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89th Giro d'Italia - GT
Italy, May 6-28, 2006
Main Page Results Overall standings Stage Details Live report Next Stage
Stage 1 - Saturday, May 6: Seraing - Seraing ITT, 6.2 km
Il Falco flies fastest in Seraing
By Anthony Tan & Les Clarke in Seraing, with additional reporting from Tim Maloney
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Today in Seraing, 2005 Giro champion Paolo Savoldelli began his title defence in the best way possible, blitzing the entire field in a short but tough opening stage of the 89th Giro d'Italia. The only rider to go under the eight-minute mark with a time of 7'50, Il Falco's average speed was an incredible 47.489 km/h - eleven seconds faster than his closest rival, Australian prologue specialist Bradley McGee, and thirteen quicker than Phonak's Jose Enrique Gutierrez.
It must have been a déja-vu moment for Savoldelli, who began the 2006 Giro d'Italia as he ended the last edition: wearing the maglia rosa. Seemingly stunned, he explained that "I'm really good at these kind of races, but didn't think I could win today. I went all-out on the climb and then I came into that dangerous last turn too fast and almost crashed. But I kept the bike up and now I'm happy to start the Giro with the maglia rosa, just like I left it last year."
Looking like wearing the maglia rosa until the very, very end, it was a cruel way to face facts for Francaise des Jeux's Bradley McGee, but the 30 year-old Sydneysider admitted the best man won today: "I'm really pleased with that result. It was a bit of a surprise really; I thought it might be closer but there ended up being like four seconds or something like that in it - that's bloody huge. I really surprised myself.
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"I'm happy with the ride - and it's not bad considering I put it all together in a week! I went into Romandie expecting to do well but got smashed there, so I just kept it quiet coming into this race and did the preparation. To come out and do this today feels really good," he said.
About holding the course in the small industrial town of Seraing, McGee smiled before answering: "I love what the Italians do with this race; we've already got one Tour de France, so we don't need another one."
The day's surprise packet was fourth-placed Gerolsteiner rider Stefan Schumacher, who held the provisional best time till McGee bettered him near the end, prompting the question: "You're almost as fast as your namesake, but on two wheels?"
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Blushed this year's winner of the Circuit de la Sarthe: "Oh, I think he'd be a bit quicker than me in a car on this course! I'm good in chrono, but it's not my speciality. I'm think I'm a guy for the classic races," Schumacher said. "But right now, I'm in good form so I rode well today."
Apart from Savoldelli, the rest of the favourites appeared to be close to optimal condition, setting the scene for a battle royal in the high mountains. Big favourite Ivan Basso was solid in today's opener but looked a clearly disppointed with his 13th place, saying: "Today was a very hard race but it was a good test for me. I feel good and although I though I might go a little bit better, but there is still a lot of racing to go."
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Crowd favourite Danilo Di Luca, who has openly declared placing his sole focus on winning this year's Giro, also showed he's nearing top form, the Liquigas leader just scraping into the top ten with an 8'09. Last year's runner-up and 2003 champion Gilberto Simoni wasn't too far off the mark, either, just 26 seconds behind Savoldelli and one place behind 2004 Giro champ Damiano Cunego, the Kid's time of 8'15 fifteenth best on the day.
For better or worse, notable others included the T-Mobile pair of Serguei Gonchar and Michael Rogers (5th and 8th respectively), Illes Balears' Francisco Perez Sanchez and José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (6th and 7th), American Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel, 12th @ 0'21), Colombian flyweight José Rujano (Selle Italia, 46th @ 0'39), Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank, 76th @ 0'48) and Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto, 116th @ 0'58).
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"Today was okay," said Danielson. "I wasn't really aiming too much for the time trial, but I've been working on it a bit and I'm pretty happy. We've been working really hard on the climbs and that's where I hope to do well."
Asked whether Discovery has the team to get the job done, he said: "The team's great - like our Tour de France team we've got a strong team here and I'm sure they'll work great. It'll be good to get a solid result here and build on that for the rest of the race."
How it unfolded
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On a beautiful spring afternoon, the 89th edition of the Giro d'Italia kicked off in Seraing, Belgium, a gritty working class suburb of Liège of 60,000. The last time the Giro started in Belgium was in Verviers, thirty-three years ago and for the kick-off of the 2006 Giro, the Wallonne region of Belgium was hosting the first four stages of the Giro, as the Italian Grand Tour started for the eighth time outside of Italy.
The first rider off was Czech neo-pro Frantisek Rabon (T-Mobile), who departed at 14:34 but it was local lad Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) who set the early fast time of 8'29, an average speed of 43.85 km/h. Chechu Rubiera (Discovery Channel) bested Gilbert by five seconds, but suddenly Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre-Fondital) powered across the line in 8'10, a fast average speed of 45.5 km/h. Francisco Perez (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears) unseated Bruseghin with a 8'06 as the fastest time began to approach the bar of going under eight minutes. Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile Team) posted a respectable 8'39.
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Two months ago, CSC's Bobby Julich won the prologue TT at Paris-Nice and was one of the favorites. But Julich clearly wasn't going all out and finished in 8'35. His team-mate Jens Voigt has a solid ride for 8'15, while Discovery Channel's Jason McCartney had a solid effort for 8'21. Then T-Mobile's Giro leader, big-gear humper Gonchar had a fast start behind Voigt and once on the descent, pounded his 55x11 across the line with the new fastest time of 8'05. Former world TT champ Gonchar explained after his race that "I thought I would ride well here but the course is a little short for me. But it's a good time for me anyway."
The Ukrainian's fast time didn't last long as Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) then blasted across the line in 8'03", an average speed of 46.211 km/hr to take the lead away from Gonchar. Schumacher explained after that "I'm good in TT's but I'm really an all round rider. Right now, I'm in good form so I rode well today".
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Wearing dossard #2, Discovery Channel's Tommy Danielson was back at the Giro d'Italia again and was looking to ride well at this year's edition after his frustrating abandon last year from knee problems. Danielson blasted up the climb and posted an excellent time of 8'11. But just behind the American, world TT champ Mick Rogers (T-Mobile) showed off his beautiful rainbow jersey and his beautiful form with a speedy 8'07, but the Aussie was still five seconds behind leader Schumacher.
Rogers former Quick.Step teammate Bettini then came across in 8'32. Bettini didn't want to lose too much time as the Olympic champion's plan is to stay close and get some time bonuses on Stage 2, then win the third stage to Namur and steal the maglia rosa when the Giro returns to Italy. After the stage, Bettini managed to gasp, "I went all out and didn't hold anything back."
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Next up was mini-me super-climber José Rujano (Selle Italia-Serrementi Diquigiovanni), who had a respectable time despite his recent return to racing. The tension mounted as raging bull Jose' Gutierrez (Phonak) rode the new fastest time, just besting Schumacher's time.
With the Phonak rider done and dusted, the next Giro danger man up was Française des Jeux's Brad McGee, who won the Giro prologue two years ago in Genova. McGee's health problems have slowed the speedy Sydneysider of late, but today Brad didn't disappoint, coming in fastest at the end of his run with 8'02 (46.402km/h avg. speed).
As the start list got shorter and shorter, it was now the time for the Giro favourites to exit the start house in Seraing. The tension mounted as Liquigas-Bianchi's Danilo Di Luca streaked up the climb with the fastest time of 5'58 but Killer Dani lost some time on the descent to finish in a strong and surprising 8'08. Next Giro favourite up was Gibo Simoni (Saunier Duval), who was fast up the climb and then bombed the descent and finished with an 8'16. Simoni said afterwards that "it was a good ride for me... I knew I had to go all out and so I'm happy where I finished."
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Many tipped Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne), resplendent in his Spanish TT champion's jersey to be a real threat. Gutierrez was close but no cigar with his 8'06". Next to finish was 2004 Giro winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital), who posted an 8'16". "It was a short fast prologue and in a race like this, it's hard to make the difference so all the favourites are pretty close."
Sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Team Milram) bested Bettini by seven seconds with his 8'25, an excellent time for the big sprinter. CSC's Ivan Basso looked deceptively slow on the climb and in fact was slow on the speedy course, losing four seconds to Di Luca as he finished in 8'13, but was still ahead of Simoni and Cunego in the overall standings.
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McGee was still in the lead, sitting in the Giro hot-seat, but now it was the turn of the only man who could still beat the Aussie, the rider with dossard #1, defending Giro d'Italia champion Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel). Despite his recent stomach problems that forced him to abandon the Tour of Romandie, Savoldelli threw it down from the get-go, with the fastest splits all the way around the 6.2km course to cross the line with the incredible time of 7'50, 11 seconds faster than McGee at an average speed of 47.489 km/h.
With Di Luca at 0'19, Basso at 0'23, Cunego at 0'25 and Simoni at 0'26, Savoldelli has at least gained a small psychological edge over his key rivals at this year's Giro d'Italia with his dramatic win in today's ITT. Can Savoldelli keep his maglia rosa until Thursday's Stage 5, when his powerful Discovery Channel squad take on the 38km team time trial?
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The Discovery Channel rider is 35 seconds ahead of sprinter Petacchi and 0'42 up on Bettini. Each stage has time bonuses with time bonuses at the finish of 20, 12 and 8 seconds and intermediate bonuses of 6, 4 and 2 seconds,. Theoretically, Savoldelli could keep the maglia rosa, but Discovery Channel may choose not defend the precious pink tunic. One thing is certain though after today's opening stage: the baby-faced rider is more than ever a strong contender to win his third Giro title.
Sunday May 7 - Stage 2: Mons - Charleroi/Marcinelle, 203 km
A fast, flat stage for the sprinters from Mons to the grimy industrial burg of Charleroi, with a wide open last 2km on Avenue E.Mascaux that should be perfect for Ale-Jet Petacchi and Rockin' Robbie McEwen to fight it out for the victory.
Photography
For a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here
Images by Luc Claessen/www.ctm-images.com
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) rockets to a win
- Bradley McGee (Francaise des Jeux) almost won himself another prologue
- Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) in action
- Tom Danielson (Discovery Channel) posted the 12th best time
- Jose Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d'Epargne) wasn't quite at his best
- Jens Voigt (CSC) goes all out
- Ivan Basso (CSC) rounds the last corner
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) rode well today
- Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) was a respectable 16th
- Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) brakes hard
- Marc Wauters (Rabobank) Belgian time trial champion
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) guides it home
- Ivan Parra (Cofidis)
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) is beset by gifts
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) salutes the crowd in the maglia rosa
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) drenches a podium girl in Italian sparkling wine
Images by Fotoreporter Sirotti
- The RAI journalists
- Andrea Bartali and Faustino Coppi
- Angelo Zomegnan (Giro boss) with his Tour counterpart Christian Prudhomme
- Cannavo and Biondi and some witches?
- Andrea Bartali, the director of La Gazzetta and Faustino Coppi
- The Giro d'Italia is go! Frantisek Rabon is the first rider off
- Savio and Lefevere both have a vested interest in Jose Rujano
- The McEwen family
- Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) prepares for the start
- Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) stays hydrated
- Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) straps on the gear
- Der Jan is go
- Bobby Julich (CSC) takes a pre-race swig
- Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) in his favourite discipline
- Danilo di Luca (Liquigas) is ready
- Ivan Basso (CSC) gazes ahead
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) looking focused at the start
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) sets off
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) heads for home
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) finishes off
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) on the podium
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) salutes the crowd in the maglia rosa
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) in pink as the first leader
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) gets the Frascati happening
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) back in pink
- Emanuele Sella (Panaria)
- Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) got it over and done with
- Jan Ullrich (T-Mobile) was 80th, and still has a long way to go
- Axel Merckx (Phonak) lifted in front of a home crowd
- Marco Pinotti (Saunier Duval) in the Italian TT champ's colours
- Serguei Gonchar (T-Mobile) punishes himself for 5th
- Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) held the fastest time for a while
- Michael Rogers (T-Mobile) was eighth
- Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) heads for the corner
- Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) ended 9th today
- Jose Rujano (Selle Italia) isn't really a time trial specialist
- Jose E. Gutierrez (Phonak) rode to a fine third place
- Bradley McGee (Francaise des Jeux) storms home with the new best time
- Marc Wauters (Rabobank) finished in the top 20
- Danilo di Luca (Liquigas) lost some time on the descent
- Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval) getting it over with
- Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) doing his least favourite discipline
- Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) trying to stay in contention for the pink
- Ivan Basso (CSC) cranking it up
Images by Les Clarke/Cyclingnews.com
- Marco Pinotti (Saunier Duval) cracks a smile after the stage
- Jens Voigt (CSC) put in a big effort on the tough course
- Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank) finished the day a long way down the standings
- Carlos Sastre (CSC) is satisfied with his time trial performance
- Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) looks a bit spent after finishing 10th
- Thankyou very much! Paolo Savoldelli was a popular stage 1 winner
- That's tops says Paolo Savoldelli after winning stage 1
- Paolo Savoldelli hoists his stage winner's trophy high
- Paolo Savoldelli salutes from the podium after winning stage 1
- Time to spray the podium girls for Paolo Savoldelli
- Paolo Savoldelli gets a kiss on the podium after winning stage 1
- Paolo Savoldelli tries the first maglia rosa of the 2006 Giro on for size
- Paolo in pink on the first day of the Giro - and he loved it!
Images by Brecht Decaluwé/Cyclingnews.com
- Belgian Rik Verbrugghe was disappointed about his performance
- Stefan Schumacher surprised everybody with a great result
- Mauricio Ardila will be aiming for the last week of this Giro
- Paolo Bettini was exhausted at the finish
- Jose Enrique Gutierrez Cataluna was fastest at the line, but McGee and Savoldelli beat him shortly afterwards
- Belgian time trial champion Marc Wauters didn't perform very well
- Ivan Basso (CSC) had a solid time trial
- 'Il Falco' won the prologue in Romandy, today he won the first stage in the Giro d'Italia
Images by Roberto Bettini/www.bettiniphoto.net
- Giro d'Italia podium set up
- The cool kids on the sidelines
- Waving the Italian flag in Belgium
- Not a good start
- Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) on his way to 10th place.
- Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir)
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) on his way to a win
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) takes the first win of the Giro
- The podium girl gets a little champagne
- Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) dons the Maglia Rosa
Images by Giorgio Masnikosa/members.chello.se/giorgio.masnikosa
- Giovanni Lombardi
- Youngest at Giro Mikael Dalage
- Bradley McGee
- Ready to go
- Basso and Riis
- Alessandro Petacchi
- Ooops, who was that?
- Ivan Basso
- Eddy Merckx?
- Everybody's Jan
- Bobby Julich
- Pollack kisses his daughter before the start
- Il.jpg Grillo with RAI
- Paolo Bettini
- Danilo Di Luca
- Damiano Cunego
- Brad McGee
Results
1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 7.50 (47.489 km/h) 2 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française des Jeux 0.11 3 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.13 4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 5 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 0.15 6 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.16 7 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 8 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 0.17 9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 0.18 10 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 0.19 11 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 0.20 12 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.21 13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 0.23 14 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 0.25 15 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 16 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.26 17 Marc Wauters (Bel) Rabobank 0.27 18 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC 19 Remmert Wielinga (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 20 Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 0.28 21 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.29 22 Christophe Brandt (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 23 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas 0.30 24 Jason Mccartney (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.31 25 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Credit Agricole 26 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 27 Laurent Lefevre (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.32 28 Olaf Pollack (Ger) T-Mobile Team 0.33 29 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.34 30 Tomas Vaitkus (Ltu) AG2R Prevoyance 0.35 31 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram 32 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 33 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic 0.36 34 Imanol Erviti (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 35 Bert Roesems (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 36 Serge Baguet (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 37 Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Spa) Lampre-Fondital 38 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 0.37 39 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 40 Victor Hugo Pena Grisales (Col) Phonak Hearing Systems 0.38 41 Sergiy Matveyev (Ukr) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 42 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 43 Inigo Cuesta Lopez De Castro (Spa) Team CSC 0.39 44 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas 45 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step-Innergetic 46 José Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 47 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux 48 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux 49 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Lampre-Fondital 0.40 50 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Credit Agricole 0.41 51 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 52 Ronny Scholz (Ger) Gerolsteiner 53 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team CSC 54 Roberto Laiseka Jaio (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0.42 55 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 56 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 57 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC 58 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Team Milram 59 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 60 Gabriele Missaglia (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 0.43 61 Sandy Casar (Fra) Française des Jeux 62 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 0.44 63 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak Hearing Systems 64 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 65 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 66 Bobby Julich (USA) Team CSC 0.45 67 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital 68 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Lampre-Fondital 0.46 69 David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 70 Volker Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner 71 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 72 Staf Scheirlinckx (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 73 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 74 Angel Gomez Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.48 75 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole 76 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 77 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Française des Jeux 78 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram 0.49 79 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas 80 Jan Ullrich (Ger) T-Mobile Team 81 Torsten Hiekmann (Ger) Gerolsteiner 82 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.50 83 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance 84 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.51 85 Grischa Niermann (Ger) Rabobank 86 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 0.52 87 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 88 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 89 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance 90 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Team Milram 0.53 91 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 92 Viatcheslav Ekimov (Rus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.54 93 Jonathan Patrick Mc Carty (USA) Phonak Hearing Systems 94 Stef Clement (Ned) Bouygues Telecom 95 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole 96 Cristian Moreni (Ita) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 97 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas 0.55 98 Matthias Kessler (Ger) T-Mobile Team 99 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 100 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Team Milram 101 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Davitamon-Lotto 102 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 103 Unai Osa Eizaguirre (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 104 Joerg Ludewig (Ger) T-Mobile Team 105 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 0.56 106 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux 107 Peter Mazur (Pol) Saunier Duval-Prodir 108 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC 109 Robbie Mcewen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 110 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 0.57 111 Andrea Moletta (Ita) Gerolsteiner 112 Nicolas Vogondy (Fra) Credit Agricole 113 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.58 114 Inigo Chaurreau Bernardez (Spa) AG2R Prevoyance 115 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner 116 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 117 Renaud Dion (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance 0.59 118 Elia Rigotto (Ita) Team Milram 119 Jose Cayetano Julia Cegarra (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1.00 120 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram 121 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance 122 Patrick Calcagni (Swi) Liquigas 123 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 1.01 124 Guido Trentin (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 125 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 126 Mark Scanlon (Irl) AG2R Prevoyance 1.02 127 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 128 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram 129 Grégory Rast (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 130 Marcos A. Serrano Rodriguez (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 131 Preben Van Hecke (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1.03 132 Dariusz Baranowski (Pol) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 133 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank 134 Carlos Da Cruz (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.04 135 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 136 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) Team CSC 137 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R Prevoyance 138 Benoit Joachim (Lux) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 139 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 1.05 140 Jan Kuyckx (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 141 André Korff (Ger) T-Mobile Team 142 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 143 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1.06 144 Manuel Beltran Martinez (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 145 Christophe Edaleine (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.07 146 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1.08 147 Jose Serpa (Col) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 148 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 149 Sébastien Chavanel (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 150 Javier Ramirez Abeja (Spa) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 1.09 151 Mikel Pradera Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 152 Martin Elmiger (Swi) Phonak Hearing Systems 153 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) T-Mobile Team 1.10 154 William Bonnet (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.11 155 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step-Innergetic 1.12 156 Ivan Mayoz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 157 Henk Vogels (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 1.13 158 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram 159 Ruben Lobato Elvira (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 160 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 161 Koen De Kort (Ned) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 162 Nick Gates (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto 163 Andy Flickinger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.14 164 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.15 165 Marc De Maar (Ned) Rabobank 166 Arnaud Gerard (Fra) Française des Jeux 167 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Liquigas 168 Santo Anza' (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 169 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 170 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Credit Agricole 1.16 171 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 172 Giovanni Bernaudeau (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.17 173 Robert Forster (Ger) Gerolsteiner 174 Aaron Olson (USA) Saunier Duval-Prodir 175 Scott Davis (Aus) T-Mobile Team 1.19 176 Fabrizio Guidi (Ita) Phonak Hearing Systems 177 José Antonio Garrido Lima (Spa) Quick Step-Innergetic 1.20 178 Paolo Fornaciari (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 179 Sergio Barbero (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 180 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Rabobank 1.21 181 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas 182 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 1.22 183 Mickael Delage (Fra) Française des Jeux 1.23 184 Davide Bramati (Ita) Quick Step-Innergetic 1.24 185 Raffaele Illiano (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 186 Axel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 1.25 187 Andoni Aranaga Azkune (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.27 188 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 1.29 189 Amael Moinard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 1.31 190 Moises Aldape Chavez (Mex) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 191 Yohann Gene (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 192 Thierry Marichal (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit par Telephone 1.32 193 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 1.39 194 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.44 195 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 1.49 196 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.50 197 Iker Flores Galarza (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.52 198 Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2R Prevoyance 1.53 Points 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 33 pts 2 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française des Jeux 23 3 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 20 4 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 15 5 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 12 6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 12 7 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 10 8 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 10 9 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 9 10 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 7 11 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 5 12 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4 13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 3 14 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 2 15 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1 Mountains 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3 pts 2 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française des Jeux 2 3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 1 110 Gazzetta 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 4 3 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 3 4 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux 2 5 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 1 6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner Combination 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 60 pts 2 Bradley Mcgee (Aus) Française des Jeux 54 3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 43 4 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 39 5 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 27 6 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 24 7 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 22 8 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 19 9 José Ivan Gutierrez Palacios (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 16 10 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner 13 11 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 10 12 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 8 13 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 6 14 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 4 15 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 2 Most combative 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 11 pts 2 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux 7 3 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 7 4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 4 5 Stefan Schumacher (Ger) Gerolsteiner 3 6 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 2 7 Francisco Perez Sanchez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 1 8 Michael Rogers (Aus) T-Mobile Team 1 Azzurri d'Italia 1 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 4 pts 2 Bradley McGee (Aus) Française des Jeux 2 3 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 1 Trofeo Fast Team 1 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 24.22 2 Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 0.09 3 T-Mobile Team 0.13 4 Gerolsteiner 0.20 5 Team CSC 0.23 6 Lampre-Fondital 0.28 7 Liquigas 0.36 8 Francaise Des Jeux 0.37 9 Phonak Hearing Systems 0.43 10 Quickstep-Innergetic 0.47 11 Cofidis 0.55 12 Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.59 13 Credit Agricole 1.06 14 Bouygues Telecom 1.08 15 Davitamon-Lotto 16 Team Milram 1.14 17 Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 18 Rabobank 19 Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 1.22 20 Ag2R Prevoyance 1.25 21 Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 1.31 22 Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.48 Trofeo Super Team 1 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 29 pts 2 Gerolsteiner 29 3 T-Mobile Team 29 4 Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears 29 5 Francaise Des Jeux 19 6 Phonak Hearing Systems 18 7 Team CSC 18 8 Lampre-Fondital 16 9 Liquigas 11 10 Saunier Duval-Prodir 5 11 Rabobank 4 12 Quickstep-Innergetic 2 13 Cofidis 1 14 Davitamon-Lotto 15 Credit Agricole 16 Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 17 Bouygues Telecom 18 Ag2R Prevoyance 19 Team Milram 20 Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 21 Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni 22 Euskaltel-Euskadi
