1. Giuseppe di Grande (Italy) Mapei 5.47.14 2. Marcos Serrano (Spain) Kelme 3. Alexandre Shefer (Kazakhstan) Asics 4. Axel Merckx (Belgium) Polti 5. Leonardo Piepoli (Italy) Ceramiche Refin 6. Wladimir Belli (Italy) Brescialat 0.12 7. Giuseppe Guerini (Italy) Polti 8. Luc Leblanc (France) Polti 9. Ivan Gotti (Italy) Saeco 10. Pavel Tonkov (Russia) Mapei 11. Jose Gonzalez (Colombia) Kelme 12. Andrea Noe' (Italy) Asics 0.18 13. Paolo Savoldelli (Italy) Roslotto 0.23 14. Felix Garcia (Spain) Festina 0.27 15. Nicola Miceli (Italy) AKI 0.31 16. Gilberto Simoni (Italy) Maglificio MG 0.54 17. Piotr Ugrumov (Russia) Roslotto 18. Paolo Bettini (Italy) Maglificio MG all s.t. 19. Gianni Faresin (Italy) Mapei 0.58 Departed 152, Arrived 150. Andrea Dolci (Ita), Vladislav Bobrik (Rus( retired
20. Gontchar; 21. Gentili a 1'02"; 22. Conti a 1'20"; 23. Rubiera a 2'06"; 24. Sgambelluri a 3'01"; 25. Volpi; 26. Garzelli; 27. Dotti; 28. Velo; 29. Berzin; 30. Gonzalo; 31. Coppolillo; 32. Secchiari a 4'44"; 33. Lanfranchi; 34. Steinhauser; 35. Pellicioli; 36. Lebreton a 5'53"; 37. Gasperoni; 38. Patuelli; 39. Siboni; 40. Podenzana; 41. Calzavara a 6'35"; 42. Piccoli a 8'29"; 43. Missaglia; 44. Gonzalez G.; 45. Spezialetti; 46. Davidenko; 47. Boscardin; 48. Pierdomenico; 49. Laddomada; 50. Bortolami; 51. Pozzi O.; 52. Lozano; 53. Mazzanti; 54. Paluan; 55. Puttini; 56. Fincato; 57. Konyshev; 58. Alberati a 12'02"; 59. Cenghialta; 60. Baldato; 61. Jeker; 62. Zanette; 63. Hernandez; 64. Murtas; 65. De Paoli; 66. Hvastija; 67. Lecchi; 68. Tebaldi; 69. Caruso; 70. Ouslamine; 71. Barbero; 72. Celestino; 73. Vatteroni a 14'56"; 74. Donati a 15'14"; 75. Padrnos; 76. Petito; 77. Loda; 78. Frigo; 79. Forconi a 16'17"; 80. Galletti; 81. Moos; 82. Zaina; 83. Pozzi A.; 84. Traversoni; 85. Vergnani a 16'39"; 86. Roncancio a 17'45"; 87. Peschel a 17'58"; 88. Frattini F. a 20'55"; 89. Bontempi a 22'; 90. Pistore a 22'59"; 91. Di Renzo; 92. Apollonio a 25'04"; 93. Gallorini; 94. Casagrande Fil.; 95. Fontanelli a 25'23"; 96. Wust; 97. Sacchi; 98. Crepaldi; 99. Pianegonda; 100. Fornaciari; 101. Cassani; 102. Werner; 103. Scopsi; 104. Bettin; 105. Lietti; 106. Manzoni; 107. Giraldi; 108. Cipollini (abb. 2"); 109. Leoni; 110. Molinari; 111. Spruch; 112. Tani; 113. Cauz; 114. Rossato (abb. 4"); 115. Frattini C.; 116. Ouchakov; 117. Gualdi; 118. Schmidt; 119. Sivakov; 120. Mondini; 121. Andriotto; 122. Bottaro; 123. Santaromita; 124. Larsen; 125. Pumar; 126. Finesso; 127. Poser; 128. Bugno; 129. Bramati; 130. Brognara; 131. Calcaterra; 132. Dalla Costa; 133. Di Silvestro; 134. Bonetti; 135. Baronti; 136. Barbagli; 137. Magnusson (abb. 6"); 138. Aggiano; 139. Djavanian; 140. Brasi; 141. Roscioli; 142. Cabello; 143. Vidal; 144. Chiesa; 145. Edo; 146. Simeoni; 147. Citracca; 148. Giacomelli; 149. Della Vedova; 150. Contrini.
1. Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Mapei 15.22.06 2. Luc Leblanc (Fra) 0.41 3. Ivan Gotti (Ita) 1.07 4. Andrea Noe (Ita) 1.49 5. Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) 2.37 6. Alexandre Chefer (Kaz) 2.49 7. Paolo Savoldeeli(Ita) 2.51 8. Guiseppe Di Grande (Ita) 3.38 9. Gilberto Guerini (Ita) 3.58 11. Nicola Miceli (Ita) 4.09 12. Wladimir Belli (Ita) 4.39 13. Piotre Ugrumov (Rus) 4.41 14. Axel Merckx (Bel) 4.57 15. Marcos Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) 5.20 16. Felix Garcia Casas (Spa) 5.47 17. Michele Coppolillo (Ita) 6.07 18. Gianni Faresin (Ita) 6.28 19. Serguie Gontchar (Ukr) 6.53 20. Massimiliano Gentili (Ita) 7.09 21. Berzin a 8'25"; 22. Sgambelluri a 8'41"; 23. Paluan a 9'56"; 24. Conti a 10'54"; 25. Volpi a 11'27"; 26. Rubiera a 12'24"; 27. Garzelli a 12'50"; 28. Steinhauser a 13'26"; 29. Bettini a 15'06"; 30. Petito a 16'11"; 31. Gonzalo a 17'35"; 32. Puttini a 17'55"; 33. Secchiari a 17'58"; 34. Piccoli a 18'49"; 35. Zaina a 20'06"; 36. Velo a 20'11"; 37. Frigo a 20'42"; 38. Pierdomenico a 21'22"; 39. Cenghialta a 22'32"; 40. Gasperoni a 23'42"; 41. Forconi a 23'50"; 42. Mazzanti a 24'32"; 43. Loda a 24'35"; 44. Podenzana a 25'19"; 45. Jeker a 25'43"; 46. Pellicioli a 26'28"; 47. Konyshev; 48. Gonzalez P. a 28'12"; 49. Bortolami a 28'28"; 50. Lanfranchi a 29'34"; 51. Siboni a 29'46"; 52. Simeoni a 30'12"; 53. Patuelli a 30'56"; 54. Lozano a 30'58"; 55. Barbero a 31'; 56. Spezialetti a 31'43"; 57. Donati a 32'22"; 58. Calzavara a 32'54"; 59. Pistore a 36'53"; 60. Padrnos a 37'32"; 61. Vatteroni a 37'51"; 62. Fincato a 40'17"; 63. Vergnani a 40'47"; 64. Ouslamine a 41'20"; 65. Dotti a 41'54"; 66. Hernandez a 41'55"; 67. Davidenko a 42'38"; 68. Laddomada a 44'14"; 69. De Paoli a 44'31"; 70. Gonzalez G. a 46'05"; 71. Frattini F. a 46'09"; 72. Lecchi a 46'42"; 73. Sivakov a 47'59"; 74. Hvastija a 48'36"; 75. Molinari a 49'15"; 76. Mondini a 54'39"; 77. Boscardin a 55'29"; 78. Tebaldi a 55'41"; 79. Brognara a 55'55"; 80. Manzoni a 56'13"; 81. Pozzi O. a 56'25"; 82. Roscioli a 56'58"; 83. Lietti a 57'27"; 84. Finesso a 57'37"; 85. Della Vedova a 58'17"; 86. Tani a 58'18"; 87. Gualdi a 58'48"; 88. Baldato a 59'29"; 89. Pumar a 59'47"; 90. Missaglia a 1.00'38"; 91. Galletti a 1.00'48"; 92. Alberati a 1.00'58"; 93. Caruso a 1.01'51"; 94. Giraldi a 1.03'17"; 95. Zanette a 1.06'34"; 96. Poser a 1.06'41"; 97. Celestino a 1'06'49"; 98. Crepaldi a 1.07'; 99. Citracca a 1.07'27"; 100. Cabello a 1.08'35"; 101. Ouchakov a 1.09'39"; 102. Frattini C. a 1.09'46"; 103. Pozzi A. a 1.10'19"; 104. Lebreton a 1.11'03"; 105. Casagrande a 1.11'17"; 106. Gallorini a 1.12'03"; 107. Scopsi a 1.12'24"; 108. Barbagli a 1.12'29"; 109. Cipollini a 1.12'31"; 110. Brasi a 1.13'12"; 111. Vidal a 1.13'39"; 112. Fontanelli a 1.14'06"; 113. Bonetti a 1.14'23"; 114. Roncancio a 1.17'20"; 115. Larsen a 1.19'35"; 116. Traversoni a 1.20'14"; 117. Chiesa a 1.20'17"; 118. Sacchi a 1.20'34"; 119. Dalla Costa a 1.21'22"; 120. Apollonio a 1.22'23"; 121. Edo a 1.22'45"; 122. Baronti a 1.22'51"; 123. Bettin a 1.23'06"; 124. Wust a 1.24'15"; 125. Bramati a 1.25'25"; 126. Andriotto a 1.25'31"; 127. Leoni; 128. Murtas a 1.25'45"; 129. Bugno a 1.25'46"; 130. Magnusson a 1.25'50"; 131. Moos a 1.26'03"; 132. Fornaciari a 1.27'10"; 133. Di Silvestro a 1.29'55"; 134. Werner a 1.30'33"; 135. Bottaro a 1.32'39"; 136. Djavanian a 1.32'53"; 137. Cassani a 1'33'02"; 138. Peschel a 1.33'44"; 139. Spruch a 1.33'47"; 140. Pianegonda a 1.37'38"; 141. Calcaterra a 1.37'39"; 142. Bontempi a 1.38'15"; 143. Schmidt a 1.40'49"; 144. Contrini a 1.40'51"; 145. Aggiano a 1.45'07"; 146. Santaromita a 1.46'30"; 147. Cauz a 1.55'42"; 148. Giacomelli a 1.56'38"; 149. Di Renzo a 2.01'05"; 150. Rossato a 2.08'32"Stage 12 Reports
Gabriele Missaglia, winner of Stage 11, was born in Inzago (Milano) on 07/24/70. He had about 20 victories as an amateur and became a pro in 1995 with Brescialat. In '96 he rode for three months for the San Marco Group & the rest with Panaria-Vinavil. This year with Mapei-GB: he finished fourth overall at the Giro di Sardegna and achieved his first victory as a professional at the beginning of April at Pais Vasco.Two fines for Cipollini: 100 Swiss Francs for not signing in before the stage and another 100 for wearing red pants (not the same as his team).
Russian Pavel Tonkov resisted all challenges to hold on to the Giro d'Italia lead in an incident-packed battle from the top of a mountain on Thursday.
Italian team mate Giuseppe di Grande snatched victory after the 214-km stage from La Spezia which took in two mountain passes and ended with a heart-stopping descent to this Ligurian seaside town.
Tonkov and his number one rival Luc Leblanc of France chased in 12 seconds after di Grande had beaten Spain's Marcos Serrano with Alexandre Shefer from Kazakhstan third.
The Russian remains 41 seconds clear of Leblanc with Italian Ivan Gotti third overall, one minute seven seconds behind, but there was a shake-up among the other contenders after a hard-fought 12th stage.
Tonkov escaped the spills in which riders crashed into hedges and tangled with a TV motorcycle.
As they approached the finish through narrow streets, Belgian Axel Merckx and his four co-leaders had to change course
Team Mapei confirmed their good streak when they achieved victory today with Italian Giuseppe Di Grande & maintaining the lead in the overall with Pavel Tonkov, in a stage that was filled with action due to the final part of the stage which was in a mountain. Di Grande, who achieves the fourth win for his team - one stage for Missaglia & two for Tonkov- spent 5:47:14 in covering the 212 km at an average speed of 36.978 km/hr. Arriving at the same time were Serrano, Shefer, Merckx & Piepoli. The leader's (Tonkov) group came in at 12 seconds with his closest rivals, so the overall didn't suffer any changes in the first places.
The stage started with quite a bit of tension due to the way in which blood controls are done, since it is like a secret spoken out loud and for a few days now the team directors knew that the so called 'vampires', the doctors from the UCI, were going to pay the Giro a visit and even the teams that were going to be examined. If last stage they checked on Festina, Scrigno & Kross, this stage they checked on the 8 riders for Kelme, five riders of Mapei, including leader Tonkov & a few from Ros Mary. On this ocassion the 18 riders came out negative.
The stage started as a nervous one, although the peloton calmed down after the escape by Massimo Podenzana, a great rolleur, who broke away at km 20 and reached an advantage of almost 9 min at km 40, although a mechanical problem helped in making his advantage dissapear very quickly. Podenzana was neutralized at km 60 and a little later a group was formed composed of Italians Pozzi, Chiesa, Frattini, Piccoli, Bortolami, Apollino & Barbero & Ukranian Ouslamin. This group was also out of luck and they were caught on the climb of Faiallo (2nd category), a 20 km climb. In the long climb a lot of groups were formed, with attacks from many of them, although Tonkov, in the good company of Di Grande, didn't have any problems with Leblanc & Gotti.
Tonkov went up this climb without problems and it would be on the second climb, at Beigua (1st category), at 30 km from the finish that Leblanc would try to get away on three ocassions and Gotti a couple of times, not achieving anything since Tonkov responded to their attacks, since Di Grande had gone ahead in search of another group of escapees, Chepe Gonzalez, Noe & Miceli. There were numerous falls on the descent amongst them Chepe Gonzalez, when he had broken away and Miceli, without major consequences. It was on this descent that the final group came together, a quintet composed of Di Grande, Serrano, Merckx, Shefer & Piepoli, who were the ones to dispute the stage victory.
Giro d'Italia leader Pavel Tonkov had another victory to celebrate on Wednesday as he braced himself for the first serious challenge to his overall lead.
His team mate Gabriele Missaglia snatched the second win of his three-year professional career in the 155-km circuit race at this Tuscan resort.
``It was a great moment for the team. I have the leader's colours and we still managed to win,'' said the Russian.
Tonkov finished one minute behind Missaglia in a group of 84 to ensure his lead of 41 seconds over Frenchman Luc Leblanc was safe for an eighth day.
Tonkov said: ``I know everyone is going to attack on Thursday and not just for my pink jersey. Others will be attempting to improve their positions.
``It will be a big battle,'' he said of Thursday's mountainous finish to the 214-km leg into Varazze.
All the contenders finished with Tonkov on Wednesday except Michele Coppolillo, seventh overnight with a 1:49 deficit.
The Italian crashed on a downhill bend to finish 2:29 behind Missaglia.
It was a miserable day for Coppolillo's team. Stefano Casagranda fell heavily in the feeding zone, suffering concussion and a fractured cheekbone and jaw.
Then Paolo Bettini was with the leaders on the final descent when a puncture put him out of contention, leaving Missaglia, Andrea Vatteroni, Mirko Celestino, and Massimo Podenzana to contest the finish.
Missaglia said: ``When I was with the breakaway early on I did not know if anyone was a danger to Pavel. I am in the team to help him. That's my role but this time I had a chance for success.''
Last year Missaglia was drafted into the Giro at 24 hours' notice. He had been signed by Tonkov's team after his original team collapsed through lack of finance.
This year he has had to fight back from tendinitis and 'flu to make the Giro selection.
As he and others began to build a lead on the first lap on Wednesday Missaglia crashed on a tricky winding descent but was quickly back in the fray.
On Thursday it will be business as usual as he works to keep Tonkov in the leader's colours.