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85th Giro d'Italia (GT)
Italy, May 11-June 2, 2002
Stage profile Start list Results
Stage 5 - May 17: Fossano-Limone Piemonte, 150 km
Start time: 13:20 CEST
Estimated finish time: 17:00 CEST
Complete Live Report
Welcome back to our live coverage of the Giro d'Italia, which is now back in Italy after five successful stages in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France. The riders enjoyed their first rest day yesterday, although that also entailed a transfer from Strasbourg to Fossano in preparation for today's stage. The next rest day won't be until Monday, May 27, so these next 10 stages will surely test the riders' endurance.
Today will also see the first mountain stage in the Giro. Although not as tough as the massive climbs in the final week, stage 5 from Fossano to Limone Piemonte will surely determine who's got the legs in the hills in this year's Giro. With the final climb around 14 km long at 5%, expect a moderately sized group of riders to contest the finish, possibly Casagrande or Garzelli's stage.
Before the final climb is the very nasty Colletto del Moro, only 3.9 km long but with some 20% sections. It will surely produce the first real selection in stage 5.
14:15 CEST - 35 km
187 riders started the fifth stage, after there were four non-starters today: Danilo Hondo (Telekom) who retired on Wednesday after learning of the unfortunate death of his mother; Domenico Romano (Colnago-Landbouwkrediet) and Daniel Clavero and Francesco Secchiari (Mercatone Uno).
After a fairly steady start, Domenico Gualdi (Formaggi Trentini) won the first intermediate sprint at km 12. He broke away with Mazzoleni for a few kilometres afterwards but the peloton recaptured them.
The second sprint at Monasterolo was won by Mapei's Robert Hunter. Shortly afterwards there was a fall in the peloton at 28 km with Faat Zakirov, Vladimir Duma, Hernan Dario Munoz, Thierry Marichal, Stefan Van Dijck and Vladimir Smirnov. All of them made it back to the group, which is now all together with 115 km to go.
14:30 CEST - 45 km/105 km to go
Mapei are still controlling the pace in the peloton, as Paolo Fornaciari takes the third intermediate sprint at Carde' (km 36).
The maglia rosa (race leader) Stefano Garzelli checked out the Colletto del Moro climb during the rest day, and described it as "a very hard climb, harder than the Mortirolo but much shorter."
14:44 CEST - 55 km/95 km to go
Mariano Piccoli (Lampre) tried an attack but couldn't break free of the Mapei grip. Gruppo compatto once again.
Lotto's Kurt Van Lancker has abandoned at kilometre 34. There are now 186 riders left in the race.
15:07 CEST - 77 km/73 km to go
The peloton, which is quite strung out at the moment, catches Veneberg and there is an immediate counter-attack from Volodimir Bileka (Colnago-Landbouwkrediet). We'll have more news about Bileka on Cyclingnews soon, as team manager Marco Saligari gives his thoughts.
Bileka has a small gap to around 10 riders, who in turn have a small lead over the peloton. He gets caught by the chasing group led by Kai Hundertmarck (Telekom). The peloton should close it down though.
15:13 CEST - 80 km/70 km to go
Paolo Bettini has mechanical problems but chases back on through the convoy.
A small group has now established itself off the front, and has a 28 second lead over the peloton. Included is Daniele Nardello (Mapei).
15:24 CEST - 85 km/65 km to go
The results of the first climb: 1. Hector Mesa Mesa (Formaggi), 2. Daniele Nardello (Mapei), 3. Gianni Faresin (Gerolsteiner), 4. Serguei Yakovlev (Telekom). The two leading groups have merged, to form a 15 man group.
15:33 CEST - 94 km/56 km to go
Two kilometres to go until the Intergiro and the peloton is back together, with Phonak taking control for Strazzer. The average speed has crept up to 42.5 km/h, a result of the relentless attacking.
15:37 CEST - 97 km/53 km to go
Phonak completes a successful leadout and Massimo Strazzer takes the bonus seconds at the Intergiro, moving himself further into the lead. Second place goes to Fabrizio Guidi (Team Coast) who is now just 5 seconds from Garzelli on GC. Third was Graeme Brown (Panaria).
The peloton race through the feedzone, with not much interest in taking on a lot of food by the front ridders, but more from the riders behind, notably the Mercatone Uno team.
Another small group has got off the front after attacking through the feed zone. Three Colnago-Landbouwkrediet riders are there, with about 12 others. The peloton is at 28 seconds and starting to chase again.
15:42 CEST - 100 km/50 km to go
Paolo Bettini is also in this group, along with Fabio Sacchi (Saeco), Thorsten Schmidt (Gerolsteiner), Ralf Grabsch (Telekom), Stefan Van Dijk (Lotto), Lars Michaelsen (Team Coast). They are expanding their lead quite fast, and it is now up to 50 seconds.
With Bettini in the group, Mapei don't have to chase. It's probably a setup move for Garzelli.
15:53 CEST - 105 km/45 km to go
The group contains: Stefan Van Dijk (Lotto), Fabio Sacchi (Saeco), Mariano Piccoli (Lampre-Daikin), Torsten Schmidt (Gerolsteiner), Paolo Bettini (Mapei), Lorenzo Bernucci, Yuri Metlushenko, Volodimir Bileka (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago), Fabrice Gougot (Phonak), Lars Michaelsen (Team Coast), Addy Engels (Rabobank), Ralf Grabsch and Torsten Hiekmann (Telekom).
The peloton is at 2'30, with Antonio Rizzi (Formaggi Trentini) and Jose Cayetano Julia Cegarra (Kelme) chasing in between.
16:04 CEST - 115 km/35 km to go
The peloton has started to chase, led by the Lampre and Saeco teams, who obviously don't have a lot of faith in Piccoli and Sacchi in the break. Should this gap hold, Landbouwkrediet's Lorenzo Bernucci will be in the maglia rosa tonight. It's unlikely though, with the climbs to come.
The average speed for this stage is nearing 43 km/h, by far the quickest in the Giro so far.
16:08 CEST
The peloton races under the 35 km to go banner just 2'07 behind the leaders, meaning that the gap has come down by around a minute. Everyone is trying to get in front for the Colletto del Moro, which is in 10 km.
Now Gerolsteiner and Fassa Bortolo are taking over the chase. Fassa doesn't have a man in the break, but Gerolsteiner does. However they are obviously working for Rebellin and not Thorsten Schmidt.
16:12 CEST - 30 km to go
Volodomir Bileka (Colnago-Landbouwkrediet) goes under the 30 km to go mark with a small lead on the rest of the break, which numbers 13 in total. Bileka has teammates Metlushenko and Bernucci in the break.
Tacconi Spoirt and Mapei are doing some chasing in the peloton.
16:18 CEST - 26 km to go
The leading group is now back together after Bileka's attempt. The 13 again: Stefan Van Dijk (Lotto), Fabio Sacchi (Saeco), Mariano Piccoli (Lampre-Daikin), Torsten Schmidt (Gerolsteiner), Paolo Bettini (Mapei), Lorenzo Bernucci, Yuri Metlushenko, Volodimir Bileka (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago), Fabrice Gougot (Phonak), Lars Michaelsen (Team Coast), Addy Engels (Rabobank), Ralf Grabsch and Torsten Hiekmann (Telekom).
The gap has come down to 58 seconds as the leaders hit the climb. In the peloton, Garzelli, Boogerd, Perez-Cuapio and Casagrande are all near the front. Garzelli is in second wheel.
16:20 CEST - 25 km to go
The roads are very narrow on this climb, and very steep, with sections of 20%. Addy Engels takes off from the front group, as Marco Pantani goes out the back of the peloton with two teammates.
Garzelli leads, with Cassagrande following closely. Rebellin is right there, as are Hamilton, Evans, Simoni, Noe' ...
Engels has trouble on the 20% grade, somewhat unsurprisingly. The rest of the break is shattered, and comes back to the peloton.
Bettini takes over from Engels in the lead, looking relatively comfortable on this very nasty climb.
16:25 CEST - 23 km to go
It's still Bettini in the lead, followed by Hiekmann (Telekom). The peloton hasn't caught them yet, as Garzelli, Casagrande, Hamilton and Simoni get a small gap on the rest. It's important for Simoni, who had problems in Ans.
Frigo is not there though.
16:27 CEST - 22 km to go
Bettini is first over the top, followed closely by Hiekmann, then Garzelli, Casagrande, Simoni and Hamilton. A 20 second gap to Rasmussen and Evans and a team Coast rider. Then more seconds to Rebellin, Boogerd, Noe. Frigo is at 1'10, Pantani at 2'08.
Although short, this climb of Colletto del Moro must be one of the steepest in the Giro d'Italia for some years. No-one looked remotely comfortable, save for Casagrande and Garzelli.
16:34 CEST - 18 km to go
Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) and Santi Perez (Kelme) have made it to the leaders, which makes six: Bettini, Garzelli, Belli, Casagrande, Simoni, Perez, Hiekmann. Hamilton is in the next group of seven with three Gerolsteiners including Rebellin, Schmidt and Totschnig, as well as Evans (Mapei), Savoldelli (Index) and Escartin (Team Coast). The gap between the two groups is 32 seconds.
Hamilton slipped on a corner on the descent of the Coletto and totally lost the bike. He didn't fall too badly though, and did not lose too much time.
A third and much larger group with Gotti and Tonkov is at 50 seconds.
16:39 CEST - 15 km to go
The Hamilton/Rebellin group is now just 16 seconds behind the Garzelli/Simoni/Casagrande group as they hit the final climb to Limone Piemonte. This is 15 km long with some sections of 10%, but mostly it's 5% and definitely a big chainring job.
16:43 CEST - 13 km to go
The Hamilton/Rebellin/Savoldelli group makes contact with 13 kilometres to go of this climb, meaning that there are now 14 riders in the lead. Bettini is doing the job for Garzelli at the front, with Perez, Casagrande, Simoni, Hiekmann, Belli, Hamilton, Escartin, Evans, Savoldelli, Schmidt, Rebellin and Totschnig.
Hamilton is riding Sastre's bike after his fall.
The large Gotti/Frigo/Tonkov group is only 26 seconds from the leaders.
16:47 EST - 10 km to go
We have a peloton again, as the Gotti/Tonkov/Frigo group makes contact. About 30 riders in the lead now, with five Mapei's. Garzelli will have an armchair ride to the finish now, courtesy of Evans, Bettini, Noe and Cioni.
Hamilton's team car comes up behind the bunch with a new bike, but he doesn't take it. He's still on Sastre's bike. With 10 km to go, it's not worth the effort to chase.
Marco Pantani is about 3 minutes behind the leaders, in the company of Andrei Mizurov Roberto Conti and another Mercatone rider. In terms of the GC, his Giro is certainly finished.
16:53 EST - 7 km to go
The riders pass through Limone Piemonte along a narrow, paved road with dozens of pink balloons adoring the streets. Bettini as always is in front, followed by David Dario Cioni, Evans and Garzelli. Simoni is glued to Garzelli's wheel.
16:53 EST - 5 km to go
Bettini peels off with 6 km to go and rides up at his own pace. Now Cioni, Noe' and Evans are left to help Garzelli to the top. There's plenty of other contenders for the stage win: Rebellin, Simoni, Boogerd, Frigo, Savoldelli.
Luis Laverde Jimenez (Formaggi Trentini) attacks under the 5 km to go banner.
16:57 EST - 4 km to go
Could we have the first Colombian win in this year's Giro? The Mapei team don't have to chase Luis Laverde, and he has a 20 second gap. But surely the counter attacks will come soon, if anyone has designs on winning the stages.
The final part of this climb is a little steeper.
17:05 EST - 2 km to go
Franco Pellizzotti is making a bid for the stage win, but Cadel Evans is keeping the gap pegged.
Frigo has gone off the back with a small group of riders.
17:07 EST - 1 km to go
Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) tries to get across to the Alessio rider but is running out of time.
Kurt Van De Wouwer (Lotto) is next to try, as the peloton starts to wind it up for the finale.
It's still Pellizotti in the lead, but he is swallowed up by the peloton with 500 m to go.
17:09 EST - 0 km to go
It's Garzelli who gets it in a fantastically strong sprint. Second is Perez (Kelme), followed by Simoni and Casagrande in the same group. Then Belli, Escartin, and the rest of the peloton.
Garzelli led it out from around 300 metres to go, and really split the peloton. He is a specialist at this kind of finish, and it will be now very interesting to see his battle with Simoni, Casagrande and Hamilton in the big mountains.
Results
Provisional 1 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 3.46.45 2 Santiago Perez Fernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 3 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco 4 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 5 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.07 6 Fernando Escartin (Spa) Team Coast 7 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 8 Ivan Gotti (Ita) Alessio 9 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Team CSC Tiscali 10 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Acqua & Sapone-Cantina Tollo 11 Pavel Tonkov (Rus) Lampre-Daikin 12 Jens Heppner (Ger) Team Telekom 0.17 13 Georg Totschnig (Aut) Gerolsteiner 14 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Index Alexia ... 17 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 18 Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 0.19 23 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank General classification after stage 5 1 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step 2 Francesco Casagrande (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.43 3 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saeco 1.00 4 Santiago Perez Fernandez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 1.03 5 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.06 6 Juan Carlos Dominguez (Spa) Phonak 7 Fernando Escartin (Spa) Team Coast 8 Tyler Hamilton (USA) Team CSC Tiscali 9 Cadel Evans (Aus) Mapei-Quick Step 10 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 11 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Alessio 12 Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Spa) Kelme-Costa Blanca 13 Jens Heppner (Ger) Team Telekom 14 Michael Boogerd (Ned) Rabobank 16 Kurt Van de Wouwer (Bel) Lotto-Adecco 17 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Alessio
