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89th Giro d'Italia - GT
Italy, May 6-28, 2006
Main Page Results & report Stage Details Previous Stage Next Stage
Stage 10 - Tuesday, May 16: Termoli - Peschici, 187 km
Commentary by Kristy Scrymgeour with additional reporting from Tim Maloney
Complete live report
14:26 CEST
Welcome back to sunny Italia to our
live coverage of the Giro d’Italia. Today the race started in the town of Termoli
where yesterday we saw Tomas Vaitkus (AG2R Prevoyance) pip Bettini on the line
to take the first ever stage win for a Lithuanian in the Giro. Today we head
further south for the most southern stage of this years Giro. After today, the
riders hop on a plane and fly north where they will stay for the remainder of
the race.
We saw a fast start to racing today. The first 50km was
raced in an hour on flat terrain After 25km of racing a breakaway of about 20
riders got away including Robbie McEwen and a couple of his teammates, but less
than 20km later all riders from that break had been absorbed by the peloton.
Rick Verbrugghe countered but was reeled in immediately.
Ten kilometers
later another break went. This time 16 riders got a convincing gap of over two
minutes by the base of the first climb of the day up Borgo Celano. The break
is still out there and includes Benoit Joachim (Discovery), Sylvain Calzati
and Hubert Dupont (AG2R Prevoyance), Yohann Gene (Bouygues Telecom), Jose Luis
Carrasco Gamiz and Joan Horrach Rippoll (Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears), Sergiy
Matveyev (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare), Benoit Poilvet (Credit Agricole), Serguei
Yakovlev (Liberty Seguros-Würth Team), Axel Merckx (Phonak Hearing Systems),
Theo Eltink and Alexandr Kolobnev (Rabobank), Angel Gomez Gomez (Saunier Duval-Prodir),
Jose Serpa (Selle Italia-Serramenti Diquigiovanni), Giovanni Lombardi (CSC)
and Alessandro Vanotti (Team Milram).
Behind them Franco Pellizotti
and Charles Wegelius (Liquigas) tried to bridge, as did Vladimir Efimkin (Caisse
d'Epargne-Illes Balears) and Marco Pinotti (Saunier Duval-Prodir). They eventually
made it up to the break on the climb, making the front group 20 riders strong.
Also on the climb Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) attacked out of the bunch solo
and eventually caught them. The break is now over three minutes ahead of the
peloton. Bradley McGee (Francais de Jeux) and Dariusz Baranowski (Liberty Seguros-Würth
Team) have both retired from the race. McGee looked to be suffering in yesterday’s
stage with back problems.
After two hours of racing the average speed
of the race is 43km/h. At the bottom of this descent riders will have the 110
Gazzetta sprint and then pretty much start climbing the main climb of the day
up Monte Santi Angelo.
14:36 CEST 94km/93km to go
We are about half
way into the stage and almost at the bottom of the first descent. The gap continues
to grow. We have no real GC threats in the break so the chase is not urgent.
The climb ahead is quite a tough one and at the end in Peschici we have an uphill
finish so predictions were for Cunego to win the stage. We may also see a day
for Bettini though. With the climbs hard enough to get rid of the sprinters
today, Bettini might finally get his chance.
14:42 CEST
14:43 CEST
Although the main descent is over,
the altitude continues to drop slightly all the way to the 110 Gazzetto sprint
line, which funnily enough today is at the 110km mark in the town of Manfredonia.
Almost immediately after that the road starts going up again and they climb
825m in altitude in 16km.
14:54 CEST 110km/77km to go
The break has reached
the 110 sprint at the coastal town of Manfredonia with Pinotti taking the points
over Kolobnev and Poilvet. The gap to the peloton has grown further to 5'52".
14:58 CEST
With 5'43" up their sleeves the breakaway
riders now see the 10km mark to the climb. From the 110 Gazzetta sprint line
the course turned directly north to cut across the promontory towards Peschini.
The climb they go over is part of a range that stretch around the southern coast
of the peninsula.
15:00 CEST
Dupont has punctured in the break
and has to wait for a wheel change.
15:05 CEST
Dupont made it back into the bunch
after his puncture. With the recent climbing the average speed has gone down
to 41km/h at this point.
15:10 CEST 122km/65km to go
We are about 5km
from the top of the climb now and the break still has a very significant lead.
When they reach the top of this climb though its not over. They descend slightly
and then have another short climb and more undulating terrain across the top
of the range before descending towards the finish in the last 20km.
15:16 CEST
Calzati is setting the tempo in the
break for Ag2r as they go through round a switchback. As they do there is a
gorgeous view over the sea. Such a beautiful part of the world. Now Caisse d'Epargne-Illes
Balears takes over.
15:17 CEST
Back in the bunch it is Cunego's
team leading the way. It's quite steep here and the field is quite strung out.
15:19 CEST
The road just keeps twisting up with
switchback after switchback as they climb away from the water and over the range.
The water is a gorgeous aqua colour and looks very refreshing. The gap is 4'12"
with a kilometer left until the top of the climb.
15:21 CEST 126km/61km to go
The break has just
reached the top of the climb. A few little splits formed as they sprinted for
the top but it will all re-gather as they start descending.
15:24 CEST
The bunch is now nearing the top
now with Lampre-Fondital still leading setting a steady tempo.
15:25 CEST
The gap has fallen due to the Lampre
chase and is at 3'30" now as the bunch starts to descend.
15:27 CEST
At the top of the climb is a gorgeous
town and ruins of an old castle jutting out above the housing. Quite spectacular.
The riders are in the tuck position for the descent. Ag2r leads the break and
Lampre has the whole team on the front of the peloton.
15:29 CEST
Bettini stretches his legs back in
the bunch. Quick Step can take advantage of the fact that Lampre are doing the
work in the chase today. The travel along a long straight stretch of the descent
now before reaching a wide open switchback which is built up on stilts over
a huge drop off.
15:30 CEST
Bettini is back at his team car grabbing
some food. A few other riders are also back in the caravan using this descent
to refuel.
15:32 CEST
The moto has just come back to give
the chasers the latest time gap of 3'20". In the break Franco Pellizotti sets
the pace as the road starts to go up again. He has a good rhythm and looks strong.
15:35 CEST
The average speed is 39km/h at this
point. In the break Charles Wegelius (Liquigas) has a heart rate of 167 on this
climb. A few riders are suffering in the break. It looks like Krauss has a bit
of a gap opening up in front of him.
15:37 CEST
Sergiy Matveyev (Ceramica) is also
suffering in the break. He also suffered on the main climb but managed to get
back on. This little climb has really got to hurt after the main climb and a
short descent. No flat terrain to recover.
15:41 CEST 138km/49km to go
The break is being
driven by Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears again and back in the field Lampre
is still setting quite a fast pace in chase of the break. They have the bunch
almost single file with the Discover team tucked in behind Lampre. The gap is
still 3'14" as we near the top of this second little peak in the road.
15:44 CEST
The break is now on another descent.
A Saunier Duval rider has gone off the front slightly trying to gain a bit of
ground but the rest of the break start to moved back towards his wheel. It's
a nice winding descent through tree covered roads. Very scenic.
15:48 CEST 146km/41km to go
The peloton is also
on the descent now. The road just keeps rolling through relatively uninhabited
terrain all the way across this peninsula.
In the break the riders
have started to attack each other. Three riders have an advantage on the rest.
One of them is Benoit Joachim. He is with a Serpa and Calzati. They have a good
gap.
15:52 CEST
The rest of the break has fought
back and the trio has been caught. Lampre still have the peloton strung out
in chase but the gap is 3'11" again.
15:54 CEST
Things have slowed down in the break
as they regroup again and try to get some type of order back.
15:55 CEST
Calzati has gone again and is solo
now. It looks like Mercx and one other rider are bridging to him.
15:57 CEST
Calzati has a good lead with and
the other two have been caught by the rest of the break. We have another counter
attack from the break. Its another AG2R rider. Sven Krauss also bridges up and
joins them making them three in chase of Calzati.
16:00 CEST 152km/35km to go
The peloton has just
gone under the 35km to go banner. Again Lampre setting pace on the front but
with all the action up front the gap is still 3'10".
16:04 CEST 157km/30km to go
Calzati has just
been joined by a couple of briding riders as they go through a dense foresty
area. The road starts to go up a little again here.
Jan Ullrich is at
the back of the peloton sitting in as they wind through these nice tree covered
roads. 30km to go.
16:04 CEST
Matveyev was dropped from the break
and has been caught by the peloton.
16:09 CEST
The gap has come down now to under
3 minutes. Up front Calzati is still in th lead with but has been caught by
five other riders. It looks like Merckx is back up there with him too.
16:11 CEST
Pellizotti and Efimkin are also up
there with them. Dupont is there and he is now attacking.
16:13 CEST
Serpa has countered hard but they
are on to him too as about seven riders from the break are up in the lead now.
16:16 CEST
There has been a crash with Perez
Cuapio and he is getting a bike change. Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez was also
involved and had to wait a little longer for his bike change.
16:17 CEST
Things have come back together in
the front and we have 19 leaders up front with Lampre still chasing and keeping
their steady tempo.
16:18 CEST 167km/20km to go
We have another attack
from the bunch. Its Joachim again! He's persistent today. He has a good gap
but is suffering up this climb. He is joined by Carrasco Gamiz who takes over
at the front.
16:19 CEST
Now Poilvet has bridged to them and
flown right past. He is in the drops and powering away.
16:20 CEST
But the rest of the break are coming
back to him again now.
16:23 CEST
The road is pretty much downhill
from now as they descend off this mountain range. Its going to be fast all the
way to the finish. Another attack from the break. Its Merckx again solo with
15km to go. He is descending around switchbacks back down towards the sea again.
16:23 CEST
Its still a big gap. 2'50" to the
peloton. It seems unlikely that they will be able to close that gap now.
16:25 CEST
Merckx looks good solo. He has some
tight turns to navigate on the way down this descent. He really has a good gap
now and holding it at about ten seconds.
16:26 CEST
There has been a crash at the front
with the Lampre team. It happened around one of the tight turns.
16:27 CEST
This will slow down the chase a little.
Surely they can't catch this break now. Ghisalberti had a problem with his bike
back in the bunch and is slowing down to wait for his team car.
16:27 CEST
Merckx pedaling through some faster
turns now looking relaxed but giving this descent everything.
16:28 CEST 177km/10km to go
Vila was the rider
from Lampre who crashed.
Merckx goes under the 10km to go banner. Great
move from him!
16:29 CEST
He is down in the drops as he hits
a flat section in the road. He's pushing a big gear and is in time trial mode.
This has got to hurt after being in the break all day.
16:31 CEST 180km/7km to go
Wegelious leading
the chase from Liquigas. He has the break strung out but Merckx still has that
ten second gap.
16:32 CEST
He has his head down now. He's flying
but he's also hurting. The gap is 11 seconds and 3'04" to the peloton.
16:33 CEST
He looks vry strong and has a good
rhythm going
16:34 CEST
Pellizotti in the break is at 5'48
on GC, so he'll move up quite a bit in the overall at the end of the day.
16:35 CEST
Merckx is on a false flat and now
in the break Wegelius is the only one chasing, his heart rate is 191. Yakovlev
counters!
16:36 CEST
He has a gap but they are on him.
Merckx is reaching one last little rise. It hurts but he's holding it.
16:38 CEST 184km/3km to go
Now we have a last
little section of the descent. Merckx looks good as he winds around these nice
winding roads. He still has about 8". Will that be enough? He gets out of the
saddle when it flattens out to try to keep his speed up. 3km to go.
16:39 CEST 185km/2km to go
The last 1.3km is
uphill so its going to be a fight 2km to go.
16:40 CEST
He's on the climb now. They have
him in sight. He is giving it everything now. Ten seconds is his gap.
16:40 CEST 186km/1km to go
Last kilometer now.
It's nasty! A steep switchback. 800m to go.
16:41 CEST
He looks back and keeps pushing.
It will be tight! Now he's out of the saddle but they are getting too close
400m to go.
16:43 CEST
Closer now, he's hurting they are
getting him! They sprint past him and a Liquigas rider, its Pellizotti who comes
around him for the win. Efimkin takes seconds place.
16:43 CEST
The Cunego riders are really pushing
it to limit this time gap. Pellizotti gains time and also a time bonus.
Yakovlev took third in the stage.
16:44 CEST
A few stragglers from the break come
across the line whilst the peloton goes under the 500m banner.
16:46 CEST
CSC take over up the climb with Basso
sitting in second wheel. Bettini takes over to sprint to the line. The gap is
3'23" at the end. Pellizotti will move up a lot in the GC. He's now fourth on
GC, 2'05" down.
That's all from us today. We'll be back for the time
trial on Thursday!
Results
Provisional 1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 4.39.47 2 Vladimir Efimkin (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 3 Sergey Yakovlev (Kaz) Liberty 0.02 4 Herbert Dupont (Fra) AG2r 5 Theo Eltink (Ned) Rabobank 0.03 6 Jose Luis Carrasco Gamiz (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 7 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval 0.05 8 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner 9 Alexandre Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank 10 Joan Horrach (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 11 Axel Merckx (Bel) Phonak 0.13 12 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole 13 Benoit Joachim (Lux) Discovery 14 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Milram 15 Francisco Perez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 16 Sylvain Calzati (Fra) AG2r 17 Jose Serpa (Col) Selle Italia 18 Giovanni Lombardi (Ita) CSC 19 Charly Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas General classification after stage 10 1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 34.46.30 2 José E. Gutierrez Cataluna (Spa) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.34 3 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital 1.48 4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 2.05 5 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 2.35 6 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) T-Mobile Team 2.43 7 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas 2.48 8 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.20 9 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Würth Team 3.23 10 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 3.31
