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88th Giro d'Italia - PT
Italy, May 7-29, 2005
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage
Stage 20 - May 29: Albese con Cassano - Milano, 119 km
Commentary by Jeff Jones, with additional reporting from John Trevorrow
Complete live report
Live coverage starts: 14:30 CEST
Estimated finish: 17:15 CEST
14:30 CEST
Welcome back to the Hindenburg
IV for Cyclingnews' coverage of the final stage of the 88th Giro d'Italia.
Today's stage is essentially a ceremonial finish, similar to the Tour's final
leg into Paris. The riders start in Albese con Cassano, near Como, and head
south to Milan, where they will finish off with 10 x 4.8 km circuits. It's a
sprinters stage of course, and unless Alessandro Petacchi and his train falls
off, he's the big favourite to take it out, giving him a nice total of four
for the Giro. But, anything can happen...
There are no climbs today,
and Jose 'Incredible Hulk' Rujano has more than comfortably wrapped up the green
mountains jersey, with his Selle Italia teammate Ivan Parra taking second. But
the Intergiro and Points jerseys are still undecided: Stefano Zanini holds an
18 second lead in the Intergiro over Sven Krauss and 21 over Paolo Bettini.
So even though there are 30 seconds available for the winner of the sprint,
which is located at km 49 today, it's unlikely that Krauss will shift Zanini.
Paolo Bettini leads the points competition with 151 points, compared to Di Luca's
136 and Petacchi's 129. There are 25 points available for a win, which means
if Petacchi wins the stage and Bettini is out of the top 13, then Petacchi takes
the jersey. Unless Di Luca decides to take a flyer and wins the stage.
14:43 CEST 19km/100km to go
Today's stage got
under way at 14:03 with all 153 riders left in the race signing on and starting.
As expected, it's been a very steady andante to start with, and the gruppo
has remained compatto for the first 15 km. My Italian is almost fluent,
as you can tell. I'm aiming to get my vocab up into double figures by next year.
14:53 CEST
One of the more common reader questions
is how do you score negative points in the Giro? It's actually very simple:
just break the rules (holding onto cars while climbing mountains is a common
one), without getting yourself disqualified from the race, and you'll end up
with a fine and some points deducted from your score. You can also be penalised
GC time: Danilo Di Luca was docked 10 seconds in stage 17 for getting a push
from a spectator. This is one reason why the riders don't like fans running
beside them for too long.
It also begs the question of whether the
riders with negative points are theoretically eligible for prize money in the
points classification, because they do actually have a placing, whereas riders
with zero points do not. It's theoretical because the points classification
doesn't pay down far enough to include the negative point getters.
15:11 CEST
Not a huge amount is happening in
the final stage as yet, with the riders ambling along at 30 km/h.
To answer another reader question: in yesterday's mountain top finish, and in
fact in all mountain top finishes, the riders kept their helmets on. Although
the UCI was permitting riders to remove their helmets if the finishing climb
was more than 5 km long, that rule has now been scrapped. It's one less thing
for the soigneurs to worry about, anyway.
15:31 CEST 42km/77km to go
The gruppo averaged
27.8 km/h for the first hour, which was downhill. That gives you an idea of
how slow it was at the start!
Another question, relating to the tactics
in yesterday's 19th stage. Why were Ardila and Van Huffel (Lotto) working in
Savoldelli's group, when there seemingly wasn't a great deal at stake apart
from Savoldelli's maglia rosa? The stage win was gone, and Van Huffel was only
placed 14th on GC. Why bury himself to help the leader?
For the cynical,
the answer is obvious: Lotto was asked by Discovery to help, as Savoldelli was
in a spot of bother. Ardila actually helped pull Savoldelli back to Van Huffel
and Gonchar on the Finestre. But it's worth pointing out that there were things
for the Davitamon-Lotto boys to ride for: firstly, Van Huffel managed to move
himself up from 14th to 11th place on GC, just outside of a top 10. That's worth
more prize money and more ProTour points, even if the prestige might not be
much difference. Also, Davitamon-Lotto were leading Liquigas-Bianchi in the
Super Team Classification, so it made sense for both Van Huffel and Ardila to
go for high placings.
OK, so it might not satisfy the cynics, but there
are always two sides to a story.
15:34 CEST
Wim Van Huffel was quoted by Sporza
after yesterday's stage as saying that there wasn't much discussion in the group
with Savoldelli. "No, not really. I did ask Ardila to give everything, so that
I could maybe gain a few places. Am I 11th now? Nice."
15:38 CEST 46km/73km to go
It's still gruppo
compatto after 45 km, although things should heat up a bit for the Intergiro
at 49 km.
Today's final stage is not one for the GC riders. There
is no way that Discovery Channel will let Gilberto Simoni sneak off the front
and get 28 seconds, and Simoni will not even try to. The GC was decided yesterday,
and all that remains is for everyone to finish intact. That's not a given, of
course, but it's fairly rare to lose the leader's jersey in a grand tour when
the final stage is one for the sprinters.
15:50 CEST 51km/68km to go
At the Intergiro on
the outskirts of Milan, it's the maglia azzurra of Stefano Zanini (Quick.Step)
who takes the sprint from his teammate Paolo Bettini and Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner).
That means that Zanini has secured the blue jersey, and Bettini should move
into second overall, and also build an almost unbeatable lead in the points
classification. Di Luca is the only rider who can beat him for the purple jersey
now, and that is very unlikely today.
The average speed at the Intergiro
was 30.5 km/h.
16:03 CEST
Cyclingnews spoke to the last rider
on GC, Russell Van Hout (Selle Italia), this morning, and he was keen to defend
his 'lead' in this classification. "I'm going to have the team working for me
on the back of the bunch today to protect the maglia nera," he said.
"It's going to be hard work but I've got a good lead. I should be able to hold
it."
16:14 CEST 61km/58km to go
The peloton arrives
in Milan, all grouped together, with the Discovery boys leading Paolo in pink.
16:17 CEST
Fassa's Marzio Bruseghin is now leading
as the pace lifts a bit.
16:20 CEST 66km/53km to go
Bruseghin leads the
bunch through until 11 laps to go, with Joachim (Discovery) on his wheel. Most
of the Discovery boys are still up there.
16:21 CEST
Prologue winner Brett Lancaster (Panaria)
told us this morning that the plan was, "Same old. Try and get Grillo up the
front, try and step into line at some time. My standard role."
Are
you happy with your Giro? "Yeah. Amazing what the difference just a tad over
one kilometre can make. I've still got this damn bronchitis. It's been with
me for weeks. At least we've got through it. I've also showed my stuff this
year in getting the sprinters up there and going."
Are any of the
big teams interested in you now? "I've got another year with these guys," he
said with a smirk.
16:24 CEST 71km/48km to go
It's a beautiful sunny
day as Joachim tows the bunch around the back half of the 4.8 km finishing circuit.
His teammate Jason McCartney told Cyclingnews this morning, "That was
an amazing day yesterday. I'm just glad it worked out OK for Paolo."
Is it a special feeling to ride into Milan with the winner today? "It should
be good. Well, it'll be great! It's been unbelievable all year, it's been fantastic
just to be part of this team."
Michael Barry echoed, "It's a fantastic
feeling. and it's been a privilege just to be able to support [Paolo] through
the three weeks. I really admire him, He's an awesome leader and a really good
guy."
16:25 CEST
Dave Zabriskie does a short turn
on the front, hands on the tops of the bars, looking comfy. We spoke to him
this morning, and he said, "I'm happy with the Giro. It's a tough race. It'll
be good to catch up with loved ones, get a bit of rest."
Are you
down for the Tour? "Maybe. We'll see. One race at a time."
16:29 CEST 72km/47km to go
The bunch comes through
for 10 laps to go now, all together. Discovery and Fassa on the front, as usual,
and Savoldelli in seventh wheel.
Matt Wilson (Francaise des Jeux)
said to us, "It's a great day, the last day. We've got ice creams planned for
15 km down the road. Chocolates and champagne and everything. It's an enjoyable
day, then you've gotta race for the final 60 km. I'm feeling good, I'd like
to have another go if I can. Hopefully Mark [Renshaw] can get up in the sprint."
Mark Renshaw told us, "Actually, I'm feeling a bit sore in the legs, and a bit
sore in the hip. We'll just see how it pans out. I'll have a go at the finish.
I'm glad I got to Milan. I'm absolutely rapt just to be here."
What
of the tactics yesterday, where you got in the first break. How was that saving
your legs? "On the radio, I heard there was a bonus sprint with a bit of money,
so I went for that, and next minute I was away. Then I thought I might as well
stay away and get over the first climb. It didn't look like it but I was trying
to save my legs."
16:30 CEST
Trent Wilson (Selle Italia, no relation
to Matt) is at the end of his Giro too. "I'm looking forward to the easy ride
into Milan, a couple of drinks on the way, hanging on for the fast part, and
then the big drink tonight," he said.
16:34 CEST 75km/44km to go
No changes in the
bunch as it comes up to 9 laps to go, with the speed a fairly moderate 40 km/h.
16:41 CEST 79km/40km to go
We talked to Henk
Vogels (Davitamon-Lotto) this morning, who gave us his comments about getting
to today. "Good...mate...beauty." [some words were deleted].
"I
really plan to do my best to get on the podium today, get on that train somewhere,
get right in the mix. Somewhere near Bettini and with a bit of luck, I'll be
able to pay him back for the other day. But that's bikes. That'll happen in
the sprint one way or another. It's going to be very hard to beat Petacchi...I've
had quite a few top 10s in this tour, it would be a good finale to get on the
podium."
Peloton getting strung out now with 8.5 laps to go.
16:44 CEST 80km/39km to go
It's a long peloton
now as it goes by the feed zone, where several riders get bottles. There's a
rider off the front, although he's only got 50 metres. It's Thierry Marichal
(Cofidis).
16:45 CEST 82km/37km to go
Marichal doesn't last
too long as Padrnos leads the Discovery train up behind him. They're on the
fifth of 12 laps now and the speed is up to 50 km/h.
16:49 CEST 84km/35km to go
Massimo Codol now
gets on the front, before Di Luca takes over briefly and has a chat. Di Luca
has had a great Giro and will finish fourth overall, definitely keeping his
ProTour jersey.
Now McCartney gets on the front for Discovery. Di
Luca gives a teammate a bit of a bump in a corner.
Heart rate watch:
112 (current)/185 (max) for Fabio Sacchi, and 124/195 for Juan Manuel Garate.
It ain't too hard.
16:51 CEST 87km/32km to go
Discovery leads again
with seven laps to go, still McCartney on the front before Michael Barry takes
over. There are crowds lining most of the circuit, enjoying the spectacle of
the final day.
16:53 CEST 89km/30km to go
Rory Sutherland (Rabobank)
was relieved when we talked to him today. "Nearly over, nearly over," he said.
"It was an amazing day yesterday. I admire anyone who finishes this Giro. It's
been really tough. Yesterday's stage was a real challenge. It was so tough yesterday
to stay in the gruppetto. It wasn't easy out there."
16:57 CEST 90.4km/29km to go
Six laps to go,
and although the speed is high, there haven't been many attacks yet. Everyone
is content to let Fassa and Discovery do the work and Petacchi and co. to fight
out the stage win.
Christian Vandevelde (CSC) was looking forward
to today's stage too. "It'll be a lot of fun," he told us. "It'll be flat out
racing once we get on the circuit. I don't know the circuit. It'll be hard for
the teams on the front. Thank God it's not us!"
17:00 CEST 93km/26km to go
It's McCartney and
Barry back on the front as the riders get close to five laps to go. They're
keeping the speed up and discouraging any attacks.
17:04 CEST 96km/23km to go
Sandy Casar has attacked
and gets a mouthful of TV motorbike fumes. He yells at the driver. It comes
back together.
17:05 CEST 97km/22km to go
Another rider who
will be up for it today is Erik Zabel (T-Mobile), who is definitely past his
best as a sprinter, but has the experience and most of the speed to get up there.
Head to head, Petacchi will beat him. But it depends on how the sprint unfolds.
17:06 CEST
The average speed of the 7th lap
was 42.772 km/h, so not really quick yet.
17:07 CEST 100km/19km to go
Volodomir Gustov
(Fassa) takes over at the front as the T-Mobile jerseys move up with Zabel in
tow. They're going to have a good go of it today.
Heart rate updates:
Lilian Jégou (110/175max), Dario Cioni (118/185max).
17:09 CEST
Matt White (Cofidis) attacks, and
this is the first really serious move of the day. He has four laps to go.
17:09 CEST 101km/18km to go
There is no immediate
reaction from the peloton, and White gets a 10 second gap with under 20 km to
go.
17:11 CEST
White is flying around the corners,
enjoying the criterium like nature of this circuit. He grew up in Sydney, Australia,
and criteriums are the standard type of racing there, especially in summer at
Heffron Park. He's won one or two of those in his time.
17:12 CEST 102km/17km to go
White has his hands
on the hoods and is really motoring. He'll try to hold it for a lap. He looks
good, but the peloton is stronger. It's starting to hurt now.
17:13 CEST
White gets down on the drops and
drives along the right hand barrier, gritting his teeth. 5 seconds behind him,
the peloton is coming, still led by Fassa and Discovery. He takes a hairpin
bend and gains a little time.
17:14 CEST 104km/15km to go
White still leads
with 900 metres to the end of the 9th lap. But he's gradually losing time.
17:15 CEST 105km/14km to go
White crosses the
line with 3 laps to go, chased by the peloton with Barry and Bruseghin in front.
5 seconds is the gap.
17:16 CEST 106km/13km to go
White hits the back
straight and is now hurting a bit more. He takes a drink and tosses the bottle
away. He still has four seconds. He rode the last lap in 6'03 at an average
of 47.6 km/h. Not bad!
17:17 CEST 106.5km/12.5km to go
Two and a half
laps to go for Matt White, who has been holding the peloton at bay for the last
7 km.
17:18 CEST
Fassa and Discovery have a mix of
riders in front, with Savoldelli and Petacchi in about 10th wheel.
17:19 CEST 108km/11km to go
White is still fairly
solid but he's neither gaining nor losing time.
A counter attack
goes from the peloton as a CSC rider - Zabriskie - flies past white and asks
him to get on. They hit the hairpin and White gets the back wheel of DZ. But
then the peloton is right there.
17:20 CEST
The speed has lifted in the peloton,
which is just a couple of seconds off the two leaders as they get close to 2
laps to go.
17:21 CEST 109.6km/9.4km to go
Zabriskie powers
along with White on his wheel, but the pair are only metres ahead of Padrnos
and the Discovery boys as they hit 2 to go.
17:22 CEST 110km/9km to go
It's all together,
that attack from White having lasted 10 km. Now Bruseghin and Codol are in front.
17:23 CEST 111km/8km to go
The average speed
of the stage so far is 33.6 km/h. Not that quick, but it's going now! Three
Fassas in front, then three Discoverys. Looks like Renshaw has got himself behind
Petacchi in 6th wheel. No, it's Matt Wilson, who attacks!
17:25 CEST 112km/7km to go
Wilson, the second
Matt to attack today, has about 50m over the peloton. He has a different style
to White, and is quite smooth. But he's not strong enough to hold them off,
and he's caught with about 7 km to go.
17:26 CEST 113km/6km to go
The bunch hits the
hairpin again. It's not too savage.
The 10th lap was ridden at 6'06,
an average of 47.213 km/h. They are nearly at the end of lap 11 now.
Heart rate update: Jégou on 132/175max, Sacchi on 149/185max.
17:27 CEST 114km/5km to go
The peloton gets the
bell for the last lap and it's all Discovery and Fassa, all the way. Petacchi
is up in 10th wheel still, a good place to be now. The fight for position begins.
17:28 CEST
Savoldelli is looking great near
the front of the bunch, near Petacchi.
Baldato now lifts the speed
another notch with Sacchi on his wheel, then Ongarato, Zanini (Quick.Step).
17:28 CEST 115km/4km to go
Bettini's purple jersey
moves up, as do Zabel and Grillo.
17:29 CEST
Baldato leads with 4 km to go, ready
for Sacchi to take over. Zabel has Petacchi's wheel, then Grillo and Vogels
and Bettini fighting for it behind.
17:29 CEST 116km/3km to go
The front of the bunch
is a long line as Baldato continues on the front. The maglia rosa is back in
25th wheel, next to Di Luca.
Sacchi takes over at 158/185max heart
rate with 3 km to go.
17:30 CEST 117km/2km to go
Sacchi now drives
it - doesn't take long for him to get the heart rate up now. Ongarato and Zanini
follow, then Tosatto and Velo and Petacchi.
Da Cruz brings up Renshaw
- nice move.
17:31 CEST
Da Cruz leads into the hairpin with
Ongarato taking over straight away. Renshaw is in second wheel, a bit far up
at this stage.
17:31 CEST 118km/1km to go
Zanini follows Renshaw,
then Petacchi's two men, then the man himself. 1 km to go.
17:31 CEST
Zanini leads at 1 km, then three
Fassas, Zabel and Renshaw.
17:32 CEST
Zanini hammers to 800m. Then Petacchi's
two men Tosatto and Velo. Forster has moved up too.
17:33 CEST 119km/0km to go
Velo leads out with
300m then Petacchi goes, Zabel follows him and Petacchi wins it comfortably
from Zabel, who congratulates him after the finish. Forster looked like he got
third.
17:39 CEST
Petacchi started his sprint with
about 200m to go, on the left hand side, then gradually moved towards the centre.
Zabel could follow, but couldn't get closer than a bike length. Forster was
a bit further back in third.
And of course, Paolo Savoldelli finished
24th in the peloton and keeps the maglia rosa - a very impressive performance
for the winner of the 2002 edition of this race. Bettini will get the points
jersey, Zanini the Intergiro, and Rujano the mountains and most combative. Sven
Krauss will win the scooter for the most kilometres spent in a breakaway, Petacchi
the Azzurri d'Italia, Liquigas-Bianchi wins the timed team classification, and
Davitamon-Lotto the team points classification, and Fassa or T-Mobile the fair
play classification.
17:43 CEST
That's all from us in the Hindenburg
IV commentary blimp. It's been a fun three weeks and thanks for following
the Giro d'Italia with us. We'll be back, after an overhaul, with more live
coverage in June (possibly a stage of the Dauphine + the Tour de Suisse), before
the Tour de France in July.
Until then, arrivederci!
Results
Provisional 1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 3.24.08 2 Erik Zabel (Ger) T-Mobile Team 3 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 4 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Domina Vacanze 5 Marco Velo (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 6 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 7 Isaac Galvez Lopez (Spa) Illes Balears 8 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Francaise Des Jeux 9 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 10 Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto ... 24 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team Final general classification 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 91.25.51 2 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.28 3 Jose' Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.45 4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2.42 5 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.11 6 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 4.22 7 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears 11.15 8 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 11.38 9 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 11.40 10 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 12.33
