2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 9 Results

Cava de' Tirreni, 17 May: Another day of surprises. How often do you see the number 1 (Vinokourov) and number 2 (Evans) on GC contending for a stage victory in a sprint? 500 meters from the finish Vino and Evans, part of a 60 rider bunch sprint, began their sprints throwing all the sprinters' teams plans into disarray. The stage was won by Matthew Goss (HTC-Columbia), the third Australian to raise his arms to the sky in this edition after Evans and Lloyd.

"I wanted to win, it was worth a shot along a final climb that's slightly uphill, so I went for it," said Vinokourov. "The day started out perfectly, with Columbia pulling and our team riding peacefully. The rain turned it into another battle. Letting go of the jersey to save a little energy? That's not part of our plan. There is a really tough stage waiting for us in a couple of days."

I don’t think I’m a pure sprinter,” Goss said. “Days like today suit me because many things make it different for the true sprinters. This was a tricky finish and it was dangerous with the wet. I’m not like Mark Cavendish or Thor Hushovd. I can win sprints, but in smaller groups.”

Top 10 on GC after stage 9:
1 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 33:09:43
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:12
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:01:33
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:01:51
5 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:02:17
6 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:02:26
7 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:02:34
8 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:02:47
9 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:03:08
10 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:03:09

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