Giro d'Italia race leader Denis Menchov stuck to his rival's rear wheel as Italy's Danilo Di Luca tried unsuccessfully to win back the pink jersey on Stage 19 on Friday.
Although Menchov finished in fourth place, right behind Di Luca, the Italian did gain 8 seconds on Menchov. Di Luca is now within 18 seconds with just two more stages to go in this year's bicycle race.
While that contest was brewing below, Carlos Sastre won the stage with an attack on the final climb of Mount Vesuvius. He improved his overall ranking by one rung to fourth place.
Franco Pellizotti finished in second place, helping to solidify his overall position in 3rd, 1:39 behind Menchov. His Liquigas teammate, Ivan Basso, had attacked early on the 8-mile climb up Mount Vesuvius. Near the summit, however, Basso waited for Pellizotti and helped him climb for a few hundred meters. It was perhaps evidence that their rivalry was over. Basso finished in 5th on the stage, and dropped behind Sastre to 5th place.
The breakaway of the day developed early in the 101-mile race and lasted until the base of the Vesuvius climb when the race started for real. Mauro Facci (Quick Step) and Yuriy Krivtsov (AG2R La Mondiale) starred in that early break.
While Di Luca had the leader's pink jersey during most of the first half of the three-week Giro, Menchov won it on the individual time trial at the midway point. The Italian member of LPR Brakes has tried to regain it ever since.
Stage after stage, Di Luca has tried unsuccessfully to put Menchov in difficulty. While Di Luca and Menchov have finished together on the recent stages, however, Menchov leading margin has been dwindling.
Menchov led Di Luca by 34 seconds after the Stage 12 time trial. Now, in spite of not losing serious time, Menchov leads by 18 seconds. That might be enough with two stages.
The Giro ends Sunday in Rome with an individual time trial.
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