Sprinters rule again at the Giro d'Italia bicycle race on Monday as Aussie Robbie McEwen wins the stage and takes the pink jersey for the overall lead.
Alessandro Petacchi, whose Fassa Bortolo team has tried to set up the peloton for him in the last mile or so the past two days, is boxed out at the finish and comes in fourth, according to the call from CyclingNews.
The second stage of the Giro d'Italia covered about 113 miles from Catanzaro Lido to Santa Mario del Cedro, located on the western coast of Italy. The racers completed the stage in 4 hours and 34 minutes.
At the end, Petacchi's Fassa Bortolo team had strung out the peloton. Jaan Kirispuu (Credit Agricole) made a jump for it with McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) on his wheel, and McEwen beat them all in the close sprint.
Interesting that the sprinters have propeled themselves using Petacchi's team as the engine. In previous years, it was Petacchi who won on the backs of rivals' teams, among them the team of Mario Cipollini. Now with Super Mario retired, Petacchi's team is fulfilling that lead-out role for many of his rivals.
Meanwhile, full results show that Discovery Channel Pro Cycling team's Paolo Savoldelli, the winner of the 2002 Giro, dropped back to 5th place, but only 30 seconds behind McEwen.
Among the Americans, Antonio Cruz is in 62nd place (about 56 second back) and Tom Danielson is in 92nd (66 seconds behind). Those gaps can be quickly narrowed in the mountains.
This is the first day that OLN's website has carried the live Giro d' Italia feed. Has anyone tried that? Any reviews? Feel free to make a comment, anonymous or otherwise.
Recent Comments