Evans attacks
Cadel Evans attacked on Saturday's final climb in an attempt to threaten the overall supremacy of Ivan Basso as the Giro d'Italia comes to a close.
The Australian's bid failed to close much of the 4-minute gap to the overall leader. However, the 5th-place cyclist reduced time differences with his rivals so he might gain a podium position as the race ends Sunday with a 9-mile individual time trial in Verona.
Swiss cyclist Johann Tschoop, with no such designs in the General Classification, won the 110-mile stage from Bormio to Passa del Tonale that featured five climbs, including the massive Passo do Gavia.
Giro legends
Ten-foot snow drifts at the side of the narrow road marked the peloton's passage over this legendary pass — the next to last climb of the day and the most difficult. Tschoop found himself locked in a two-man battle for the summit with another legend, Gilberto Simoni, the 38-year-old, two-time Giro champion and frequent visitor to the podium.
As neither cyclist threatened his overall lead, Basso was further down the mountain with most of the race leaders. Simoni attacked Tschoop near the summit, but Tschoop held on and blasted past him right before the top. The Swiss cyclist never looked back as he charged downhill toward the valley and final climb of the day.
Simoni took it easy on the descent and was caught by a small break that included Alexandre Vinokourov, who was trying to better his 8th position in the overall contest. Simoni then sat back and made the best of his last summit stage of the Giro before his retirement, even submiting to an interview on the last climb.
Evans attacks
When Basso's group reached the bottom of the final climb with 3 miles left, Evans jumped up and attacked. He surged past Simoni and then Vinokourov and the stragglers from that group.
But Tschoop was too far ahead for Evans to win the stage, and Basso increased his tempo to stay within sight of Evans. In the final analysis, Evans only gained 13 seconds on Basso, but closed in on the podium positions currently held by David Arroyo in 2nd and Vincenzo Nibali in 3rd.
The individual time trial in Verona will be broadcast on Universal Sports from 10 a.m. to noon (ET) on Sunday.
Leaders after Stage 20
1. Ivan Basso (Liquigas)
2. David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) – 1:15 behind
3. Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) – 2:56 behind
4. Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli) – 2:57 behind
5. Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) – 3:47 behind
6. Richie Porte (Saxo) – 7:25 behind
7. Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana) – 7: 31 behind
8. Carlos Sastre (Cervelo) – 8:55 behind
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