- HOT TOPICS:
- An American start for the Giro? •
- 2010 Routes: Giro | California | TdF •
- LA doc guilty on all counts
Sastre conquers Monte Petrano
- Article Extras
- Photos
- Results
- Race Index
Carlos Sastre (Cervélo TestTeam) surged out of the anonymity of the peloton Monday with a dramatic stage victory in a grueling, seven-hour march across the Apennines to re-energize his hopes of overall victory at the Giro d’Italia.
Denis Menchov (Rabobank) rode shrewdly to sprint to second, expanding his lead over second-place Danilo Di Luca (LPR), while Levi Leipheimer (Astana) saw his hopes of winning the Giro fade when he ceded 2:51 to drop from third to sixth, 3:21 back.
“I was not as strong as those guys, it is plain and simple,” Leipheimer said at the finish line.
Sastre bolted back into the headlines with a decisive attack with about 8.5km to go. Menchov knew he had a nearly three-minute head start on the defending Tour de France champion and let him chase the stage victory.
2009 Giro d'Italia
- Stage 16: Pergola to Monte Petrano
- 161km (100 miles)
- Click here for: Stage 16 results
- Stage winner: Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) in 7:11:54
- Stage winner's average speed: 32.6kph (20.25mph)
- GC leader: Denis Menchov (Rabobank)
- Points jersey: Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)
- Climber's jersey: Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone)
- Team GC leader: Astana
- Best young rider: Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step)
- Previous stage winners/GC leaders:
- Stage 1: Team Columbia-Highroad/Cavendish
- Stage 2: Petacchi/Cavendish
- Stage 3: Petacchi/Petacchi
- Stage 4: Di Luca/Lovkvist
- Stage 5: Menchov/Di Luca
- Stage 6: Scarponi/Di Luca
- Stage 7: Boasson Hagen/Di Luca
- Stage 8: Sivtsov/Di Luca
- Stage 9: Cavendish/Di Luca
- Stage 10: Di Luca/Di Luca
- Stage 11: Cavendish/Di Luca
- Stage 12: Menchov/Menchov
- Stage 13: Cavendish/Menchov
- Stage 14: Gerrans/Menchov
- Stage 15: Bertagnolli/Menchov
- Up next: Rest Day No. 2
Former CSC teammate Ivan Basso (Liquigas) gave chase, but Sastre nursed a 20-second gap before blowing past the solo-attacking Yaroslav Popovych (Astana) with less than 2km to go to win and vault into third place.
“I am very content. I went to the maximum, gave all I could and I was able to win the stage and take some time,” Sastre said. “Menchov has demonstrated that he’s strong, but the final week of the Giro is hard. The heat, the speed, the distance is starting to add up.”
Sastre thrives in the final, decisive weeks of grand tours and his attack Monday reminded many of his winning assault on L'Alpe d’Huez last year that catapulted him toward overall victory at the Tour.
“Whenever you win a big race, whether it’s the Tour, the Giro of the Vuelta, it’s always beautiful, especially against the best riders in the world,” Sastre said. “Today was very important for me, for my motivation and for this Giro. The last week always decides everything.”
With two more summit finishes on deck following Tuesday’s rest day, Sastre isn’t discounting his own chances of overall victory despite Menchov’s apparent stranglehold on the pink jersey.
Sastre said he’s like a dormant volcano, making the allusion to the climbing stage up Mont Vesuvio on Friday.
“I’m quiet, dedicated, I don’t make a lot of noise or respond to rumors,” Sastre said. “I concentrate on my work and I prepare for the important races. When it comes time to attack, I do.”
Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad) lost the grip on the best young rider’s jersey, slipping to 24th, as Kevin Seeldrayers (Quick Step) climbed to 15th to take the maglia bianca.
“Yesterday we noticed that Lövkvist was having some trouble on climbs, but we also had to watch out for (Francesco) Masciarelli,” Seeldrayers said. “In today’s stage I tried to stay among the best as far as I could and for the final I tried to keep a decent advantage over my direct adversaries in the standings for the white jersey.”
Surprisingly for such a grueling day, only three riders abandoned, including Colombian climber Mauricio Soler (Barloworld).
Menchov in control
Menchov certainly couldn’t say he enjoyed his fifth day in the maglia rosa, but he realizes — along with a growing number of his rivals — that after surviving the steeps of Monte Petrano, this Giro is his to lose.
“It’s too early to say I’ve won the Giro. We still have some important stages ahead of us,” Menchov said. “Today was the most important because it was very long, lots of climbs, hot. It was important not only for me, but for the team, to race it smart and things turned out well.”
That’s putting it mildly.
Menchov all but eliminated Leipheimer, his most dangerous rival who could have given him trouble in the final-day time trial in Rome, and he extended his lead to Di Luca by five additional seconds to 39 seconds. Sastre slotted into third at 2:19, but the Spanish climber only managed to extract 23 seconds on Menchov in the long attack.
More importantly, Menchov's Rabobank team stepped up nicely, with Laurens Ten Dam and Mauricio Ardila setting tempo over the two grinding first-category climbs ahead of the Monte Petrano showdown.
“The condition now is even better than at the beginning of the Giro,” Menchov said. “I can be very confident going into the last days.”
When the attacks came from Basso, Sastre and even Di Luca, Menchov marked the right wheels and then kept Sastre and Basso — who both started nearly three minutes back — on a manageable, 30-second leash all the way to the top, before pipping Di Luca in the sprint to take second.
“At the beginning of the climb I was trying to follow Sastre and Basso’s attacks, just to see what happened with the others,” he explained. “Di Luca was OK, but Leipheimer was in trouble, so that worked out well. I believe I was in the right place at the right moment today.”
Leipheimer fades
Leipheimer’s dream of winning a grand tour took a major blow when he lost contact following lethal accelerations by Basso and Sastre on the opening kilometer of the 10km Petrano climb.
The three-time Tour of California winner couldn’t follow and, if it were not for the help of Astana teammate Lance Armstrong, who eased off the chase of the leaders to help tow Leipheimer, it might have been worse.
Leipheimer crossed the line 11th at 2:51 back, slipping from third at 43 seconds back to sixth at 3:21.
“Immediately in the beginning of the last climb, I felt that my legs did not follow any more,” he said. “Fortunately, Lance helped me. Without him, I would have lost much more time. He saved me minutes.”
Astana executed perfect tactics, slipping Popovych into the early move. Midway up the penultimate climb, there were six Astana jerseys floating in the 50-strong maglia rosa group.
Things started going sideways for Leipheimer on the final descent off the Catria climb, when he was forced to change bikes. He eventually rejoined the leaders as Rabobank soft-pedaled the maglia rosa group down the twisting descent.
When the inevitable attacks came from the GC favorites, Leipheimer couldn’t respond. His hopes of winning this Giro seemed to fade with each passing kilometer.
“It is not possible to win the Giro anymore, but we can still give it a try to get Levi on the podium in Rome,” Astana team manager Johan Bruyneel said. “Maybe he just had a bad day. There is nothing to regret. We gave everything we could.”
Menchov looks solid in the pink jersey and Di Luca is locked in second at 39 seconds back, yet only 1:02 separate Sastre, third at 2:19, and sixth-place Leipheimer, with Liquigas teammates Franco Pellizotti and Basso in fourth and fifth at 3:08 and 3:19 back.
Should Leipheimer, a powerhouse in the race against the clock, rebound on the two remaining summit finishes at Blockhaus (stage 17) and Vesuvio (stage 19), he could be in with a shot heading into the final-stage time trial in Roma.
Armstrong improving
The improving Armstrong, meanwhile, looked like he could have gone with the attacks.
When Sastre’s winning move came with 8.5km to go, Armstrong lingered just behind the chasing Menchov, Basso and Di Luca before sitting up to sacrifice his chances to help his struggling teammate.
“It was good to see how Lance helped Levi all the way to the finish,” Bruyneel said. “It was great teamwork.”
As he’s been doing since the end of the first week of the Giro, Armstrong left the stage without speaking to reporters.
But those with a close-up view of the seven-time Tour champion are taking notice.
“He’s looking very good,” Menchov said with a smile and shaking his head in disbelief. “After three years off the bike and after having a serious accident just one month before the Giro, at this point of the race, he’s looking good. He’s going to come out of this Giro very strong and he’s going to make a big show at the Tour.”
Maybe that’s why Menchov seems so intent in winning the Giro.
Breakaway tries its luck
The stage, a monstrous 237km slog from Pergola to the summit of Monte Petrano, began with more than 70km of rolling terrain, including a series of unrated climbs, before tackling the first real obstacle of the day — the Category 2 Monte delle Cesane at 73.2km, with an average grade of 6.6 percent and a maximum of 18 percent.
Another unranked climb followed at 130km, and then riders faced the Category 1 Monte Nerone, a 13.4km grind averaging 7.6 percent and maxing out at 12 percent.
Up next was the 11.1km Category 1 Monte Catria, averaging 8 percent with a max of 13 percent, then a fast, technical drop preceding the finishing climb — the Monte Petrano at 226.2km, a 10.4km fight to the finish with an average grade of 7.9 percent and a max of 13 percent.
The stage was another hot one, with temps in the 80s. Perhaps eager to get it over with, a 20-man break went clear early on: Popovych and Cunego; Michele Scarponi and Francesco De Bonis (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni); Gabriele Bosisio(LPR Brakes); Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano and Maarten Tjallingii (Rabobank); Tom Danielson and Bradley Wiggins (Garmin-Slipstream); Jens Voigt (Saxo Bank); Dario Cataldo (Quick Step); Francesco Bellotti (Barloworld); Arnold Jeannesson and David Lopez Garcia (Caisse d’Epargne); Kjell Carlström (Liquigas); Matthieu Sprick (Bbox Bouygues Telecom); Angel Gomez Gomez (Fuji-Servetto); Renaud Dion (Ag2r La Mondiale); Pavel Brutt (Team Katusha); and Delio Fernandez Cruz (Xacobeo Galicia).
The escapees took a lead of 4:45 by 45km and added two minutes by the foot of the Monte delle Cesane. Wiggins and Danielson were dropped on the ascent; Scarponi led the break over the top.
At 90km, Scarponi and Brutt had also lost contact, and Voigt and Popovych had a brief but ineffective go. A few kilometers later it was one big happy family again, an 18-man break with eight minutes and change. Brutt, Cataldo and Scarponi took a spill on the descent but remounted and rejoined.
With Rabobank doing the bulk of the work in the bunch, the gap began coming down; the leaders held an advantage of 7:15 with 100km to race
The Monte Nerone took a toll on both break and bunch — Cruz, Brutt, Tjallingii and Lopez Garcia were trailing the leaders, and the gap was down to 5:40.
De Bonis led the break over the top. The dwindling pack crossed 3:42 later, and the gap held steady on the descent, where speeds topped 75 km/h (47 mph). The break took a gap of nearly four minutes into Pianello, 60km from the finish.
Cunego plays his card
Scarponi and Cunego used a short, unrated climb between the Monte Nerone and the Monte Catria to take a lead over their erstwhile breakaway companions. Bosisio and Popvych chased, bridging up to the two a few kilometers up the road, and the foursome quickly took a minute on a now-nine-man lead group with the maglia rosa a further four and a half minutes down.
The heat was having its effect, too — the four leaders were snatching water bottles from roadside fans and emptying them over their heads as they ascended the Monte Catria, which trimmed the maglia rosa group to around 30 riders, including all of the usual suspects save Thomas Lövkvist (Columbia-Highroad), wearing the maglia blanca of the best young rider.
Four kilometers from the summit Popo’ laid down a powerful attack that shelled Scarponi. Behind, Carlström attacked out of the chase, trying to bridge, just as Cunego leapt away once more, leaving Popovych but not Bosisio.
The Astana rider fought his way back with 35km to go, dangling just off the lead duo as Cunego stayed on the front, cranking out the revs, leading up and over the Catria.
Carlström summited next, 1:42 down, and the peloton swallowed up the fading Scarponi as it swept over the top some three minutes in arrears. A swift, dangerous descent — and then the Monte Petrano.
Final obstacle
Popo’ gave it full gas on the descent, hitting 73 km/h (45 mph); even the camera moto was having trouble matching his speed. With 25km to go he had a gap of 12 seconds.
Behind, misfortune struck Leipheimer — either a puncture or a mechanical left him behind the other favorites and stuck among the team cars on the treacherous descent, with only one teammate for support.
With 20km to go Popovych clung to his slender lead over Cunego; Bosisio had suffered a mechanical and was out of the hunt. Meanwhile, Leipheimer dragged himself back to the tail of the maglia rosa group, which was nearly five minutes behind.
Popo’ began the final climb with just 18 seconds’ advantage over Cunego, then doubled it. Behind, Basso’s Liquigas team took over the chase from Rabobank. Serge Pauwels (Cervélo TestTeam) teased the group, rolling off the front and glancing over his shoulder. He was marked by Basso, race leader Menchov and Di Luca, and if he had planned a move, the plan didn’t work.
Ahead, Popovych held 24 seconds over Cunego with 8km to go.
And then Basso punched it. Menchov and Di Luca quickly followed, as did Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo). Leipheimer couldn’t follow, but Sastre did — he laid down an attack that briefly shed Armstrong.
Di Luca was next to try his hand — his attack dropped everyone save the maglia rosa. Basso, Di Luca and Sastre fought their way back, and then Sastre launched again. Basso reacted, but the Spaniard was well clear, out of the saddle and charging ahead.
With 5km to race Popovych had 90 seconds on Cunego, who was caught and dropped by the surging Sastre. Behind, Di Luca laid down another attack, but Menchov latched right onto his wheel.
Basso was next to pass Cunego, followed by Menchov and Di Luca. Leipheimer and Armstrong were going backward, losing precious time.
Sastre was rapidly eating into Popovych’s advantage — with 3km to race the Ukrainian clung to a lead of just 40 seconds, clearly suffering, pedaling squares. Basso was a further 18 seconds behind.
Sastre drives it home
With 2.5km to go Sastre had the Astana man in his sights, then suddenly swept past and into the lead. Basso couldn’t make up any ground — indeed, as an exhausted Sastre ground across the line for the win, both Di Luca and Menchov overhauled the Liquigas rider in the final kilometer.
Then the maglia rosa laid down one final attack, crossing 24 seconds behind Sastre to take second on the stage — plus a valuable time bonus — with Di Luca third two seconds later.
It would be nearly three minutes before Leipheimer and Armstrong crossed the line. An exhausted Popovych, meanwhile, dragged in a half-minute behind his teammates, in 18th place.
“The last 7km they told me on the radio that Sastre was coming, really fast, chasing me. I did not want to believe it,” Popovych said. “When he finally passed me, I lost all my pedaling force. What a day! I stayed in the breakaway for 240km. It was so difficult. The tactic was good. Johan asked me to go in the breakaway and I did. And now … we have nothing. After such a crazy day, so this is sport.”
Photo Gallery
Most Recent Articles
- Albert, Compton win round 3 of CX World Cup
- JHK, Dunlap win 20th installment of the Iceman Cometh Challenge in Michigan
- Wicks, Bishop take OBRA 'cross titles
- McConneloug, Powers tops in Northampton
- USA Cycling reviews Continental team applications
- Barry Wicks' Journal: Lessons from the bear
- Kelly adds depth with Jesse Anthony, Ian MacGregor and others added for the 2010 season.
- Singlespeed ’cross worlds descend on Portland one last time
