Former Giro d'Italia champion Stefano Garzelli proved he's still a powerful climber as he won the unrelenting 8-mile individual time-trial to the summit of Plan de Corones on Tuesday.
Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso and Alexandre Vinokourov were among those gaining seconds in their battle to win the leader's jersey as the Giro kicked off its last week with the steep climb. David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) held onto to his lead, although he saw it drop by about a minute to some of his rivals.
The challenge continues on Wednesday with another mountaintop finish on Stage 17 after a mid-race climb up and over Passo delle Palade. The average grade on Wednesday's finish atop Pejo Terme is 5%, which might not even be noticeable after cyclists struggled up slopes that exceeded 20% on Tuesday.
Slow-going
While the fans got a great view of snow-capped peaks all around, the cyclists struggled on the pavement and dirt. It was so steep that a team mechanic was able to keep up with Arroyo on the final section by running just behind pushing a spare bicycle.
Garzelli, 36, won the Giro back in 2000. Sitting in 24th overall going into Tuesday's stage, his best-time set a target for all who followed.
Evans seemed especially motivated to improve his position in the General Classification and finished in second place, 42 seconds behind. He rose to 4th place overall and shaved more than a minute off his gap to overall leader Arroyo and gained 28 seconds on Basso.
Moving up/down
Basso finished in 6th place on the ITT, which was good enough to move him into 2nd place overall, unseating Richie Porte, who held the maglia rosa for a couple of days last week.
Among those not helping their own cause on Tuesday was Carlos Sastre, who finished in 19th place and actually lost a few seconds to Arroyo and dropped to 5th place overall.
Basso, Vinokourov, Evans and Nibali were among those who suffered a terrible stage last week and have been trying to make up a 12:30 deficit ever since.
Top overall
1. David Arroyo, Caisse d'Epargne
2. Ivan Basso, Liquigas – 2:27
3. Richie Porte, Saxo Bank – 2:36
4. Cadel Evans, BMC Racing – 3:09
5. Carlos Sastre, Cervelo – 4:36
6. Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas – 4:53
7. Alexandre Vinokourov, Astana – 5:12
8. Michele Scarponi, Androni – 5:25
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