Giro organizers have no silly rules like the Tour organizers where there is a max 2:30 time loss limit. In the Giro, you lose what you lose and there is no protection. And that's the way it should be in my opinion.

I will expect to see Paolo Savoldelli in the pink jersey Thursday evening. The DC boys are certainly well drilled in the art of the TTT. T-Mobile could put in a strong showing as well. I'm expecting them to be no higher than third though, in spite of having a few world class TT specialists on the books in the form of Gontchar, Ullrich and Michael Rogers. Team CSC will be the only real challenger for the top honors. But I will still have to lean towards Discovery Channel. With Bruyneel driving the boat, he will know exactly what needs to be done in order to win. And barring calamity, Paolo Savoldelli will be wearing the maglia rosa at the end of stage 5.
~The Dust Devil

-