With all the protesting at this year's Giro d'Italia, I feel like I've been transported back to the 1960s.
First Astana faded out most of the sponsors on their jerseys to protest not getting paid. Then on Sunday the entire peloton decided to ride en masse to protest the dangerousness of the circuit race around Milan.
The whole world was watching as the cyclists pedaled along at a leisurely 21-23 mph for lap after lap. In fact, the entire peloton stopped before completing the 4th lap, and race leader Danilo Di Luca took the microphone:
“We are going on. We wanted to stop and say thanks for your presence, but we don't feel the need to risk it anymore. The circuit is not adapted to our security.”
Some cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, had been critical of the routes earlier in the week. Friday's 25-mile dangerous descent to the finish into the rain, for instance, drew criticism from Armstrong, among others.
Armstrong apparently played a part in organizing the protest after three riders fell during the first lap. Armstrong's role upset Giro organizers, especially since they're paying him a bonus to ride the race, AP reports.
Armstrong already mentioned during the Tour Down Under that he wasn't particularly fond of criterium stages.
Update: May 18 — In his daily column at Oregon Live, teammate Chris Horner said Armstrong has been unfairly singled out:
“I will go on record saying that not one rider I spoke to, not one rider I heard talking about the race, and just so we are clear, and not politically speaking, not one voice coming from a person on a bike in the race said they wanted to race on that course. Myself included. There were many things printed about whose fault it was, but I thought that the responsibility was clear. The fault lay with the designer of the course and the director of the course who approved it. The only fault on any riders being that we still don't have a strong enough union in place to make sure that this never could have happened in the first place.”
Tight corners
Stage 9 on Sunday was a 103-mile, 10-lap bike race around the streets of Milan. The cyclists didn't like the narrow turns (25 of them) and cobbled streets on the course.
Anyone watching live video streams of the procession got the opportunity to appreciate the scenic architecture of the city.
Pace picked up
The speed finally picked up on the 7th lap, and the race started on the 10th, and final, lap.
Garmin-Slipstream rode at the front of the peloton for most of the final lap, with Columbia and Saxo Bank in the front as well.
Columbia's Boasson Hagen led out the Columbia train in the final kilometer and Mark Cavendish attacked, winning the stage. This was Columbia's third stage win in this year's Giro.
Top 10
Organizers agreed to not compute the day's finish into the General Classification, which means there's no change in the overall standings.
1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini
2 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia – Highroad, 13 seconds behind
3 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – Highroad, 44 seconds
4 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana, 51 seconds
5 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank, 58 seconds
6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas, 1.14
7 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team1, .24
8 Christopher Horner (USA) Astana, 1.25
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas, 1.35
10 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne, 1.49
25 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana, 4.39
Astana protest
Word had leaked out recently that the Astana cyclists had not been paid since February. The team's sponsors said they've fallen victim the worldwide recession.
That's too bad, but it doesn't put food on the table for the cyclists. That explains why they showed up to race with the names of most major sponsors blotted out on their jerseys. The sole Kazakh cyclist on the team is the only one not to participate in that protest.
The UCI is expected to decide on May 31, the last day of the Giro, whether to pull the ProTour license of Astana because it can't meet its obligations.
Team manager Johan Bruyneel has said many corporations are interested in taking on the sponsorship role for Astana. With riders such as Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Alberto Contador, the team is sure to draw a lot of attention in the Tour de France.
Bruyneel says he is confident that the team (maybe no longer under the Astana name) will start the Tour de France in July.
Tuesday stage
Monday is a rest day. That's a good thing, because on Tuesday the peloton races for 200 miles from Cuneo to Pinerolo. Along the way, they summit two mountain passes — Colle del Monginevro and Sestrière.
You can watch a free, live video stream at Universal Sports.
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