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Di Luca takes day: Rosa and stage

'The Killer' profits from Saunier's efforts

By Gregor Brown and Tim Maloney

Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Danilo Di Luca controlled the finale of stage 12 into Briançon, attacking an elite group of five twice in the final kilometre. His last jab distanced his rivals and he won ahead of a re-emerging Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir) and a stunning Andy Schleck (Team CSC). With the powerful efforts of a strong Saunier Duval many of the favourites were distanced, including previous race leader Andrea Noè, allowing Di Luca to also take the race leader's Maglia Rosa.

"I did not know the descent [of Izoard] and I did not want to risk it. Then others re-entered and I did not want to push harder," said Di Luca, who chose to save his final strike for the short blast to Briançon.

Already knowing the race leadership would be his, 'The Killer' hunted for the stage victory as the parcours kicked upwards in the final 1300 metres to Briançon's Citadelle. Simoni led Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) and Eddy Mazzoleni (Astana) when Di Luca first launched at 900 metres to go. The fifth of five riders, Schleck, immediately latched onto Di Luca's wheel.

"I went at 900 metres to go for the win and to try to distance the others but it did not work." Schleck and then Simoni clawed their way back on to Di Luca's wheel. The 31 year-old rider led the duo over the medieval streets, and following two bridge crossings he powered off the front starting at -450m on a tight fan-packed pavé section.

Simoni was able to remount and vie for the sprint while 21 year-old came in a few seconds later, splendid in the Maglia Bianca of best young rider.

"The giro is still open," continued Di Luca, who has both the Maglia Rosa and the best climber's Maglia Verde. "My advantages are not earth-shaking. ... I hope I will go well in the next week."

Luxemburger Andy Schleck now sits fourth overall, 1'25" behind Di Luca, after finishing with the favourites. The almost unknown rider, younger brother of Fränk, is now emerging as an overall threat. "Schleck is going well, he also goes will in the time trials so I will have to continue to monitor him," noted the Italian, fourth in the 2005 Giro. "Today, what was important is that we narrowed down the classification."

He reflected on Saunier's strength over the Agnello and Izoard, "I was afraid at the beginning on Agnello because [Saunier's Leonardo] Piepoli was nailing the pace and he was really going strong. If he continued like that I don't know what I would have done."

Simoni leads Schleck
Photo ©: Sirotti

Schleck played down his dominance after arriving at the end of the 163-kilometre stage. "I was not here to win but I am happy with how it went today," noted the only non-Italian from the winning group. "I was there with Simoni and Di Luca on the final pavé in to Briançon."

Regarding the next week, he said, "I still have the legs I will try again for a win in the coming stages. However, I have to try from far out because I don't have the legs for last minute bursts."

Damiano Cunego is one that normally has the legs speed for such bursts, however, today he was seen yo-yoing at the back of the favourites' gruppo. He finished with the front five but hopes to his form improves over the coming days, which includes the Oropa mountain TT, tomorrow, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Sunday, and Monte Zoncolan, Wednesday.

"Today, and also in the previous days, Danilo showed that he is brilliant," said Kid Cunego. "But we are on the first of the big mountains. ... I did not go badly. I am still lacking a little bit but I hope in the next days to go better. There are truly some grand climbs coming in this grand Giro, so, we will see."

Mazzoleni showed incredible strength for such a big framed rider. It was him that shepherded Cunego to his 2004 Giro win, and, thanks to team captain Paolo Savoldelli cracking, he was able to continue on his own. The rider from Bergamo my not be able to take the top step of the podium but he could vie for one of its two neighbours.

Schleck and Mazzoleni
Photo ©: Sirotti

Distanced but strong in the first of the big mountain days was Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo). The 2000 Giro Champ fought back leg pains on the Col d'Izoard but held his own to finish solo in sixth.

"I had cramps on the beginning of the climb, and in the last kilometre the cramps became stronger," noted the bald headed rider from Varese. "It was a very hard day but I battled with the big champions, and in regards to the previous two days I feel great."

He commented on his former teammate, Di Luca, "He is strong but we will have to wait for the Zoncolan."

2002 and 2005 Giro Winner, Savoldelli, suffered today, and he was already out of the race's picture with nine kilometres to go to the top of the Colle dell'Agnello (-70km to the line).

"My legs felt like they were not going," noted the rider in his Bergamasco accent. "The pace seemed so strong and I just felt like I could not go."

He was bothered from yesterday's finish line crash and, knowing his form, told Mazzoleni to ride ahead. "Even this morning I thought about not riding. After a crash like that you need a couple of days to recover. I hope in the next days to go better; we will see. ... I told Mazzoleni to stay up front and make his own race and that I would look after myself."

How it unfolded

Yoann Le Boulanger (Bouygues Telecom) and Christophe Riblon (Ag2r Prévoyance)
Photo ©: Sirotti

The Alps on the Italian/French border were looming in the dusk to the west of Scalenghe as stage 12 of the 90th Giro d'Italia started to confront the first major climbs of the race. 177 riders departed at 12:15, with US Champion Hincapie (Discovery Channel), Aitor Hernández (Euskaltel-Euskadi), and sprinters Frosi Förster (Gerolsteiner) and Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) non-starters.

Perhaps lonesome for their homeland of France on the other side of the mountains two French riders got away after 14 kilometres near Cavour in the farmland west of Torino. Yoan Le Boulanger (Bouygues Telecom) and Christophe Riblon (Ag2r Prévoyance) headed off the front and there was no interest in the break from the gruppo.

By Brosassco, after 55 kilometres, the lead had soared to 17'30", placing Le Boulangerin the virtual lead. In the Gruppo Maglia Rosa, no one was worried as the race unfolded. Saunier Duval was riding hard tempo with 'Litu' Gómez on the front to put the pressure on Liquigas' Di Luca as the first slopes of the 21-kilometre ascent of the Colle dell'Agnello and Cima Coppi.

At the Garibaldi sprint in Sampeyre, after 70 kilometres, Le Boulanger took the sprint with the Gruppo Maglia Rosa, led by the yellow of Saunier Duval 16'10" behind.

The status quo remained up the first half of the Colle dell'Agnello, and as the road steepened with nine kilometres to go, Boulanger was still in the lead but solo, having dropped Riblon, who was 1'30" behind, with the Gruppo Maglia Rosa at 13'.

Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval-Prodir)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Behind the two breakaway riders, Cofidis rider Ivan Parra tried to attack from the Gruppo Maglia Rosa, but Saunier Duval just cranked it up a notch and rode him down. Saunier Duval's strategy of making the race hard from the get-go was paying off, as Riccò was climbing beautifully and his pace at the front had ripped apart the Gruppo Maglia Rosa. Boulanger was hanging on out front, as Riccò was raging; out the back of the Gruppo Maglia Rosa were both Savoldelli and Popovych, who were suffering from yesterday's finish line crash, and Maglia Rosa Noè was hurting too.

At six kilometres to go to the summit of the Colle dell'Agnello, Riccò seemed to crack and dropped off the pace, with Piepoli taking over on the front with teammate Simoni on his wheel and Cunego and Di Luca just behind, with just Mazzoleni, Schleck and a surprising Garzelli left in the first chase group.

As David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) slid back, David Zabriskie (Team CSC) had bridged up with Parra, but Piepoli's diabolical pace was killing everybody. At five kilometres to go on the steep ascent it was still the Leo Piepoli show, as he led Simoni, Cunego, Di Luca, Mazzoleni and Schleck, as Garzelli had been gapped by Piepoli's accelerations out of the hairpin turns.

The huge crowds that lined the climb on the lower slopes had thinned out somewhat as the racers left the tree line behind. The temperatures had dropped to the single digits and a strong cold wind had whipped up on the cloud shrouded summit. Le Boulanger was struggling mightily to make it over Cima Coppi, with his former break companion Riblon at three minutes and the Simoni group four kilometres behind at 10'30". Garzelli followed the gruppo Simoni at 15", Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Parra at 30", Panaria climbers Emanuele Sella and Domenico Pozzovivo at 1'30", while Popovych had dropped off this group at 1'45". Riccò was at 2'15", while Savoldelli was at 2'30" with Luis Felipe Laverde (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) and Alessandro Spezialetti (Liquigas).

In the last kilometre, Piepoli accelerated a few times to keep Garzelli from coming back but at the 2744-metre summit, after 102 kilometres of racing, Garzelli made it back, with Nibali at 1'15", then Zabriskie at 1'30", and a 12-man group containing Sella, Pozzovivo, Arroyo, Wegelius and others at 1'50". That group of 12 then caught Zabriskie as the descent began, with Popovych chasing hard behind.

The Savoldelli group was at 3'30" with Maglia Rosa Noè at 4'05". Popovych was on the attack on the descent trying to take back time and dumped Riccò and Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank) and managed to get back to the Sella group, while Arroyo and Wim Van Huffel (Predictor-Lotto), who had crashed early on the descent had come back to make a four-man second chase group.

At the base of the Colle dell'Agnello descent with 37 kilometres to race, in Chateau Queyras, before the right turn up the southern face of the evocative Col d'Izoard, Le Boulanger was still up front with Riblon at 3'00", the Simoni group at 5'15", with Parra chasing hard at 6'38", Nibali chasing alone at 6'50", the Sella/Wegelius/Popovych group at 7'50", the Riccò/Rasmussen/Rubiera group at 8'30", while at 9'30", the Gruppo Maglia Rosa included Noè, Savoldelli and his Astana teammate Andrey Mizourov.

Cunego
Photo ©: Sirotti

As the legendary 14.2-kilometre ascent of the evocative Col d'Izoard, Saunier Duval's Leo Piepoli was still hammering at the front of his group as the others could just hang on the ascent that averaged 7.1%. Behind Piepoli was old fox Gibo Simoni, who was just waiting for the right moment to attack Di Luca and Cunego. As Ag2r's Riblon was absorbed and spit out by the first chase group, Simoni dropped back to talk with his diesse Pietro Algeri.

Le Boulanger was still hanging on 2'30" up the road and after Gibo's chat, it was time for the games to begin. With 11 kilometres still to climb, Saunier Duval sent Piepoli up the road to test the legs of the others as Simoni sat back to see who still had juice left. Schleck was right there, and was Di Luca, but Garzelli and above all Cunego showed they were suffering with their slow reactions. The Sella/Bruseghin gruppo had become the second chase at 2'40", with Riccò/Rasmussen group another minute back, and the Gruppo Maglia Rosa containing Noè and Savoldelli at 5'00" behind the Simoni group.

As the climb up the Izoard steepened in Brunissard, with 28 kilometres to go, Piepoli's pace finally popped Garzelli. Piepoli dropped off the pace and halfway up the Izoard.

The race situation saw Le Boulanger still in the lead, with the Simoni group at 2'00", then a big chase group that had formed with Sella, Pozzovivo, Bruseghin at 3'00". On a steep pitch of the Izoard, Simoni attacked, and Cunego got across, then a kilometre later Simoni went again and Di Luca covered this move.

Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo)
Photo ©: Sirotti

At six kilometres to go to the summit of the Col d'Izoard and less than 30 kilometres to race, on the steep hairpins through one of the most difficult sections of the ascent, Le Boulanger was still 1'00" ahead of the five strong Simoni group, with Garzelli chasing at 40" and the second chase group at 3'00" and Popovych struggling in no mans land at 4'00" ahead of the Gruppo Maglia Rosa at 6'00".

The crowds that lined the Col d'Izoard, including Didi "Devil" Senft, and with 4.5 kilometres remaining Simoni went again and Di Luca covered his move, as Cunego was finally popped and dropped. After 125 kilometres off the front, the courageous Le Boulanger was caught by the chase group with 3.5 kilometres to go on the ascent.

Through the eerie lunar landscape, with the overcast spitting a few drops of rain and snow, of the Casse Desert past the monument to Fausto Coppi and Loiuson Bobet, the sprit of Marco Pantani was strong as Di Luca was leading the race, with Cunego and Le Boulanger chasing 15" behind and Garzelli hanging tough at 1'00".

The Bruseghin led chase group was chasing well at 2'00" and after the spectacular traverse of the Casse Desert, there was still 1.5 kilometres left to climb and as the rain began falling harder. Suddenly Di Luca attacked hard off the front and left the others standing still.

At the 2360-metre summit of the Col d'Izoard, Di Luca took the GPM with Schleck, Simoni and Mazzoleni at 13" Cunego at 25" and fading, while Garzelli was going all out at 1'44" to stay ahead of the Bruseghin group at 2'40", with Pellizotti at 3'45", gruppo Savoldelli at 5'40", a suffering Popovych struggling at 7'30" and the Gruppo Maglia Rosa of Noè at 8'30".

On the steep descent to finish in Briançon, Simoni's superb descending skills enabled him to bring everyone across to Di Luca and Cunego had gotten back on quickly so there were now five riders together up front with 15 kilometres to go. Garzelli had made up some time.

The Giro riders were descending the wide open descent at over 100km/hr towards Briançon and the steep final ascent to the Citadelle. The gutsy Le Boulanger had managed to descend fast enough to join Garzelli on the road to Briançon with 10 kilometres to race.

As the descent finished and the front runners hit Briançon with two kilometres to race, they passed through the lower town, then turned onto the final steep ramp to Citadelle and passed under the one kilometre to go kite. Garzelli and Le Boulanger were together but the Italian then rode away from the French rider. Up front, Di Luca attacked on the steep ramp at 900 metres and Schleck came across to him.

It was like a replay of Liège-Bastogne-Liège for a moment as both made the right hand turn into the Citadelle, with Simoni following. Di Luca went again on the steep narrow pavé road through the old town of Briançon, as Simoni then surged past Schleck in pursuit. Gibo gave it his all to get past Di Luca but the Liquigas rider was just too strong for him and won his second stage in the 2007 Giro d'Italia and took over the Maglia Rosa from his teammate Andrea Noè.

Mazzoleni and Cunego came in at 15", Garzelli dumped Le Boulanger in the last kilometre in Briançon and finished 6th at 2'17", while the courageous French rider merited a "chapeau" as he was 7th on the stage at 2'33", just holding off Saunier Duval's Riccò and Lampre's Marzio Bruseghin, who held on to his second place on GC.

Discovery Channel's Yaro Popovych had a bad day after his crash yesterday and lost over 7'00", thus ending his chances of Giro d'Italia overall glory for 2007.

Kisses
Photo ©: Sirotti

Danilo Di Luca traded his Maglia Verde of Best Climber for the Maglia Rosa, with Marzio Bruseghin of Lampre-Fondital in second and Caisse d'Epargne's David Arroyo maintained third, while Team CSC's Best Young Rider Andy Schleck moved to fourth on GC.

Lampre-Fondital's Patxi Vila is now fifth, just ahead of his team leader Damiano Cunego, so Lampre-Fondital will still have some cards to play for Cunego in the upcoming mountain stages of the Giro. Ceramica Panaria-Navigare's climber Emanuele Sella moved up to seventh, as crafty three time Giro winner Gibo Simoni of Saunier Duval-Prodir is now eighth, just 2'34" behind Di Luca.

Although it's clear that Danilo Di Luca is the strongest man in this years Giro d'Italia, his Liquigas team left him alone today while Simoni's Saunier Duval-Prodir was very strong. Di Luca wanted to wrap up the Giro d'Italia in Briançon but he is still only halfway there.

Stage 13 - Friday, May 25: Biella - Santuario Di Oropa (Mountain TT), 12.6 km

Short, steep and tough, Friday's uphill time test from the textile city famous for Ermengildo Zegna's fine wool fabrics will be unlucky for some riders after Thursday's tough mountain stage. Uphill all the way, Stage 13 gains 734m at an average grade of 5.8% and the steepest pitches of 13%.

This is a tough climb but the short distance will limit the time differences between the Giro contenders, and it's a perfect opportunity for Cunego and Simoni to take some time back from Di Luca if they can. Watch out for 21 year-old Andy Schleck to make his mark in the uphill TT as well.

Stage 8 - Sunday, May 20: Barberino Di Mugello - Fiorano Modenese, 200 km

Arvesen victorious among many breakaway companions

Pink Pinotti barely keeps lead

By Gregor Brown and Tim Maloney

Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team CSC)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Kurt-Asle Arvesen grabbed success from an escape group of 22 riders in the eighth stage of the 2007 Giro d'Italia. The Norwegian CSC rider hooked on to World Champ Paolo Bettini's (Quickstep-Innergetic) wheel in the final 500 metres to capture a last minute dash by Emanuele Sella (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare). Marco Pinotti's T-Mobile had to work extremely hard to conserve the race lead but the team, thanks to the helping-hand of Saunier Duval, was able to keep the Maglia Rosa on the shoulders of its leader by 28 seconds.

The escape that formed by kilometre 49 worked smoothly all day until its dynamics fell apart in the final kilometres. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r Prévoyance) opened up a gap that was followed by Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff Credit Systems) and then Emanuele Sella (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare). The latter kept going and looked to have a serious chance of winning the stage in Fiorano Modenese.

But it was the World Champion himself who reacted with less than five hundred metres remaining. Tagged by Arvesen, he immediately picked up Brutt and had the punchy Sella in his sites. Sella was smacked down with only 150 metres remaining, and at the same time, Arvesen started his sprint on Bettini's right. He continued his charge and nipped the Italian at the line.

"Today went very well," said the 32 year-old Arvesen after the stage win. "The team tried to get into an escape. Once in the escape, I think that the riders rode well together."

Regarding Bettini, he added, "I am sorry for him, but he wins a lot but I can only win every four years." It was his second win in the Corsa Rosa; his first one came exactly four years ago, on May 20.

Bettini seems to be getting better by the day and maybe tomorrow, when the race enters his home region of Tuscany, he will go one better. He showed an amazing turn of speed when he jumped to reel in Sella.

"I feel better than three days ago, but it is too bad that... Nothing," Bettini said with disappointed. "I knew the finale would be hard and that the others would watch me. It goes like that. ... I went at 150 metres but Kurt-Asle Arvesen is a great sprinter."

Controversy reigned early on in the race when Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Prodir) was part of the escape that formed on the backside of Passo della Futa. The rider from Formigine, near the stage finish, came under fire from his escape companions who believe his move would ruin the their chances of staying clear to the line.

Riccò and Gibo
Photo ©: Sirotti

"He was too close in the overall, also the young riders' classification. So we could not go on with him," said Arvesen after the finish.

"There were some 20 riders in that escape and there was not much agreement," Riccò recalled. "My directeur told me to come back and be with my captain Simoni." Riccò initially refused to talk when he crossed the finish line, but team captain Gilberto Simoni indicated that there was an order for him to return from the break to the peloton. "I decided on my own to come back; the riders in general did not want me in that escape," Riccò tried to clarify.

Due to the absence of a Saunier rider and several Liquigas and Lampre men up front, the yellow squad was forced to pull for the majority of the day. "I made a mistake to go back to the group," Riccò said.

Saunier Duval also got help from T-Mobile, who was desperate to save the Maglia Rosa of Pinotti. Andrea Noè (Liquigas) was the major threat in the escape as he started the day only 4'38" down on the race leader. Pinotti himself was pulling in the final kilometres to conserve race leadership.

"I saved the maglia thanks to my teammates," said the 31 year-old from Bergamo. "Bernucci, Merckx, Olson, and the others all did well, but we can't work like this again tomorrow."

How it unfolded

Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile)
Photo ©: Sirotti

On another beautiful late spring day, 185 riders departed Barberino di Mugello at noon for a 200-kilometre stage to the other side of the Apennine Mountains, with Bouygues rider Thomas Voeckler a non-starter.

There was a fast start up to the first GPM atop the Passo della Futa after 13 kilometres, won by Panaria's pocket climber Lele Selle ahead of Zampieri and Caucchioli. Then it was "la bagarre", constant attacks across the hilly heart of the Apennine Mountains. After 24 kilometres near Baragazzo, Predictor's big Dario Cioni struck out on his own and this provoked a major chase behind him that eventually put a big break of 27 riders up front.

After the first hour of racing, the average speed was 34.4 km/hr and after 40 kilometres, the break had a few minutes lead, but it also had a potential winner of the Giro in Saunier Duval's Riccardo Riccò and this was a problem for the "senatori", experienced riders like World Champion Bettini and Lampre's Marzio Bruseghin who wanted the break to succeed.

The other riders started to work over Riccò buy leaving gaps and trying to get him out of the break. Eventually Riccò got the message from the others and his direttore sportivo Pietro Algeri told him to come back, so he dropped backed to the gruppo on the descent to Porretta Terme after 55 kilometres with Tiralongo, Codol, Perget and Wegelius, while Cyrille Monnerais (Française Des Jeux) abandoned.

Saunier and T-Mobile
Photo ©: Sirotti

At Porretta Terme after 61 kilometres, the big escape of 22 riders was leading the gruppo maglia rosa at 4'15". The front-runners were Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Team CSC), Paolo Bettini (Quickstep-Innergetic), Assan Bazayev, Serguei Yakovlev (Astana), Evgeni Petrov, Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff Credit Systems), Dionisio Galparsoro (Euskaltel-Euskadi), George Hincapie, José Luis Rubiera (Discovery Channel), Alessandro Spezialetti, Andrea Noè (Liquigas), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r Prévoyance), Emanuele Sella (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare), David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne), Alexandr Arekeev (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo), Marzio Bruseghin, Patxi Vila, Marco Marzano (Lampre-Fondital), William Walker (Rabobank), Francis Mourey (Française Des Jeux), Mario Aerts, Dario Cioni (Predictor-Lotto).

Best placed on GC in the break was the oldest rider in the race, 38 year-old Andrea Noè, in fifth place at 4'47". Both Noè and Spezialetti were not working in the break to save themselves in the future for Liquigas leader Di Luca, while World Champion Bettini was driving the break hard on the front.

On paper, the fastest man in the break was Kazakh sprinter Bazayev, with Bettini, Hincapie, and cyclo-cross specialist Mourey also having a strong final kick, but there would also be attacks by strong riders like Brutt, Arekeev and Arvesen. GC riders like Noè, Cioni, Petrov, Nocentini and perhaps Chechu Rubiera would gain time on their rivals.

At the day's second GPM in Sestola, after 101 kilometres, it was Panaria's pocket climber Sella who took the points again ahead of Vila and Walker with the Gruppo Maglia Rosa at 6'38" being driven by T-Mobile and Saunier Duval. After the descent to the valley, the lead after 75 kilometres to go was at 6'43" with T-Mobile and Saunier Duval still humping hard.

In Manaro sul Panaro with 52 kilometres to go, Lampre's climber Marco Marzano punctured but got back after a quick wheel change by ace mechanic Enrico Pengo.

The Ferrari HQ.
Photo ©: Sirotti

In Vignola, at the Garibaldi intermediate sprint with 47.5 kilometres to race, there was no sprint as Yakovlev passed over the line first. The gruppo maglia rosa was at 6'22", but the chase by T-Mobile and Saunier Duval, with Milram now helping, was closing the breakaway's lead down. With 30 kilometres to go, the escape made a left turn for a lap at the Ferrari test track in Fiorano with a lead of 5'15" and falling. Exiting the test track, the break began the final circuit of 24 kilometres around the local roads through ceramic city Sassuolo and the hometown of Riccardo Riccò, Formigine, with nine kilometres to go.

A gruppetto of Predictor riders including Robbie McEwen were 23 minutes behind. McEwen has had stomach problems for the last few days and was at risk of finishing outside the time limit on Stage 8. As the gruppo maglia rosa passed through the finish line, the desperate chase by T-Mobile and Saunier Duval had brought the gap back to 4'30" and the dreams of Noè to take the Maglia Rosa from were no longer.

Emanuele Sella (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Already there were sly looks among the escapees to see who would attack first, as the gruppo maglia rosa was still led by Pinotti's T-Mobile squad, 4'01" behind. T-Mobile's Bernucci had dropped off the pace after some major work, while T-Mobile's American Aaron Olsen was having a bad day and was in the sprinters gruppetto at more than 24 minutes.

As huge crowds lined the roads of the finishing circuit in cycling-mad Emilia, up front in the hostilities began when Brutt attacked with five kilometres and his move was covered by World Champion Paolo Bettini in person.

Next to have a go at four kilometres to go was Rabobank's young Aussie Willy Walker, who had a go but was covered by Spezialetti. Then the long legs of Predictor's Mario Aerts pumped the former winner of Flèche Wallonne to a 50-metre gap at three kilometres to go, but Discovery Channel's Rubiera rode him down. With two kilometres to race, it was the turn of Ag2r's Nocentini to shoot his shot, but the brute force of Brutt's counter behind him exploded the break in two as the Russian shot past Nocentini into the lead.

Once again, it was the terrible Tinkoffs who were making the Giro extra-exciting and Brutt entered the last kilometre with a 50-metre lead.

Suddenly an orange flash bridged up to Brutt with incredible speed and then jumped him 100 metres later. It was Panaria's pocket climber Sella who made a brilliant attack but started to run out of gas with 500 metres to go.

Paolo Bettini (Quickstep-Innergetic)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Behind Sella, World Champ Bettini was on the move, looking for a big stage win, and chased the Panaria man down. But CSC's Arvesen had read the final kilometre perfectly, stayed in contact with Bettini and when the World Champ made his move, Arvesen went with him. He made a perfect contropiede move to pass Bettini with 120m to go and take the victory in Stage 8; the Norwegian's second career stage win at the Giro d'Italia after his win in Faenza in 2003.

4'19" later, the Gruppo Maglia Rosa passed over the finish line led by Marco Pinotti, the Maglia Rosa himself, who had worked hard all day with his diminished team to save his race lead for another day. Finally, the curtain closed on the sprinters' gruppetto containing Robbie McEwen, who had been dropped on the first climb of the day 190-kilometre before, came in at 24'20", still with four minutes in hand for the time limit.

Stage 9 - Monday, May 21: Reggio nell'Emilia - Lido Di Camaiore, 177 km

Starting in the capital of Reggio Emilia province, Stage 9 heads west, up and over the Apennines, then south along the flat seacoast of the Tuscan Riviera to finish in the resort town of Lido di Camaiore, where Petacchi will be seeking another win to go along with his first place from 2004.

Giro 7: Petacchi takes second win on Mugello track

19/05/2007
Alessandro Petacchi won his second Giro stage after beating Thor Hushovd and Paolo Bettini in a bunch sprint on the Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia. Jeff Jones reports for procycling.com.

Milram delivered Alessandro Petacchi to pole position on the Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia as the Italian sprinter claimed his second stage win in this year's Giro. Petacchi had the perfect lead out from Brett Lancaster and Alberto Ongarato, and was able to hold off Thor Hushovd (Credit Agricole) and world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick.Step) to the finish. Overnight leader Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile) had few problems in today's stage, finishing comfortably in the pack to keep the maglia rosa.

From start to finish

At 254km, the seventh stage was easily the longest of the Giro. Starting in Spoleto, it featured just one climb, the 12.4km Valico Croce di Mori with 55km to go. It finished on the famous Mugello motor racing track in Scarperia.

It took nine kilometres before the break of the day was established, with four riders forming the move: Rubens Bertogliati (Saunier Duval-Prodir), Beñat Albizuri (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Fabien Patanchon (Française Des Jeux) and Elio Aggiano (Tinkoff Credit Systems). Albizuri was the best placed rider on GC but was 22'00 behind leader Marco Pinotti, so the breakaway group wasn't a big threat to the T-Mobile man and his team.

The quartet averaged 39km/h for the first three hours, passing from Umbria into Tuscany and reaching its maximum advantage of 11'30 after 125km in Montecchio. The fourth hour saw the average lift to 39.9km/h, but Predictor-Lotto had stepped on the gas in the bunch and pegged the group back to 7'30. The breakaways suffered on the Valico di Croce and were just a minute ahead of the peloton at the top, with Bertogliati taking the points ahead of Patanchon and Albizuri. Tinkoff's Aggiano was already dropped from the break, but the remaining three were caught just inside 40km to go.

The climb saw several sprinters lose contact with the peloton, including Thor Hushovd, Max van Heeswijk, Danilo Napolitano, Roberto Förster and Juan Jose Haedo. They were able to regain the main group with 20km to go, as Quick.Step powered away on the front for its world champion Paolo Bettini. Petacchi's Milram squad took advantage of this to save all its men for the finale, but Predictor-Lotto contributed a rider to the pace making.

After passing through Scarperia with 10km to go, the peloton reached the Mugello track with 5km left. Milram took over from Quick.Step and kept the pace high around the 15 bends that characterise the circuit. Salvatore Commesso (Tinkoff) attacked with 2km left to try to steal the stage, but was hauled back at the kilometre to go mark. Then CSC's Fabian Cancellara went as Brett Lancaster and Alberto Ongarato wound it up for Petacchi, with Bettini glued to Petacchi's wheel.

Cancellara wasn't quite fast enough to hold off the sprinters, and lasted until 250m left. Petacchi came off Ongarato's wheel inside the final 200m with Bettini making a huge effort to come past, but the world champion was no match for Petacchi's power and faded to third. Thor Hushovd was second, his chasing efforts in the last 40km perhaps costing him the necessary energy to overtake Petacchi. Marco Pinotti finished 95th, in the same time as the winner, and kept the race lead.

Sunday's eighth stage is a tough one between Barberino Di Mugello and Fiorano Modenese over 200 km and crossing the Apennine mountains. It finishes on Ferrari's test-track, celebrating 60 years of the famous Italian automotive brand.

Results

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Team Milram) 6:14:44
2 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
3 Paolo Bettini (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
4 Danilo Napolitano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
5 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
6 Aliaksandr Usau (Blr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
7 Ariel Maximilian Richeze (Arg, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
8 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
9 Assan Bazayev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
10 Koldo Fernandez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
11 Robert Forster (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
12 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor, Team CSC) 0:00:00
13 Gabriele Balducci (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
14 Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
15 Franck Renier (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
16 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
17 Nikolai Trussov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
18 Alexei Markov (Rus, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
19 Paride Grillo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
20 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned, Rabobank) 0:00:00
21 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
22 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
23 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
24 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
25 Alberto Ongarato (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
26 Steve Zampieri (Swi, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
27 Lloyd Mondory (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
28 David Canada Gracia (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
29 Nick Gates (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
30 Pavel Brutt (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
31 Stefano Garzelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
32 Andrei Kunitski (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
33 Alexandre Pichot (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
34 George Hincapie (USA, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
35 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
36 Steve Morabito (Swi, Astana) 0:00:00
37 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
38 Matti Breschel (Den, Team CSC) 0:00:00
39 Christophe Riblon (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
40 Andy Schleck (Lux, Team CSC) 0:00:00
41 Sven Krauss (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
42 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
43 Matthias Russ (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
44 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita, Astana) 0:00:00
45 Massimo Codol (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
46 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
47 Dario David Cioni (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
48 Fabian Cancellara (Swi, Team CSC) 0:00:00
49 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita, Astana) 0:00:00
50 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
51 Riccardo Ricco' (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
52 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
53 Lilian Jegou (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
54 Damiano Cunego (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
55 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
56 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
57 Hubert Schwab (Swi, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
58 Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Spa, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
59 William Walker (Aus, Rabobank) 0:00:00
60 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
61 Marco Marzano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
62 Andrea Noe' (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
63 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
64 Franco Pellizotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
65 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
66 Luca Mazzanti (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
67 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
68 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col, Rabobank) 0:00:00
69 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
70 Hubert Dupont (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
71 Gilberto Simoni (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
72 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
73 Evgeni Petrov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
74 Arnaud Gerard (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
75 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
76 Mario Aerts (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
77 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
78 Wim Vanhuffel (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
79 Oliver Zaugg (Swi, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
80 Christian Knees (Ger, Team Milram) 0:00:00
81 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
82 Danilo Di Luca (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
83 Tristan Valentin (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
84 Emanuele Sella (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
85 Branislau Samoilau (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
86 Julian Dean (NZl, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
87 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
88 Axel Merckx (Bel, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
89 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
90 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
91 Koos Moerenhout (Ned, Rabobank) 0:00:00
92 Davide Rebellin (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:00
93 Eric Berthou (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
94 Stefano Zanini (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
95 Marco Pinotti (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
96 Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
97 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
98 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:00:00
99 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol, Lampre-Fondital) 0:00:00
100 Laurent Mangel (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
101 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:00:00
102 Dario Andriotto (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
103 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
104 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
105 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
106 David Arroyo Duran (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
107 Francis Mourey (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:00:00
108 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
109 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
110 Pavel Padrnos (Cze, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
111 David Zabriskie (USA, Team CSC) 0:00:00
112 Fortunato Baliani (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
113 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro, Liquigas) 0:00:00
114 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
115 Maxim Gourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:00:00
116 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:00:00
117 Francesco Bellotti (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
118 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
119 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
120 Mauro Facci (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
121 Benoit Joachim (Lux, Astana) 0:00:00
122 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
123 Simone Masciarelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:00:00
124 Julien Loubet (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
125 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
126 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
127 Amael Moinard (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:00:00
128 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:00:00
129 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
130 Charles Wegelius (GBr, Liquigas) 0:00:00
131 Brett Lancaster (Aus, Team Milram) 0:00:00
132 Matthew Lloyd (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:00:00
133 Angelo Furlan (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:00:00
134 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa, Rabobank) 0:00:00
135 Andrea Pagoto (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:00:00
136 Daniele Contrini (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
137 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr, Team CSC) 0:00:00
138 Matthew White (Aus, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
139 Gregory Henderson (NZl, T-Mobile Team) 0:00:00
140 Ivan Rovny (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
141 Manuele Mori (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:00
142 Carl Naibo (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:00:00
143 Salvatore Commesso (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:00:00
144 Matteo Tosatto (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
145 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
146 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:00:00
147 Steven Cummings (GBr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:00:00
148 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita, Team Milram) 0:00:00
149 Thomas Fothen (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:00:31
150 Angel Gomez Gomez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:00:54
151 Fabio Sabatini (Ita, Team Milram) 0:01:02
152 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:01:07
153 Frédéric Bessy (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:01:07
154 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:01:16
155 Oscar Gatto (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:01:32
156 Michael Blaudzun (Den, Team CSC) 0:01:32
157 Nicolas Roche (Irl, Credit Agricole) 0:01:52
158 Tim Klinger (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:01:52
159 Juan José Haedo (Arg, Team CSC) 0:02:03
160 Arnaud Labbe (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:02:32
161 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:02:32
162 Mathieu Perget (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:03:07
163 Yohann Gene (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:03:18
164 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus, Rabobank) 0:03:31
165 Martin Müller (Ger, Team Milram) 0:03:40
166 Michael Rasmussen (Den, Rabobank) 0:03:40
167 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus, Team CSC) 0:03:40
168 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:03:40
169 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita, Team Milram) 0:03:40
170 Frantisek Rabon (Cze, T-Mobile Team) 0:03:55
171 Giovanni Visconti (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:05:15
172 Elio Aggiano (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:05:15
173 Addy Engels (Ned, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:05:15
174 Brian Bach Vandborg (Den, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:15
175 Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:05:31
176 Mickael Buffaz (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:05:34
177 Fabien Patanchon (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:05:34
178 Aaron Olson (USA, T-Mobile Team) 0:05:34
179 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:06:20
180 Thomas Voeckler (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:06:39
181 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:06:44
182 Matteo Bono (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:08:26
183 Christophe Kern (Fra, Credit Agricole) 0:09:46
184 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:16:00
185 Pierre Drancourt (Bel, Bouygues Telecom) 0:16:53
186 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:16:53

General classification after stage 7

1 Marco Pinotti (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 5:59:16
2 Hubert Schwab (Swi, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:03:30
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:12
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:38
5 Andrea Noe' (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:47
6 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita, Liquigas) 0:04:47
7 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:04:49
8 Andy Schleck (Lux, Team CSC) 0:05:05
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:06
10 David Zabriskie (USA, Team CSC) 0:05:15
11 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita, Astana) 0:05:19
12 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita, Astana) 0:05:19
13 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:05:19
14 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz, Astana) 0:05:19
15 Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Spa, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
16 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
17 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
18 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol, Lampre-Fondital) 0:05:29
19 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr, Team CSC) 0:05:36
20 Stefano Garzelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:05:37
21 Riccardo Ricco' (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:05:45
22 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:55
23 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:05:55
24 David Arroyo Duran (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:02
25 Evgeni Petrov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:06:10
26 Gilberto Simoni (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:12
27 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:12
28 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:29
29 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:06:31
30 Dario David Cioni (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:34
31 Wim Vanhuffel (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:34
32 Massimo Codol (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:06:36
33 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:06:36
34 Luca Mazzanti (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:39
35 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:06:44
36 Emanuele Sella (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:46
37 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:06:48
38 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz, Astana) 0:06:51
39 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:06:55
40 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:06:57
41 Christian Knees (Ger, Team Milram) 0:07:05
42 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:07:07
43 Steve Zampieri (Swi, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:07:12
44 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:07:12
45 Mario Aerts (Bel, Predictor-Lotto) 0:07:17
46 Charles Wegelius (GBr, Liquigas) 0:07:21
47 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:07:23
48 Hubert Dupont (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:07:23
49 George Hincapie (USA, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:07:23
50 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:07:27
51 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:07:30
52 Francesco Bellotti (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:07:41
53 David Canada Gracia (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:07:42
54 Branislau Samoilau (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:07:45
55 Matthew Lloyd (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:07:56
56 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col, Rabobank) 0:08:00
57 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:08:01
58 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa, Predictor-Lotto) 0:08:06
59 Matthias Russ (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:08:10
60 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:08:17
61 Amael Moinard (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:08:21
62 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin, Française des Jeux) 0:08:24
63 William Walker (Aus, Rabobank) 0:08:25
64 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:08:41
65 Davide Rebellin (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:08:44
66 Marco Marzano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:09:04
67 Oliver Zaugg (Swi, Gerolsteiner) 0:09:10
68 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:12
69 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:09:17
70 Andrei Kunitski (Blr, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:09:21
71 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:28
72 Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:09:44
73 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita, T-Mobile Team) 0:10:18
74 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:10:21
75 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:10:32
76 Paolo Bettini (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:10:39
77 Francis Mourey (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:10:40
78 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:11:48
79 Koos Moerenhout (Ned, Rabobank) 0:12:23
80 Fortunato Baliani (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:12:42
81 Pavel Padrnos (Cze, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:12:46
82 Carl Naibo (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:12:53
83 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:13:16
84 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:13:35
85 Pavel Brutt (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:14:06
86 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:14:14
87 Andrea Pagoto (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:14:23
88 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro, Liquigas) 0:14:26
89 Frantisek Rabon (Cze, T-Mobile Team) 0:14:28
90 Lilian Jegou (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:14:32
91 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus, Team CSC) 0:14:57
92 Ivan Velasco Murillo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:15:00
93 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor, Team CSC) 0:15:08
94 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun, Credit Agricole) 0:15:12
95 Mauro Facci (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:15:54
96 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita, Team Milram) 0:16:15
97 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita, Team Milram) 0:17:20
98 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita, Team Milram) 0:17:53
99 Assan Bazayev (Kaz, Astana) 0:17:58
100 Steve Morabito (Swi, Astana) 0:18:10
101 Daniele Contrini (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:18:49
102 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita, Liquigas) 0:18:56
103 Salvatore Commesso (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:19:21
104 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo, Lampre-Fondital) 0:19:40
105 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:19:44
106 Aliaksandr Usau (Blr, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:20:04
107 Axel Merckx (Bel, T-Mobile Team) 0:20:23
108 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:20:29
109 Steven Cummings (GBr, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:21:00
110 Mathieu Perget (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:21:08
111 Tristan Valentin (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:22:29
112 Brian Bach Vandborg (Den, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:23:23
113 Ariel Maximilian Richeze (Arg, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:23:24
114 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:23:28
115 Simone Masciarelli (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:23:36
116 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:24:02
117 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa, Rabobank) 0:24:28
118 Matti Breschel (Den, Team CSC) 0:24:35
119 Brett Lancaster (Aus, Team Milram) 0:24:53
120 Angel Gomez Gomez (Spa, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:24:54
121 Maxim Gourov (Kaz, Astana) 0:25:00
122 Frédéric Bessy (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:25:03
123 Christophe Kern (Fra, Credit Agricole) 0:25:05
124 Matteo Tosatto (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:25:10
125 Matthew White (Aus, Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team) 0:25:15
126 Julien Loubet (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:25:49
127 Julian Dean (NZl, Credit Agricole) 0:26:16
128 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:26:40
129 Angelo Furlan (Ita, Credit Agricole) 0:26:47
130 Manuele Mori (Ita, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:26:55
131 Franck Renier (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:27:01
132 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita, Liquigas) 0:28:01
133 Fabian Cancellara (Swi, Team CSC) 0:28:50
134 Giovanni Visconti (Ita, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:28:52
135 Christophe Riblon (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:28:54
136 Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:29:03
137 Michael Rasmussen (Den, Rabobank) 0:29:06
138 Addy Engels (Ned, Quick Step - Innergetic) 0:29:09
139 Fabien Patanchon (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:29:15
140 Robert Forster (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:29:20
141 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus, Rabobank) 0:29:28
142 Ivan Rovny (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:29:31
143 Thomas Fothen (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:29:45
144 Benoit Joachim (Lux, Astana) 0:29:48
145 Alexei Markov (Rus, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:30:11
146 Robbie Mc Ewen (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:30:14
147 Alberto Ongarato (Ita, Team Milram) 0:30:39
148 Lloyd Mondory (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:30:44
149 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:30:51
150 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned, Rabobank) 0:30:53
151 Eric Berthou (Fra, Caisse d'Epargne) 0:31:03
152 Dario Andriotto (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:31:35
153 Paride Grillo (Ita, Ceramica Panaria - Navigare) 0:31:47
154 Michael Blaudzun (Den, Team CSC) 0:33:01
155 Arnaud Gerard (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:33:07
156 Martin Müller (Ger, Team Milram) 0:33:11
157 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat, Saunier Duval - Prodir) 0:33:35
158 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita, Team Milram) 0:33:37
159 Koldo Fernandez (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:33:44
160 Nicolas Roche (Irl, Credit Agricole) 0:33:48
161 Gabriele Balducci (Ita, Acqua Sapone - Caffe Mokambo) 0:35:20
162 Thor Hushovd (Nor, Credit Agricole) 0:35:34
163 Danilo Napolitano (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:35:45
164 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:35:47
165 Stefano Zanini (Ita, Predictor-Lotto) 0:36:06
166 Thomas Voeckler (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:37:13
167 Yohann Gene (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:37:18
168 Tim Klinger (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:37:38
169 Juan José Haedo (Arg, Team CSC) 0:37:41
170 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 0:37:58
171 Arnaud Labbe (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:38:18
172 Sven Krauss (Ger, Gerolsteiner) 0:38:30
173 Laurent Mangel (Fra, Ag2r Prevoyance) 0:38:49
174 Fabio Sabatini (Ita, Team Milram) 0:41:24
175 Mickael Buffaz (Fra, Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone) 0:41:48
176 Oscar Gatto (Ita, Gerolsteiner) 0:43:01
177 Pierre Drancourt (Bel, Bouygues Telecom) 0:43:12
178 Aaron Olson (USA, T-Mobile Team) 0:43:28
179 Alexandre Pichot (Fra, Bouygues Telecom) 0:43:38
180 Gregory Henderson (NZl, T-Mobile Team) 0:44:46
181 Nick Gates (Aus, Predictor-Lotto) 0:46:40
182 Nikolai Trussov (Rus, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:48:57
183 Elio Aggiano (Ita, Tinkoff Credit Systems) 0:51:41
184 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra, Française des Jeux) 0:51:49
185 Matteo Bono (Ita, Lampre-Fondital) 0:54:21
186 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa, Euskaltel - Euskadi) 1:06:10

Förster nails the tricky sprint

Di Luca continues in Rosa

By Gregor Brown and Tim Maloney, with Jean-François Quénet and Shane Stokes in Frascati

German Förster wins
Photo ©: Sirotti

German Robert Förster handled the final curves through the streets of Frascati with ease and successfully held off Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) to win stage five. In third was Milram's Alessandro Petacchi, who bumped shoulders all the way to the finish with Maximiliano Richeze (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare). Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) finished safely with the front-runners to keep the race leader's Maglia Rosa.

The 29 year-old Gerolsteiner sprinter, winner 2006's stage into Milan, scored his second Giro win. Thanks to the help of teammate Thomas Fothen and then Oscar Gatto, he was able to edge up on the Milram train. Italy is proving a land of plenty for Förster, who now has two wins for 2007, his first being in Italy's Coppi e Bartali.

"The last three or four kilometres of stage were very dangerous," recalled the stage winner, Frösi. "I went head-to-head with Napolitano, who pushed me towards barriers. It's not really guys like Petacchi or McEwen who cause problems, the regular sprinters, but more so the lesser riders who aren't normally there in the sprint."

"The sprint was a bit crazy – we swung right, left... It was dangerous. I had good legs, I took a lot of risks but it was worth it."

After the capture of Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff Credit Systems), the final 20 kilometres of the day's finale were animated with several small attacks. None of the aggressions were able to bear fruit and the control of the race fell upon the shoulders of Petacchi's Milram train.

Here comes the sprint.
Photo ©: Sirotti

Lancaster and Ongarato were there to make sure Ale-Jet had his chance at winning a second stage in the 2007 Giro but they could not account for the opportunist teams of Crédit Agricole, Gerolsteiner and Panaria. It was the latter that gave Petacchi so much difficulty.

Petacchi was having a hard time staying on the wheel of Ongarato coming into the final 450 metres. He was over-powered by Argentinean Richeze and forced to take the right-hander onto Via Vittorio Veneto on the outside. He nearly crashed himself into the barriers and gave Richeze a nudge in the fight for space.

"I was there when Ongarato started," recalled the winner of stage 3. "I got stuck on the outside through the turn. I pushed Maximiliano with my hand, otherwise I would have crashed. ... If I did not reach out to touch Richeze then I would have ended up on the street. Basta!"

Richeze, probably scared of the respected sprinter, faded fast after the incident to finish in seventh, behind Danilo Napolitano (fourth), Robbie McEwen (fifth) and Alexandre Usov (sixth).

"Petacchi, after the finish, gave me a little punch," recalled Richeze. "I don't know what to think. I had my right to be there, if not then I would have been the one pushed out. I made my sprint and I think I did well."

Liquigas had a day of rest in the sense that it did not have to ride in defence of its race leader Danilo Di Luca. The 31 year-old rider from Abruzzo kept the Maglia Rosa that he claimed yesterday on the slopes of Montevergine.

"Today was the first calm stage for us," said the Liquigas captain. "I hope tomorrow will be another calm day like today."

He commented on the finale. "I know that arrival was very fast, with lots of curves," he concluded.

How it unfolded

All-pink for Di Luca
Photo ©: Sirotti

At 13.03, Stage 5 started under partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-twenties with 190 riders heading out on via 26 Ottobre. Caisse d'Epargne's Joan Horrach did not start due to injuries sustained in yesterday's maxi-crash. Once again it was Tinkoff on the move. For the rookie squad, in their first Grand Tour, 22 year-old Mikhail Ignatiev was in the mix from the get-go.

The Russian got a gap and was joined by 27 year-old Cofidis rider Mickaël Buffaz (Cofidis) after 15 kilometres near Taverna San Felice. Five kilometres later, the gap was one minute and rising fast. After 35 kilometres, the duo got its maximum lead of 5'30", but the gruppo began to ride harder.

At Cassino, just below the Abbey of Montecassino, site of brutal fighting between German and American forces in WW2, the gap was back down to five minutes and the average speed for the first hour was 45.1 km/h.

Along the via Casalina, where Garibaldi marched towards Rome in 1969, Ignatiev and Buffaz marched along towards Frosinone at mid-stage, where Buffaz took the Garibaldi intermediate sprint, 3'45" ahead of the Liquigas-led gruppo. At the feed-zone with 63 kilometres to go, the gap was dropping, now at three minutes.

Escape duo
Photo ©: Sirotti

After he ate lunch, the powerful young Russian decided to have Buffaz for dessert and he dropped the French rider on the early slopes of the climb to Angani, where the Tinkoff rider held a lead of 2'40". 40 kilometres to go, with the Colle Albani south of Rome looming in the background, the Tinkoff trooper was pounding away alone as Petacchi's Milram and McEwen's Predictor squads cranked up the pace.

The valiant young Russian resisted the onslaught of the chasing gruppo as he passed the quaint village of Artena, and onto the first slopes of the final climb of the day. It was on Le Macere, with 18 kilometres left to race and after 139 kilometres of liberty, that Ignatiev was caught.

Frantisek Rabon (T-Mobile) made the first move but it was brought back by the chasing gruppo. A counter-move headed by 'Lele Sella (Panaria) enabled the miniscule climber from Vicenza to take the GPM atop the Le Macere climb. It turned into gruppo compatto on the 10 kilometres descent to Frascati among the famous vineyards where the fresh, tasty white wine is produced.

Once in the town, in the last five kilometres, there were a few moves; one was with two of the biggest characters in the sport of cycling, Matty White (Discovery Channel) and Totò Commesso (Tinkoff) but the Milram-led chase brought the dynamic duo back.

With three kilometres to race, another Tinkoff trooper, Elia Aggiano, made a solo move but once again, the Milram monster swallowed it up, leaving 1.8 kilometres to race.

Bettini
Photo ©: Sirotti

Under the red kite with one kilometre to race, the pace was fast as the road was still going downhill into the centre of Frascati. Crédit Agricole's Angelo Furlan was leading the way for Thor Hushovd, but Brett Lancaster of Milram cranked it up for Petacchi and took the lead again.

Ongarato took over for Petacchi with 500 metres to go and as the road curved left, then right. Panaria's Max Richeze got inside Petacchi and took Ongarato's wheel, and then Richeze moved inside to the left as the road curved right, closing Petacchi's line.

Big Thor was hurling himself towards the finish line on the right side of the road with 100 metres to go, while Petacchi had got his momentum going again on the left as Richeze slowed. The Milram man had shoved Richeze out of the way with 70 metres to go and tried to wind it up to his top end.

McEwen seemed to sit up in front of Hushovd and the Crédit Agricole rider had to swerve around the Australian at the last minute in his bid for victory. Suddenly, Gerolsteiner's Robert 'Frösi' Förster zigged left when Thor zigged right and like the gates of heaven, the road opened up for the German sprinter as he passed over the finish line first. Realizing he had won, he raised his hands in victory with an incredulous smile on his face.

Thor took second on the right, while Petacchi managed to make it back to third in the tumultuous sprint. Afterwards Petacchi and Richeze exchanged rude words on Italian TV but nonetheless the win went to Frösi.

Stage 6 - Friday, May 18: Tivoli - Spoleto, 177 km

Starting from the ancient Roman town of Tivoli, 30 kilometres east of the Italian capital, Stage 6 heads due east through the rolling climbs of Monti Sabini before ascending the tough 21-kilometre long Monte Terminillo at mid-stage, the first of three GPM's in the final 110 kilometres of the stage.

A breakaway of opportunists will certainly hit out on the climb of Terminillo towards Spoleto, site of a world famous opera festival every summer. The finale includes the ascent of the Forco di Serra, 17 kilometres from the finish, where a counter-attack could be crucial.

Will there be changes in the Giro's hierarchy Friday evening? Doubtful, as Liquigas looks too strong to let things get away from them.

Photography

Stage 1 Tour of Georgia to Tinkoff

Monday- Macon,Georgia Stage 1 of Tour of Georgia Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems) won stage 1 of the 2007 Tour de Georgia on Monday, leaping away from a breakaway to cross the line alone in downtown Macon.

The 33-year-old Italian made his move during a series of finishing circuits, using a brick climb to spring away from Ben Day (Navigators Insurance), Doug Ollerenshaw (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mike Sayers (BMC) to win the 98.5-mile stage from Peachtree City to Macon.

Stage results

Stage 1 Peach Tree City to Macon,Georgia

1. Daniele Contrini (I), Tinkoff Credit Systems, 3:24:11
2. Douglas Ollerenshaw (USA), Health Net-Maxxis, 3:24:40
3. Ben Day (Aus), Navigators Insurance, 3:24:49
4. Emile Abraham (Tri), Priority Health-Bissell, 3:25:31
5. Andrea Tonti (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 3:25:32
6. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Health Net-Maxxis, 3:25:33
7. Ivan Dominguez (Cub), Toyota United, 3:25:33
8. Karl Menzies (Aus), Health Net-Maxxis, 3:25:33
9. Sergey Lagutin (Uzb), Navigators Insurance, 3:25:33
10. Ciaran Power (Irl), Navigators Insurance, 3:25:33

Casper in bad crash

Click here to watch a replay of Casper's accident

Freire nails it.

photo: Graham Watson

Oscar Freire (Rabobank) unleashed a masterful sprint to win Saturday's centenary celebration of Milan-San Remo ahead of Allan Davis to claim victory in emphatic style to erase the memories of 2004 when he won by a whisker ahead of the celebrating Erik Zabel.

Freire, 31, came off Alessandro Petacchi's wheel with about 100 meters to go in the season's longest classic and swept up the left side of the Via Roma to surge across the line clear by a bike length ahead of Davis (Discovery Channel) and Tom Boonen (Quick Step-Innergetic).

"I felt good and I was on the wheel of Petacchi and I had good legs," the smiling Freire said at the line. "In the end it's only the victory that counts and I am very happy for myself and the team. What would make me happy now? To win the world's a fourth time."
Full Results

The traditional start in Milan...

photo: Graham Watson

Strong tailwinds along the final 50km helped the peloton keep a tight rein on any would-be escapees to assure a sprint finish.

... the usual celebration in San Remo...

photo: Graham Watson

This time around, Freire was sure he was safely across the line before throwing both arms up into the cloudy Italian sky in delight. Three Aussies finished in the top 5 with Davis second, Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto) fourth and Stuart O'Grady (CSC) fifth.

... with a long and beautiful ride in between.

"Everything was perfect, until the last 150 meters," Petacchi said. "I don't have any real excuse. The team was perfect and the only one who wasn't was me. I felt good on the final climbs and in the sprint, well, it shouldn't be forgotten that I broke my kneecap seven months and perhaps I'm still paying for that."

A good part of the day involves a pleasant ride along the coast

photo: Graham Watson

The oft-injured Spaniard has an uncanny nose for big-time results.

He hardly raced after winning the Vattenfall Cyclassics last July, suffering from headaches and dizziness from complications of a neck treatment. The Rabobank captain returned to racing in style this spring, winning his first race at the Challenge Mallorca and then two stages and the overall at the Ruta del Sol in Spain.

Ricco and Gilbert were caught with 2km to go

photo: Graham Watson

On Saturday, he was among the five-star favorites and he read the race perfectly. After coming off the torturous Poggio descent, he snagged the ideal position of being on Petacchi's wheel, with Boonen, McEwen and O'Grady stacked up behind him in the final 300 meters.

"I decided to get behind Petacchi in the final kilometer because I knew his team would lead him out and that it was the best position," Freire told Eurosport. "I had the legs, the position and even had the space to get past Petacchi, so it was a perfect sprint."

Freire has one of the best finishing sprints in the business and made easy work of the dying Petacchi and easily stayed ahead of the surging Boonen. The surprising Davis came off the sixth wheel to power into second.

The victory marks the fourth win on the Via Roma by Spanish riders. Freire owns two and Miguel Poblet the other two with wins in 1957 and 1959, respectively. There was another Spaniard in the top-10 in the form of Vicente Reynes of Caisse d'Epargne with ninth.

"I was in good position with 400-300 meters to go when McEwen tried to pass me on the left and it closed me off," Reynes said. "I had to brake and as a result I couldn't make the sprint as I wanted. It's too bad because I felt really good and I believe I could have finished third or fourth on the Via Roma. Now I just have to forget it and think about the upcoming classics. I have big hopes for Flanders, Ghent-Wevelgem and Roubaix, where I hope to be at the front with all the favorites."

Early breaks
The race started in downtown Milan with a good-sized crowd of enthusiastic fans to cheer on Milan-San Remo's centenary celebration. José Joaquín Rojas (Caisse d'Epargne), Thor Hushovd and Francesco Belloti (both Crédit Agricole) didn't take the start, but some 197 riders did.

The day's escape was expected...

photo: Graham Watson

Following a script typical of Milan-San Remo, the peloton enjoyed a Saturday morning siesta while the sextet chugged away, building up a lead of nearly eight minutes at 120km. Frédéric Guesdon (FDJ) and José Enrique Gutierrez (LPR) both crashed in the feed zone, but continued in the race.

.. chased when things got worrisome...

photo: Graham Watson

Sella led the way up the climb as the peloton remained at about seven minutes back. Three riders - Guennadi Mikhailov (Astana), Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff) and Marco Fertonani (Caisse d'Epargne) - crashed on the descent with the last two abandoning.

... and eventually reeled in.

photo: Graham Watson

Lampre and Milram upped the pace and trimmed the lead to 3:24 at Alassio. Several riders crashed, including Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Axel Merckx (T-Mobile), as the peloton zeroed in on the breakaway.

Kopp suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

photo: Graham Watson

Marco Zanotti (Unibet.com) crashed coming through Imperia. The final three - Kunitski, Hernandez and Brutt - are swept up with about 30km to go.

Cipressa and Poggio
The Cipressa and Poggio presented the last chance for the head-bangers to spoil the chances for the sprinters.

Voeckler on the attack.

photo: Graham Watson

The trio held a slender lead over the summit and went snaking down the descent when Moletta misjudged a corner and skidded off the road, slamming his bike into a cement wall and light post. Moletta twisted and flipped into light post and was KO'd for the race.

Popovych quickly countered that move, leaving Voeckler behind, but Pellizotti stayed with him for a while.

Quick Step-Innergetic with some help from Team CSC helped neutralize the Celestino/Vila move on the flats between the two climbs while Pellizotti and Popovych held a 28-second gap.

Popovych was caught at the base of the Poggio.

CSC's Karsten Kroon and Quick Step's Carlos Barredo led the way to reel in Popovych and Pellizotti when Gilbert, Riccò and Matthias Kessler (Astana) attacked. Popovych tried to hang on, but Riccò punched the accelerator once more to drop everyone except Gilbert.

Gilbert leads on the Poggio

photo: Graham Watson

The leading pair hit the flats coming into San Remo with a slender gap of seven seconds, but they were swarmed by the lead pack with just under two kilometers to go to set up the sprint.

Lampre and Milram were in good position, but it was Freire without the help of teammates who sprang away for the win.