The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.
Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) won a seven-man sprint at the end of the 119-mile race from Cantu to Bergamo that included former Giro winners Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli (Astana).
Di Luca (Liquigas) finished at the head of a chase group racing into Bergamo in a stage that capped two mountains — Passo di S. Marco and La Trinita-Dossena.
Although Di Luca finished 38 seconds behind the lead group, he lost more ground due to time bonuses awarded the winners.
Among the favorites, two-time Giro winner Simoni (Saunier Duval) was the biggest winner on the day, gaining 50 seconds and moving into 5th place overall, within 2-minutes-42 of the leader.
Simoni will certainly be aiming to take more time out of Di Luca — who will be wearing the pink jersey for the fifth time this year — in Sunday's 116-mile stage through the Dolomites between Trento to Tre Cime Di Lavaredo. The peloton will race over three mountain passes before the final climb into Tre cime Di Lavaredo which boasts slopes of 18% in places.
More race details and results at VeloNews.
Recent Comments