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A train in vain: McEwen derails Petacchi Express
It was a battle of the bumping elbows on the mean streets of Santa Maria del Cedro in southern Italy, but fearless Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) slipped through unscathed to claim both the win and the maglia rosa.
The first 181 kilometers of the 182km second stage along the absolutely stunning Calabrian coast unfolded pretty much as can be expected, but then things got downright ornery as the peloton bore down on the final 1000 meters.
There was an outright rebellion as Crédit Agricole and Davitamon-Lotto refused to step aside for Fassa Bortolo and undisputed sprint king Alessandro Petacchi.
“It was a complicated sprint because of the long home straight. (Bjorn) Leukemans and Henk (Vogels) protected me from the wind,” explained McEwen, a winner of one stage in each of the past three editions of the Giro
“(Julian) Dean and (Jan) Kirsipuu were in front of me. I was next to Petacchi but I decided to take Kirsipuu's wheel,” McEwen said. “I remembered what he did in last year's Tour de France (when he won the first stage). It was the best option.”
It was indeed. Grabbing the Estonian’s wheel, McEwen held off Isaac Galvez (Illes Balears) and Robert Forster (Gerolsteiner) to claim victory and wrestled the maglia rosa away from Italian Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic).
Overnight leader Bettini said he wasn’t too troubled to lose the overall lead in a stage tailor-made for the sprinters.
“I’m not too disappointed,” said Bettini, who slipped to second at eight seconds back. “It was a stage for the sprinters, everyone knew that. It’s all part of the game, but you haven't heard the last from me yet.”
As for Petacchi, known as the “gentleman sprinter” for his easygoing manner, his second consecutive loss might prompt him to change his demeanor. The stage was ideal for Fassa’s fast man, with a long, straight, flat approach into the finish, but the once-feared Silver Train was derailed for the second day in a row.
Fassa’s Matteo Tossato nearly fell off his bike when he looked up to see Crédit Agricole’s Dean towing Kirsipuu past his left shoulder. Petacchi was boxed in on the right side in the melee, preventing him from making a clean sprint.
“I feel sorry mostly for my teammates who worked really hard to get me to the front,” said Petacchi, who slipped to third at 22 seconds back. With 20-second bonuses on the line for stage-wins, Petacchi’s chances of snagging the pink jersey aren’t looking so hot.
“The pink jersey was within reach but I had to end my sprint early because I got caged in the bunch,” he said.
Early break, bad crash
If tourist organizations aren’t convinced of the marketing power of stage races, they obviously weren’t watching Monday’s race. Its route wound along the breathtaking coastline under sunny spring skies in a perfect day for a bike race.
Bettini lined up in Catanzaro Lido for the start resplendent in the maglia rosa. The Olympic champion shook off a poor start to his 2005 season with a dramatic win in Sunday’s first stage, a three-for-one victory that ended his season-long winless streak, marked his first-ever Giro stage win and gave him his first maglia rosa.
“This is also my first win in 2005 because I was ill with the flu and had other problems during the first two months of the season, so it's good to be back,” the 31-year-old said. “It took me nine years to win my first stage and get the pink jersey, and so I'll try and keep it for as long as possible.”
Once the stage got under way, it wasn’t long before some head-bangers tore out of the main bunch. Six riders extracted themselves from the peloton and built up a lead that at one point topped six minutes.
In the breakaway were: Moreno Di Biase (Selle Italia-Colombia); Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner); Phillippe Schnyder (Selle Italia-Colombia); Freddy Bichot (Française des Jeux); Roy Sentjens (Rabobank); and Bram Schmitz (T-Mobile).
Di Biase crashed after skidding out of a turn heading toward the day’s InterGiro sprint, but got back up to continue with the leading group. But the gap was clipped to less than two minutes with 40km remaining and dropped to 1:13 with 30km to go as Davitamon-Lotto helped Fassa Bortolo set the pace.
Bichot tore away in an ill-fated solo effort as the peloton was barreling down on the break, but with 25km alone against the main bunch, he had better chances to win the lotteries his team’s title sponsor promotes.
Team CSC moved to the front to control the pace up a climb midway through the final circuit with 10km to go. The force cut the peloton, leaving about 25 riders spit out the back as four CSC’s drove the peloton down the serpentine descent, with Andrea Peron taking charge with 4km to go.
Fassa Bortolo and T-Mobile riders were jostling for position in his wake, with T-Mobile’s Erik Zabel glued onto Petacchi’s wheel. Fassa Bortolo took over with four kilometers to go, but then the elbows started flying.
Dangerous crash
Euskaltel-Euskadi rider Alberto Lopez de Munain was the victim of a ghastly high-speed crash with about 45km to go when he clipped tires with a rider in front of him and fell full-speed into a metal guardrail alongside the road.
His head took the full brunt of the impact and the 33-year-old lay motionless on the ground as medical officials frantically attended him. He lost consciousness for a few moments and was immediately taken to hospital by ambulance.
Thankfully, scans at a local hospital revealed no serious injuries to his skull, neck or spine. Race officials said he suffered rib fractures on his left side and fractures to his collarbone.
The UCI’s mandatory helmet rule, introduced following the death of Andrei Kivilev, certainly saved his life.
The 88th Giro d’Italia continues on Tuesday with the 210km third stage from Diamante to Giffoni Valle Piana. The course pushes off the Mediterranean Coast and heads inland, hitting the Cat. 3 Montecorvino Pugliano climb about 5km from the finish, opening the door for stage-hunters.
Preliminary Results
1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 4:34:47 (38.4kph)
2. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Sp), Illes Balears
3. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner
4. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo
5. Baden Cooke (Aus), Francaise Des Jeux
6. Francisco J. Ventoso Alberdi (Sp), Saunier Duval
7. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Cofidis
8. Steven De Jongh (Nl), Rabobank
9. Paride Grillo (I), Ceramica Panaria
10. Uros Murn (Slo), Phonak
11. Rony Martias (F), Bouygues Telecom
12. Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr), Discovery
13. Olaf Pollack (G), T-Mobile Team
14. Ivan Quaranta (I), Domina Vacanze
15. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Credit Agricole, all s.t.
Overall
1. Robbie McEwen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto
2. Paolo Bettini (I), QuickStep, at 0:08
3. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, at 0:22
To see how today's stage developed, simply click here.
