Norwegian cyclist Kurt-Asle Arvesen slipped past Italian Paolo Bettini in front of a 21-man breakaway to win Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday.
Discovery Channel's George Hincapie found himself in the break that escaped from the peloton in the Apennines early in the day. Although he and teammate Jose Luis Rubiera couldn't turn that good luck into a stage win, they improved their overall standings.
Meanwhile, T-Mobile's Marco Pinotti held onto the pink leader's jersey for another day. His lead was threatened by one of the breakaway's riders, but he helped drive a chase that protected his lead. He finished just over 4 minutes back with most of the field.
A smaller group finished some 20 minutes back, and included sprinter Robbie McEwen.
The 124-mile stage started in Barberino Di Mugello and crossed the Apennines before a long run on the flats on the way to Fiorano Modenese. The race finished on the 16-mile Ferrari test track in the area.
The 21-man breakaway worked together on the road to the finish, after cresting the final summit with about 6 minutes on the rest of the field.
The attacks didn't start until the last 3 miles. Among the cyclists making a run for the finish were Marco Marzano (Lampre-Fondital), William Walker (Rabobank), Alessandro Spezialetti (Liquigas), Mario Aerts (Predictor-Lotto), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r), and Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff). They all either faded or were pulled back.
Finally, Emanuele Sella (Ceramica) attacked but was chased down by Bettini. But Arvesen was on Bettini's wheel and sped past him to the finish line.
Pinotti leads with just 28 seconds over Andrea Noe (Liquigas), who was in the breakaway. Hincapie worked his way up to 14th place at 3-minutes-4 behind.
Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas) fell further back to 17th place at 4:12 behind. Other favorites: Damiano Cunego (Lampre) 22nd at 5:06; Paolo Savoldelli (Astana), 25th at 5:19; Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) 32nd at 5:37; Gilberto Simoni, 36th at 6:12.
More results at VeloNews and CyclingNews.
Monday's 109-mile stage begins in Reggio nell'Emilia, crosses back over the Apennines and takes a run along the coast to Lido di Camaiore.
Recent Comments