Category: Giro d'Italia
The organizers of the 2010 Giro d'Italia announced a rigorous 2,118-mile route last weekend for the bike race that rolls out from May 8 to 30.
With the rescheduling of the 2010 Tour of California to May 16-23, pro cycling teams and their members will have to choose between competing in the 3-week Grand Tour or the 1-week California event.
Here's what the Giro is offering in 2010;
— Three days of racing based in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, to start;
— Six mountain stages that include the Gavia, Mortirolo, Terminillo, Zoncolan, Plan de Corones and Pejo Terme;
— Seven sprinters' stages …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/10/27/2010-giro-ditalia-route-starts-in-amsterdam-ends-in-verona/
Russian Denis Menchov protected his lead over voracious rival Danilo Di Luca in the final stage time trial of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday, in spite of crashing on rain-slicked streets just a kilometer from the finish.
Riding hard on the 9-mile loop around ancient Rome, Menchov slipped on the wet street and crashed. After slidding along the pavement, Menchov immediately got up and picked up his bike. His mechanic in the trailing team car quickly handed him a new bike, enabling him to cross the finish in 10th place.
In spite of the fall, Menchov put an extra 21 seconds on his margin over Italy's Di Luca, who finished the race in second place, 41 seconds behind Menchov.
Levi Leipheimer was the highest placed US rider in the Giro …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/31/menchov-falls-but-doesnt-fail-wins-2009-giro-ditalia/
With everyone watching the showdown between Denis Menchov and challenger Danilo Di Luca, Belgium's Philippe Gilbert slipped out of the lead group with less than a mile to go and won Stage 20 in Agnani on Saturday.
Menchov and Di Luca finished together in the pack. Italy's Di Luca actually lost 2 seconds in his bid to dislodge Menchov from first place.
The result means that Menchov carries a 20-second lead over Di Luca as they prepare for Sunday's final stage, a 9-mile individual time trial around the streets of Rome. Menchov, who gained the leader's pink jersey from Di Luca in the Stage 12 individual time trial, is expected to retain that lead. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/30/menchov-protects-giro-ditalia-lead-with-one-stage-to-go/
Giro d'Italia race leader Denis Menchov stuck to his rival's rear wheel as Italy's Danilo Di Luca tried unsuccessfully to win back the pink jersey on Stage 19 on Friday.
Although Menchov finished in fourth place, right behind Di Luca, the Italian did gain 8 seconds on Menchov. Di Luca is now within 18 seconds with just two more stages to go in this year's bicycle race.
While that contest was brewing below, Carlos Sastre won the stage with an attack on the final climb of Mount Vesuvius. He improved his overall ranking by one rung to fourth place…
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/29/sastre-erupts-on-vesuvius-di-luca-cant-shake-menchov/
Italian Michele Scarponi won his second stage of this year's Giro d'Italia on Thursday in a seven-man sprint that included Americans Jason McCartney and Danny Pate.
The seven cyclists were the remnants of a breakaway of 25 bicycle racers who gained up to about 6 minutes over the peloton at one point on the 113-mile stage from Sulmona to Benevento.
Race leader Denis Menchov and chief rival Danilo Di Luca finished together in the main peloton, with Rabobank's Menchov maintaining his 26-second lead over Di Luca. No change in the standings for the other leaders, as Levi Leipheimer remained in 6th place, 4:32 back …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/28/scarponi-wins-stage-17-menchov-lead-unchanged-at-giro/
Italy's Franco Pellizotti took a solo victory at the summit of the Blockhaus on Wednesday, while Denis Menchov coolly hung on to the leader's pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia bicycle race.
Second place Danilo Di Luca attacked Menchov with all his power on the 15-mile climb, but Menchov seemed to effortlessly stay on his rival's rear wheel. Stefano Garzelli and Ivan Basso joined that chase group that loosely crossed the finish about 42 seconds behind Pellizotti.
Lance Armstrong attempted to bridge up to Pellizotti soon after he attacked at the bottom of the 15-mile climb, but couldn't quite catch on. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/27/pellizotti-wins-stage-18-menchov-unruffled-in-lead-of-giro/
Carlos Sastre exploded out of the pack on the final climb at the Giro d'Italia on Monday to win Stage 16 and bring himself closer to overall leader Denis Menchov.
Along the way, last year's Tour de France champion overtook breakaway leader Yaroslav Popovych, who appeared ready to hand his Astana team its first win of the 2009 Giro.
Team Astana suffered more disappointment as their favorite to win the Giro, American Levi Leipheimer, crossed the finish line nearly 3 minutes behind the winner and fell three places to 6th, 3:21 behind Menchov. He was pulled across the finish line at Monte Petrano by teammate Lance Armstrong …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/25/sastre-takes-solo-win-leipheimer-loses-serious-time-on-giro-leader-menchov/
Pre-race favorite Ivan Basso staged a short-lived attack on the pink jersey Sunday, but couldn't sustain an advantage as overall leader Denis Menchov retained the top spot of the Giro d'Italia for another day.
Italian Leonardo Bertagnolli took the solo victory on Stage 15 in Faenza. The 31-year-old was the sole survivor of a 16-man breakaway pack that formed about 11 miles into the 99 mile stage.
Despite lots of drama in the rollercoaster stage that routed the peloton over five climbs, the leaders remained intact at the end of the day. At one point 3rd place cyclist Levi Leipheimer lost contact with the Menchov group, but the Astana rider was able bridge about 29 seconds back to the leaders' group.
Basso delivered much of that drama, as he attacked on the next to last climb — Monte Casale ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/24/basso-attack-fizzles-at-giro-bertagnolli-wins-stage-15/
Once in a blue moon the cyclists in a breakaway survive to the finish. Stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia on Saturday was one of those days.
Aussie Simon Gerrans and 13 other members of the peloton attacked just 8 miles into the mountainous stage to Bologna; they remained out front for the remaining 99 miles of the race.
Their only impact on the overall contest for the pink jersey was to press Danilo Di Luca's LPR Brakes team into service to close the gap. Interesting that LPR Brakes took up that role, rather than Rabobank, the team of overall leader Denis Menchov ….
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/23/gerrans-breakaway-wins-stage-14-menchov-leads-giro-bike-race/
The predominant sprinter of Giros d'Italia of the recent past once again couldn't muster the speed to overtake cycling's prevailing speedster of the present.
Team Columbia's Mark Cavendish took his third stage win of this year's Giro with Alessandro Petacchi trying desparately to pass as they crossed the finish line in Florence on Friday.
Petacchi, Ale-Jet, schooled Cavendish and his teammates early on in Stages 2 and 3 this year, but Cavendish has returned with victories in Stages 9, 11 and 13. The Brit can give some credit to Columbia teammate Edvald Boasson Hagen, who once again set up Cavendish in textbook fashion. …
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Permanent link to this article: https://www.bikingbis.com/2009/05/22/cavendish-wins-no-3-menchov-still-leads-giro-bicycle-race/
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