88th Giro d'Italia - PT
Italy, May 7-29, 2005
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Stage 5 - May 12: Celano - L'Aquila, 223 km
Complete live report
14:30 CEST      Welcome to the floating Cyclingnews 
  vantage point, from where we are watching the fifth stage of the Giro d'Italia. 
  At 223 km, today's stage is another long one - the third one over 200 km in 
  a row, in fact. Starting in the heart of Abruzzo in Celano, the parcours winds 
  its way north to L'Aquila, climbing into the Parco Nazionale d'Abruzzo with 
  two KOM's within 60km of each other. Then there's a long descent that leads 
  to the toughest GPM of the day, Goriano Sicoli, a steep 4 km ramp with some 
  sections up to 16%. From there, it's a rolling romp to the finish in L'Aquila 
  36km later.    The Intergiro is located at Sulmona (km 136), while the 
  three climbs are at km 46.5, km 91, and km 161. The finish is also uphill, so 
  it's definitely not a day for the sprinters. A breakaway of lesser knowns might 
  succeed today, or the main GC men will fight it out, with Di Luca, Cunego, Bettini, 
  and Garzelli favourites if all the breaks are caught. 
14:53 CEST      Today's stage started at 11:18 am 
  with all 191 riders who finished yesterday, including a rather sore Baden Cooke, 
  rolling out from Celano. After 10 km, Gerolsteiner's Frank Høj made the first 
  attack, and was caught by another seven riders before the peloton pegged them 
  back at km 12. At km 16, Angel Gomez Gomez (Saunier Duval) made the next move, 
  but it too only lasted 2 km.     Ruslan Ivanov (Domina Vacanze) was 
  slightly more successful when he went at km 20, winning an intermediate cash 
  sprint at Ortucchio before being caught by Andrea Moletta (Gerolsteiner), Rory 
  Sutherland (Rabobank), Angel Gomez Gomez (again), and Erik Baumann (T-Mobile). 
  They were joined by Dmitri Fofonov (Cofidis), Rene Andrle (Liberty Seguros), 
  and Matteo Tosatto (Fassa Bortolo) at km 25.    Within a few km, the 
  group had two minutes and there was a counter attack from the peloton, with 
  Vladimir Miholjevic (Liquigas), Filippo Pozzato (Quick.Step), Christian Werner 
  (T-Mobile) and nine others going off in pursuit. They managed to peg the gap 
  back to 40 seconds, with the main bunch another minute back. But Werner and 
  Pozzato were both suffering, as was Baumann in the front group.    The 
  maglia rosa, Paolo Bettini, and Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto) were next to 
  go, catching the chasing group after 37 km to form 14 chasers against seven 
  in front. Steve Zampieri (Phonak) also tried to get across on his own as the 
  leaders reached the first climb of the day, the Passo del Diavolo. Ivanov was 
  first over, followed by Moletta and Sutherland.    On the descent, the 
  14 chasers caught the seven in front to form a group of 21, while Zampieri was 
  captured by the main bunch. The leaders: Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step), Matteo 
  Tosatto (Fassa), Vladimir Miholjevic and Charly Wegelius (Liquigas), Jose Rujano 
  Guillen and Ivan Parra (Selle Italia), Angel Gomez Gomez and Joaquin Rodriguez 
  Oliver (Saunier), Ruslan Ivanov (Domina), Dariusz Baranowski, Rene Andrle, Koldo 
  Gil Perez (Liberty Seguros), Andrea Moletta (Gerolsteiner), Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto), 
  Evgeni Petrov (Lampre), Rory Sutherland and Theo Eltink (Rabobank), Dmitri Fofonov 
  (Cofidis), Sandy Casar (FDJ), Dmitri Muravyev (CA), David Lopez Garcia (Euskaltel). 
14:58 CEST    120km/103km to go  And that's not all 
  of it!    At 62 km, David Lopez (Euskaltel) and Joaquin Rodriguez (Saunier) 
  attacked the front group, but were caught 10 km later. The main peloton was 
  now at 5'30 and losing time, with the average speed after two hours at 36 km/h.    
  On the second climb, the Cat. 2 Valico di Monte Godi, Tosatto attacked with 
  Rujano and Miholjevic, and they crossed the summit in that order. It all came 
  back on the descent, and the main peloton was at 8'50 back after three hours 
  of racing, with the average speed at 36.45 km/h. We're now at about 100 km to 
  go, with the same 21 riders together - including maglia rosa Bettini. 
15:10 CEST      Paolo Bettini is definitely a favourite 
  for this stage, as he's in the break. It's not often that the other GC riders 
  will let the race leader go, but Bettini isn't going to threaten in the big 
  mountains later on. And he probably wants revenge for being relegated to fourth 
  after shutting the door on Baden Cooke in yesterday's sprint. Bettini and his 
  team continue to deny that there was any wrongdoing on his part, but it is fairly 
  clear that he started near the middle of the road and finished on the left.    
  Cyclingnews' John Trevorrow spoke to Baden Cooke again this morning, 
  and the Australian was in surprisingly good spirits as he oversaw his new bike 
  being set up. He was a bit concerned that it was done to perfection, as he is 
  quite meticulous. "The injuries aren't too bad," he said. "But my neck is bloody 
  sore and I see why when I looked at Gazzetta dello Sport this morning. The photo 
  shows my neck at right angles to my body.    "I smashed the bike, smashed 
  the forks, broke the seat...Hopefully it's not too far out. You don't want to 
  go up the hills with slightly the wrong position. You can blow up a knew or 
  something. Trying to get the plumb bob on the side of a hill doesn't make much 
  sense.    Cooke said that he hadn't spoken to Bettini this morning, 
  although just after we interviewed him, the Italian came over and Cooke ignored 
  him. Bettini then went over to the FDJ officials and explained his point (that 
  his chain slipped and he didn't know Cooke was there).     "He's not 
  giving an inch," said Cooke. "He will not admit he's wrong. A few Italian journalists 
  asked me if I'll shake his hand today. I'll shake hands with him when he admits 
  he put me into the barriers. One minute he's saying my chain slipped, next he's 
  saying he didn't do anything. So which is it? Chain slipping or didn't do anything?    
  "Some of the Italian media are saying he didn't do anything wrong. Silvio Martinello 
  is quoted as saying 'Cooke's wrong. The rules are clear; a rider can't change 
  their line in the last 200m, but Cooke made a mistake to try and pass on the 
  inside' I was just trying to get around him! What was I going to do? Go up on 
  the footpath? Anyone who says I chose the wrong side...there was only 20 centimetres 
  in it. We were almost in the middle of the road. If anything, the road was bending 
  the other , so I've really come around the outside. There was no wind. I didn't 
  go for any advantage there. I could have gone left or right. I only had 20 centimetres 
  more on the other side - there was no difference." 
15:16 CEST    137km/86km to go  The 21 leaders have 
  now reached the Intergiro after a long descent off the Monte Godi climb. The 
  peloton has stepped on the gas a bit, and has cut the deficit back to 4'05. 
 
15:21 CEST    140km/83km to go  The lead group is 
  still big at 20 riders or so, and Bettini is marking time at the back of the 
  group.    Bettini won the Intergiro, gaining 6 actual bonus seconds, 
  8 points for the points classification, 30 Intergiro seconds for the Intergiro 
  GC, and 1000 euros. Yes, it's that simple. In second place was Baranowski, then 
  Miholjevic, Van Huffel and Petrov. 
15:22 CEST    153km/70km to go  The cooperation is 
  fairly poor in the front group, and that's probably why the organised peloton 
  is pulling them back. There should be some attacks soon. 
15:26 CEST    155km/68km to go  The 21 leaders are 
  now riding through Corfinio. It's not really a sunny day, but it doesn't look 
  like rain at the moment. The next and last climb is starting quite soon. 
15:32 CEST    157km/66km to go  Some HR info, as 
  they start to climb. Charly Wegelius, who is in the front group, is sitting 
  on 139 / 195, so he's got a bit in the tank, so to speak. We do believe that 
  the high numbers are the riders' maximums, and not their ATs. But it could be 
  that the maximums are a 5 bpm out, depending on how they were measured.    
  Rory Sutherland (Rabobank) has attacked the lead group. That'll make the heart 
  rates go up. He's in Raiano, just before the main climb of Monte Urano. No reaction 
  yet. 
15:33 CEST      The peloton is getting closer too, 
  and is at 2'48. Sutherland has 18 seconds on the 20 followers, who are being 
  led by Van Huffel. 
15:34 CEST    158km/65km to go  Sutherland looks 
  back and sees that he has a decent gap. He gets out of the saddle and starts 
  the climb with 30 seconds. There are more trees up here, but it's not quite 
  like the bush back home in Canberra.    The chase group is starting 
  to split. 
15:37 CEST    160km/63km to go  Rujano and Fofonov 
  go after Sutherland as the climb gets really steep. Rujano rides away from the 
  Kazakh rider, who rejoins the group. Wegelius and Rodriguez, both in the lead 
  group, are at 170/195 (roughly the same maximums and heart rates). That's starting 
  to hurt. 
15:41 CEST      Lampre and Discovery are leading 
  the peloton, which is rapidly closing in on the main break. Discovery had a 
  bad day yesterday, with both Paolo Savoldelli and Tom Danielson losing 40-50 
  seconds after being caught behind crashes.     We spoke to Discovery's 
  Ryder Hesjedal this morning to ask about yesterday's stage: "Yeah, we had a 
  bit of bad luck yesterday with Paolo getting caught up in that crash at the 
  end. A bunch of us were caught up and there wasn't enough guys to help him get 
  back. That's how it goes. Today's hills and stuff, so we've got to keep it together 
  to limit the damage yesterday."    Rujano has caught Sutherland and 
  goes right past. Sutherland doesn't even attempt to catch the Venezuelan.    
  Bettini's group is at 43 seconds, with the peloton at 2'25. 
15:43 CEST    160km/63km to go  Koldo Gil (Liberty) 
  has now caught Sutherland, who lets him go. Rujano still leads.    In 
  the peloton, it's Panaria chasing. It's only four kilometres, but it's not a 
  nice climb. Cunego, Di Luca, Basso are all near the front. Simoni is a bit further 
  back. The peloton is still 100+ riders. 
15:47 CEST      Various spectators run after Rujano 
  and Gil, but no hooligans today. Apparently the idiots who ripped Bramati's 
  number off two days ago were "professional hooligans" and known by police. 
15:48 CEST    161km/62km to go  Rujano looks good 
  as he nears the summit of Monte Urano. He's at the top, taking the 10 points 
  for the Cat. 1 climb. That should give him the green jersey. 
15:48 CEST      Koldo Gil is next over, the Liberty 
  rider wrestling with his bike over the final 500m. He crosses at 54 seconds. 
 
15:50 CEST      Van Huffel, Eltink, Parra, Bettini 
  and another rider are at 1'05. Then Sutherland and Lopez at 1'32, then Wegelius 
  and Miholjevic at 1'50, Casar and Andrle at 1'53. Then the peloton, which catches 
  Tosatto, Moletta and Baranowski at the top at 2'30. 
15:55 CEST    166km/57km to go  Rujano and Gil are 
  now together, after Rujano waited a bit on the descent. Two leaders, with Bettini's 
  group at about 20 seconds. 
16:00 CEST    168km/55km to go  The cooperation is 
  really poor in front of the race. They'll never get to the finish. Rujano and 
  Gil have now been caught, and we have a group with: Jose Rujano Guillen and 
  Ivan Parra (Selle Italia), Koldo Gil Perez (Liberty Seguros), Paolo Bettini 
  (Quick.Step), Evgeni Petrov (Lampre) Wim Van Huffel (Davitamon-Lotto), Theo 
  Eltink (Rabobank), Charly Wegelius (Liquigas), Joaquin Rodriguez (Saunier Duval).    
  Then there's a chase group with Casar, Baranowski, Ivanov, Miholjevic and Sutherland.    
  The cooperation is pretty ordinary in the peloton too. They've sat up. Who's 
  going to chase? Panaria? Lampre? Petrov is in the front group, so Lampre doesn't 
  have to do much.     
16:03 CEST    173km/50km to go  The leaders have 
  50 km to go as a few Lampre riders - Marius Sabaliauskas and Gorazd Stangelj 
  - get to the front of the peloton. There's also a Discovery and Cofidis rider 
  there. O'Grady is in the main peloton.    1'00 between the two front 
  groups, with the peloton at around 3'00. 
16:06 CEST    174km/49km to go  The peloton is getting 
  more organised now with the two Lampres in front, then one each from Discovery 
  and Cofidis, then a couple from CSC.    The leading nine have 3'35 to 
  the main bunch now, with the chase group of six - Sutherland (Rabobank), Lopez 
  (Euskaltel), Casar (FDJ), Baranowski (Liberty), Miholjevic (Liquigas), Ivanov 
  (Domina Vacanze) - at 1'00-ish. 
16:08 CEST      Basso has a bit of a joke with Selle 
  from Panaria. They're not riding that hard yet.    The temperature is 
  16 degrees at the moment. There's a lot of grey cloud cover.    Wegelius 
  is now at 156/194 (80%), and he knows it. 
16:11 CEST      We spoke to Lotto's Nick Gates this 
  morning before the start. Gates has been doing a good job for his teammate McEwen 
  up until now, but he had a bit of a scare yesterday when he crashed at 50 km 
  to go, and took the skin off under his thigh (somehow). "I had a big one. I 
  had to get back up and ride at the front. I'm a bit sore today I can tell you," 
  said Gates.    His director Allan Peiper added, "I was right behind 
  him. He hit this rock, and went straight up in the air. He was soaring through 
  the air, like he was flying, come down and hit the gutter. And another bloke 
  landed on the top of him." 
16:12 CEST    176km/47km to go  The Casar/Baranowski 
  six man push is now at 1'35 from the nine leaders. They ain't coming back. The 
  peloton is at 3'28. Steady. 
16:15 CEST      Stangelj and Sabaliauskas have been 
  the main riders working in the peloton to try to get the front group back.     
  In front, Bettini (maglia rosa), asks for some help from Lampre's Petrov, who 
  is probably under orders not to work with the race leader. The two Selle Italia 
  riders, Parra and Rujano, are working hard though, because they have a decent 
  chance of winning today. It you take Bettini out of the equation :-) 
16:17 CEST      In front, Rodriguez attacks, and 
  his heart rate goes from 160 to 176 (max of 195) in quick time. It's uphill 
  now, but this is not a classified climb. 
16:19 CEST      A couple of Liquigas riders have 
  moved to near the front of the peloton behind the two Lampres, probably to start 
  things moving for Di Luca. Despite having Wegelius in front, Liquigas will probably 
  want to bring the break back because Bettini's going to be hard to beat.    
  In any case, Joaquin Rodriguez (Saunier Duval) is leading the race at the moment. 
  He's on 168/196, while Wegelius is on 147/194. It's harder on your own. 
16:22 CEST    181km/42km to go  Peloton still at 
  3'30, but now just one minute behind the second chase group with Baranowski 
  and Casar.    There's a bit of action in the first chase group behind 
  Rodriguez, as Eltink and Bettini stir things up. Bettini goes again in pursuit 
  of Parra. Wegelius on his wheel. It comes together. Still eight riders chasing.    
  Aha, now Liquigas is working in front of the peloton. 
16:24 CEST    182km/41km to go  Eltink attacks the 
  Bettini group, and there's a reaction.     Behind, the Baranowski/Casar/Miholjevic/Sutherland/Ivanov/Lopez 
  group is caught by the peloton, led by Liquigas' green team. Benoît Joachim 
  (Discovery) is in third wheel, then Vasseur (Cofidis).    Nine leaders 
  now. 
16:26 CEST    183km/40km to go  Rodriguez goes under 
  the 40 km to go banner, which is at the top of the climb. The Bettini group 
  is about 25 seconds back. 
16:28 CEST    185km/38km to go  Joaquin Rodriguez 
  hammers on the descent, and tries to hold off the group behind him. The peloton 
  is hurting en masse, as Beloki moves up towards the front. Haven't seen much 
  of him lately. He's working for his teammates in this Giro, especially Scarponi, 
  with a view to the Tour and beyond.    Miholjevic, Andriotto and Milesi 
  are the men working for Liquigas. 
16:29 CEST      The peloton is at 3'12 at the top 
  of the climb. 
16:30 CEST    188km/35km to go  Rodriguez continues 
  to drive it down a steady descent, on slightly wet roads. There are a few spots 
  of rain. He goes under 35 km to go with 26 seconds on Bettini's chase group 
  of eight, which is as organised as it's ever going to be, i.e. not very. 
16:31 CEST      In the Bettini group, no-one can 
  really decide who is meant to work. Wegelius looks back - he doesn't want to 
  work, as his team is chasing hard on the front of the peloton! 
16:32 CEST      The Bettini group moseys along around 
  a few hairpins, with the two Selle Italias trying to keep some momentum going. 
  33 seconds to Rodriguez, who is on 144/195. Doing it easy on the descent. 
16:33 CEST    191km/32km to go  It's a fairly sinuous 
  descent. Tortuous even. The rain is coming down a little harder but Rodriguez 
  isn't too bothered. That'll make it harder to chase. 
16:35 CEST      Rodriguez now has 40 seconds on Bettini's 
  group (Bettini, Rujano, Parra, Gil, Petrov, Van Huffel, Eltink, Wegelius) and 
  3'00 on the bunch. 
16:37 CEST      Now it's slippery for Rodriguez, 
  who crosses a train track and is at the bottom of the descent. Now it goes uphill 
  again. So simple is it.  
16:38 CEST    192km/31km to go  Bettini leads his 
  group to the bottom of the descent and up the final climb. The gap is 36 seconds 
  to the leader, with the peloton slowly closing at 2'48. Bettini, if he has the 
  legs, will want to close the gap on this climb. 
16:39 CEST    193km/30km to go  Joaquin Rodriguez 
  goes under the 30 km to go banner, getting into his rhythm on this fairly small 
  climb. The chasers, led by maglia rosa Bettini, are at 45 seconds.  
16:44 CEST      The peloton is in one long line now 
  as it reaches the last climb. Prologue winner Brett Lancaster (Panaria) is still 
  there, but a long way back. Lancaster also crashed in the fourth stage, as he 
  explained to his this morning: "I crashed, yes, and hurt my knee. I'll just 
  have to see what happens. I was in the big crash at 10km to go. But that's cycling. 
  It only hurts when I pedal.    "The muscles are badly bruised, and I 
  have a cut knee. I'll just try to get through it. It was a great day for our 
  team yesterday (with Mazzanti's win), but I really feel sorry for Cookie. It's 
  a shame for Cookie because he definitely had the legs. Mazzanti said he didn't 
  see it, he had his head down. He heard it but didn't see it." 
16:46 CEST    195km/28km to go  Milesi, Miholjevic 
  and Andriotto are driving the peloton on this final climb up from Fontecchio. 
  The rain has stopped, but it could start again at any moment. Plenty of riders 
  are being shelled now, and it looks like Brian Vandborg (CSC) is one of the 
  last in a group.    Rodriguez is riding in his big chainring with a 
  42 second lead on Bettini's group, and 2'40 to the peloton. He definitely has 
  a good chance of winning today. He's really hurting now. 
16:48 CEST    197km/26km to go  Rodriguez goes through 
  the centre of Fontecchio on a road that's about 2m wide. That's going to be 
  interesting for the peloton. The chasers have closed it to 20 seconds or so. 
16:49 CEST    198km/25km to go  It's all Liquigas, 
  all the time in the main bunch as Joaquin Rodriguez gets to 25 km to go. He's 
  pedaling in rectangles, and the chasers are just 14 seconds behind him.     
  The bunch is through Fontecchio, safely. 
16:51 CEST    199km/24km to go  At 25 km to go, Liquigas 
  tows the peloton through at 1'23. Oh dear. Now there are six Liquigas men in 
  front, with Cioni and Di Luca there. I think it'll be another Di Luca / Cunego 
  battle today. 
16:52 CEST    200km/23km to go  In the chase group, 
  Van Huffel does a big turn and flicks the elbow to ask Wegelius to come through. 
  But the Brit doesn't, as he is under orders from his team. Instead it'sBettini 
  leading them.     Rodriguez is caught at 23.56 km to go. All that breakaway 
  time gone down the sink.    Rodriguez is back to 142/195, while Wegelius 
  is at 156/196. 
16:53 CEST      In response to a reader, yes we do 
  have Yoda on hand to dish out words of wisdom. Probably a hang over from the 
  garden gnome phenomenon that we had the other day. 
16:54 CEST    202km/21km to go  The peloton is still 
  quite large - well over 100 riders. Matt White is at the back, signaling for 
  a drink or three. He'll be trying to help Stuey today. 
16:56 CEST    204km/19km to go  Di Luca looks good 
  as he sits behind his green train. It looks like Petacchi and McEwen have survived 
  too, but we're not 100 percent sure.     The nine man break is at 0'43 
  with 20 km to go. Bettini's probably a bit annoyed at that.    The sun 
  comes out! 
16:57 CEST      Wegelius gives Petrov a push in the 
  break as Eltink and Parra attack! 
16:58 CEST    205km/18km to go  Two riders are chasing 
  them, looks like Gil is one of them. Petrov is the other. Four leaders.    
  Seven Liquigas riders in front of the bunch. Joachim and Barry move Savoldelli 
  up. Di Luca chats to Sacchi. 
17:00 CEST      Parra, Eltink, Gil and Petrov are 
  the leaders now with the peloton in full flight behind them, at 37 seconds. 
  Bettini and the rest of the break have been caught. 
17:01 CEST    208km/15km to go  Now Wegelius is working 
  in the peloton, as the long green train gets going. They just need to catch 
  these four leaders and lead out Di Luca for the victory. Again, so simple is 
  it. 
17:02 CEST    209km/14km to go  CSC is also near 
  the front of the peloton, working for Basso of course. At 15 km to go, it's 
  still a good 40 seconds. Basso is getting advice from Peron on the finish. 
17:04 CEST    210km/13km to go  Cunego moves up in 
  the peloton as Bettini takes Di Luca's wheel. That's probably a good spot to 
  be. It's very tight, with riders extremely close to each other. Zanini cruises 
  up next to Simoni. Wiggins also there. It's 42 seconds. The four are doing well. 
17:06 CEST    212km/11km to go  Petacchi is in the 
  bunch too of course. Can he survive the finishing climb into l'Aquila? Hmm, 
  probably not.     Liquigas is working a bit harder now. No help from 
  any of the other teams. 
17:07 CEST      In the break, Petrov does a strong 
  turn, then Eltink. Parra rolls through next, followed by Gil. Then it starts 
  again.     The Liquigas train hasn't done much damage to the break - 
  it's still 40 seconds. Now CSC moves up. 
17:09 CEST    215km/8km to go  It's 38 seconds with 
  10 km to go. CSC and Liquigas are working, as other teams just move their riders 
  to the front without actually contributing.    Crash - Nardello is down. 
  And another Euskaltel. And a Phonak. Euskaltel's David Lopez, who was in the 
  early break, is down, but he's at least moving. Might have broken something. 
  Nardello is cut up but he's standing. He gets a spare bike and doesn't look 
  too happy about riding it.    Lopez is lying on his side in the gutter, 
  as the ambulance pulls up.  
17:10 CEST    215.5km/7.5km to go  The leaders still 
  have 38 seconds with 8 km to go. No, now it's 30 seconds.    Looks like 
  Lopez is out of the race. Bad luck for the Orange Team again. 
17:11 CEST    216km/7km to go  CSC and Discovery 
  have brought some fresh blood into the chase. That's knocked a bit of time off. 
17:12 CEST    216.5km/6.5km to go  CSC drives hard 
  and now Fassa puts two men up there. Is that Bruseghin? Maybe Petacchi is feeling 
  ok. Peron doing a turn, then Blaudzun and Sacchi.    25 seconds as the 
  leaders start to climb up to L'Aquila.    Sascha Urweider was also in 
  the fall. 
17:12 CEST    217km/6km to go  The leaders are losing 
  time to the CSC chase. The bunch is big, probably 80 riders. 15 seconds. It'll 
  be over soon. 
17:13 CEST    218km/5km to go  Blaudzun does a big 
  turn in front and pulls off. The leaders have 6 seconds at 5 km to go. They're 
  riding at 50 km/h now. 
17:14 CEST    219km/4km to go  It's over. Gruppo 
  compatto with 4 km left. Parra tries on his own, but he'll just put himself 
  into complete oxygen debt for the sake of his sponsors. He lasts 30 seconds. 
  CSC is mashing the peloton. Basso is in fourth wheel. 
17:15 CEST      Petacchi's in about 10th wheel, ahead 
  of Di Luca. Mazzanti is there, and Cunego, Leukemans, Bettini, Cioni, Pozzato. 
17:16 CEST    220km/3km to go  3 km and it's one 
  long line as CSC keeps its position at the top of the peloton. But they're running 
  out of men - just two left. 
17:16 CEST    221km/2km to go  Panaria has two men 
  - Mazzanti and Tiralongo.    Rodriguez is toddling along at 105, so 
  he's probably not in the peloton any more. 
17:17 CEST      Tiralongo leads the bunch up to 1.5 
  km. Then a Rabo rider hammers - Sentjens, with Valjavec on his wheel.  
17:18 CEST    222km/1km to go  Mazzanti in third 
  wheel now as Sentjens pulls off at one km to go. Now Liquigas takes over. Di 
  Luca in third wheel. The next 500m is steep. 
17:18 CEST      Ventoso attacks but can't get much 
  of a gap. Kessler and Valjavec are there, then Di Luca. 
17:19 CEST      We can forget the sprinters as Kessler 
  and Valjavec lead to 500m left. Then Di Luca.  
17:20 CEST    223km/0km to go  Di Luca chases a Fassa 
  rider on the right, gets around him, and wins the stage!! Bruseghin was second, 
  Ardila third, followed by Leukemans. Ouch, what a painful sprint. 
17:21 CEST      Di Luca takes the maglia rosa. Bettini 
  will drop down to second, as he was right up there in the finale. 
17:28 CEST      That's all from our commentary dirigible, 
  the Hindenburg IV, today. We'll be back in a bit with full results, report 
  and pics, and plenty of post race comments from our man on the spot, John Trevorrow. 
  Until then! 
Results
Provisional
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                     6.01.18
2 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo                              
3 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Davitamon-Lotto           0.02
4 Bjoern Leukemans (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto                       
5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC   
6 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                         
7 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                        
8 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team      
9 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Credit Agricole                         
10 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                   
11 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems                  
12 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Credit Agricole                     
13 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears                          
14 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir                 
15 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Rabobank                              
16 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team             
General classification after stage 5
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                    26.20.55
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick.Step                               0.03
3 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare                0.25
4 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                     0.28
5 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                          0.30
6 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi                      0.36
7 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Davitamon-Lotto           0.37
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team            0.51
9 Mirko Celestino (Ita) Domina Vacanze                         0.56
10 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita                          
  
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