Cycling veteran Jens Voigt, left, beat Paolo Bettini (and the rest of the peloton) at his own game on Thursday at the Giro d'Italia on a course that will be used for the 2009 World Championships.
Current world champion Bettini attacked early in the race and drove about a dozen riders in a breakaway on the 91-mile Stage 18 from Mendrisio to Varese.
But it was Team CSC's Voigt, 36, who made a solo attack from the breakaway with about 24 miles left. His move tore apart the group, as different bunches in 3's and 4's tried to catch up. Among those unsuccessful chasers, Bettini.
Voigt crossed the finish line alone, followed one-minute later by Quick Step's Giovanni Visconti (who led the Giro for more than a week), LPR Brakes' Gabriele Bosisio and AG2R Rinaldo Nocentini. Finishing a minute after that group, and two minutes behind Voigt, is Bettini.
Astana's Alberto Contador finished with the peloton about 7 minutes later, but didn't lose any ground overall. He's wearing the pink jersey and leading nearest rival Ricardo Ricco by 41 seconds.
Back-to-back mountain stages are on tap Friday and Saturday. Last year's champion, Danilo Di Luca, tells CyclingNews that the Giro isn't over, especially considering all the favorites who are within 2 minutes and the difficulty of the upcoming stages.
Who are the Top 10?
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
2 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval – Scott, 41 seconds behind
3 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC, 1.21 behind
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre, 2:00
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas, 2:05
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes, 2:18
7 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 2:47
8 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare, 4:25
9 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence – Lotto, 4:26
10 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare, 5:25
More results at CyclingNews.
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