THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING »

Get the VeloNews Email Newsletter FREE

  Learn More | Archive
Home » Top Stories » Road »

Live Coverage - Stage 17 Giro d'Italia

Published: May. 28, 2008
  • 01:27 PM: Good day and welcome

    to VeloNews.com's Live Coverage of the 17th stage of the 91st edition of the Giro d'Italia, a 146-kilometer ride from Sondrio to Locarno.

    After three tough, tough days in the mountains and "rest" day that was more transfer than rest, riders will welcome today's route. It's a generally flat stage covering a moderate distance, so those sprinters still in the peloton have another opportunity to strut their stuff, after three brutal days in the mountains. So, who is left? Well, let's go back to stage 13, the last time the sprinters contested the finish and see who among the top 20 made it through the mountains.

    Top 20, Stage 13
    1. Mark Cavendish (GBR), Team High Road
    2. Daniele Bennati (ITA), Liquigas
    3. Koldo Fernandez (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi
    4. Erik Zabel (GER), Milram
    5. Julian Dean (NZL), Slipstream-Chipotle
    6. Mirco Lorenzetto (ITA), Lampre
    7. Alexandre Usov (BLR), Ag2r La Mondiale
    8. Nikolai Trussov (RUS), Tinkoff
    9. Robbie McEwen (AUS), Silence-Lotto
    10. Graeme Brown (AUS), Rabobank
    11. Oscar Gatto (ITA), Gerolsteiner
    12. Mathew Hayman (AUS), Rabobank
    13. Lilian Jegou (FRA), Francaise des Jeux
    14. Robert Forster (GER), Gerolsteiner
    15. Gabriele Missaglia (ITA), Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni
    16. Carlo Scognamiglio (ITA), Barloworld
    17. Alexander Serov (RUS), Tinkoff
    18. Luciano Pagliarini (BRA), Saunier Duval
    19. Marlon A. Perez Arango (COL), Caisse d'Epargne
    20. Assan Bazayev (KAZ), Astana, s.t.

    While we can't fault sprint specialists from leaving before the big climbs began, we have to give real credit where credit is due and those sprinters who struggled through the last three stages deserve a tip of the hat. Chapeau, gents. One guy we feel really bad for is Matt Hayman, who struggled through the mountains, only to be eliminated by the time cut on Monday's uphill time trial. Ouch.

    Hayman wasn't the only one. The time cut-off left six riders out of the Giro, for finishing well off of stage winner Franco Pellizotti's time of 40:26.
    147. Raivis Belohvosciks (LAT), Saunier Duval, at 10:52
    148. Mathew Hayman (AUS), Rabobank, at 10:53
    149. Paolo Bossoni (ITA), Lampre, at 11:15
    150. Christopher Sutton (AUS), Slipstream-Chipotle, at 12:09
    151. Lander Aperribay (ESP), Euskaltel-Euskadi, at 12:14
    152. Thomas Fothen (GER), Gerolsteiner, at 13:22

  • 01:43 PM: The peloton

    is now working its way through the neutral zone, the section that allows things to get organized before the official starting flag is dropped.

    We expect the official start to come in a few minutes.

  • 01:48 PM: Today's weather

    There is a slight chance for a few showers this afternoon, but it's not serious. There are a few clouds and temperatures are in the high 70s (26c) and very slight winds from the southeast, just around 3mph (5kph). The humidity is around 80%. All told, it should be a pretty mellow day in the saddle, until the peloton charges into Locarno in a few hours.

  • 01:51 PM: Drop us a line

    If you have comments, questions or even complaints, be sure to hit the "contact our editors" link below the Live Update window. We'll try to personally answer as many of your questions as time permits and even post a few of those questions or comments during today's coverage.

  • 01:56 PM: At 5km

    After three days in the hills and longer-than-usual rest day transfer, no one is really trying an early charge out of the field. At five km, the peloton is riding as one big happy family... for now. Today's official start came at 1:45 p.m., a nice and civilized start time.

  • 02:04 PM: We have a break

    We have a three-man escape at 11km, with the trio now enjoying an advantage of 2:10.

    The three - with their positions on GC - are:
    79. Francesco Gavazzi (ITA), Lampre, at 1:35:07
    138. Yann Huguet (FRA), Cofidis, at 2:45:26
    145. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS), Tinkoff, at 2:56:35

  • 02:12 PM: Crossing the border

    At the 83.9km mark in today's stage, the peloton crosses into Switzerland. Despite the Swiss propencity for tight border controls, we doubt riders will be stopped and asked to present passports. Of course, we could be wrong.

  • 02:15 PM: The gap has grown

    to about 4:00, by the 20km mark. Let's see how much rope the peloton gives these three.

  • 02:20 PM: Revised time check

    Race radio has offered an updated time check at the 20km mark. The three escapees crossed that mark 6:40 ahead of the peloton.

    Obviously, none of these guys - Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Yann Huguet (Cofidis) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) - poses a threat to the overall race leaders, but there will be intense interest in keeping this break under control by the sprinters' teams.

  • 02:22 PM: Reader comment

    Robert G writes from Georgia to say

    I am wondering…..Am I the only one rooting for Zabel to get a stage win today?!?!?! Us “OLD” guys need a win every now and then.


    No, no, no, Robert, there are plenty of Zabel fans out there. We hear from a lot of them.

  • 02:23 PM: At 26km

    the three off the front are now 7:00 ahead of the peloton.

  • 02:36 PM: At 33km

    our leaders are now 8:10 ahead of the peloton. With a short stage today, we'd venture to say that the gap will not get much bigger than that before the sprinters' teams opt to take up the chase. While tradition may dictate that the team of the magli rosa set tempo at the front, we can't imagine that Astana is going to put in a huge effort to pull these guys in. It's not like Riccardo Ricco or Gilberto Simoni is off the front with an eight-minute advantage.

  • 02:46 PM: Reader question

    Marc from Rhode Island writes to ask

    Now with Alberto Contador in the Maglia Rosa, Do you think the Tour de France organizer will reconsider their exclusion of Team Astana?


    We really doubt it. We spoke with Astana riders the other day, too, and they have no expectation of seeing ASO change its position regarding this year's Tour. Contador seems resigned to the fact, adding that if the team is invited, he hopes its with more than the one-week notice it got from the Giro.

    With or without Astana, it's going to be a good Tour this year... and winning what has to be one of the toughest Giros (Giri?) on record isn't a bad consolation prize for Contador. Indeed, if he wins it, it's a nice mark in what is sure to be a long run of grand tour victories. Keep in mind that the guy is still only 25 years old. Lance Armstrong was already 27 before he won his first grand tour in 1999.

  • 02:47 PM: At 43km

    After an hour of racing, the three leaders are now 8:12 ahead of the main field.

  • 02:52 PM: Sproing

    It looks like the tempo in the peloton is picking up a little and the gap is dropping, albeit only slightly. At 46km, the three leaders' advantage has dropped to 7:40. The pull-back has begun.

  • 02:57 PM: Reader comment

    Daniel F writes in to say

    It seems kind of disheartening to be retired because of a cut-off from a time trial (3 min.+),when you have a bunch of guys that are hours down on the GC. Why is there a cut-off on a time trial?


    Yeah, in way we have to agree, Daniel. The cut-off was actually quite a bit more liberal than usual on Monday, with riders required to finish within 25-percent of the winner's time. Still, as you can see from our list above, that directly affected several riders, guys that had already worked like dogs to get through the mountains. But, to use another hackneyed cliche': That's bike racing.

  • 02:59 PM: Time

    Now at 52km, the leaders have had their lead cut to 7:00.

  • 03:20 PM: At 62km

    the two leaders are now 7:10 ahead of the peloton. It looks like the gap may hold in that range for a while. We'll go out on a limb (not really a big risk here) and predict a capture after the 20km to go mark.

  • 03:27 PM: At 66km

    the gap is back down to 6:05.

    We've had several letters that have essentially asked the same question in varying forms: Why do these guys bother?

    Well, there are a lot of reasons, beginning with the old adage, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Sure, most of these breaks end in predictable fashion, but sometimes they stick. While we've seen quite a few of these things fail, we have also seen them succeed, now and then. Old Jacky Durrand was the king of these efforts and he would pull it off every once in a while. His resume includes wins in some impressive races, most of which came from his willingness to make an early attack.

    There's also just the simple fact that these riders are sponsored, often by small obscure companies whose products are not widely recognized. The "TV time" benefit alone is worth it for a small team to give it a shot.

  • 03:31 PM: At 73km

    the leaders' are now 6:05 ahead of the peloton.

  • 03:37 PM: Porlezzo

    the leaders are about 5km from the Swiss border and the chase is ramping up. The gap is now 5:55 with 68km remaining in today's stage.

  • 03:44 PM: Milram, Liquigas and High Road

    are putting in the effort at the front of the peloton. While we may see a field sprint at the end of the day, there is a bit of a climb coming up. It's not rated and averages only about 2.2 percent, but it lasts 12km and does have steep sections of up to 7 percent. It could be a good time for Zabel and Bennati to try and dump Cavendish, which might be a good strategy.

  • 03:52 PM: Singlefile

    the peloton is strung out in single file. The pace in the field is quite high, around 60kph, so the chase is on, cruising on absolutely beautiful roads along lake Lugano. We sure wish we could afford to live here, especially in one of the stunning lake-front homes here.

  • 03:52 PM: In Switzerland

    the peloton is now in Switzerland.

  • 03:54 PM: With 57km remaining

    for our three leaders, the gap is down to 4:58.

  • 03:56 PM: Astana

    is moving to the front of the field. It has to be largely with the intention of keeping race leader Alberto Contador out of trouble.

    As a reminder, the three men of the front - with their positions on GC - are:
    79. Francesco Gavazzi (ITA), Lampre, at 1:35:07
    138. Yann Huguet (FRA), Cofidis, at 2:45:26
    145. Mikhail Ignatiev (RUS), Tinkoff, at 2:56:35

  • 03:59 PM: With 52km

    remaining, the gap is now 4:20.

  • 04:04 PM: High Road and Liquigas

    are back up front and continuing to keep the pace high. Our leaders are less than 50km from the finish and the gap is now 4:10.

  • 04:08 PM: The three

    Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Yann Huguet (Cofidis) and Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) are working through the little climbs that precede the day's long 12km grind. Let's see what impact this bumpy part of the course has on the picture of this stage.

    Gavazzi, by the way, scampers ahead and grabs top points at the sprint.

  • 04:11 PM: The gap

    at that little Milano Sprint mark is 3:30.

  • 04:12 PM: The leaders

    are now 45km from the finish, but the peloton is coming up fast.

  • 04:17 PM: Reader question

    Daniel D. writes in to say

    Thanks for the great coverage, guys.

    Wouldn't one way to improve the chances that breakaways will occasionally succeed be to get rid of the radios riders wear and otherwise make it harder for everyone to know exactly how big the lead is? This would make it harder to time the catch as perfectly as they seem to be able to do these days. It would at least make things more interesting some of the time, I think. What do you think?
    Dan



    Yeah Dan, we're not big fans of race radios and the amazing technology being used out there. Riders have radios, which link them to team cars, which have TVs and GPS to track the progress of breaks. It sort of takes some of the excitement away. Even in the absence of radios, riders would still get updates from motorcycles and the "blackboard man."

    With or without radios, the peloton would soon learn that the gap to the leaders is now down to 3:40.

  • 04:20 PM: 41 km remaining

    our three leaders are working their way up the day's biggest bump in the profile. The peloton is charging on to the base of this long, but moderate, climb.

  • 04:22 PM: Liquigas

    is at the front of the peloton. They're really pushing the tempo. Liquigas may be trying to get rid of High Road's Cavendish. The other benefit, of course, is that they are really taking time out of the break. The gap is now down to 2:55.

  • 04:27 PM: 2:40

    The peloton is really flying at this point, while our three escapees are beginning to fade, with 35km remaining in today's stage.

  • 04:31 PM: Cavendish

    is holding his own on this climb. Interestingly enough, we see Paolo Bettini and the Quick Step boys coming to the front. Are they going to try to up the pace to make things difficult for the Brit?

  • 04:33 PM: POP!

    Huguet has lost contact with the other two in the break, as they near the top.

  • 04:35 PM: At the top

    the peloton crests the climb at 1:56. Cavendish is in there, so we'll probably see him contesting the sprint.

  • 04:38 PM: Huguet

    has lost 25 seconds to his former breakaway companions. He's just 1:20 ahead of the main field and is likely to have quite a bit of company here soon.

  • 04:40 PM: With less than 30km

    remaining, the peloton is just 1:40 behind the two leaders. Huguet is about 30 seconds back.

  • 04:42 PM: Di Luca and Bettini

    are at the front of the peloton and racing each other down this very fast descent. It looks like the two Italians are just having a bit of fun.

    With 25km remaining, the gap to the two leaders has bumped up to 1:50, but we're still betting on a catch... probably within the next 10km.

  • 04:45 PM: Huguet is back

    in the peloton. Our two leaders are on the flats and the gap is now 1:45.

    Ignatiev takes a dig and attacks and is leaving Gavazzi in the dust.

  • 04:46 PM: 20km

    Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) is now off on his own, giving it his all. Gavazzi didn't even react when the Russioan went on the attack.

  • 04:48 PM: High Road and Liquigas

    are both driving hard at the front of the peloton. Gavazzi is already trailing the Russian by 25 seconds. The peloton is another 1:10 back.

  • 04:51 PM: Gavazzi

    appears to have given up the ghost. He's about a minute behind Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff), who is pushing hard to stay away. He's now about 1:50 ahead of the main field. He's a talented time trialist, a former U23 world champion in that discipline....

    Correction: Gavazzi has been pulled back by the peloton.

  • 04:53 PM: 15km to go

    Mikhail Ignatiev (Tinkoff) is now 15km from the finish. We'll get a good time check at the banner.

  • 04:54 PM: Liquigas and High Road

    are driving the chase. The peloton crosses the 15km-to-go mark 1:21 behind Ignatiev.

  • 04:56 PM: Ignatiev

    is getting word of encouragement from his director, who his yelling out of the window of the Tinkoff team car. At least he doesn't have that damn PA system that Manolo Saiz used to use. "Venga! Venga! Venga!"

  • 04:58 PM: Strange position

    Ignatiev is trying to stay as aero as possible. He's got his wrists resting on the inside of his brake hoods and his hands holding the levers from that awkward position.

    The gap is down to 1:05. He's probably going to be caught, but he's giving it his all.

  • 04:59 PM: You can't help

    but cheer for this guy. He has 10km to go. He's really bustin' a gut on this one.

  • 05:00 PM: The peloton

    crosses the 10km-to-go mark at 45 seconds. It looks like it's going to be a heartbreaker for the Russian. We'll raise a glass of vodka in his honor... whether he makes it or not.

  • 05:02 PM: 8km to go

    Ignatiev is pounding the pedals. The peloton is ramping up for the sprint. They're just 40 seconds behind.

  • 05:03 PM: They can see him

    the High Road and Liquigas teams are at the front and Ignatiev is fighting to save the stage win, but it doesn't look likely. 30 seconds.

  • 05:03 PM: Ignatiev

    is 6.8km from the finish.

  • 05:04 PM: High Road and Liquigas

    are still at the front. The gap, with 6km to go, the gap is 30 seconds. Can he do it?

  • 05:05 PM: They are closing in

    he's 25 seconds ahead of the field... and within their sights. Poor fella.

  • 05:06 PM: 5km to go

    Ignatiev is five kilometers from the finish. The peloton hits the banner at 19 seconds and Jens Voigt attacks out of the field.

  • 05:07 PM: Oh that scared the sprinters

    Voigt put the fear into High Road... Ignatiev looks like he's about to be caught

  • 05:07 PM: 4km to go

    The whole thing is back together, with Liquigas driving the pace.

  • 05:09 PM: 3km

    Whoa... Bettini almost crashed into Bennati on a tight turn. High Road is driving hard at the front.

  • 05:09 PM: Wiggins

    is driving hard at the front of the field. Cavendish is getting a great lead-out and Bennati is fighting to get on his wheel... Bettini is in there, too.

  • 05:10 PM: 1km to go

    High Road

  • 05:11 PM: Final turn

    and the High Roaders are still leading... Cavendish is getting a great lead, but he eases off and lets Greipel get the sprint! Bennati was right on Cavendish's wheel, but he wasn't the right one. The High Roaders cross the line one, two and both have their arms raised. Nice work.

  • 05:15 PM: Nice teamwork

    That was a class act on Cavendish's part, folks. He could have easily taken the sprint. Bennati was on Cavendish's wheel, but no one was gonna beat him. Then he eases off and lets his leadout man, Andre Greipel take the win. Cavendish comes through in second and Bennati third. Nice work by the High Road team.

  • 05:18 PM: No change in GC

    but an exciting finish to a sprinters' stage.

    1. Andre Greipel (GER), High Road
    2. Mark Cavendish (GB) High Road
    3. Daniele Bennati (ITA), Liquigas
    4. Erik Zabel (G), Milram
    5. Assan Bazayev (KAZ), Astana

  • 05:26 PM: Okay folks

    that's a wrap. It's been an interesting day. We'll be back tomorrow with Live up-to-the-minute coverage of Stage 18. Until then, have a good day and try to get out and get some miles in yourselves. We're gonna try, too.