Angelo Zomegnan Leaving Giro d'Italia?

According to several Italian cycling news sources the Director of the Giro d'Italia, Angelo Zomegnan, will be leaving that position.

After a high level meeting including Director Antonello Perricone of the RCS MediaGroup, President of RCSSport Flavio Biondi, Director Michael Acquarone, and Angelo Zomegnan it appeared that Zomegnan would leave his post due to difference of views with the leaders and some mistakes during this last Giro (such as the descent of Monte Crostis which was deemed to dangerous and was eliminated from the race route due to a decision by the Panel of Commissaires; video of descent here). ).

Mentioned is the possibility that Zomegnan will have a role in the World Championships that will be coming to Florence in 2013.

His position may be filled by a pool of experts. Names mentioned: Mauro Vegni, Operations Director of the Giro d'Italia; Pier Bergonzi, journalist and author of several cycling books and editor at Gazzetta dello Sport; Silvio Martinello, gold medalist in the men's points race at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia; Davide Cassani and Beppe Con­ti, TV cycling commentators.

Photo: Zomegnan (left) with Mauro Vegni

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

"Ride with Eddy" Contest

You can compete on the www.ridewitheddy.com website for a range of cycling prizes, with the top prize being a ride with Eddy Merckx at the Eddy Merckx Classic on 4 September in Salzburgerland, Austria. Furthermore, the winner can also take his authentic Quick Step EMX-5 Teambike worth € 7,795 home with him.

The contest runs up until 1 August 2011. Everyone can participate once every day. Extra chances can be obtained by sharing the contest with your Facebook friends.

Ride with Eddy is the slogan of the new Eddy Merckx Cycles advertising campaign. The underlying idea is that everyone who rides an Eddy Merckx bicycle also rides a little with the champion himself.

Eddy Merckx was the first Belgian to win the Giro d’Italia in 1968 and went on to win another four Corsa Rosa. Only the Italian greats Alfredo Binda and Fausto Coppi have also won the Giro five times.

GOOD LUCK!

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,000 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Most Exciting Stage Race of 2010: Giro d'Italia

According to the readers of cyclingnews.com the Giro D'Italia provided the most excitement of the year. The poll results:

Giro d'Italia, 7071 votes (42.1%)
Tour de France, 7028 (41.9%)
Amgen Tour of California, 1151 (6.9%)
Vuelta a Espana,798 (4.8%)
Tour de Suisse, 245 (1.5%)
TransRockies, 123 (0.7%)
Cape Epic, 114 (0.7%)
Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco, 100 (0.6%)
Tirreno-Adriatico, 73 (0.4%)
Three Days of De Panne, 54 (0.3%)
Tour of Oman, 30 (0.2%)

To be sure, Giro director Angelo Zomegnan will want to achieve the same result for the 2011 edition which will be a special one, celebrating the 150th anniversary of the unification of Italy. Are YOU going to be at the 2011 Giro? Here is a summary of the highlights:
From the 7th to the 29th of May 2011,
17 regions,
23 total days, 21 race days,
1 rest day + transfer 1 rest day,
Start from Torino-Reggia di Venaria Reale,
Finish in Milano-Piazza Duomo,
1 Team Time Trial Stage (1ª stage Reggia di Venaria Reale-Torino) / 21,5 km,
1 uphill time trial (16ª Belluno-Nevegal) / 12,7 km,
1 individual time trial (21ª Milano-Milano) / 32,8 km,
7 stages for sprinters,
1 white (gravel) road stage in Siena in the province of Siena and the finish in Orvieto
4 medium mountain stages (1 summit finish)
6 mountain stages (6 summit finish),
Summit finishes: Montevergine di Mercogliano (7ª stage), Etna (9ª stage), Grossglockner (13ª stage), Zoncolan (14ª stage), Gardeccia (15ª stage), Macugnaga (19ª stage), Sestriere (20ª stage),
Other climbs: Crostis (new), Croce Carnico, Mauria, Fedaia-Marmolada, Tonale, Aprica, Mottarone, Colle delle Finestre (dirt stretch),
Cima Coppi: Passo Giau,
Total: 3496 km

Some of my favorite photos that appeared here during May, 2010 (it's easy to see all the stories and photos from May, 2010; use the blog Archive feature to the right of the page):










Share your story. Write a story about your cycling trip, or an aspect of your trip, in Italy. Or, it can be about a granfondo experience, a special encounter, your favorite ride, etc. The period for story submissions for prizes will be January 1-February 15, 2011. Prizes will be awarded on a random basis, stories will not be judged on which is the "best" one. Nevertheless, it should be a good story for the enjoyment of all readers. Photos accompanying the story are most welcome. If you have any questions email me at veronaman@gmail.com. See photos of prizes here. Prize donated by:
CycleItalia, specializing in cycling tours in Italy
BicycleGifts.com, the premiere site for gifts and merchandise for cyclists
Enzo’s ButtonHole Chamois Cream,chamois cream for the ultimate protection
FreeBirdVelo, Italian themed T-shirts
Strada Hand Built Wheels, custom wheel building
Velo-Retro, all things retro for cycling
La Gazzetta della Bici, massage oils for cyclists

Giro d'Italia Recipes, Stages 10 to 21

We continue, and conclude, with the special Giro d'Italia recipes for stages 10 through 21 featured by the Gazzetta dello Sport. They are in Italian so it might take a bit of work to translate them. You can also use the translate button at the bottom of this page (scroll all the way to the bottom), you are likely to get some interesting results. Finding the ingredients may be difficult but you can try experimenting with substitutes.

Stage 10
Sformato di Tagliolini con Pomodoro S. Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Nocerino Dop, Caciocavallo Silano Dop e Limone Costa D’Amalfi Igp.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Tagliolini 400g
Brodo vegetale ½ Lt
Amido di mais 15g
Cipolla 20g
Caciocavallo Silano Dopn 100g
Limone Costa d’Amalfi Igp n°1
Pomodoro S. Marzano dell’Agro Sarnese Nocerino Dop 400g
Olio extravergine di oliva cucchiai 4
Stampo imburrato e cosparso di pane grattugiato 1
Sale

Esecuzione:


Preparate un brodo vegetale, quando è pronto aggiungete metà della scorza di un limone. Filtrate il brodo e fuori dal fuoco unite l’amido di mais, fate riprendere il bollore per cinque minuti e tenete da parte in caldo. A parte fate una salsa al pomodoro con un fondo di olio e cipolla.
Tritate il caciocavallo e conservatelo.
Fate cuocere la pasta, scolatela e ripassatela nella salsa di pomodoro. Aggiungete un mestolo di brodo legato e fuori dal fuoco incorporate il caciocavallo.
Versate la pasta nello stampo, lasciate riposare almeno quindici minuti e quindi fate cuocere in forno preriscaldato a 180°C per 15\20 minuti.
Sfornate, lasciate riposare, sformate e servite.


Stage 11
Panzanella di Pane d’Altamura Dop, La Bella della Daunia Dop, Olio extravergine di oliva Dauno Dop e rinfresco di vegetali.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Pane d'Altamura Dop 250g
Pomodori 250g
Basilico 8 foglie
Cetrioli 120g
Cipolle bianche 40g
La Bella della Daunia Dop 200g
Olio extravergine di oliva Dauno Dop 2 cucchiai
Olio extravergine di oliva cucchiai 4
Aceto 2 cucchiai
Sale

Esecuzione:


Tagliate il pane a cubi.
Passatelo velocemente in acqua e aceto e scolatelo bene in uno scolapasta.
A parte preparate un’ insalata di pomodori, cetrioli e cipolla e condite con il basilico, il sale e l’olio extravergine d’oliva Dauno. Unite il pane, l’insalata e le olive La Bella della Daunia, lasciate riposare in frigorifero. Servite fresca.


Stage 12
Stufato di Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale Igp, con zafferano dell’Aquila Dop , olio extravergine d’oliva Apruntino Pescarese Dop e patate di Avezzano.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale Igp 500g
Zafferano dell’Aquila Dop 0,5g
Apruntino Pescarese Dop Olio extravergine di oliva 4 cucchiai
Patate 300g
Porro 100g
Maggiorana 5g
Zucchero 1 cucchiaino
Vino bianco 1 bicchiere
Sale

Esecuzione:


Tagliate la carne a pezzi, ponetela in una casseruola con l’olio e lasciatela rosolare. Aggiungete il porro tritato e lo zucchero e fate caramellare. Nel frattempo fate sciogliere lo zafferano nel vino bianco. Bagnate lo spezzatino con il vino e fate evaporare. Aggiungete mezzo litro di acqua o di brodo e continuate la cottura a fuoco dolce coperta.
Tagliate le patate a dadi, lavatele e a tre quarti di cottura aggiungetele allo spezzatino e continuate la cottura dolcemente.
Regolate di sale e lasciate riposare almeno un’ora, al momento dell’utilizzo scaldate e servite cosparso di maggiorana tritata.


Stage 13
Cannelloni tradizionali con Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale Igp, Mortadella di Bologna Igp, gratinati con Pomodoro S.Marzano Dop.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Pasta fresca 250g
Salsa di Pomodoro S. Marzano Dop 250g
Sedano \ Carote \ Cipolle 150g
Vitellone Bianco dell’Appennino Centrale Igp 200g
Mortadella di Bologna Igp 100g
Vino bianco 1 bicchiere
Uova 1
Funghi secchi 20g
Parmigiano Reggiano Dop 80g
Noce moscata 2 g
Olio extravergine d’oliva 4 cucchiai
Sale e Pepe

Esecuzione:


Tagliate a brunoise il sedano, le carote, le cipolle e fatele imbiondire in una padella con 1 cucchiaio d’olio.
Tagliate la carne a pezzi, ponetela in una casseruola con il rimanente olio e lasciatela rosolare. Unite la brunoise di verdure, i funghi secchi precedentemente messi a bagno e tritati.
Bagnate la carne con il vino e fate evaporare.
Aggiungete mezzo litro di acqua o brodo e continuate la cottura a fuoco dolce coperto.
Quando la carne è cotta e asciutta, unite la mortadella fate cuocere ancora qualche minuto e passate il tutto al tritacarne. Mettete l’impasto in un contenitore e aggiungete l’ uovo, metà del Parmigiano grattugiato, la noce moscata, il sale ed il pepe. Confezionate i cannelloni con la pasta fresca sbollentata e disponeteli su di una teglia da forno. Copriteli con la salsa di Pomodoro S.Marzano, cospargete di Parmigiano Reggiano e fate gratinare in forno a 180°C per 15 minuti circa.


Stage 14
Frittata di patate ed erba cipollina con Parmigiano Reggiano dop e Prosciutto di Modena Dop.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Uova 5
Patate 200g
Prosciutto di Modena Dop 100g
Parmigiano ReggianoDop 80g
Cipolla 60g
Olio extravergine d’oliva 40 ml
Sale

Esecuzione:


Tagliate le cipolle tagliate sottili e fatele cuocere in padella con l’olio. Tagliate le patate a piccoli cubi, aggiungetele alle cipolle e fatele saltare per cinque minuti. Nel frattempo tagliate il prosciutto alla julienne, aggiungetelo alle cipolle e alle patate e lasciatelo cuocere leggermente.
Battete le uova, salatele leggermente, unite il parmigiano grattugiato e versatele in padella.
Fate cuocere la frittata prima da un lato e poi dall’altra.
Servite la frittata calda e morbida.


Stage 15
Radicchio rosso di Treviso Igp, Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco Igp con fagioli di lago passati e olio extravergine d’oliva Veneto Valpolicella Dop con degustazioni di Montasio Dop.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Fagioli reidratati 300g
Sedano, carote, cipolle 100g
Salvia 4 foglie
Radicchio Rosso di Treviso Igp 150g
Radicchio Variegato di Castelfranco Igp 150g
Veneto Valpolicella Dop Olio extravergine di oliva 4 cucchiai
Aceto di vino bianco 2 cucchiai
Sale e pepe macinato al momento

Esecuzione:


Lessate i fagioli a fuoco moderato, con la salvia e gli aromi sminuzzati, schiumate di tanto in tanto. Salate a fine cottura, e lasciateli freddare in acqua.
Frullate i fagioli con un pò di acqua di cottura e la metà dell’olio e il pepe. A parte mondate, lavate il radicchio, tagliatelo, mettetelo in una terrina e conditelo con sale, aceto e il rimanente olio.
Versate il passato di fagioli tiepido sopra il radicchio. Aromatizzate con del pepe macinato al momento a piacere.
Tagliate il Montasio e servitelo come accompagnamento.


Stage 16
Spatzle con Prosciutto di San Daniele Dop, Stelvio Dop, Mela Val di Non Dop.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Spatzle 320g
Prosciutto di San Daniele Dop 70g
Stelvio Dop 80g
Mela Val di Non Dop 100g più una mela per il brodo
Olio extra vergine di oliva 2 cucchiai
Sale

Esecuzione:


Preparate un brodo vegetale con l’aggiunta di una mela. Tagliate a julienne il prosciutto di San Daniele. In una padella mettete l’olio e fate scaldare a fuoco dolce il prosciutto e mantenete in caldo. Sminuzzate il formaggio Stelvio.
Mettete a cuocere gli spatzle e nel frattempo sbucciate la mela e grattugiatela a filetti.
Scolate gli spatzli e metteteli nella padella con il prosciutto e aggiungete la mela.
Servite gli spatzli cosparsi di formaggio Stelvio.


Stage 17
Reginelle con ricotta, Speck dell’Alto Adige Igp e Mela Alto Adige Igp.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Reginelle 250g
Ricotta 150g
Uvetta 25g
Pinoli 20g
Burro 15g
Pane raffermo setacciato 60g
Mela Alto Adige Igp ½ mela
Speck dell’Alto Adige Igp 60g
Sale

Esecuzione:


Fate rinvenire l’uvetta nell’acqua e scolatela. In una padella sciogliete il burro e fate tostare i pinoli, aggiungete il pane e fatelo tostare, unite l’uvetta e lasciate asciugare ancora. Tagliate lo speck alla julienne e fatelo scaldare a fuoco dolce in un una padella. Mettete in cottura la pasta.
Con l’acqua di cottura della pasta sciogliete la ricotta e frullatela.
Sbucciate le mele e tagliatele a filetti, conservatele in un contenitore con acqua e limone.
Ripassate la pasta nella ricotta, mettetela in un piatto, cospargetela con lo speck, spolverate con il pane ripassato e le mele tagliate a filetti.


Stage 18
Torta di mele Val di Non Dop e Alto Adige Igp con cannella e noci.



Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Farina 00 400g
Amido di mais 100g
Zucchero 250g
Uova 4
Latte 2 bicchieri
Burro morbido140g
Limone n°1
Cannella 3g
Noci 60g
Lievito chimico 2 buste
Mela Val di Non Dop 100g
Mela Alto Adige Igp 100g

Esecuzione:


In una ciotola lavorate le uova con lo zucchero e il burro, aggiungete il latte e aromatizzate con il limone e la cannella. A parte in una ciotola unite la farina, l’amido e il lievito.
Incorporare la farina al composto di uova e in ultimo aggiungete le mele tagliate a cubetti e le noci sminuzzate. Imburrate e infarinate uno stampo a ciambella, versateci il composto e fate cuocere in forno a 150°C per 40’.


Stage 19
Insalata di riso con Quartirolo Lombardo Dop e vegetali freschi di stagione.
Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Riso parboiled 200g
Zucchine 100g
Carote 70g
Peperoni 50g
Sedano 50g
Cipolla bianca tritata g 30
Prezzemolo ciuffi 4
Brodo vegetale lt1
Olio extravergine d’oliva ml 40
Quartirolo Lombardo Dop 150g
Sale

Esecuzione:


In una padella mettete la metà dell’olio con la cipolla tritata e cuocete a fuoco dolce. Unite i vegetali tagliati a cubetti e fateli saltare lasciandoli croccanti. Nella casseruola mettete il rimanente olio, aggiungete il riso, versate il brodo bollente e fate cuocere coperto a fuoco dolce senza mai girarlo finché è cotto.
Nel frattempo tagliate il Quartirolo Lombardo a dadini. Togliete il riso dalla casseruola e lasciatelo freddare rapidamente. Prima di servirlo unitelo con le verdure saltate, il Quartirolo e il prezzemolo tritato.


Stage 20
Mezze maniche con fonduta di Taleggio Dop, pere saltate con miele e Grana Padano Dop a scaglie.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Mezze maniche 250g
Pere Williams 100g
Miele 30g
Peperoni 50g
Grana Padano Dop a scaglie 100g
Taleggio Dop 100g
Latte 2 dl
Amido di mais 8g
Sale e Pepe nero

Esecuzione:


Tagliate il taleggio a cubi privandolo della scorza. Mettetelo a bagno in una ciotola con il latte per due ore. Trascorso questo tempo versate il formaggio e il latte in una pentola o bastardella d’acciaio. Stemperate l’amido in un po’ di acqua fredda ed unitelo al latte mescolando con una frusta.
Fate cuocere a bagnomaria almeno per trenta minuti. A parte tagliate le pere a cubetti e saltatele con il miele.
Fate cuocere la pasta, scolatela e condite con la salsa al formaggio, le pere e in ultimo il Grana Padano in scaglie.


Stage 21
Polenta con Asiago Dop e Radicchio Rosso di Treviso Igp scottato all’Olio extravergine di oliva del Grada Dop.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Farina di mais fioretto 200g
Asiago Dop g 150
Radicchio Rosso di Treviso Igp g 250
Garda Dop Olio extravergine di oliva dl1
Cipolla 50g
Sale e Pepe

Esecuzione:


Tagliate a piccoli cubi il formaggio Asiago. Preparate la polenta normalmente. A parte mondate il radicchio, lavatelo e tagliatelo a pezzi di due cm circa. In una padella mettete l’olio extravergine di oliva, la cipolla tritata e fate cuocere lentamente fin quando non risulta bionda, aggiungete il radicchio e saltatelo per due minuti, quindi salate.
Appena la polenta sarà pronta, spostatela dal fuoco e aggiungeteci l’Asiago. Lavoratela fin quando non risulterà filante.
Servite sui piatti la polenta cosparsa di radicchio scottato all’olio extravergine di oliva del Garda.


Photo: Speck from the Alto Adige for Stage 17 recipe

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 21 Results

Verona, 30 May: Ivan Basso has won the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia. Arroyo is second ahead of Nibali. Scarponi, in 4th at one second behind Nibali at the start of the day, finished in the same position.

Gustav Larsson (Team Saxo Bank) won today's 15 km time trial which included a 4.5 km ascent of the Torricelli.

It was Basso's second Giro d'Italia victory, his first being in 2006. Basso is the first rider to come back and win a grand tour after a two year suspension (implicated in the Operacion Puerto blood doping investigation).

"It's a special day for all my family. We suffered all together, and so we're celebrating together," Basso said. "I'm happy to announce that I'm going to be a father for a third time in a few months. I found out a few days ago and really wanted to make it to Verona in the pink jersey to celebrate the news. I think this Giro win is the best one because I fought for the pink jersey right to the end. I crashed on the stage to Montalcino and then there was the disaster of the stage to L'Aquila, when I lost time. I honestly thought I might not win. Arroyo was very strong and rides for a strong team. It caused us a lot of problems but we fought back with pride and did everything right to win. I have to thank my teammates yet again. Especially Nibali who finished with me on the podium. He'll win the Giro one day."

Basso announced he will attempt a Giro d'Italia and Tour de France double and will begin preparations on Monday. "I'll ride the Tour, but I don't know if I'll be fantastic. But I won't go just to make up the numbers," Basso said. "Contador has dominated the Tour in recent years, but I've improved a lot. I've got to believe I can do a great Tour and that's my goal. I didn't ride a lot of races before the Giro because I wanted to peak for the Giro and the Tour. It's worked so far. Now I can only hope it will work at the Tour too."

Jersey winners:
General Classification: Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
Points Classification: Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
Mountains Classification: Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto
Young Rider Classification: Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank

Final GC:
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 87:44:01
2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:51
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:02:37
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:50
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:27
6 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:07:06
7 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:07:22
8 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:09:39
9 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:14:20
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:14:51
11 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:17:10
12 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank 0:19:41
13 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:23:03
14 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:25:21
15 Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 0:32:29
16 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:34:49
17 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:36:44
18 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank 0:37:27
19 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:39:43
20 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:45:17
21 Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:50:08
22 Iban Mayoz Echeverria (Spa) Footon-Servetto 1:07:37
23 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:10:16
24 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 1:10:55
25 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Acqua & Sapone 1:11:10
26 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto 1:19:31
27 Chris Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 1:19:34
28 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:19:58
29 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto 1:20:05
30 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli 1:24:28
31 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha 1:25:52
32 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 1:27:52
33 Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 1:31:36
34 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 1:34:31
35 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 1:37:06
36 Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 1:37:40
37 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne 1:42:55
38 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervelo Test Team 1:44:55
39 Branislau Samoilau (Blr) Quick Step 1:46:02
40 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 1:47:58
41 Andrei Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Caisse d'Epargne 1:50:40
42 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Astana 1:52:09
43 Massimo Codol (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 1:53:45
44 Michael Barry (Can) Sky Professional Cycling Team 1:55:13
45 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 2:00:13
46 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha 2:02:47
47 Cayetano Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Acqua & Sapone 2:03:49
48 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Footon-Servetto 2:04:20
49 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 2:08:58
50 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto 2:13:22
51 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 2:13:32
52 Carlos Jose Ochoa (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 2:14:39
53 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2:14:54
54 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha 2:15:29
55 Steven Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 2:17:55
56 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 2:19:47
57 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Transitions 2:20:53
58 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Quick Step 2:22:28
59 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 2:23:07
60 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo 2:27:19
61 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team 2:28:40
62 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 2:29:15
63 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 2:29:30
64 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank 2:30:43
65 Francesco Failli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 2:30:45
66 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Androni Giocattoli 2:33:16
67 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:39:00
68 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 2:40:00
69 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 2:40:14
70 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana 2:41:18
71 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto 2:42:18
72 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 2:42:22
73 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox 2:45:07
74 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox 2:45:11
75 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 2:53:33
76 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 2:58:53
77 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Androni Giocattoli 3:03:44
78 Craig Lewis (USA) Team HTC - Columbia 3:04:01
79 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha 3:04:07
80 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 3:05:57
81 Florian Stalder (Swi) BMC Racing Team 3:09:00
82 Remi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 3:09:45
83 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R La Mondiale 3:11:06
84 Matthias Russ (Ger) Team Milram 3:12:43
85 Inigo Cuesta Lopez (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 3:12:44
86 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 3:12:56
87 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana 3:13:47
88 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Sky Professional Cycling Team 3:16:25
89 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 3:17:13
90 Matthias Brandle (Aut) Footon-Servetto 3:18:09
91 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 3:20:36
92 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Astana 3:20:57
93 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 3:22:21
94 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Team Katusha 3:24:12
95 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 3:27:09
96 Robert Forster (Ger) Team Milram 3:29:44
97 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 3:32:33
98 Kalle Kriit (Est) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 3:34:05
99 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 3:34:30
100 Sebastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:34:35
101 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 3:34:42
102 Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 3:34:50
103 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Cervelo Test Team 3:35:19
104 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 3:39:35
105 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 3:40:04
106 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team 3:40:16
107 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox 3:41:13
108 Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step 3:41:32
109 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank 3:41:45
110 Guillaume Le Floch (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 3:44:23
111 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Omega Pharma-Lotto 3:45:11
112 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Transitions 3:48:11
113 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 3:48:23
114 Edward King (USA) Cervelo Test Team 3:50:57
115 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 3:51:50
116 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank 3:53:24
117 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia 3:54:35
118 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 3:54:57
119 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 3:57:49
120 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox 3:58:45
121 Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step 3:59:42
122 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 3:59:49
123 Michael Albasini (Swi) Team HTC - Columbia 4:01:06
124 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram 4:03:02
125 Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin - Transitions 4:03:06
126 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 4:04:57
127 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo 4:05:53
128 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank 4:07:41
129 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank 4:11:06
130 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 4:13:27
131 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 4:13:51
132 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 4:15:17
133 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 4:15:24
134 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia 4:19:17
135 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank 4:21:47
136 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 4:25:58
137 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Garmin - Transitions 4:26:16
138 Marco Frapporti (Ita) Colnago-CSF Inox 4:42:07
139 Marco Corti (Ita) Footon-Servetto 4:48:55

Photos: Bettini

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 20 Results

Passo del Tonale, 29 May: Tschopp toasts on Tonale. Basso reinforces his pink jersey. The report of Gazzetta dello Sport:

The Giro's last mountain stage reveals itself calmer than expected for Ivan Basso. The frightening five peaks, among them the terrible Gavia only generates some unrealistic attempts by Sastre and Vinokourov during the initial climb. The stage, 178 kilometres from Bormio to the Tonale Pass, livens up at last during the final kilometers when Evans hurls forward. He disrupts the pack of hard-hitters in his pursuit of the podium. Tomorrow the Giro concludes with the time trial in Verona on the day of Ivan Basso's official triumph.

Skirmishes right off the bat with an attack of a 13-man pack followed by one by Stefano Pirazzi and finally one by Irishman Dan Martin, who is snagged by a group of 19 counter-attackers (including Cunego and Pinotti) after a bit. At the beginning of the climb towards Forcola di Livigno, the 20 pace setters have a 1'09" lead on the pink jersey pack. An attack by Sastre and Simoni kicks up along the climb and they snag the fugitives in no time at all. Other men in the classification join Kazakh racer Vinokourov. Meanwhile Stefano Garzelli (who is having trouble after having fallen yesterday) and Spaniard Xavier Tondo withdraw from the race. Matthew Lloyd takes the points of the KoM on the Forcola di Livigno peak to get the green jersey, tearing it off Basso. The Aussie also takes the lead on Eira Pass, where the fugitives bring up a 1'07" lead on the pink jersey pack, Cunego included. Pirazzi takes off on his own at the Foscagno Pass and crosses it with a 50" lead on his chasers and a 1'45" on the pack.

Passo di Gavia. This Giro's "Cima Coppi" with its 2,618 metres. Pirazzi is snagged while Simoni goes ahead, followed by Tschopp. The mature racer wants to attempt this undertaking to conclude his career. The Swiss racer is merciless on Gavia's peak and beats his breakaway companion with a sprint, taking the joy away of crossing first through the most important peak. After the power of his surge, Tschopp is alone. During the very challenging downhill from Gavia, Simoni is snagged by Vinokourov, Pinotti and Sastre. Basso's Liquigas is in total control of the race. At the beginning of the climb, Tschopp has 1'00 on Vinokourov, Righi and Karpets and 2'18" on the pink jersey. The Kazakh racer gives it all he has in the attempt to bring this stage's victory home with him for the first time but up ahead the Swiss racer does not give in for an instant and wins on Tonale. Meanwhile, right behind him Evans surges in pursuit of winning the stage and he passes Vinokourov in a heartbeat and comes in at 16" behind Tschopp. Scarponi leaves the pack, too. In the general classification, he is only 19" behind Nibali's third place. Basso tries to bring his teammate up with him in order to save his place on the podium, but the Messina native can't make it and so it is the Varese native who will snag Scarponi and beat him on a dash and grab his bonus time . The result is Nibali maintains his third place position in the general classification, even if it is only by 1 second. Basso reinforces his pink jersey: now he has 1'15" on Arroyo, 2'56" on Nibali and 2'57" on Scarponi.

Michele Scarponi uses his best weapon to convey his state of mind: Irony. "I already lost the Tirreno-Adriatico for a placement issue and now I'm only a second away from the podium. Hell, Ivan you could have left me this third place..."

Cadel Evans, the extraordinary world champion who is honoring the race right to the end says:"Something really strange has to happen for Ivan to lose this Giro. I would have wanted to win this stage but I don't have much liberty to attack. In any case, I'll give it my best shot in Verona, too."

Basso, the Varese native, received hearty applause from the public at the starting line in Bormio. He warns "Everyone remembers what happened a year ago in Rome, I'll prepare as if I only had a 2 second lead, not 1'15". The fact that I'm in good shape is a comfort. They drove us crazy here, attacking from the beginning to the end. And yet, I earned something."

Top 10 GC after stage 20:
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 87:23:00
2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne -0:01:15
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:02:56
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:57
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:47
6 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:07:25
7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:07:31
8 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:08:55
9 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:14:06
10 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:15:00

Tomorrow, on the 26th anniversary of the victory of Francesco Moser, the l'Arena of Verona (the Roman coliseum in Verona) will once again host the finishing stage of the Giro d'Italia.

The 15 km time trial course will be open from 0930 to 1130 for riders to test the course. At 1130 there is a VIP team race that will include, among others, Jury Chechi, Antonio Rossi, Mirco Bergamasco, Denis Dallan, Christian Zorzi, Pietro Fanna, Alessandro Pittin, Mario Cipollini, Davide Cassani, Maurizio Fondriest, Gianni Motta and Francesco Moser. The l'Arena will open its gates at 1300 for guests. The first time trialist will begin at 1440. Ivan Basso, the current leader, will start at 1725. Riders will leave at 3 minute intervals.




Looking towards the Torricelli at sunset (around the corner from our apartment)

Photos by Bettini

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 19 Results

Aprica, 28 May: Scarponi wins the Aprica stage. Basso the new pink jersey. The upheaval in the GC as reported by the Gazzetta dello Sport:

The spectacular Brescia-Aprica, the first of the two great mountain stages, revolutionizes the top of the general classification of the Giro d'Italia. Ivan Basso clearly won his duel with Cadel Evans, but he has his work cut out for him to beat the resistance of a very courageous racer like David Arroyo who fights all alone like a lion to hang on to his pink jersey. But his effort is in vain: Michele Scarponi wins the stage ahead of Nibali and Basso, who is now the new leader of the general classification.

The stage starts off without yesterday's leaders Greipel and Dean. And without Hondo as well. With two terrible mountain stages ahead the three sprinters have nothing more to gain from this Giro. The race livens up quite a bit before the real climbs. At the 46th kilometer, a small platoon of racers take off: Bakelandts, Failli, Samoilau, Mazzanti, Krivtsov, Rodriguez, Bonnet, Tondo and Duque race away and gain a maximum lead of 8'54". Along the climb towards Aprica, Liquigas gets up front and pulls. The lead that the fugitives have drops and at the first KoM it's at 5'05". Meanwhile, the group of pace setters crumbles and only four manage to stay up front: Duque, Failli, Rodriguez and Samoilau. During the day's second climb - Trivigno - Stefano Garzelli spurts forward and breaks off from the pink jersey pack. The Varese native snags and passes Bonnet, Krivtsov e Mazzanti while Failli lets the little platoon up front go by to wait for his captain and give him a hand.

At the beginning of the Mortirolo climb Failli and Garzelli catch up with Rodriguez, Duque and Samoilau and they take command of the race. In the pink jersey platoon, Liquigas picks up the pace and the pack falls away before the first turns: Porte and Cunego have a hard time right away and in the toughest part Arroyo gives in as well. Basso and Nibali are forcing and Sastre, Vinokourov and Evans are left behind. Scarponi is the only one keeping the pace of the two Liquigas men who catch up with Garzelli 38 kilometers from the finish line and take command. On the peak of Mortirolo the trio has a lead of 55" on Vinokourov, 1'43" on Evans and 1'55" on Arroyo. The Spaniard swoops downhill, revealing surprising talent, and within a handful of kilometers recovers 25" on Basso, catches up with Evans, Sastre and Vinokourov. 20 kilometres from the finish line, the trio's lead on him is only 40".

In the portion on level land Arroyo waits for Sastre, Gadet and Evans, but collaboration is scanty. The quartet does not help the Spaniard and his delay is now over a minute. Up front, Basso starts seeing the pink jersey and gives it all he's got while Arroyo's chances dwindle kilometer after kilometer. Michele Scarponi, who has saved a little extra energy, beats Basso and Nibali on a dash. Arroyo crosses with 3'07" delay and loses his pink jersey. Basso is now at the top of the general classification with 51" on Arroyo, 2'30" on Nibali, 2'49" on Scarponi and 4'00" on Evans.

"The race tactic was to stick together, our strength is in this,", said Basso. "We preferred to join forces and it paid off. We already knew that the last part would have been really rough, we gave it all we had on those final 15 kilometres. And if we made it to the finish line, it's because of Vincenzo and Scarponi, a loyal breakaway companion all the way. Today's pink jersey is a nice event, but the most important one is the one they award on Sunday at 6:00 p.m."

Doubts about weather conditions at Gavia have been put aside and tomorrow's massive stage is the one (originally) planned: 178 km from Bormio to Ponte di Legno (Passo del Tonale) with KoMs at Forcola di Livigno, the Iera Pass, the Foscagno Pass and the 2,618 metres at the Gavia Pass, this Giro's "Cima Coppi" (highest peak in Giro). Then, after an extremely technical downhill, the final climb towards Tonale where the stage will conclude. The stage will have approximately 20,000 feet of climbing.

Note: as I write this there are a number of issues related to weather (snow!) and landslides that can impact the route for tomorrow. A final decision regarding route changes will be made tomorrow morning at 10:30 a.m., two hours before the start of the stage. Below is the stage as originally planned.

Top 10 GC after stage 19:
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 81:55:56
2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne -0:00:51
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:02:30
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:49
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:04:00
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:05:32
7 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:00
8 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:06:22
9 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:12:44
10 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:13:40

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, racing, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 18 Results

Brescia, 27 May: Today's stage did indeed come down to a sprint and was won by HTC-Columbia German sprinter André Greipel. The flat stage, of 140 kilometers from Levico Terme to Brescia, featured a long breakaway by Alan Marangoni (Colnago) and German Oliver Kaisen (Omega Pharma-Lotto) that began at the 21st kilometer. The peloton caught Kaisen at three km from the finish line and Marangoni at 2km.

The stage did not alter the GC. David Arroyo is still in the pink jersey with a 2'27" lead on Ivan Basso and 2'44" on Richie Porte.

Tomorrow and Saturday's stages are both "monstrous" mountain stages that could decide the Giro. However, at the moment, there is a possibility that the Giro may not go over the Gavia Pass on Saturday as planned due to snow at the summit. That in turn could leave tomorrow as the critical day before heading to the individual time trial in Verona on Sunday. It's worth recollecting that Francesco Moser snatched the pink jersey at the last minute from Frenchman Laurent Fignonwon at the 1984 Giro d'Italia on the last stage....in a time trial...in Verona...also on a May 30th.

Tomorrow's stage from Brescia to Aprica will be 195 km with three KoMs and a final climb. The race goes through Aprica for the first time after 113 kilometers. Then there is a climb to Trivigno followed by a very technical downhill after which there is an extremely steep climb up Mortirolo (almost 13 kilometres with an average incline of 10%). The stage concludes with a final climb towards Aprica, 15 kilometres with a maximum incline of 15%.

Top 10 on GC after Stage 18:
1 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 76:26:37
2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo -0:02:27
3 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:44
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:09
5 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:04:41
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:04:53
7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:05:12
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:05:24
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:09:21
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:09:32

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Pink, to Go

The official Giro d'Italia watches come in all the Giro classification jersey colors, including pink.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 17 Results

Pejo Terme, 26 May: Damien Monier (Cofidis) won the 17th stage, 173 kilometers from Brunico to Pejo Terme. It was his first stage victory as a professional. The 27 year old French racer was in a breakaway with another 18 men from the 60th kilometer.

There was very good cooperation among the attackers, and with no one in the attack threatening any of the GC leaders, the attackers had a sufficient advantage for one of them to gain a stage victory. At 12 km to go the winning attack was made by Monier, Kruiswijk and Hondo, with Moreno who tried a late and vain attempt to chase. At 3 km to go, in the toughest sector of the final climb, Monier left Hondo and obtained the victory with 36 seconds on Hondo (2nd).

The general classification stays the same, with Arroyo in the pink jersey ahead of Basso and Porte.

Coming up:
Thursday: a stage for sprinters, for those that are still left; 140 km
Friday: Aprica and Mortirolo
Saturday: Gavia and Tonale
Sunday, last stage: TT in Verona

Top 10 GC after stage 17:
1 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 73:11:38
2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo -0:02:27
3 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:44
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:09
5 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:04:41
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:04:53
7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:05:12
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:05:24
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:09:21
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:09:32

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 16 Results

Plan de Corones, 25 May: The report by the Gazzetta dello Sport:

Stefano Garzelli takes unexpected control of the extremely difficult inclines of the time trial from San Vigilio di Marebbe to Plan de Corones, the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia. The Varese native crosses the finish line before Cadel Evans and Frenchman John Gadret while Ivan Basso (sixth) shoots forward to second place in the general classification behind Spanish racer David Arroyo, who keeps his pink jersey with a 2'27" lead on Basso.

Garzelli, with a "king" size grin, says: "This happened on a day that I wasn't expecting. I wanted to place among the first five, having won such a difficult and sought-after stage is like a dream. It was the best one of the Giro, and maybe the best one of my entire career. The secret? Pacing, managing the Furcia Pass well, eating and staying well fed." 16th place, (at 2'16" behind Garzelli) Arroyo comments: "I came out of this day a stronger racer. It was a test for me to understand how far I could get. Now I can say that I can start dreaming. I will fight with my team day after day to defend the pink jersey."

12 kilometres and 900 metres of a terrifying climb, with 5.3 kilometres of dirt roads and a maximum incline of 24%. The route is a ski trail, but uphill, obviously. After the initial sparks, with an excellent result by the Polish racer Szmyd (Liquigas), the hard-hitters climb up on stage. Everyone is expecting a time-distance duel between Evans and Garzelli with an eye on Arroyo to see how much the two men in classification are able to gain on the pink jersey. But then the fantastic trial of Stefano Garzelli appears out of the blue: the Varese native, with an absolutely spectacular second half, he registers 41'28" that is unattainable for the others. Vinokourov, who is not racing on his own turf, carries a delay of 1'37". Sastre arrives with a 2'31" delay on Garzelli, notwithstanding Ferrari racer Alonso is cheering him on from his motorcycle. He comes in 19th and may very well be kissing the podium good-bye. Scarponi, one of the most disappointing: the difficult final inclines, well suited to his talents, force him to slow down to the point of losing 1'07". Cunego has a 2'10" delay on the Varese native and ends up in 15th place.

Garzelli is out of reach, even for the most favored among his rivals, Evans and Basso. Evans is pedaling on his feet - as usual - while Basso is seated, calm and composed. Both are racing with the same artillery for the very first kilometres but then the Aussie gets the upper hand and closes his trial at 42'10" (a 42" delay on the time trial leader) while Basso loses some territory along the fiercer inclines and concludes his trial in 6th place with a 28" behind the world champion and 1'10" behind Garzelli. The young racer Porte holds his own pretty well but he loses 2'17" as well as second place in the classification (Basso is now in second place). Pink jersey Arroyo does even better: the Spanish racer registers a delay of 1'20 at the intermediate time mark to then gain speed and close at 43'44", curbing the damage and keeping his first place in the general classification. Basso is now right behind him at 2'27", Porte steps down to third place at 2'36" and Evans is fourth at 3'09".

Tomorrow the Giro is transferring from Val Pusteria to Val di Sole with a 173 kilometer race from Brunico to Peio Terme. The first portion is all slightly downhill, but after Bolzano the lengthy climb (18 kilometres) begins towards the Palade Pass (1st category KoM), that features a maximum incline of 16%. There is a long downhill from the peak preceding the final climb of 9.5 kilometres, not particularly selective, to Peio Terme.

Photos by Bettini

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Getting Ready for Plan de Corones

Enrico Pengo, Lampre-Farnese Vini team mechanic, talks about the bike preparations for today at the individual time trial at Plan de Corones:

"Our riders will be using the Wilier Superleggera road bike weight of 6.800 kg as required by UCI rules. Regarding the wheels we will be using low-profile carbon wheels with tubular tires to take advantage of the lightest weight.

The special aspect of today are the chainrings and rear sprockets. We have installed a front chainring of 39x34 that will work with 12x29 sprockets. This choice is dictated by the fact that after careful observation by the riders and mechanincs we concluded that on the asphalt part of the road, until Furcia, a 39 is more suitable (ed. note: the final five kilometers from the Furcia Pass is all dirt roads, with an average incline of 20% and a maximum of 24%)."

The ITT today is 12.9 kilometres of constant climbing.



Photo: Enrico Pengo with Gilberto Simoni (3rd in 2008 at the ITT here)

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Gilberto Simoni's New Book: "Gibo d'Italia"

Gilberto ("Gibo") Simoni presented his new book, "Gibo d'Italia", today during the rest day of the Giro. Written by Pietro Gottardi and Remo Mosna the book covers Simoni's racing career.

Simoni won the Giro d'Italia in 2001 and 2003. His other Giro finishes are notable: 1999 and 2000: 3rd overall; 2004 3rd overall; 2005 2nd overall; 2006 3rd overall; 2007 4th overall; 2008: 10th overall.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Rider Comments Post Monte Zoncolan

First, the last 3.7 km the point which Ivan Basso dropped Cadel Evans, as broadcast by RAI:
Basso climbed the 10.1km to the summit of Monte Zoncolan in a time of 40:45, one minute and 45 seconds slower than Gilberto Simoni in 2007. His average speed was 14.7km and he put out an average of 395 watts on the climb. The VAM (Velocità Ascensionale Media) or average climbing speed adjusted for the gradient, was calculated at 1777m/hour. Basso's power to weight ratio was 5.68km/h.

David Arroyo (pink jersey holder): I did the Zoncolan in the 2007 Giro d’Italia and I had bad memories of it but this time it went much better. This is harder than the Anglirù in Spain where you have some breathing space every 500 metres. Up here it goes steep for six kilometres with nowhere to recover. It was a very hard stage; the gaps between myself and favourites like Evans, Vinokourov and Nibali were reasonable considering the difficulty of the stage. Maintaining the lead after the rest day is still a dream, so I will keep fighting until the end."

Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) - second on stage, fifth overall @ 4:43:
"Basso took me by surprise. He was the best of all of us today. He maintained his rhythm and I kept mine - and his was a bit faster. We'll see what happens in the next few days."

Carlos Sastre (Cervélo TestTeam) - sixth on stage, fourth overall @ 4:21:
"It was a very important day for me; a day that I was wary of as although it wasn't a day in which I could have won the Giro, I could have lost my chances after the problems that have affected me throughout this race. It was a really tough and fast stage. The passes were short but steep and the Liquigas team kept up a hard pace. Basso took advantage of the opportunity that his team gave him thanks to his great physical shape at the moment, winning the stage and creeping forward in the general classification. Today once again we saw a very strong Liquigas. Yesterday it was Nibali winning, today it was Basso. They're the strongest right now in the race and will be a big rival. The rest day tomorrow couldn't come at a better moment. The first 15 days of this Giro have been crazy, with surprises every day. Anything can happen in the final week. This Giro isn’t over yet."

Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo) - stage winner, third overall @ 3:33:
"It's a victory that means a lot to me: a reward for all the sacrifices, training and all the difficulties I have encountered on my way over the last four years. Today's win is a very strong signal to my adversaries and my teammates, too. My team was fantastic today: 150 [kilometres] at the front of the bunch without saving any energy to save themselves, and the first to congratulate me was just Vincenzo Nibali, yesterday's winner at Asolo; I consider him the future of Italian cycling in relation to stage races."

Linus Gerdemann (Team Milram) - 26th on stage, ninth overall @ 7:12:
"I knew beforehand that this closing climb was up a mountain [Monte Zoncolan] which didn't suit me, so early on the closing climb I decided to ride my own rhythm. I did that quite well and think I can be satisfied with the results."

Xavier Tondo (Cervélo TestTeam) - 46th on stage, 21st overall @ 23:47:
"I was hoping to be better today. In the end, it's the first Grand Tour that I've lasted so long and everything is adding up. This week I was sick. I couldn't say it before, but I was taking antibiotics. I had a very bad night on Tuesday going into Wednesday. I wasn't able to recover normally after the stages. Well, so now we'll do what we can to try to win this Giro for Carlos."

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 15 Results

Monte Zoncolan, 23 May: The report by the Gazzetta dello Sport:

The terrible Zoncolan has a new master: Ivan Basso. Liquigas captain takes control of Europe's most challenging climb, unhinges everyone with a magnificent progression during the final 10 kilometres of impossible inclines. He gains 1'19" on Cadel Evans, the last one able to resist him, and recuperates almost 4 minutes on the pink jersey. The Giro is wide open once again in this 222 kilometre Mestre-Monte Zoncolan: Arroyo keeps his position at the top of the classification: 2'35" on Richie Porte and 3'33" on Basso, who has now become the most probable candidate for the final victory. "This is the best day since I got back, said Basso. "The team was fantastic, it pulled for over 100 kilometres. Evans is a great champion, he came in second but he was racing, like me. This climb is hellish, you have to take it at your own rhythm or you'll blow up. It was really tough, it must be attacked and you have to be concentrated all the time. The classification? I'm happy today but there are still alot of very tiring days ahead."

The Giro's toughest stage and the terrible week ahead that the racers are preparing to confront are frightening to sprinters: at the starting line Farrar (winner at Utrecht and Bitonto) and McEwan are missing. Another five athletes will quit along the way, among whom Belletti (who crossed the finish line first on Friday in his hometown of Cesenatico) and former green jersey Voss. From today until the final finish line in Verona there are no stages suitable to sprinters. This day with its three KoMs and the terrifying Zoncolan opens with an attack from a distance that takes off at the 18th kilometre: Frenchman Le Floch (Bbox), Belgian Sijmens (Cofidis), Frenchman Pineau (Quickstep) with teammate Reda initiate it. They are joined by Frenchman (Ag2r) and Venezuelan Rodriguez (Androni-Diquigiovanni). Of the six pace setters, the one with the best position in the general classification is Pineau, who has a 1h04' delay on the pink jersey. They are not a threat, so the pack lets them go. The fugitives get a 14'35" lead halfway through the race.

Along the first climb, the Sella Chianzutan, the sextet loses a little of its edge and by the time they reach the peak, their lead is 9'20". Liquigas, one of the only teams that is still complete, forces on Passo Duron: Dall’Antonia, Sabatini, Vanotti, Agnoli, Kiserlovski and Szmyd take turns pulling. The platoon starts to stretch. The lead of the five fugitives precipitates: they have a 4'48" lead on Duron's peak then a 3'42" on Sella Valcalda and finally at the foot of the Zoncolan their lead is reduced to 3'27".

The toughest mountain, Zoncolan, starts selecting right off the bat, along the very first curves: Sastre surrenders right away and so does green jersey Matthew Lloyd. Scarponi starts forcing at 7 kilometres from the finish line. Basso, Evans and Pinotti follow while Nibali loses contact with Vinokourov, pink jersey Arroyo and Cunego. Not much later Pinotti gives in and there are only three men left up front. Basso, Evans and Scarponi overcome the five fugitives one after another. Six kilometres from the finish line, Basso surges and the one who pays the price is Scarponi while Evans keeps up with the Varese native. The detachments start to delineate: at -5 kilometres Basso and Evans have a 25" lead on Scarponi, 44" on Cunego, 50" on Vinokourov, 1'13" on Pinotti, 1'25" on Nibali and 1'35" on Arroyo. Liquigas captain launches his decisive attack at 3.7 kilometres from the peak: Basso accelerates, a dry decided spurt that leaves Evans behind. The world champion carries a 29" delay after only 700 metres. His delay will be almost 1 minute during the final kilometre. When Basso crosses the finish line his leads are: 1’19” on Evans, 1’30” on Scarponi, 1’56” on Cunego, 2’26” on Vinokourov, 2’44” on Sastre, 3’07” on Nibali, 3’20” on Pinotti. Arroyo arrives at 3’51” and keeps his pink jersey, with a 2’35” lead on Porte and 3’33” on Basso.

Arroyo said, "Today's goal was to maintain first position in the classification. It was really a terrible stage. I'll think about the uphill time trial later."

Tomorrow is a rest day. The race resumes Tuesday with the uphill individual time trial from San Vigilio di Marebbe to Plan de Corones, 12.9 kilometres of constant climbing on roads that become ski trails in winter months. The final five kilometres from the Furcia Pass on up are simply scary: it is all dirt roads, with an average incline of 20% and a maximum of 24%.

Top 10 finishers of stage 15:
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 6:21:58
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:19
3 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:30
4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:01:58
5 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:02:26
6 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:02:44
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:03:07
8 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:03:20
9 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Transitions 0:03:31
10 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:46

Top 10 on GC after stage 15:
1 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 67:48:42
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank -0:02:35
3 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:03:33
4 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:04:21
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:04:43
6 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:05:51
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:06:08
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:06:34
9 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:07:12
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:08:13

Photos by Bettini

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,400 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.