Category: Giro d'Italia

A recurrent theme of the 2007 Giro d'Italia is becoming Alessandro Petacchi wins the stage and Danilo Di Luca retains the lead.

It was true again on Thursday for the essentially flat, 126-mile race from Udine to Riese Pio X; Petacchi posted his fourth stage win of the three-week Giro and Di Luca accepted the overall leader's pink jersey for the 10th time.

As Di Luca holds a gap of 2-minutes-24 — or more — over the field, it's beginning to look very likely that he'll hold the pink jersey all the way to the finish in Milan on Thursday. …

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Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni beat the field Wednesday on the mountaintop finish at Monte Zoncolan, one of the steepest climbs in Europe.

Riding with two other cyclists on the final stretch of the climb, Simoni put overall leader Danilo Di Luca into difficulty but couldn't finish him off as Di Luca struggled across the line in 4th place, 31 seconds behind Simoni.

The day's highlights played out on Monte Zoncolan, merely a 6.2-mile long climb that averages an 11.9% gradient, with a maximum of 22%. The mountain came at the finish of the 88-mile Stage 17 that started in Lienz, Austria. …

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Stefano Garzelli has won the Giro d'Italia (in 2000) and won sprints to the finish; but he has never chalked up a solo finish, until Tuesday.

The Italian caught up with a breakaway about 23 miles from the finish, then attacked them on the Bannberg climb with 18 miles to go. Since the 33-year cyclist for Acqua & Sappone started the day 20 minutes back, race leader Danilo Di Luca didn't see a threat and let him go ….

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The most difficult stage of this year's Giro d'Italia was marked by a 23-year-old cyclist winning the stage and the beleaguered leader gaining time on his rivals.

Riccardo Ricco of Saunier Duval won the Giro's 15th stage, crossing over three mountain passes before the mountaintop finish at Tre Cime Di Lavaredo.

Meanwhile his team leader, Gilberto Simoni, lost some of the time that he had gained on Saturday against overall leader Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team. Simoni dropped to 3-minutes-19 behind Di Luca, even though he climbed one place to fourth. …

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The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.

Stefano Garzelli won a seven-man sprint at the end of the 119-mile race from Cantu to Bergamo that included former Giro winners Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli.

Di Luca finished at the head of a chase group racing into Bergamo in a stage that capped two mountains ….

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It should probably be no surprise that 2006 Italian time trial champion Marzio Bruseghin won the uphill time trial at Stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia on Friday.

The effort was good enough to win, but not to unseat Danilo Di Luca from the overall lead. Di Luca finished in third place in the 7.8 mile time trial, just 8 seconds behind Bruseghin.

US cyclist Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC) finished in fourth place in the time trial, 19 seconds behind the winner. …

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Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been a major force during the first half of the Giro d'Italia, and with a win in Stage 12, he shows that he plans to have a major impact on the second half of the race as well.

Di Luca won his second stage of the Giro on Thursday, and regained the pink leader's jersey, which he will wear for the fourth time during Friday's time trial.

American cyclist George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto) did not start Stage 12, presumably to rest up for the Tour de France. American David Zabriskie (Team CSC) is still in the race, making a play for the lead group on one of the climbs. …

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Chalk up Alessandro Petacchi's third stage victory at the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, credited to a textbook leadout by his team and a big crash at the finish line in Pinerolo.

Among the dozen or so riders going down were race leader Andrea Noe, who quickly got back on his bike and rode across the finish.

World champion Paolo Bettini also remounted to finish after going down, although the crash spoiled another attempt at a stage win. …

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Italian Leonardo Piepoli powered through an elite group of climbers, including two teammates, on the steep finish at Santuario to win the 10th Stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.

Another Italian, 38-year-old Andrea Noe, finished early enough to take the overall lead in the three-week race, becoming the third Liquigas cyclist to wear the pink jersey this year.

American George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), riding in his first Giro, joined a six-man breakaway and gained enough time on the peloton for a while to be the “on the road” virtual leader. ….

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Team Milram pretty much controlled the latter part of Monday's Giro d'Italia Stage 9 for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi.

They chased the breakaway, determined when the breakaway would get caught, perfectly led the peloton through the streets of Lido Di Camaiore, and watched as Lampre cyclist Danilo Napolitano took the win.

The Italian was one of the cyclists who set up right behind Petacchi. The other opportunists included ….

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