Savoldelli wins Giro; Petacchi takes finale
For once, there wasn’t a surprise in the Giro d’Italia.
Sunday’s 119km final stage unfolded just like everyone expected, with Alessandro Petacchi riding the fumes of his Fassa Bortolo train to his fourth stage victory of this year’s corsa rosa.
Beyond that, there was hardly a day where something unexpected didn’t happen. From Ivan Basso’s stomach problems to Damiano Cunego’s collapse to José Rujano’s near revolt, the 88th Giro has packed plenty of surprises per kilometer.
“This victory has been very satisfying because it was a very challenging and interesting Giro,” said Paolo Savoldelli, the Discovery Channel rider who delivered – yes, you guessed – a surprising victory that few had predicted.
“I wasn’t among the favorites, so I didn’t have any pressure,” Savoldelli continued. “I am a rider who knows my limitations so I have to measure my efforts. I had some difficulties over the Finestre climb yesterday, but I didn’t panic. Even if I had lost this Giro, I would still be happy with how I rode.”
It seems like an eternity since Brett Lancaster (Panaria) won the opening prologue back on May 7 in Reggio Calabria. With big crowds, epic racing and a real fight to the finish, some are already calling this the best Giro in a decade.
“The Giro is definitely a better race than the Vuelta,” said Tony Cruz, who’s ridden three Vueltas before. “The crowds are bigger, the mountains were harder, the level of racing more intense. It was a great race.”
The attacks started in the first week and didn’t end until the final charge into Milan with Dave Zabriskie (CSC) going on a solo flier with two laps to go.
The inclusion of the 20 ProTour teams seemed to make the Giro harder as well.
“The ProTour made the level of riding higher. A lot of people thought the foreign teams would come here because they had to, but we haven’t seen that. Before, the Italians had the Giro all to themselves,” said Discovery Channel sport director Sean Yates. “It certainly hasn’t been an easy Giro. How many times have we gone piano? Hardly any.”
It seems everyone is happy with how this Giro unfolded. Sunday’s long procession into Milan brought out the crowds and RAI TV drew a 40 percent share for the final sprint, its best ratings of the three-week marathon.
“It was a hard Giro and the past few days I tried to conserve my strength as best I could to have something left for today,” said Petacchi, who held off Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) to win.
Savoldelli flies home
In a Giro full of the unexpected, the biggest revelation came from Savoldelli.
The 32-year-old man from Bergamo wasn’t listed as one of the pre-race favorites in a fight that many thought would be a clash between rising stars Basso and Cunego.
But Basso’s stomach went crook and Cunego folded under the weight of the pre-Giro hype, leaving the door wide open for someone to walk through. Savoldelli didn’t hesitate and collected his second maglia rosa in four years.
“Paolo came into this Giro saying he was fit, but up until that point, he hadn’t really done anything to back it up. There was a certain amount of trepidation among us all about how good he was really going to be,” said Yates. “We didn’t imagine he was going to win the Giro, let’s put it that way.”
Savoldelli was forced to play a calculating hand. With a Discovery Channel team long on determination in the flats, but short on legs for the mountains, the Falcon often had to fend for himself once the Giro went skyward.
With the most mountainous Giro in years, Savoldelli attacked the weakened Basso in stage 13 and then fended off attacks from Simoni and Rujano through Saturday’s epic showdown over the Colle delle Finestra.
“He doesn’t say a lot, but he rides very cleverly the whole time: conservative when he has to; gives it everything when he has to. He’s definitely impressed me in that department,” Yates said. “He’s gauged his efforts. He’s raced very intelligently in this race.”
Savoldelli’s victory made it a landmark for Discovery Channel, which won its eighth grand tour in seven years, dating back to the first of six of Lance Armstrong’s 1999 Tour de France and the 2003 Vuelta a España with Roberto Heras.
“It’s huge for the team. When you consider Lance has won six Tours, one Vuelta with Heras, and now one Giro, that’s eight grand tours in seven years. That’s an amazing accomplishment,” Yates said. “How many teams have won one big Tour? It’s huge for the team to get one big grand-tour victory under the belt so early.”
No hat-trick for Simoni
Simoni fell just 28 seconds short of winning his third Giro. The Lampre-Caffita captain openly expressed his disappointment with Cunego, the defending champion, who sank under the pressure mounting since last fall.
Simoni tried to blow open up the race over the Finestre and had Savoldelli against the ropes, actually grabbing the virtual lead by 15 seconds coming over the daunting climb. But he couldn’t stay Rujano’s wheel on the final run to Sestriere and had to settle for second.
“I was hoping to have more help from a rider like Cunego. We could have made a different Giro if he was there to help me,” Simoni said. “Instead, I was often alone in the mountains and I couldn’t overcome the difference Savoldelli made to me in the time trial.”
Rujano almost ruined the Italian party with a stinging attack up Sestriere. Di Luca and Simoni criticized him for not working harder up the Finestra, but the Venezuelan was looking for a stage victory and a place on the final podium.
“This Giro surpasses even my wildest dreams,” Rujano said. “Now I will plan to come back to the Giro and win in the future.”
Danilo Di Luca (Liquigas-Bianchi) also rode the Giro of his career, finishing fourth and winning two stages, wearing the pink jersey for five days and expanding his hold on the ProTour leader’s jersey.
“I am a little disappointed that I didn’t arrive to the podium, but other than that, it gives me confirmation that I can fight to win the Giro,” said Di Luca, who will skip the Tour de France and return for the fall classics. “I had two bad days in the mountains, but that’s normal because I’ve been racing hard since the spring.”
To see how the final stage of the three-week Italian national tour developed, simply CLICK HERE to bring up our Live Update window.
Stage 20, top 10
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I) Fassa Bortolo, 3:24:08
2. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, same time.
3. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner, s.t.
4. Mirco Lorenzetto (I), Domina Vacanze, s.t.
5. Marco Velo (I), Fassa Bortolo, s.t.
6. Paride Grillo (I), Ceramica Panaria, s.t.
7. Isaac Galvez (Sp), Illes Balears, s.t.
8. Mark Renshaw (Aus), Française des Jeux, s.t.
9. Manuele Mori (I), Saunier Duval, s.t.
10. Henk Vogels (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, s.t.
Final general classification (after 20 stages)
1. Paolo Savoldelli (I) Discovery Channel, 3435.950 km in 9:25:51
2. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre-Caffita, at 0:28
3. Jose Rujano (Vz), Selle Italia-Colombia, at 0:45
4. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, at 2:42
5. Juan Manuel Garate (Sp), Saunier Duval, at 3:11
6. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, at 4:22
7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus), Illes Balears, at 11:15
8. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Crédit Agricole, at 11:38
9. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, at 11:40
10. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria, at 12:33
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