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Basso does it again; Savoldelli pads lead
Paolo Savoldelli and other Giro d’Italia contenders must be quietly thankful that Ivan Basso had his stomach problems.
If the Team CSC captain hadn’t come down with a crook stomach and lost 40 minutes over the Stelvio, this Giro very well could have been all but decided a week ago instead of being one of the most exciting in a generation.
For the second day in a row, Basso blazed to an impressive stage victory, this time roaring to the first major time trial victory in his career in Friday’s 34km race against the clock in the hills around Torino.
“These stage victories make up for the disappointment of the physical problems I had,” said Basso, who ripped over the course in 45 minutes, 5 seconds (45.249kph). “I would have preferred to have won the Giro, but since I couldn’t, these victories help take away the sting.”
Coming through second just nine seconds slower was Vladimir Karpets (Illes Balears) while Dave Zabriskie (CSC) took third at 20 seconds slower after posting the fastest early time.
In the fight for the overall, Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) padded his lead to Gilberto Simoni (Lampre-Caffita) to 2:09 going into the Giro’s penultimate stage over the intimidating Colle delle Finestre.Results are posted
Savoldelli finished fourth behind Basso at 23 seconds slower, but took back the time he lost in Thursday’s summit finish and more after Simoni came through 10th at 1:28 slower.
“I didn’t know what to expect today, but I knew the time trial was in my advantage, so I wanted to ride as strong as possible to widen my advantage to Simoni,” said the 2002 Giro champ. “I was faster on the climbing section today than Simoni, so that’s a good sign. The stage tomorrow will be difficult. I know the attacks will come, but I am calm. I feel strong.”
Captain American flies again
For the first time in a week, Bjarne Riis had a smile on his face. The 1996 Tour champion had been brooding since Basso fell out of contention, but Friday morning in Chieri he was more relaxed.
“Basso’s win was impressive. It shows a lot of class,” Riis said of Thursday’s victory atop Colle di Tenda. “Today we’ll finish first and second, the only question is whether the winner will be Dave or Ivan.”
Riis wasn’t too far off on his prognosis, with only Karpets disrupting the Team CSC party.
First out of the gate was Zabriskie, who debuted his full-body stars ‘n’ stripes national championship jersey. Zabriskie had hardly taken a pull in Thursday’s stage to be fresh for a run at another victory and the huge crowds lining the picturesque course cheered him as he spun up the Superga climb.
“It was nice to wear the jersey,” said Zabriskie, who added he won’t be back in the United States in June to defend his title. “I guess there were some communication problems about wearing the jersey and after the first time trial, some calls were made and they put together this jersey for me to wear.”
Zabriskie looked impressive over the beautiful course just east of Torino. The first 8km were flat after a technical roll out of Chieri through the narrow downtown streets. There was no wind and big crowds turned out to cheer the riders up the Colle di Superga climb.
There was a fast, technical descent with lots of tight turns, enough to cause four riders to crash. Touching pavement were Simone Cadamuro (Domina Vacanze), Philippe Schnyder (Colombia-Selle Italia), Christophe Brandt (Davitamon-Lotto) and Patrice Halgand (Credit Agricole). Moreno Di Biase (Colombia-Selle Italia) didn’t start and Cadamuro didn’t finish, leaving 154 riders in the peloton.
The Utahan posted the fastest early time at 45:25, a time many thought could stand for the winner. In the end, Zabriskie didn't ride Basso's backup carbon frame as planned because it didn't quite fit him during a morning course inspection.
“I didn’t loss my rhythm and I felt fine on the descent. I didn’t risk my life too much,” he said. “I’m improving my descender with all this racing. I was able to ride most of the climb in my time trial position.”
Tony Cruz (Discovery Channel) was also one of the earlier starters. Riding in his first Giro after three Vueltas, Cruz said the Giro is much harder than the Spanish grand tour. The longer stages, the harder climbs and the more-intense racing are taking its toll, he said. His crash in Paris-Roubaix didn’t help, either. Thursday’s stage was hard on him, Cruz continued, but said he’ll be racing Philly week next week.
Once Basso was on course, it was obvious he was riding with wind in his sails. Second to Zabriskie at the first time trial in Florence, Basso was keen on proving his time trial skills have improved remarkably in two seasons working with Riis.
Basso was actually one second faster than Zabriskie on the 8.7km flat run to the base of the Superga climb and seven seconds faster to Venezuelan phenom José Rujano (Colombia-Selle Italia) on the 7km climbing section. Basso ceded time on the descent (not his strength) but made up for it on the final 9km run into Torino (Savoldelli was fastest on this section with Zabriskie and Basso and three and four seconds slower, respectively).
Basso actually took a water bottle from Paolo Tiralongo (Panaria) as he chugged past, but the UCI jury only fined him instead of slapping him with a time penalty.
Savoldelli in charge
Savoldelli knew the time trial was his ace in the hole and he didn’t fail to deliver a strong ride to solidify his grip on the maglia rosa going into Saturday’s final tough mountain stage.
And it’s gonna be a doozy. The 190km stage from Savigliano to Sestriere climbs over the fearsome Colle delle Finestre, where the final eight kilometers are actually over dirt roads. Race organizers paved the descent to reduce the danger, but it should be a spectacular climax to what’s been an exciting Giro.
“The climb of the Colle delle Finistre near the end is very tough and I'm sure the Giro will be decided there. I’m pretty calm. Getting the extra time today was satisfying,” Savoldelli said. “The final climb to Sestrieres isn’t so hard, so I have to worry about getting up the climb.”
Simoni was disappointed that he ceded so much time to Savoldelli, but said he’s not going down without a fight.
“There’s still a chance and I can still dream about winning this Giro,” said the ex-two-time champ. “Two minutes is a lot of time, but anything can happen. I will attack and try to shake Savoldelli.”"Savoldelli is riding very well," he continuued. "We will see tomorrow what will happen, who will attack and what the others will do. My supporters can trust me. I've already won the Giro twice and I've nothing to prove to anyone."
In with a shot is the ever-surprising Rujano. The diminutive Venezuelan is 3 minutes behind Savoldelli and promised he’ll try to win all the marbles with an epic attack.
“The wise thing to do is to ride smart and preserve the podium, but on this team we have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so maybe we can try something if the legs are feeling good,” Rujano said. “It depends on how the race unfolds. The other teams will surely be watching us.”
What’s sure is that Saturday’s shootout will be a fitting finale to what’s been a nail-biting Giro.
Stage 18 Results
1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 45:05
2. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, 45:14
3. David Zabriskie (USA), CSC, 45:25
4. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 45:28
5. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 45:33
6. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, 45:45
7. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 46:07
8. Juan Manuel Garate (Sp), Saunier Duval, 46:30
9. Paolo Bettini (I), Quickstep, 46:33
10. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre, 46:39
FULL RESULTS.
Overall after 18 stages
1. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 0:00
2. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre, 2:09
3. Rujano Guillen Jose' (Vz), Colombia - Selle Italia, 3:00
4. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 3:08
5. Juan Manuel Garate (Sp), Saunier Duval, 3:13
6. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, 4:22
7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, 6:30
8. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 6:52
9. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Credit Agricole, 6:53
10. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 8:21
FULL RESULTS.
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