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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

Giro bunch sprint round one: McEwen gets his twelfth win

By Shane Stokes in Bosa

Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto)
Photo ©: Sirotti

Another Giro, another stage win. Robbie McEwen was back on top today, bringing his Tour of Italy stage win tally up to a dozen.

Coming into the Giro d'Italia, Robbie McEwen said to himself that if he won a stage somewhere along the way, he'd be happy with his race. The Australian didn't have long to wait; at the end of day two, the first possible day for a bunch sprint, he thundered home half a length clear of World Champion Paolo Bettini and comfortably ahead of Alessandro Petacchi, scooping what is his twelfth career victory in the race.

The win came after what was a tough finale, with the peloton tackling several climbs towards the end. The final one of these saw a number of attacks being fired off and while nothing stuck, it did end the chances of many of the sprinters. However McEwen and Petacchi got over the top okay and, together with world champ Bettini, fought it out for victory in Bosa.

"I was pretty far back on the climb, there were maybe another 20 riders behind me going over the top," a very satisfied McEwen told the press. "But I was maybe 15, 20 positions behind Petacchi, so for me it was just important to come back to the Milram riders by the bottom of the descent. After that, the tactic was simple – I followed Petacchi and his team. They did a really good job to pull the sprint. Today I was stronger and I managed to pass Alessandro. I knew that Bettini was there on my wheel, looking for an opportunity, but there were no problems making it to the line."

When asked how tough the final climb was for the sprinters, McEwen said that it was just the last in a series of stingers. " I think the whole stage affected the sprinters legs, because it was a really tough stage. If you looked at the profile it looked like there was quite a lot of flat, but I knew from being here since Wednesday that there is no flat on this island. It was like riding Liège-Bastogne-Liège, and I think the hard course plus the pace set by Liquigas wore down most of the sprinters. When we got to the final climb, a lot of the sprinters just got dropped immediately. I think the only two sprinters left were myself and Petacchi.

"I expected it to be very hard and was telling myself all day, 'don't think it is going to be easy to get to the finish.' I had to work really hard. Although with [Dario] Cioni doing a lot of work in the final for me, he rode on the front all the way until the final climb, it meant that I could start the climb in the very first positions and have the chance to drop back through the peloton going up the climb and still be there at the top."

For the full winner's press conference report, click here.

Brutt launches Tinkoff's 'Sunday rides'

By Jean-François Quénet in Bosa

Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff Credit Systems) earlier this season
Photo ©: Shane Goss

On a stage where Robbie McEwen nabbed the first bunch sprint win of the 2007 Giro d'Italia, and Danilo Di Luca took the pink jersey over from Enrico Gasparotto, bringing the Liquigas team hierarchy back to normal, one of the unsung heroes in the results of the second stage of the 2007 Giro D'Italia is Tinkoff Credit System's Pavel Brutt.

Brutt had been away in a break for 187 kilometres, most of the time with two Italians (Mauro Facci and Simone Masciarelli) and two Frenchmen (Arnaud Labbe and Frédéric Bessy). "It was a long, long way," Brutt said after the race. "But I'm happy with it. I knew I wouldn't make it though. Today was a day for the sprinters."

So why did the Russian pour his heart and legs into the long breakaway so early into the Giro? His directeur sportif Dimitri Konyshev explained, "Because it's Sunday today. Haven't you noticed how many more viewers there are on Sunday in the TV ratings? We also wanted to do well today because our boss Oleg Tinkov was here with us. The attack wasn't planned though. For now we don't have the status of a team to go for attacks. Pavel followed the move, as instructed prior to the stage."

Brutt was the last rider away from the original breakaway group. "He really impressed me today," Konyshev added. When he got caught by a pure climber like Emmanuele Sella in the last hill, he managed to keep his wheel with ten kilometres to go. This guy has one hell of a grinta. Before giving up, he'd die!"

Brutt got his first real pro win this year at Le Tour de Langkawi on the second to last day, although he hadn't slept the night before that stage after suffering up the Genting Highlands. On his return to Europe, he won the GP Chiasso. He took a bit of time off at home in St-Petersburg and trained for ten days for the Tour of Georgia where he made a few breakaways as usual.

"Pavel has been a great help during the team time trial as well," Konyshev added. "Had Mikhail Ignatiev not dropped off in the last climb, we would have come 6th, and if we had done the ideal ride, we would have finished 5th, that was our golden place."

With performances like this, the Tinkoff Credit Systems team doesn't appear to need Tyler Hamilton and Jörg Jaksche to justify their wild-card inclusion in the Giro; their young Russians have a great potential. "I hope that Pavel will stay quiet in the bunch tomorrow and be able to give a hand to Evgeni Petrov in the first uphill finish on Wednesday. It's not easy to recover from what he did today under such a heat. But we'll try to go for breakaways again. We'd like to do it every Sunday, we'd become the team of the Sunday's rides!"

Crashes for Klinger, Ordowski and Barry out with virus

Team LiquiGas takes opening Team Trial Stage of Giro De Italia.Gasparatto Wears the Maglia Rosia as the new team leader. Then there was an added touch of seeing Liquigas rider Enrico Gasparotto squirt ahead of team captain Danilo Di Luca to snag the Giro's first maglia rosa after the Italian team upset favorites such as Team CSC and Discovery Channel.

Looking forward to seeing JJ Haedo in the first feild sprints, try his luck against the likes of Paulo Bettini,Graeme Brown,Italian Speedster Alessandro Petacchi, and old psrinters like Olaf Pollack!

Results - Stage 1
1. Liquigas, 33:35
2. Astana, 33:51
3. CSC, 34:08
4. Lampre-Fondital, 34:17
5. Discovery Channel, 34:27
6. Acqua & Sapone-Caffè, 34:38
7. Tinkoff Credit Systems, 34:42
8. Crédit Agricole, 34:51
9. Caisse d'Epargne, 35:01
10. Quickstep-Innergetic, 35:01
11. Saunier Duval-Prodir, 35:03
12. Predictor-Lotto, 35:06
13. Gerolsteiner, 35:10
14. Milram, 35:11
15. Cofidis, 35:16
16. T-Mobile, 35:23
17. Rabobank, 35:23
18. Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 35:39
19. Bouygues Telecom, 35:45
20. Ag2r Prévoyance, 35:55
21. Euskaltel-Euskadi, 36:28
22. Française Des Jeux, 36:28
Full Results

Overall Standings
1. Enrico Gasparotto (I), Liquigas, 0:00
2. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas, 0:00
3. Vincenzo Nibali (I), Liquigas, 0:00
4. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas, 0:00
5. Andrea Noe' (I), Liquigas, 0:00
6. Charles Wegelius (GB), Liquigas, 0:00
7. Alessandro Vanotti (I), Liquigas, 0:02
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, 0:13
9. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), Astana, 0:13
10. Andrey Mizourov (Kaz), Astana, 0:13

Start List - 2007 Giro d'Italia

QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC
1. Paolo Bettini (I)
2. Addy Engels (Nl)
3. Mauro Facci (I)
4. Leonardo Scarselli (I)
5. Hubert Schwab (Swi)
6. Andrea Tonti (I)
7. Matteo Tosatto (I)
8. Jurgen Van De Walle (B)
9. Giovanni Visconti (I)

ASTANA
11. Paolo Savoldelli (I)
12. Maxim Gourov (Kz)
13. Benoit Joachim (Lux)
14. Assan Bazayev (Kz)
15. Serguei Yakovlev (Kz)
16. Eddy Mazzoleni (I)
17. Andrey Mizourov (Kz)
18. Steve Morabito (Swi)
19. Dmitriy Muravyev (Kz)

SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR
21. Gilberto Simoni (I)
22. Rubens Bertogliati (Swi)
23. Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat)
24. David Canada Gracia (Sp)
25. Angel Gomez Gomez (Sp)
26. Manuele Mori (I)
27. Iban Mayo Diez (Sp)
28. Leonardo Piepoli (I)
29. Riccardo Ricco' (I)

LAMPRE - FONDITAL
31. Damiano Cunego (I)
32. Marzio Bruseghin (I)
33. Giampaolo Caruso (I)
34. Danilo Napolitano (I)
35. Gorazd Stangelj (Slo)
36. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol)
37. Paolo Tiralongo (I)
38. Francisco J. Vila Errandonea (Sp)
39. Morris Possoni (I)

ACQUA & SAPONE - CAFFE' MOKAMBO
41. Stefano Garzelli (I)
42. Alexandr Arekeev (Rus)
43. Gabriele Balducci (I)
44. Massimo Codol (I)
45. Dario Andriotto (I)
46. Andrei Kunitski (Blr)
47. Giuseppe Palumbo (I)
48. Branislau Samoilau (Blr)
49. Michele Scarponi (I)

AG2R PREVOYANCE
51. Rinaldo Nocentini (I)
52. Hubert Dupont (F)
53. Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr)
54. Rene Mandri (Est)
55. Laurent Mangel (F)
56. Lloyd Mondory (F)
57. Carl Naibo (F)
58. Christophe Riblon (F)
59. Aliaksandr Usau (Blr)

BOUYGUES TELECOM
61. Olivier Bonnaire (F)
62. Nicolas Crosbie (F)
63. Pierre Drancourt (B)
64. Yohann Gene (F)
65. Arnaud Labbe (F)
66. Yoann Le Boulanger (F)
67. Alexandre Pichot (F)
68. Franck Renier (F)
69. Thomas Voeckler (F)

CAISSE D'EPARGNE
71. David Arroyo Duran (Sp)
72. Eric Berthou (F)
73. Joan Horrach Rippoll (Sp)
74. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Sp)
75. Alberto Losada Alguacil (Sp)
76. Aitor Perez Arrieta (Sp)
77. Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Sp)
78. Ruben Plaza Molina (Sp)
79. Constant. Zaballa Gutierrez (Sp)

CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE
81. Emanuele Sella (I)
82. Luca Mazzanti (I)
83. Paride Grillo (I)
84. Fortunato Baliani (I)
85. Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col)
86. Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex)
87. Domenico Pozzovivo (I)
88. Matteo Priamo (I)
89. Ariel Maximiliano Richeze (Arg)

COFIDIS
91. Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col)
92. Mickael Buffaz (F)
93. Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (F)
94. Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Sp)
95. Mathieu Heijboer (Nl)
96. Amael Moinard (F)
97. Frédéric Bessy (F)
98. Tristan Valentin (F)
99. Steve Zampieri (Swi)

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE
101. Pietro Caucchioli (I)
102. Francesco Bellotti (I)
103. Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun)
104. Julian Dean (NZ)
105. Angelo Furlan (I)
106. Patrice Halgand (F)
107. Christophe Kern (F)
108. Thor Hushovd (N)
109. Nicolas Roche (Irl)

DISCOVERY CHANNEL
111. Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr)
112. Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr)
113. Steven Cummings (GB)
114. George Hincapie (USA)
115. Pavel Padrnos (Cz)
116. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Sp)
117. Brian Bach Vandborg (Dk)
118. Jurgen Van Goolen (B)
119. Matthew White (Aus)

EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI
121. Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Sp)
122. Koldo Fernandez (Sp)
123. Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Sp)
124. Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Sp)
125. Markel Irizar Aranburu (Sp)
126. Anton Luengo Celaya (Sp)
127. Aketza Pena Iza (Sp)
128. Ivan Velasco Murillo (Sp)
129. Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Sp)

FRANÇAISE DES JEUX
131. Carlos Da Cruz (F)
132. Arnaud Gerard (F)
133. Timothy Gudsell (NZ)
134. Lilian Jegou (F)
135. Ian Mcleod RSA
136. Cyrille Monnerais (F)
137. Francis Mourey (F)
138. Fabien Patanchon (F)
139. Jussi Veikkanen FIN

GEROLSTEINER
141. Davide Rebellin (I)
142. Robert Förster (G)
143. Thomas Fothen (G)
144. Oscar Gatto (I)
145. Tim Klinger (G)
146. Sven Krauss (G)
147. Volker Ordowski (G)
148. Matthias Russ (G)
149. Oliver Zaugg (Swi)

LIQUIGAS
151. Danilo Di Luca (I)
152. Enrico Gasparotto (I)
153. Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro)
154. Vincenzo Nibali (I)
155. Andrea Noe' (I)
156. Franco Pellizotti (I)
157. Alessandro Spezialetti (I)
158. Alessandro Vanotti (I)
159. Charles Wegelius (GB)

PREDICTOR - LOTTO
161. Robert Mc Ewen (Aus)
162. Dario David Cioni (I)
163. Josep Jufre Pou (Sp)
164. Matthew Lloyd (Aus)
165. Mario Aerts (B)
166. Jurgen Van Den Broeck (B)
167. Wim Vanhuffel (B)
168. Stefano Zanini (I)
169. Pieter Mertens (B)

RABOBANK
171. Michael Rasmussen (Dk)
172. Leon Van Bon (Nl)
173. Graeme Brown (Aus)
174. Max Van Heeswijk (Nl)
175. Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Sp)
176. Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus)
177. Koos Moerenhout (Nl)
178. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col)
179. William Walker (Aus)

CSC
181. Fabian Cancellara (Swi)
182. Andy Schleck (Lux)
183. David Zabriskie (USA)
184. Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus)
185. Juan José Haedo (Arg)
186. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (N)
187. Matti Breschel (Dk)
188. Michael Blaudzun (Dk)
189. Volodymir Gustov (Ukr)

MILRAM
191. Alessandro Petacchi (I)
192. Alessandro Cortinovis (I)
193. Sergio Ghisalberti (I)
194. Christian Knees (G)
195. Brett Lancaster (Aus)
196. Martin Müller (G)
197. Alberto Ongarato (I)
198. Fabio Sabatini (I)
199. Fabio Sacchi (I)

TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS
201. Salvatore Commesso (I)
202. Evgeni Petrov (Rus)
203. Daniele Contrini (I)
204. Ivan Rovny (Rus)
205. Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Sp)
206. Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus)
207. Pavel Brutt (Rus)
208. Elio Aggiano (I)
209. Ruggero Marzoli (I)

T-MOBILE
211. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr)
212. Lorenzo Bernucci (I)
213. Adam Hansen (Aus)
214. Gregory Henderson (NZ)
215. Axel Merckx (B)
216. Aaron Olson (USA)
217. Marco Pinotti (I)
218. Frantisek Rabon (Cz)
219. Thomas Ziegler (G)

In one of the most exciting finishes in years Thomas Dekker of the Rabobank Team and former Under 23 world Time Trail Champion takes 11 seconds from a star studded field to capture the final stage Time Trail in Luasanne, Switzerland! Runner up and Tour De Italy favorite Paulo Savoldelli conceded 5 seconds to the Dutch Ace. Leaving former Yellow Jersey leader Chris Horner to a non podium finish of 5th place.

  Tour de Romandie
Final stage
1. Thomas Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, 26:36
2. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, at 0:05
3. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 0:12
4. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:23                                      
5. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), Astana, at 0:46
6. Roman Kreuziger (Cz), Liquigas, at 0:52
7. Christopher Horner (USA), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:55
8. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, at 0:57
9. Sandy Casar (F), Française des Jeux, at 1:01
10. Janez Brajkovic (Slo), Discovery Channel, at 1:05

Final overall
1. Thomas Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, 17:27:02
2. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, at 0:11
3. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 0:34
4. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:43
5. Christopher Horner (USA), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:46
6. Roman Kreuziger (Cz), Liquigas, at 1:35
7. Igor Anton Hernandez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 1:51
8. Andy Schleck (Lux), CSC, at 1:53
9. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol), Lampre-Fondital, at 1:55
10. Janez Brajkovic (Slo), Discovery Channel, at 2:00

Horner in yellow

photo: Graham Watson

"The Tour of Romandie is a great race and this was a great mountain stage, so it's a great win for a climber like me," Anton told Reuters afterward.

Anton Hernandez was off the front with a lead of some 10 seconds when Horner attacked with 3km remaining in stage 4, a rain-soaked, crash-marred 155.9km leg between Charmey and Morgins.

Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) and John Gadret (Ag2r) quickly grabbed his wheel, and soon it was a four-man break racing toward the finish in Morgins.

The leaders took a margin of 14 seconds into the final kilometer, and Anton Hernandez leapt away from the others to win the stage, with Dekker second and Horner third.

Horner, Dekker and Gadret

photo: Graham Watson

Paolo Savoldelli (Astana), who had held the race lead going into Saturday's stage, lost ground on the final ascent, finishing 16 seconds behind Anton and slipping to fourth overall.

Sunday's finale is a 20.4km time trial around Lausanne, which Horner's teammate and defending champion Cadel Evans surely will be targeting after his fifth-place finish Saturday.

Going up

photo: Graham Watson

As for Horner, he said he would have more confidence in his own chances for the overall if he had a bigger lead going into the final time trial. His pick for the final overall? Dekker.

"If I had to pick someone now, I would pick Dekker. He looked incredibly strong to me today and he is an excellent time-trial specialist," Horner told reporters.

"If I led by 30 seconds, I would be much more confident. But it's not the case and I will be happy to finish in the top five."

Dekker gestures as Anton goes for the win

photo: AFP

Tour de Romandie
Stage 4
1. Igor Anton Hernandez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 4:36:56
2. Thomas Dekker (Nl), Rabobank, same time
3. Christopher Horner (USA), Predictor-Lotto, s.t.
4. John Gadret (F), Ag2r, at 0:02
5. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:16
6. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol), Lampre-Fondital, s.t.
7. Andy Schleck (Lux), CSC, 00:16
8. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, at 0:16
9. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 0:23
10. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:26

Overall
1. Christopher Horner (USA), Predictor-Lotto, 17:00:17
2. Igor Anton Hernandez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 0:07
3. Thomas Dekker (Ned), Rabobank, at 0:09
4. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Astana, at 0:15
5. John Gadret (F), Ag2r, at 0:22
6. Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, at 0:28
7. Cadel Evans (Aus), Predictor-Lotto, at 0:29
8. Sylvester Szmyd (Pol), Lampre-Fondital, at 0:31
9. Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz), Astana, at 0:31
10. Andy Schleck (Lux), Team CSC, at 0:33

Complete results