You have to wonder how many cyclists in the 19-man breakaway that developed early on Stage 15 actually thought they had a chance to win on Sunday. The 229km (143-mile) Giro d'Italia bike race over 4 mountain passes ended in a summit finish.
Spain's Mikel Nieve (left, Eukaltel Euskadi) must have believed. Even after being dropped by Italy's Stefano Garzelli over the last two high passes, Nieve fought back to win the stage atop Val di Fassa.
Race leader Alberto Contador finished in third, just behind Garzelli. Contador continued to add to his margin over his rivals, posting a 4:20 gap over second-place Michele Scarponi (Lampre) at the end of the day.
Dropping
Previously in second place overall, Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) dropped to third, trailing Contador by 5:11.
Nibali had stayed with the Contador group during most of the race, but lost ground after attacking on the penultimate climb, the Passo Fedaia. As Contador has done to other GC contenders throughout the Giro, Contador answered the attack by catching up to Nibali then passing him.
The acceleration had proved too much for the Italian, who trailed the Contador group by a minute at the summit. He punched it going downhill and caught the Contador group, but was dropped again heading to the summit finish.
Inspiration
Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) put in the most inspiring race of the day. Also a member of the early 19-man breakaway, the 37-year-old winner of the 2000 Giro d'Italia attacked on the grueling Passo Giau. First over the pass, he won for Cima Coppi honor for arriving first at the Giro's highest point.
He continued in the lead over the next pass, Passo Fedaia. The route near the top was crowded with cycling fans, and Garzelli issued a couple of elbow checks to spectators who ran alongside shouting at him.
Nieve caught up and passed Garzelli on the final climb, beating Garzelli by 1:41. Contador finished just 10 seconds behind Garzelli. Scarponi hung on to finish 4th, 6 seconds behind Contador.
Rest day
Scarponi's good finish helped him pass Nibali in the overall standings.
So ends a weekend of three summit finishes at the Giro. The peloton has a day off on Monday, then returns on Tuesday for a 12.7km (7.8-mile) individual time trial that is nearly all uphill to a summit finish at Nevegal.
Top 5 overall
1. Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank)
2. Michele Scarponi (Lampre) – 4:20
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) – 5:11
4. John Gadret (AG2R) – 6:08
5. Igor Anton (Euskaltel) – 6:32
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