Petacchi wins a soggy stage 15; Savoldelli holds lead
Fassa Bortolo’s Alessandro Petacchi took his third win in the weather-shortened 15th stage as the Giro d’Italia trudged into its final week.
Poor weather prompted officials to move the start to the bottom of day’s big climb, making it a relatively easy, if soggy day in the saddle for the 159 remaining riders.
After a long breakaway by Roy Sentjens (Rabobank), Fassa’s silver train was back on track and catapulted Petacchi to an easy win ahead of the sprinter-depleted field. Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) came through second while Olympic champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) took third.
“Today the train worked well, but the roads were slippery with the rain, so I thank my team,” said Petacchi. “Today it seemed easy, but it’s only controversial when we don’t win.”
There were no major changes in the overall standings as the favorites cooled their jets after two hard days in the Dolomites. Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) continues to lead Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) by 25 seconds, with Gilberto Simoni (Lampre) third at 1:48.
Tuesday’s rest day is on tap ahead of what should be an exciting three-stage climax starting Thursday.
Rainy day to nowhere
Riders woke up to rainy weather in Livigno, tucked high in northern Italy in the heart of the Dolomites. With poor conditions high on the 2315-meter Forcola di Livigno, race organizers showed some heart and allowed the race to scoot around the brooding climb and stay down in the valleys.
The day’s lone non-starter was former mountain bike world champion Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank), who suffered through the 88th Giro without making much of an imprint.
Sentjens pulled away with 12km and spent more than three hours alone through the rain as the route pushed south along Lake Como toward the finish in Lissone.
The big Dutchman finally blew up when with 38km to go after Raffaele Illiano (Colombia-Selle Italia) bridged out to join him following the day’s InterGiro sprint. Bettini, meanwhile, pulled ahead of Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) in the InterGiro classification.
Fassa Bortolo marshaled its troops and left Illiano dangling off the front with a lead of about a minute with 30km to go. Matthew White (Cofidis) stuck his nose into the wind moments after Charlie Wegelius (Liquigas-Bianchi) toppled off his bike, but that didn’t last long.
Lampre-Caffita took up the charge roaring through Lecco toward the finishing circuit with 26km to go. Illiano stayed some 20 seconds in the lead until it was gruppo compatto with about 20km to go.
Discovery massed at the front to drive the maglia rosa into Lissone for the two finishing circuits. Roads were wet, but it wasn’t raining as Michael Barry led Savoldelli on the first circuit. Matt Wilson (FDJeux) went on a solo flier, a move that sent Fassa Bortolo back to the front to control the pace.
With 2km to go, the bumping started in earnest with T-Mobile trying to muscle in on Fassa Bortolo’s train to set up Zabel. Petacchi took a long sprint but easily held off his German nemesis to score his third win of this year’s corsa rosa.
Rest for the weary
Riders will enjoy their second and final rest day Tuesday before the final five-stage push toward the Milan finale on May 29.
The break couldn’t come soon enough for Team CSC’s Ivan Basso, who tumbled out of contention after two stricken days in the Dolomites.
Basso bravely made the start Monday, but his chances of victory evaporated in the Italian Dolomites after stomach problems sapped his strength and saw him fall nearly 40 minutes adrift.
“I suffered like never before, but I had to pull through,” Basso said. “I didn't manage to eat anything at all during the stage, so I was completely drained of energy. No strength in my legs, and it was pure will power along with my teammates, who kept me going.”
Basso said he hopes to recover on Tuesday’s rest day and fight through three decisive stages in the Italian Alps with hopes of winning a stage.
“I got through (Sunday) because I still want to try to achieve something in this race,” said Basso, who’s finished second in two stages. “Maybe stopping would’ve been the sensible thing to do, as I was in a lot of pain, but I couldn’t.”
Savoldelli, meanwhile, takes a slender and somewhat unexpected lead into Tuesday’s rest day. The Falcon has ridden extremely well while pre-race favorites Basso, Stefano Garzelli (Liquigas-Bianchi) and defending champion Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Caffita) are either out of contention or out of the race altogether.
“I don’t feel like that I am the favorite,” Savoldelli said. “Everyone is still very close and there are some very difficult stages remaining. I feel like that I am the same level as the other favorites.”
The 88th Giro continues Wednesday with the 207km 16th stage from Lissone to Varazze along the Italian Riviera. The stage is well suited for stage-hunters as the top sprinter teams might have a hard time keeping the group together all the way to the finish. After some 150km across the flats of the Po Valley, the course climbs over the Bric Berton climbed used in the Milan-San Remo with 40km to go and drops down to Varazze.
Stage 15
Results
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 147km in 3:32:41(41.47kph)
2. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, at 0:00
3. Paolo Bettini (I), Quickstep, at 0:00
4. Simone Cadamuro (I), Domina Vacanze, at 0:00
5. Marco Velo (I), Fassa Bortolo, at 0:00
6. Paride Grillo (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, at 0:00
7. Henk Vogels (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, at 0:00
8. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:00
9. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Sp), Illes Balears, at 0:00
10. Sven Krauss (G), Gerolsteiner, at 0:00
Overall
1. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 70:54:09
2. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, at 0:25
3. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre, at 1:48
4. Juan Manuel Garate (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 2:11
5. Rujano Guillen Jose' (Vz), Colombia - Selle Italia, at 2:18
6. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Credit Agricole, at 3:25
7. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, at 4:05
8. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, at 5:50
9. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, at 6:40
10. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, at 6:44
To see how the stage developed, simply CLICK HERE to bring up our live update window. Then check back for photos.
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