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88th Giro d'Italia - PT
Italy, May 7-29, 2005
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 10 - May 18: Ravenna - Rossano Veneto, 212 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from John Trevorrow and Tim Maloney
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 14:30 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
14:14 CEST
Welcome back to sunny Italy after
the first rest day of the Giro d'Italia, which has given us a chance to replenish
our hot air supplies in the Hindenburg IV, from which we are bringing
you live coverage of the 10th stage of the Giro.
Stage 10 is a flat,
fast ride for the sprinters before the mountains start on Thursday. 212 km from
Ravenna, across the Polesine to Rossano Veneto, hometown of Giro sponsors Wilier
Triestina and Selle Italia, with three finishing circuits of 5.2km to help separate
the men from the boys in the finale. Today's stage has no climbs at all, and
the Intergiro is located at kilometre 109 in Rovigo.
There haven't
been many changes to the general classification overnight (it's considered poor
etiquette to attack on the rest day), so Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) still leads
overall, 9 seconds ahead of Ivan Basso (CSC). Di Luca also has the points jersey,
while Koldo Gil (Liberty) has the green mountains jersey and Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner)
the blue Intergiro jersey. For an explanation of the various competitions in
the Giro, please see our FAQ.
14:45 CEST
Today's stage got off just before
the crack of midday with all 185 riders signing on and starting. 80 of those
have been subject to blood tests in the last couple of days: 41 yesterday (Liberty
Seguros, Française des Jeux, Bouygues Telecom, Domina Vacanze and Fassa Bortolo)
and 39 today (Illes Balears, Phonak, Cofidis, Selle Italia-Colombia, Euskaltel
Euskadi). All riders were declared fit to start.
The stage rolled
out at a nice, relaxed pace with 29.5 km covered in the first hour, and the
same distance again in the second hour. Those of you with sharp mathematical
skills will work out that the average speed was 29.5 km/h after two hours.
There have been no attacks yet. The only thing of interest that has happened
so far is an intermediate cash sprint in Argenta, won by Fabio Baldato (Fassa
Bortolo) ahead of teammate Massimo Codol and Gilberto Simoni (Lampre).
14:54 CEST
The last check we had on the bunch
was that it was still together after 81 km, as we now approach the third hour
of the stage. The Intergiro in Rovigo at km 109 should get things going a bit.
15:07 CEST 97km/115km to go
The speed has increased
a tad in the third hour, and the average speed is now 31.6 km/h after three
hours of what can loosely be described as racing. There are a lot of 200+ km
stages in this year's Giro: 10 in total. The main affect of this is to reduce
the overall average speed.
15:10 CEST
Although it was dry at the start,
some rain is predicted for the finish, which will make for a risky finale on
the three circuits.
15:17 CEST 103km/109km to go
Ravenna, the starting
town of today's stage, was also the final home of 13th/14th century Italian
poet Dante Alighieri (Abandon all hope, ye who enter here and all that). His
Divine Comedy was written while in Ravenna. Didn't look that bad to us.
The peloton is still together, preparing for the Intergiro. Gerolsteiner is
leading with the blue-clad Sven Krauss in 9th wheel. Bettini and Zanini look
to be interested in challenging him too.
15:19 CEST 105km/107km to go
Danilo Di Luca takes
advantage of the relaxed pace to drop back to the team car for something.
Gerolsteiner has lifted the tempo now with most of the squad working to lead
out Krauss.
15:23 CEST 107km/105km to go
The peloton exits
the big road and enters a smaller two lane road on the outskirts of Rovigo.
We're just a few kilometres from the Intergiro now. Krauss is well placed behind
his blue train, then Zanini and Bettini (2nd and 3rd in the Intergiro). Saunier
Duval is challenging Gerolsteiner, probably for Pinotti. Discovery is also up
there to keep Savoldelli out of bother, and Moreno Di Biase (Selle Italia) is
up there. Oh look, here's Di Luca!
The peloton is now completely
stretched out.
15:25 CEST 108km/104km to go
Gerolsteiner keep
the lead with Markus Fothen doing a strong turn with 2km before the sprint.
Saunier seems to be keen to challenge, and Bettini is looking dangerous too.
Will the GC riders go for the bonus seconds (6, 4, 2 real bonus seconds).
15:27 CEST 110km/102km to go
1 km until the Intergiro,
and it's Gerolsteiner versus Saunier Duval. There's quite a bit of elbow action.
Bettini moves up and puts himself on Di Biase's wheel, but the compact Selle
Italia rider wins the Intergiro. Zanini second ahead of Lorenzetto, Bettini
and Schmitz. Krauss wasn't quick enough.
Rafaele Illiano (Selle Italia)
has attacked right after the Intergiro. He won this competition last year.
15:28 CEST 111km/101km to go
Illiano now has
a 15 second gap, but the speed is still up in the peloton. He works hard to
increase it.
15:32 CEST 112km/100km to go
Illiano keeps going
as Fassa take over at the front of the peloton, keeping the pace at 40 km/h.
Nick Gates also moves up for Davitamon-Lotto. At a guess, Volodomir Gustov,
Massimo Codol and Nick Gates will spend more kilometres in the wind than any
other rider in the Giro.
Illiano has 25 seconds.
15:34 CEST 114km/98km to go
Illiano increases
his lead as Fassa lets him go. Di Luca has to change bikes again. He pumps on
the pedals for a bit and is up to speed. No panic.
15:36 CEST
Di Luca gets help from two teammates.
Well one now, as one of them pulls off for a natural break.
Codol
and Gustov lead the peloton (with CSC next in line) as Illiano extends his lead
to 40 seconds. They can see him still, as the road is flat and straight.
15:37 CEST
The wind is from the south west today
at 7 km/h, so it's helping the riders a bit. It's only 16 degrees, but no rain
yet.
15:39 CEST 118km/94km to go
Plenty of riders
are sporting bandages at the halfway point of the Giro. Volker Ordowski (Gerolsteiner)
has some on his right elbow, and Belgian Roy Sentjens (Rabobank) has his left
knee bandaged up.
IVan Basso is very close to the front, sitting
behind a couple of teammates.
15:40 CEST 119km/93km to go
Illiano is getting
close to a minute's lead, as Fassa continue to exercise a tight grip over the
peloton. They'll be gunning for a second win for Alessandro Petacchi, but the
other sprinters will want a bit of it too.
15:42 CEST 122km/90km to go
Danilo Di Luca may
as well be in bed asleep. His heart rate is at 84 of a maximum of 183. That's
not even 50% of his max. The pace isn't exactly hot at the moment.
Illiano now has 1'05.
15:43 CEST
It's cold enough for the CSC riders
to put their arm warmers on. Basso, in fourth wheel, has his rolled down.
15:46 CEST 125km/87km to go
It looks pretty black
in front of the riders. They don't really have much choice - they can't turn
around and go home or go another way if it starts raining.
Illiano
has 1'15 and they can still see him on this dead straight highway.
15:49 CEST 127km/85km to go
Bettini opts to put
on a cap under his gold helmet. He chats to Bramati and Di Luca.
1'30 for Illiano, as the two Fassas let him ride for a bit.
15:52 CEST
Kirsipuu's heart rate is a relaxed
100 bpm/190 max, while Velo is sitting on 114/180. At this intensity, the riders
are burning nearly all fat. In general, the higher the heart rate, the higher
the percentage contribution of glycogen (carbohydrate).
15:56 CEST 130km/82km to go
Illiano rides through
Monselice, quite a pretty town nestled among the hills, pursued by the compact
peloton with Volodomir Gustov and Massimo Codol on the front. It's still CSC
in the second rank, with Basso well placed. Bettini and Di Luca are further
back, chatting about the weather which now looks extremely dark. Now we can
invoke Dante! But will Illiano reach Paradise? We'll see in a couple of hours.
15:58 CEST 131km/81km to go
Pinotti is chatting
to the doctor at the back of the peloton, as Henk Vogels goes back to get most
of his team's kit.
Illiano is now on the drops, getting into a good
rhythm as he rides ahead of the race.
16:02 CEST 133km/79km to go
Gustov points to
the skies: "Behold! It's going to pour." Most of the riders are taking the opportunity
to grab rain jackets. The three Fassas in front all have blue jackets on.
Illiano doesn't. He's still in shorts and no arm warmers. Some drops of rain
are falling.
16:03 CEST 134km/78km to go
Illiano is now riding
through the feed zone at Battaglia Terme, where the crowd is sheltering under
umbrellas. It's raining very lightly now. He has 1'42.
16:07 CEST 136km/76km to go
The race speeds along
a canal towards the feed zone, and there is the usual panic to grab feed bags.
The first riders do it well, while the latter section of the peloton has to
slow down to ensure they get their goodie bags. At least all the teams don't
stand in the same place. That would be foolish.
Davitamon-Lotto have
nice bright red jackets on. They're easy to spot.
16:10 CEST
Illiano takes a left hander over
a tiny bridge into Mezzavia, passing a roadside emporium selling cheap statues.
You can never have too many Cupids in your backyard, after all. We won't even
mention gnomes.
16:12 CEST 140km/72km to go
The peloton takes
the turn over the bridge and there is a big traffic jam. Some riders even stop
and take their feet out of the pedals. It takes half a minute to funnel everyone
through. Then it's a mass panic to regroup. Codol and Gustov are up front, which
is the best place to be in that situation.
Some sun now, and dry
roads for Illiano, who is 1'40 ahead of the bunch.
16:13 CEST
Illiano rides through Montegrotto
Terme, where there are plenty of people out to see their favourite bike race.
16:16 CEST 146km/66km to go
There are four Fassas
in front now as the peloton speeds through Montegrotto Terme. Illiano is further
up the road in Abano Terme, where he zigzags through the centro storico and
out the other side. The roads are a bit wetter here, and Illiano is not too
comfy on the corners. He has 1'16.
The Saunier Duval riders have
very visible fluoro yellow jackets on.
16:20 CEST 149km/63km to go
Sacchi, Bruseghin,
and Ongarato have moved to the front to join Codol and Gustov. It's dangerous
when the roads are only slightly wet. It's actually better when it's raining
hard.
Bettini's fourth place in the Intergiro gave him two points
for the points GC, which means he has taken over the lead from Di Luca. But
McEwen is only 2 points behind Bettini (now), and he might be able to take it
back at the finish, depending on how things go.
Illiano has now reached
wetter roads.
16:24 CEST 152km/60km to go
Di Luca slides up
next to the Fassa train, which keeps getting bigger. This is potential crash
time, as the roads are soaking wet.
Di Luca's heart rate: still
100/183(max), while Kirsipuu is on 111/190. Illiano has maintained his 1'30-1'40
lead, but he's not getting more than that. He'll need it though, as he gets
a motivational speech from his DS Gianni Savio.
16:26 CEST 154km/58km to go
We're in Padova now.
Ongarato rides up ahead of the peloton to greet his family on the side of the
road. His teammates relax the pace in front of the peloton. He doesn't have
a lot of time, but he gives his wife(?) a kiss.
16:29 CEST
Illiano now has 1'50, his biggest
lead. The sun is starting to come out again, which he will enjoy as he rides
along the sodden roads through Padova.
16:31 CEST
Illiano takes off his right shoe
cover, which would be soaking wet now.
16:36 CEST 162km/50km to go
Fassa have now taken
their jackets off as the sun starts to peek through the clouds. Gustov and Sacchi
are leading, while Codol, Bruseghin and Ongarato are also there. Fassa hasn't
moved from the front since the Intergiro 50 km ago.
Erik Zabel (T-Mobile)
looks happy in about seventh wheel as he chats with another rider.
Illiano is still riding with one shoe cover. Does that mean that one foot is
more aerodynamic than the other? Maybe he'll end up with an uneven pedal stroke.
16:40 CEST 162km/50km to go
The situation, for
those of you who've been asleep for the last two hours: Rafaele Illiano (Colombia-Selle
Italia) is the only rider to have broken away in today's made-for-sprinters
stage between Ravenna and Rossano Veneto. He attacked 50 km ago, just after
the Intergiro, and since then there have been the blue and white (silver if
you like) jerseys of Fassa Bortolo on the front of the bunch, where no-one has
crashed. Illiano has about 2 minutes lead.
It rained before, but
it's stopped now and looks to be dry-ish at the finish.
16:44 CEST 165km/47km to go
As we get into the
final 50 km of the race, Codol and Gustov decide to work a bit harder in front
and now the Fassa train is stretched out on the right hand side of the road.
Illiano unwraps a foil covered sandwich and munches on it.
16:46 CEST
The increase in pace has knocked
40 seconds off Illiano's lead. The flowing haired Italian gets a can of something
from his team car and gulps it down. He'll try to stay away until the finishing
circuits, but that's really up to Fassa Bortolo at the moment.
16:50 CEST 172km/40km to go
Welcome to our readers
from Iceland! Anyone from Greenland out there?
For those asking,
the heart rate info that we are getting is being relayed directly to the blimp.
As far as I know, there aren't any websites which are relaying the raw data.
42 seconds for Illiano at 40 clicks to go. He's gone. He's drinking like a fish
too.
16:51 CEST 174km/38km to go
It seems as though
Fassa Bortolo has decided to play it safe and reel the breakaway back well before
the finishing circuits. Illiano looks back and sees them coming. "Dang, my plan
was perfect."
16:54 CEST 177km/35km to go
It's down to 32 seconds
now, and the bunch isn't even chasing that hard. Illiano seems to realise the
futility of it all, and might be thinking of Dante's words too.
16:57 CEST 179km/33km to go
Illiano's not done
yet, as he keeps a meagre 30 seconds of his lead intact as he rides through
Curtarolo. He keeps looking back. He's got a tattoo on his right arm that refers
to him,
The peloton is almost casual in its chase.
17:01 CEST 181km/31km to go
It's now 24 seconds
for the Italian, who is now through Citadella. The average speed after four
hours was 33.300 km/h, but after five hours is closer to 36 km/h.
17:03 CEST
Illiano's tatt reads "Angel". I'll
leave the allegory as an exercise for the reader. It's actually his girlfriend's
name.
17:04 CEST 182km/30km to go
It's now 15 seconds
and falling for the one shoe cover man, Rafaele Illiano (Selle Italia). The
peloton is moving inexorably towards him, and will get him very soon.
17:05 CEST
Illiano sits up just after the 30
km to go banner, his 70 km break cancelled.
CSC now gets to the front.
17:06 CEST 184km/28km to go
Thierry Marichal
and Cedric Vasseur (Cofidis) make a brief counter attack for their sponsors,
Wilier Triestina. Then Di Luca goes to the front and his HR goes up to 147/183
(which is a bit lower than his real max, we reckon).
The two Cofidis
riders keep their position on the front of the bunch.
17:09 CEST 186km/26km to go
The peloton exits
the main road, some riders, including Basso and Cunego, go across country because
there is a median strip in the way. Basso, with a "what me worry?" look on his
face, now finds himself in last wheel. he moves up.
One of the motos
actually led them off course.
17:10 CEST
The bunch rides past the ancient
(13th C) city of Citadella, and Vasseur gets to the front with two teammates.
It's quite dangerous at the back, with a few traffic islands in the way.
17:11 CEST 187km/25km to go
One of the Lotto
riders has a flat - Ardila, their GC man. He's going again now, and will have
a bit of work ahead of him to chase. Basso is also off the back of the peloton,
looking for his team car.
17:12 CEST
Basso has a new front wheel - he
might have punctured when riding across the grass.
17:13 CEST 189km/23km to go
The peloton is in
a very very long line now, and CSC will have to drop back to tow Basso back
on. He's still alone, in the caravan. Aha, three riders have dropped off the
bunch to help him.
17:14 CEST
The peloton has eased up a bit as
Basso gets four riders to pace him back. It's about 20 seconds, but he should
make it OK. A mini-panic for CSC.
17:14 CEST 190km/22km to go
Six CSC riders are
now with Basso, as well as the Panaria team car.
17:17 CEST 192km/20km to go
It's a CSC team time
trial now with seven riders towing Basso back to the bunch, which has sat up
enough to let him get back on. The commissaire waggles his finger at the Panaria
team car for helping them. He gets an (index) finger in return.
Cofidis has upped the tempo again and it's one long line with 20 km to go. CSC
is bringing Basso up to the front.
17:19 CEST 194km/18km to go
The sun is out as
the bunch races through Mottinello, towards the three finishing circuits in
Rossano Veneto. Cofidis, Liberty and T-Mobile are in front. Di Luca is always
up there.
Heart rate update: Kirsipuu is on 177/190, and Velo on
159/180. Now they're working for sure.
17:20 CEST 196km/16km to go
Cofidis leads onto
the circuit where big crowds line the smooth, but narrow roads. It's easily
50 km/h now.
17:22 CEST 197km/15km to go
Nick Nuyens (Quick.Step)
is sitting in last wheel, not looking too bothered.
Cofidis leads
the bunch up the final kilometre, where there are a few curves but not too many
sharp corners. It's also dry. Fassa, FDJ and Lotto are moving up, as usual.
Marichal is first over the line with 3 x 5.2 laps to go.
17:23 CEST 198km/14km to go
There's a right hand
hairpin bend just after the finish line, but all riders negotiate it OK. Nuyens
has to work a bit harder to get back on.
Now it's Matt "The King"
White leading, looking for his teammates. They want to try to get O'Grady up
today, but it's going to be tricky.
17:25 CEST 199km/13km to go
It's Marichal on
the front again. Pozzato has moved up to fifth wheel, then Petacchi with Fassa
on the left hand side of the road. Cooke and McEwen are well placed too.
17:25 CEST
McEwen has nestled himself behind
Henk Vogels, his lead out man.
Dmitri Fofonov (Cofidis) takes over
in front. Still the four Cofidis riders there, then Pozzato and Kirsipuu.
17:26 CEST 201km/11km to go
Bettini is up behind
Pozzato in sixth wheel. White takes over from Fofonov. It's been Cofidis all
the way for the last 10 km. McEwen now has Petacchi's wheel, but it's a bit
early.
17:27 CEST
White looks very strong as he rides
in front, looking back for his teammates. They're still there as he moves to
the centre of the road inside the last kilometre of the first lap.
17:28 CEST 202km/10km to go
Bettini is definitely
up for it today, as are Zabel, Cooke, McEwen, Kirsipuu, O'Grady and Petacchi.
Forster is also there for Gerolsteiner.
Two laps to go and FDJ takes
over.
17:29 CEST
Four Francaise des Jeux riders lead
into the right hand hairpin, the best place to be. Cooke is in fifth wheel as
the pace lifts. Looks like Da Cruz in front. Yep.
17:30 CEST 203km/9km to go
Petacchi's train is
right up there, moving up on the left next to FDJ. T-Mobile and Lotto are also
challenging, but it's still FDJ. Now Matt Wilson in front.
Illiano
has dropped off the bunch and is now in Purgatory. Not surprising.
17:31 CEST 204km/8km to go
Heart rates: Kirsipuu:
172/190, Velo: 164/180.
T-Mobile takes over from FDJ into a corner
as Bram "Stoker" Schmitz leads two teammates.
17:32 CEST
another right hander, then a tricky
left, and it's all T-Mobile. Still Schmitz in front.
17:33 CEST 205km/7km to go
Nuyens is still hanging
onto last wheel in the peloton. He should survive OK, although it doesn't really
matter for him.
T-Mobile has more men up there as Schmitz continues
to do a massive turn. Six purple men. Vogels is moving up McEwen.
17:34 CEST 206.5km/5.5km to go
One lap to go
and it's all purple in front. Fassa needs to make its move soon. Kessler leads
across the line.
Aha, here comes the blue and white.
17:34 CEST 207km/5km to go
Cristian Moreni is
up there for Bettini, who has placed himself next to Alessandro Petacchi. T-Mobile
leads all the way to the hairpin for the last time.
17:35 CEST 208km/4km to go
The bunch stretches
out again with Pollack leading, Zabel third wheel. Four purple men in front,
then a Fassa train is forming. Vogels still up there with McEwen on his wheel.
Forster and Krauss for Gerolsteiner.
17:36 CEST
Fassa takes over with 4 km to go
with six men. The battle continues. Petacchi is behind Velo, while Lancaster
brings up Grillo.
Velo now on 173/180 bpm. Ouch.
17:36 CEST 209km/3km to go
Fassa finds itself
challenged by FDJ, but not for long. Renshaw brings Cooke and McEwen up.
17:37 CEST 210km/2km to go
Zabel just misses
crashing as he's very close to the barriers. Fassa with five now with 2 km to
go. Zabel is next to Petacchi. Nice save. He's in the wind a bit.
17:38 CEST 211km/1km to go
Petacchi has three
men to lead him out in the last kilometre, then De Jongh, Zabel, Cooke, Kirsipuu,
Clerc, O'Grady, Grillo (again).
17:38 CEST
Lancaster takes over with 1.5km to
go and does a massive turn. Then Fassa again. The sprint is winding up.
17:39 CEST 211km/1km to go
Tosatto does his turn
and pulls off with 1 km to go. Then Ongarato and Velo with Petacchi, McEwen
and Zabel. Grillo and De Jongh fighting for position.
17:40 CEST 212km/0km to go
De Jongh and Grillo
are really battling. Velo leads out at 400m with Petacchi following, then Petacchi
goes with McEwen right on him. McEwen comes at him....he wins!!! Incredibly
close sprint, but the Australian got it in the throw. That was one tyre width.
O'Grady snuck up for third ahead of Zabel.
17:48 CEST
That was an extremely impressive
win by McEwen, as Fassa had given Petacchi a textbook leadout. Petacchi might
have had to go a bit far out (200m to go) but it was then or never. McEwen got
over him with his trademark last 50m jump, to take his eighth Giro stage win,
and his third in this year's race.
No changes to the GC, with Di
Luca keeping the pink. Koldo Gil will keep the mountains jersey and Krauss the
Intergiro. But McEwen will take over the points jersey.
That's all
from today folks - a good end to a fairly long, uninteresting stage. But tomorrow's
mountain stage from Marostica to Zoldo Alto will be a different kettle of fish
altogether!
Results
Provisional 1 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 5.29.21 2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Cofidis-Le Credit Par Telephone 4 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick.Step 6 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears 7 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Quick.Step 8 Aurélien Clerc (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 9 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Domina Vacanze 10 Jaan Kirsipuu (Est) Credit Agricole 11 Simone Cadamuro (Ita) Domina Vacanze ... 13 Rony Martias (Fra) Bouygues Telecom General classification after stage 10 1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 44.51.40 2 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.09 3 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 0.35 4 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 1.15 5 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.27 6 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.35 7 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 1.38 8 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 1.39 9 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 2.10 10 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 2.11
