Il Lombarda (Giro di Lombardia) News

The terrible climb of the Muro di Sormano is back in the route of the 106th edition of the Il Lombardia (formerly named the Giro di Lombardia), exactly 50 years after the 15% climb proved so difficult that many riders were forced to get off their bikes and walk. This year the Muro di Sormano, the short but very steep climb near Lake Como, comes after 165km of racing and will be followed by the climb to Madonna del Ghisallo and the short climb to Villa Vergano, where Oliver Zaugg attacked to win the 2011 edition of Il Lombardia. Click on image to enlarge:

The 2012 edition of Il Lombardia will be held on Saturday September 29 and celebrates Felice Gimondi’s incredible career in the year of his 70th birthday with the start in Bergamo. Twenty-five teams will ride Il Lombardia (18 UCI WorldTour teams and 7 Wild Card invitations). Coming just six days after the UCI World road race championships in Limburg, this year’s Il Lombardia will be a real revenge match between the best riders in the world.

The last time the Il Lombardia climbed the Muro di Sormano was in 1962 when Johannes de Roo of the Netherlands won the race. Fausto Coppi is the most successful Il Lombardia winner of all time, winning consecutive race in 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949 and 1950.

The 2012 Il Lombardia starts in Bergamo and after some early hills, tackles the Valcava climb (9.6km long at 9% and an altitude of 1336m). A technical descent takes the race to the Bergamasca Plain and then to the Brianza hills. The Muro di Sormano begins just after Maglio. It is only two kilometres long but has a 15% average gradient. The road is narrow but has recently been resurfaced, with tight hairpin corners that climb at between 25% and 30% at the mid-point of the climb. After Colma, the road descends to the lakeshore and Regatola di Bellagio, and then heads to the Ghisallo. The roads climbs to 754m with an average gradient of 14%. The descent to Asso is very fast and takes the race to Oggiono and the final climb to Villa Vergano, that has a gradient of 15%. The road then descends towards Lecco for the finish on the Isonzo lakeshore.

Sidebar: Quote from Cino Cinelli, winner 1938 when they were using one chainring, "In the (Giro di) Lombardia we used the 48x22 or 50x23. Gino Bartali's Ghisallo gearing was 49x22."
 

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Gran Fondo "La Fausto Coppi"

Thanks to Ulrich and Lidia, organizers of the Gran Fondo New York, for this video of their participation in the Gran Fondo "La Fausto Coppi", starting and ending in Cuneo.



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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

London 2012 Olympics, Road Race Results

Neither the Italian men or women were able to podium in their respective road races.

Alexandre Vinokourov (Kazakhstan) was the surprise winner of the gold medal in the men's road race, spoiling the expectations of a British victory. Colombian Rigoberto Uran took silver with Norway's Alexander Kristoff coming home third to win the bronze medal eight seconds behind. The best placed Italian was Luca Paolini in 9th in the group with Kristoff, 8 seconds behind the winner. At the finish Vincenzo Nibali said, "The race was hard, it was finishing as we expected but unfortunately Vinokourov escaped (with 10 km to go). We knew it would be tough win a medal but we tried."

Marianne Vos (Netherlands) was the winner of the gold medal in the women’s road race. In the rian-soaked sprint finish with Vos, Lizzie Armitstead (Great Britain) was 2nd and Olga Zabelinskaya (Russia) was 3rd. The best palced Italian was current world champion Giorgia Bronzini who finished 5th, 27 seconds back. "The winner was the strongest rider," said Bronzini. "We hope to make up for today at the world championships."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, racing, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Olympic Women's Road Race, Sunday

Giorgia Bronzini, Monia Baccaile, Noemi Cantele and Tatiana Guderzo are ready to represent Italy in the Women's road race which gets started at noon in London on Sunday (the men's road race starts tomorrow, Saturday, at 1000).

Bronzini, the two-time world road race champion, will have the support of her teammates for an expected sprint finish on the Mall.

The course is 140 km and includes two laps of 15 km each of Box Hill (the men will do nine laps of Box Hill).

Box Hill:


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Marino Vigna, Rome 1960 Gold Medalist

Marino Vigna with Felice Gimondi

So many of the older Italian racers still look so good. Take for example Marino Vigna a member of the Rome 1960 Olympic gold medal pursuit team. Vigna was recently honored in an initiative by the Milan municipal government to name train stops in their metro system (“Fermate della  gloria”, Stops of Glory) after Olympic gold medalists from the region of Lombardia. Lombardia leads all regions in gold medals won, in all disciplines, with 82.

Vigna, born in 1935 in Milan, has worked for Bianchi since 1990 when Bianchi was looking for a representative for England. Today, Vigna suports the equipment needs of amateur and youth clubs that compete on Bianchi bicycles. In his long relationship with Bianchi, Vigna says he only has one regret, that of not having ridden a Bianchi during his racing career. "I never had this opportunity during my career, strange but true. I only had indirect contact with Bianchi, that through Coppi's mechanic Pinella De Grandi who was was our mechanic at the Olympics."

Gimondi, Vigna, Bob Ippolito (Binachi CEO) celebrate

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Colnago C59 Italia King Of The Mountain, Limited Edition

Click on image to enlarge:

My thanks to www.dutchandwolf.co.uk for information on Colnago's newest limited edition. They write, "Colnago are to release a special C59 Italia King Of The Mountain to celebrate Thomas Voeckler's success at this years tour. Only 135 will ever be made and we are now taking orders."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

From Prato to New York to Cheat at GFNY

Gabriele Guarini (left) of Prato, Italy and David Anthony (right) of New York both tested positive for EPO at Gran Fondo New York according to the organizers. That age groupers (Guarini is in the 50-54 age group) take EPO for a gran fondo is stunningly stupid. It isn't the first time and won't be the last unfortunately.

An excerpt from the press release:
"Two cyclists tested positive for EPO at Gran Fondo New York on May 20, 2012. David Anthony of New York City admitted today to having used the drug to enhance his performance at bike races. Gabriele Guarini from Prato, Italy accepted the results of his A sample.

"Of course we were shocked to hear the news on the positive tests, in particular given the use of EPO. EPO is a blood boosting drug that has to be injected and is not a simple over the counter product," says Gran Fondo New York CEO Ulrich Fluhme. "Doping control helps clean riders have fair competition. We believe that we came closer to achieving that by introducing out-of-competition (OOC) and in-competiton (IC) testing. All our OOC tests came back negative as did the vast majority of IC tests. Plus, the announcement of testing before the event kept away notorious cheaters."

The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) was onsite in Weehawken, NJ, the finish site of Gran Fondo New York, on May 20, 2012 and conducted the testing. Gran Fondo New York appointed USADA to perform urine testing for both OOC and IC testing on its behalf. All doping control tests were conducted in accordance with the USA Anti-Doping Rules, which are in accord with World Anti-Doping Code and the International Standard for Testing."

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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Italy Gets Ready for Olympic Men's Road Race

The London 2012  Olympics get under way this Friday, July 27, with the opening ceremonies. On Saturday, July 28, the men's 250 km/156 mile road race starts at 1000 (local).

Paolo Bettini, leading the Italian Olympic cycling team, has said the biggest challenge is how to beat Mark Cavendish, the current world champion. Bettini's strategy is to play two cards against the formidable English:
- an attack in the last 40 km by Vincenzo Nibali could be successful if he is accompanied by other "brave" riders; he comes to the Olympics in excellent condition after finishing third in the Tour de France.
- his man for a sprint finish is Elia Viviani who has six wins this season. He also had two second places in this month's Tour of Poland, one after 240 km, the other after170 km, both very positive signs. Viviani also qualified for and will be racing in the Omnium track event.

The three other riders make up the men's road racing team: Luca Paolini, Marco Pinotti (who will also be competing in the time trial), and Sacha Modolo (who was selected after Filippo Pozzato was dropped from the team for his association with Dr. Ferrari). The backup rider is neopro Matteo Trentin.

Preview: London 2012 Olympic road race course

Procycling and Marcel Wüst ride the course

This feature appeared in Procycling's Olympic special. Order your copy here.

"The Olympic Road Race course has been the subject of much debate ever since it was announced. Procycling puts the conjecture aside and rides the route with two pros.

So you think the Olympic road race course is all about Box Hill? Think again. While all the talk has been about whether or not Mark Cavendish can survive nine ascents of Zig Zag Road, the reality is a lot more complicated. Every year in the run up to the world championships there’s a similar debate over who the course most suits and with the Olympics being extra-special, the route wholly new and the biggest teams numbering five rather than nine riders, the speculation is at fever pitch. The only thing to do was to rope in some expert opinion and go ride it for ourselves.

Rather than just take one pro along, we opted for two contrasting riders to give us different perspectives – a sprinter and a rouleur. Representing the former is a face (and set of calves) familiar to all Procycling readers – Marcel Wüst, winner of 14 sprint stages across all three Grand Tours and many other races besides. Although his career was cut short by injury in 2000, Wüst is still super-fit and is a regular pundit for the German media.

Our counterpoint comes from Erick Rowsell, a 21-year-old neo-pro with the continental-level Endura racing team and graduate of British Cycling’s Olympic Academy. He describes himself as a “punchy rouleur” and backs that up with the superb first pro win that he took just five weeks into his debut season. On stage 5 of the UCI 2.2-ranked Tour de Normandie, he broke away with 7km to go, crossing the line alone and with his arms in the air. What Rowsell lacks to Wüst in racing experience, he more than makes up for with local knowledge. He lives in Cheam, Surrey, just 10km away from the Olympic road race course, and he rides the Box Hill circuit “most days when I’m not away racing”.

Although other options were discussed, it was near inevitable that the course would start and finish in central London to make it as iconic and landmark-packed as possible. The race will start from the Mall in front of huge crowds and head out along King’s Road, over Putney Bridge and through Richmond Park at 10km, by which time we expect an unthreatening break of smaller nations to have already taken its leave of the peloton, settling the racing for a short while.

They won’t be given too much time, though, for several reasons. First, at 15km (around 22 minutes per lap), the Box Hill circuit isn’t long and the peloton will get the hurry up if there’s any risk of the break lapping the field, causing potential chaos on the narrow roads.

At the Geelong Worlds in 2010 the gap between the break and peloton reached 23:30 and on the circuit the team cars were forced to drop back behind the breakaway.

Second, there’ll be no race radios, so the break will be kept a little closer to calm nerves. Third, the roads narrow after just 40km, as the race approaches the village of Pyrford, which is likely to get the favourites and their teams thinking about staying near the front. This always leads to a faster pace.

The first real challenge comes after 53km, when the route turns onto the narrow Staple Lane, a category 3 climb on the Tour of Britain route. It isn’t especially steep or long but it will raise heart rates, string out the bunch and maybe surprise some riders who only studied the circuit rather than rode it. The descent on the other side is a real danger point as it’s barely wide enough for two cars to pass, tree-covered and features a wickedly steep hairpin.

“There’ll be loads of crashes here,” says Wüst with the smile of someone who’s been there and can now appreciate the stress of racing into such a situation.

The route then joins the broad A25 but the peloton won’t be able to relax for long because the circuit is only 14 kilometres away, all of which are over gently rolling terrain.

After a number of roundabouts on the two-lane A24, the course turns off right, rises gently for about 300m and then turns sharp right onto Box Hill proper, Zig Zag Road. This is where the new surface has been laid and it’s far smoother than what the riders have ridden over so far. The gradient is just 4-5 percent up to the first hairpin, after which it rises to 6 percent and stays there through the second, much tighter hairpin, then eases slightly along the exposed section on the side of the hill into the wind.

If the peloton is faced with a similar headwind at this point, it’s bound to subdue any attacks. That’s also assuming anyone thinks they can make a real difference here, because the climb isn’t hard and the peloton will go up fast enough for drafting to be of benefit, keeping everything together. A ‘Muur’ it really isn’t.

That said, Rowsell thinks it will still require teams to be vigilant: “When you get to what looks like the top, it drags on for another few hundred metres. If the guys on the front ease off a bit there, it would be a good place for someone such as Thomas Voeckler to attack, just as everyone’s legs are feeling rubbery. You could get a gap and be out of sight.”

At the top the new tarmac runs out, giving way to a surface that’s heavy and very bumpy, even by the low standards of British roads. It’s so jarring that just taking a drink is stressful and that’s without being in a tightly packed bunch.

Wüst isn’t impressed: “It’s shit,” he summarises, very concisely.

There’s some fast and technical, if brief, descending on the loop. In our small group of three it’s fun and we hit 68kph – it’s likely to be a fair bit faster and more concentrated come July 28. The second fast descent is straighter, but still rougher than the morning after the night before, and leads back to the A24 trunk road for a 3km stretch. It’s a dull section that at least will provide an opportunity for large numbers of spectators to get close to the course, something sorely missing around most of the loop.

“There’s just no room for crowds,” notes Wüst, “and that’s a real shame. You want it to be a big festival.”

The circuit is completed by taking the Old London Road through Mickleham. Again, it’s narrow and bumpy, though it does feature one of the very best spectator spots on the whole course – the tables set out in front of the Running Horses pub. On the day, it’s going to be standing room only there.

Zig Zag Road is approached with a short uphill stretch that will be ridden hard to secure a good position, followed by a decline to the turn onto the hill which is much tighter when approaching it from this direction. There’s a big risk of crashes in the bunch, which probably wouldn’t hurt because of the low speed but which could block the narrow road and instantly cause a split that would be hard to close up. That consideration will make positioning even more important and the approach even more hard fought.

Having made a stop for photographs on our first lap, we decide to ride a continuous second lap somewhat more purposefully, both to gain more understanding of what it’s like to race this course rather than simply ride it and because we’re now wearing GoPro video cameras.

This time, the climb hurts more but we’re doing 25kph. The race could go up here at 30kph every lap, in which case they’ll be braking for the hairpins.

What strikes us the most about the rest of the lap, which is hard going, is that the poor surface, narrow roads and handful of tight corners will all make it really hard for teams to chase down escapees. “They’ll have to settle for controlling the gap to any break,” says Rowsell, “and leave the real chasing until the run-in to the finish.”

Wüst agrees and adds, “It’s a really nasty little course. It’s tight, narrow and bumpy. You’ve got to stay in front all the time and that’s hard, physically and psychologically too. There are a couple of dangerous points, given the speed the race will be run at, particularly the turn onto the climb.”

We cruise into London, all too aware that the roads certainly aren’t closed for us and thinking how huge they’d feel if they were. When we arrive on the Mall, it’s a thrill to see that it’s still lined with huge Union Jacks after the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations the week before.

This really is London’s Champs-Élysées and, looking at it, we can’t imagine the race finishing anywhere else.

So, what do Rowsell and Wüst think of the course? “The roads are too big and fast for one rider to stay clear from the last lap, even for someone like Cancellara,” says Rowsell.

Wüst agrees: “If you attack from the bottom of the hill, it’s 55km to the finish. that’s a really long time to try to stay away on flat roads.”

Does that mean they agree with the bookies that Mark Cavendish, delivered by dedicated teammates, is the current favourite? Not necessarily. “For a sprinter to get round that circuit nine times and stay in touch will be hard,” says Wüst.

“He could still be there at the end but too tired to be at his best.”

We ask Wüst if he could have stayed in touch on this course. “Phew, I don’t know. It would be really hard. Cavendish’s problem is that he’s too good. No one will help the British team pull back a break if they have a rider in there. But the Olympics are too special for teams to sit back if their leader has a chance and says he feels good. It’s going to be interesting because the teams are so small.”

Taking that idea further, Rowsell suggests an alternative tactic: “It will be interesting to see Team GB’s tactics with a smaller team than their Worlds win, whether they commit everyone to Cav or put someone in the break to take the pressure off and give him one less guy. Geraint Thomas would have been ideal for that role if he wasn’t focusing on the track.”

Wüst sees it ending up as a war of attrition, like a true Classic. “You could end up with a group of 30 going into London with no real sprinters,” he says.

“A strong group, with the right teams represented, could stay away if it leaves the circuit with as little 40 seconds’ advantage. Then you’re looking for someone strong to go at 3-8km out, like Alessandro Ballan did to win the Worlds in Varese in 2008.”


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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page. 

Andy Hampsten: About Touring by Bike in Italy

Source: New York Times, full article here.

Putting a Spin on Touring

ANDY HAMPSTEN, 50, may be best remembered by cycling fans for overcoming a blizzard on a steep climb in the 1988 Giro d’Italia.

After retiring from professional cycling in 1997, Mr. Hampsten founded the Tuscan-based cycling tour company Cinghiale. But riders who join him, he said, need not brace for “a hammer session with an ex-pro.”

“I like to stop in a village,” Mr. Hampsten said, “grab something to eat, drink incredible wine and then get back on our bikes.”

Below are edited excerpts from a conversation with Mr. Hampsten about touring by bike in Italy.

Q: Why is Italy your favorite country for cycling?
A: There are so many gorgeous regions to choose from — Tuscany, Barolo, the Dolomites, Piedmont — and all of the secondary roads are safe and not congested. They incline at a 6 percent grade, which is perfect for riding. And motorists are never irritated by cyclists the way they are in the States. If they can’t pass you, they wait. Italy, as well as France, has a great culture of hospitality for cyclists. There’s a government program called agriturismo, which gives loans to farmers to restore their historic homes and rent out rooms. They’re reasonably priced and absolutely charming. Some have Web sites, but a better way to find them is by checking out the province’s tourism board.

Q: How physically fit must you be for a cycling tour?
A: If you don’t ride at all, you’ll want to start riding three to four times a week for three months before the trip. Most of our trips are 380 miles, so that’s 30 to 60 miles every day, about four hours each morning. But for people who race for recreation, our tour will be an easy week of fun riding.

Q: Any recommendations for cyclists who want to go on their own?
A: Instead of going to a bunch of famous cities that are 50 miles apart — whose routes will be jammed with traffic — I say pick a base in a beautiful region and get a map to find the sinuous secondary roads. The Touring Club of Italy publishes excellent maps, as does Michelin for France. A group called Erickson provides you with itineraries for all across Europe. Hard-core riders love them because they cover huge distances.

Q: Do you encourage people to bring their own bikes or rent them?
A: Bring your own bike because few rentals have good racing bikes. But check out airlines’ policies before booking because some charge absurd fees. Delta, for example, charges you $300 for each bike round trip, whereas British Airways lets you check it in like baggage.



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Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 20 and Conclusion

Great Brit: Wiggins creates history, the 32-year-old is the first British champion of the Tour de France.

The Sky team was formed at the start of the 2010 season and the intention was clear from the very beginning: to have a British winner of the Tour de France within five years. It's taken just three. Bradley Wiggins had achieved all there is to do as a track rider and he escaped what he called his "comfort zone" and set himself a new challenge after successfully defending his Olympic title in the individual pursuit in 2008. With three gold medals from the Olympics in his trophy cabinet, one each from the solo 4,000m effort (which is no longer on the program for the Games), and one from the team equivalent (from 2008) , he shed some weight and focused on a good performance in stage races. In 2009, the true transformation began when he finished fourth overall in the Tour de France. This prompted a mid-contract transfer to the Sky team (from Garmin) and, after two lost years, 2010 was a disastrous Tour really in every way and followed by a crash that put him out of the race last year, he has achieved the lofty ambitions of Sky.

Wiggins was never placed worse than second in the general classification; he was second in the prologue and the winner of the two long time trials. It was in Besançon and Chartres that he gained most of the time against his team-mate, Christopher Froome, the Kenyan-born Brit who is the runner-up of the 99th Tour. Wiggins and Froome were first and second in stages nine and 19 (separated by 35" and 1'16" respectively) and it was an untimely puncture for the super-domestique in the finale of stage one that cost Froome another 1'25". But the pair from Sky finished first and second overall and created history for British cycling.

Topping things off on the final day, Wiggins led the peloton under the 'flamme rouge' and, as promised did a lead-out supreme for the master of the modern sprinters, Mark Cavendish. Other teams tried to interrupt the desires of Sky to finish the Tour in the best possible way, with a fourth successive victory for the Manx Missle on the Champs-Elysées but the efforts of Saxo Bank, Orica-GreenEdge and Liquigas could do nothing to hold off the charge of the world champion who started his sprint from the moment he came off the Place de la Concorde. It was a long sprint but he held off a fast, late challenge from Sagan.

The comments from Wiggins:
“It's hard to take in as it happens. Every lap of the Champs-Elysées was goosepimple stuff. We had a job to do with Mark today and we were all motivated to do that so it made it go a lot quicker. The concentration was high and for Mark to finish it off like that... well, it couldn't get any better.

“I don't actually know what to say that I haven't already said yesterday.

“It's brilliant. But I'm lost for words. It's a different feeling to 24 hours ago but we've come here and we were committed to what we were doing so there was no sense of, ‘Oh, this is it.' It was so hard once the race started and, right to the end, when I was leading out with a kilometer to go. Right now, at the base of the podium, I'm trying to soak it all in and it's hard to articulate what I'm feeling. It's a strange feeling, really – very strange.

“Now we've come out of our bubble and now we start to realize what it means to all these people who have come over here for the weekend. That turn [near the Arc de Triomphe] was just a sea of Brits and the noise was incredible. It was close to what it was like at the Olympics in Athens when I was coming into the home straight. It's that kind of feeling. It's phenomenal. You couldn't fail to hear it.

“Tonight I go home. Everything turns to the Olympics and I'll be out on the bike tomorrow and I've got an Olympic time trial to try and win. So that's a higher priority than anything else. It's a little weird to leave Paris without a party because it would be nice to spend time with the team and really enjoy it. This has been – as everyone's seen – such a team effort. Even today, it was an incredible group of guys. I've had the privilege to ride with them for the past three weeks; it's been an absolute honor.

“You imagine that you'd feel an enormous sense of relief but you get there and it's a very strange feeling. I remember watching Cadel win it last year and thinking, ‘God, that must be incredible!' But it happens to you and it doesn't feel as you imagine it to feel. It's a strange sensation. It's very surreal.”

Liquigas-Cannondale:
The Italian team obtained two historic results for themselves: third place on the podium thanks to Vincenzo Nibali’s aggressive riding and dogged determination, and the green jersey, proudly worn by Peter Sagan for nearly the entire race (since stage two, 18 days) and his three stage victories.

Nibali has ridden his way into Italian cycling history by becoming the second Italian to take a podium place at each of the Grand Tours, winning the Vuelta a España and two third places at the Giro d’Italia, and now third in the Tour.

"Today is a special day that makes me very satisfied," said Nibali, "It’s been a super battle against very capable opponents. Finishing on the podium means that I was one of the best. Obviously this marks a starting point and not the end for me. I’m happy to accept this placing as I know I still have room to improve and can aim for the top place on the podium in the future. I’ve proved that I can be competitive in all stage races and this is an excellent result. I want to thank everyone on the team from team mates to staff because they’ve always been there for me and supported me in an exceptional way. We’re a special group and despite the indomitable competition we’ve reaffirmed our team as one of the strongest in the world. I’m also very proud to have put Italy on the podium of an important race like the Tour de France. The enthusiasm from the fans has been a major driving force over the weeks: so I dedicate this result to them, my family, my girlfriend Rachele and to everyone who believed in me."


"I achieved results in this Tour that went way beyond what I expected," said Sagan, "And that makes me even happier. I wanted a stage win and I got three, I wanted the green jersey and I won it. I definitely couldn’t have asked for more. It’s been a wonderful experience that has made me understand that I can always try to win, even on the most difficult terrain. Before I started I thought about what the Tour would be like, which difficulties would I encounter, and how could I be competitive against the best riders. My confidence grew day by day and I realized that I could achieve my goals. I’m also happy for the team, which believed in me and really trusted me. This result is an important step in my career and now I just want to keep going in this direction."

Tour director Christian Prudhomme:
"This is the beginning of a new era. Not only are new countries moving to the head of the field, but also young riders have shown great promise for the future. There is clearly a change in cycling. The Anglo-Saxon countries are taking the place of the traditional countries such as Belgium, Italy and Spain. It's amazing how teams like Sky prepare everything . I think Nibali and Evans were not strong enough to break through the dominance of the Sky team.”

Other jersey winners:
Thomas Voeckler claimed the King of the Mountains classification and its polka-dot jersey.
Tejay van Garderen, 23 years old, claimed the Best Young Rider jersey; he finished 5th in GC.

Final GC:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 87:34:47
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:03:21
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:06:19
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:10:15
5 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:11:04
6 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:15:41
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:15:49
8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:16:26
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:16:33
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:17:17
11 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17:54
12 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:19:33
13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:19:55
14 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:25:27
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:27:22
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:28:30
17 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:31:46
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:37:03
19 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:38:16
20 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:42:26
21 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:45:43
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:46:52
23 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:54:52
24 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:58:37
25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:59:44
26 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 1:04:41
27 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:05:10
28 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:05:39
29 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:08:26
30 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:09:19
31 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:15:21
32 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:16:29
33 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:16:52
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:20:49
35 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 1:25:23
36 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:27:52
37 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 1:28:32
38 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:30:38
39 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:32:19
40 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:34:33
41 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:37:57
42 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:38:37
43 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:38:41
44 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:40:44
45 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:41:00
46 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:41:35
47 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:42:12
48 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:42:39
49 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:43:53
50 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:47:14
51 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:47:31
52 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:50:41
53 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:51:43
54 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:52:28
55 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:52:30
56 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:52:34
57 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:55:30
58 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:57:39
59 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:57:45
60 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:58:38
61 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:58:55
62 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:59:53
63 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:03:55
64 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:05:43
65 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:06:32
66 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:10:17
67 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:11:36
68 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:12:22
69 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:13:39
70 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:13:49
71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:16:15
72 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:17:30
73 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:17:31
74 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:18:58
75 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:19:43
76 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 2:21:56
77 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 2:22:02
78 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:23:09
79 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:24:35
80 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:24:46
81 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:25:29
82 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 2:26:43
83 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 2:29:01
84 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 2:29:13
85 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:33:14
86 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 2:37:55
87 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:37:56
88 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:40:47
89 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:41:14
90 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:41:44
91 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:41:50
92 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:46:04
93 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:46:14
94 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:46:51
95 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:47:03
96 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 2:48:05
97 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:50:31
98 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:51:34
99 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:53:11
100 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 2:53:26
101 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 2:53:35
102 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:53:52
103 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos - Shimano 2:54:13
104 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:55:04
105 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:55:24
106 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp
107 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:56:02
108 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 2:56:21
109 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 2:56:27
110 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:57:20
111 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:57:29
112 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:57:58
113 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos - Shimano 2:58:15
114 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:58:41
115 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 3:02:57
116 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 3:03:38
117 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:04:30
118 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:04:39
119 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 3:06:27
120 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:06:55
121 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:08:29
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:08:57
123 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:09:02
124 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 3:13:06
125 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
126 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:16:38
127 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:17:07
128 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:17:16
129 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:17:44
130 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:18:11
131 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:18:20
132 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:19:36
133 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:20:24
134 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3:21:34
135 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos - Shimano 3:23:44
136 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:23:55
137 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:25:08
138 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos - Shimano 3:26:43
139 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 3:26:58
140 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:27:28
141 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 3:27:49
142 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:28:36
143 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:28:56
144 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:31:24
145 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 3:38:24
146 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 3:38:48
147 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 3:40:01
148 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos - Shimano 3:40:37
149 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:42:31
150 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:50:12
151 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 3:54:45
152 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:57:04
153 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:57:36

Photos: Bettini

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 19 Results

The dominant team of the 2012 Tour de France finished the second long time trial with three men in the top five. Any doubts about the ability of Bradley Wiggins were put to rest today when he dominated the 53km time trial from Bonneval to Chartres to win his second stage of the Tour de France and increase his lead in the general classification. He got to throw a victory salute, punching the air with his right hand as he crossed the line to beat the rider in second place overall, Chris Froome, by 1'16.

Wiggins' victory is sealed.

Top 10 Stage 19:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 1:04:13
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:16
3 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:01:50
4 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 0:02:02
5 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:02:25
6 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 0:02:28
7 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:02:34
8 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 0:02:46
9 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 0:02:50
10 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:03:05

Vincenzo Nibali had a very good time trial finishing 16th at   0:03:38 behind Wiggins which consolidated his hold on third palce and a podium finish tomorrow.

Today's finishing stage analysis by TdF's Jean-François Pescheux, "A little road stage, the shortest of the Tour (120 km). But it will no doubt be an apotheosis, with the traditional finish on the Champs-Élysées. Always the same, always magnificent since 1975. We already know more or less what will happen: a festive start in Rambouillet, two short hours before things really get going, and then a sudden, spectacular acceleration to mark the peloton’s arrival in the Parisian circuit. All of this before 1.5 billion TV viewers, nothing to sneeze at! For the rest, I do not think any brave riders will be able to slip under the radar of the sprinters' teams. On paper, Mark Cavendish can dream of a fourth straight win."

GC:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 84:26:31
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:03:21
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:06:19
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:10:15
5 Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:11:04
6 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:15:43
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:15:51
8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:16:31
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:16:38
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:17:17
11 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:17:54
12 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:19:33
13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:19:55
14 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:25:27
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:27:22
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:28:30
17 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:31:46
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:37:03
19 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:38:16
20 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:42:26
21 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:45:43
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:46:52
23 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:54:52
24 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:58:37
25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:59:44
26 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 1:04:41
27 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:05:10
28 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:05:39
29 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 1:06:33
30 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:09:19
31 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:14:33
32 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 1:16:29
33 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:16:52
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:20:49
35 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 1:25:23
36 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:27:36
37 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 1:28:32
38 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:30:38
39 Gorka Izagirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:31:44
40 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:34:33
41 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:37:41
42 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:38:41
43 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:38:46
44 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:40:44
45 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:41:00
46 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:41:40
47 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:42:12
48 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:42:39
49 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:43:55
50 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:47:14
51 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:47:31
52 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:50:41
53 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:51:43
54 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:52:28
55 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:52:30
56 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:52:43
57 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:55:30
58 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:57:10
59 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:57:39
60 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:58:40
61 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:58:55
62 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:59:53
63 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:03:55
64 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:05:08
65 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:06:09
66 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:09:42
67 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:11:41
68 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:12:22
69 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:13:39
70 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:13:49
71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:15:59
72 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:17:30
73 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:17:31
74 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:18:58
75 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:19:43
76 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 2:21:40
77 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 2:22:07
78 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:23:14
79 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:23:58
80 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:24:35
81 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:24:54
82 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 2:25:57
83 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 2:26:14
84 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 2:29:13
85 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:33:14
86 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 2:37:55
87 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:38:01
88 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:39:14
89 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:40:39
90 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:40:47
91 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:41:09
92 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:45:39
93 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:46:09
94 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:46:28
95 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:46:51
96 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 2:47:30
97 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:49:43
98 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:51:18
99 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:52:36
100 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 2:52:38
101 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:53:17
102 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 2:53:35
103 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos - Shimano 2:54:22
104 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp 2:54:55
105 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:55:04
106 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team
107 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:56:07
108 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 2:56:27
109 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 2:56:30
110 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:57:00
111 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:57:29
112 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos - Shimano 2:57:40
113 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 2:57:58
114 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:58:12
115 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 3:03:06
116 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 3:03:43
117 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:04:14
118 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 3:04:23
119 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 3:05:58
120 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:07:04
121 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:07:54
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:09:06
123 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:09:11
124 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-QuickStep 3:13:06
125 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 3:13:15
126 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:15:23
127 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:16:41
128 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:17:05
129 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:17:07
130 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:17:53
131 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:18:11
132 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:19:38
133 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:20:24
134 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3:21:34
135 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos - Shimano 3:23:44
136 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:23:55
137 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:25:13
138 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos - Shimano 3:25:55
139 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 3:27:07
140 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos - Shimano 3:27:14
141 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:27:37
142 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:28:08
143 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:28:45
144 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:30:49
145 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 3:36:55
146 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 3:37:49
147 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 3:40:01
148 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos - Shimano 3:40:08
149 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:42:31
150 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:49:24
151 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 3:54:54
152 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:57:04
153 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:57:45

Photo: Bettini

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 18 Results

The stage profile begged for a sprint but at the end of three weeks of racing there were plenty of ambitions yet to be fulfilled. There were 14 teams without a stage win and all of them worked hard to make amends in the race from Blagnac to Brive-la-Gaillarde but ultimately their hopes were destroyed by a magnificent sprint by Mark Cavendish who only blasted into contention in the final kilometer. And it was none other than Bradley Wiggins who started the lead-out, then an early escapee - Edvald Boasson Hagen - who dragged Mark Cavendish up to the last of the breakaways. And then it happened: a stunning piece of sprinting that started 300 meters from the finish line that utterly destroyed the hopes of all others as the world champion blitzed into the lead to give his team a fourth stage win in 2012 and his second for the 99th edition. The escapees could see him take the win, beating Matt Goss and Peter Sagan, and yet Luis Sanchez and Nicolas Roche could do nothing to change the fact that they were beaten men on a day that an escape was just as likely to succeed. Ordinarily the break might have won... but Cavendish is no ordinary rider. He now has 22 Tour stage wins to his name and, going on what we saw today, he'll get another in Paris as well.

Wiggins finished 19th in the stage and will wear the yellow jersey in stage 19. Should he win the yellow jersey in Paris he will be the second track pursuit world champion to win at the Tour de France. The first? Fausto Coppi.

Fränk Schleck announced today that the counter-analysis of his control B-sample has confirmed the presence of Xipamide, a diuretic banned under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. He has said that he will argue that he was poisoned. 

Tomorrow: Stage 19, an individual time trial of 53 km, Bonneval-Chartres.

GC:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 83:22:18
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:05
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:41
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:05:53
5 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:08:30
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:09:57
7 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:10:11
8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:10:17
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:11:00
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:11:46
11 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12:54
12 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:05
13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:22
14 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:18:46
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:22:54
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:24:24
17 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:25:32
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:29:51
19 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:33:07
20 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:33:50
21 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:36:11
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:41:59
23 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:48:57
24 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:52:48
25 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:54:29
26 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:55:08
27 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:57:38
28 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:59:38
29 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:02:17
30 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:03:08
31 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 1:06:48
32 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:08:24
33 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:09:20
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:18:24
35 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 1:20:42
36 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 1:21:47
37 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:22:58
38 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:24:46
39 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:25:41
40 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:28:45
41 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:29:17
42 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:32:42
43 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:33:12
44 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:34:04
45 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:34:06
46 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:34:42
47 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:34:48
48 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:37:48
49 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:37:58
50 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:39:56
51 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:40:13
52 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:43:06
53 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:44:46
54 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:46:26
55 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:46:52
56 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:47:58
57 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:49:02
58 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:49:52
59 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:49:56
60 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:50:42
61 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:51:16
62 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:55:00
63 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:55:42
64 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:56:38
65 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:01:54
66 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:03:18
67 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:03:59
68 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:06:37
69 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:08:16
70 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:08:25
71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:08:47
72 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:09:29
73 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:09:43
74 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:11:01
75 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:11:02
76 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:13:26
77 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 2:16:32
78 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:17:11
79 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:18:22
80 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:19:17
81 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 2:19:21
82 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 2:20:07
83 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 2:22:01
84 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 2:23:07
85 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:25:47
86 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:29:52
87 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 2:31:12
88 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:31:40
89 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:31:49
90 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:32:07
91 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:32:12
92 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:35:47
93 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:36:28
94 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:37:21
95 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:38:37
96 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:40:11
97 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 2:43:25
98 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:44:54
99 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:45:34
100 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:45:44
101 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:45:53
102 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:47:02
103 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:47:51
104 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp 2:48:33
105 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:49:09
106 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 2:49:26
107 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:49:41
108 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:49:56
109 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 2:50:11
110 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:50:48
111 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 2:51:05
112 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:51:37
113 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 2:52:03
114 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:54:05
115 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:54:19
116 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:54:20
117 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:57:31
118 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:57:37
119 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 2:58:04
120 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:58:07
121 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:58:48
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:00:00
123 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:00:07
124 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 3:06:14
125 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:06:46
126 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:07:43
127 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:08:11
128 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:08:57
129 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3:09:23
130 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:11:36
131 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:11:41
132 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:11:49
133 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:12:11
134 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3:13:24
135 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:14:44
136 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:16:07
137 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:16:58
138 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:17:31
139 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:18:35
140 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 3:18:41
141 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano 3:20:02
142 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:21:47
143 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:24:05
144 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano 3:24:46
145 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 3:30:36
146 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 3:33:21
147 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:33:44
148 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 3:34:50
149 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:36:14
150 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:39:25
151 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 3:43:58
152 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:48:24
153 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:49:09

Photo: Bettini

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2012 Tour de France, Stage 17 Results

Movistar had won a stage of the 2011 Tour de France with Rui Costa triumphant in Super Besse but really the Spanish team was always thinking about the return of its true leader Alejandro Valverde who was busy serving a suspension last year. Now that he's back in the race, he's back on the podium. He wasn't the contender for GC honors that Movistar would have hoped for as he's well down the rankings but that meant he was able to put himself in an escape group and chase a victory in the final stage in the Pyrenees of the 99th edition. And it was Costa who helped set up his leader for an impressive return to winning form at the Tour.

Valverde won at Courchevel in his Tour debut in 2005 and took the first yellow jersey with a victory on day one in 2008 and today, in his comeback to the Tour, he gave Spain its second win of the 2012 Tour (after Luis Sanchez) and the first this year for Movistar. He had a lead of two minutes at the base of the final climb and was able to maintain an advantage all the way to the line. Chances are he benefited from the confusion that seemed to exist with the Sky riders who finished second and third; Froome finished second, Wiggins was third and they have increased their advantage over Nibali on GC. Nibali slipped from 2'23” behind at the start of the stage to 2'41”. Van Garderen moves up from sixth to fifth after the collapse of Zubeldia on the final climb and Wiggins will wear the yellow jersey in stage 18.

Now it's out of the mountains and after tomorrow's stage onward to the time trial and then a Sky party in Paris.

Tomorrow: Stage 18, Blagnac-Brive-la-Gaillarde, 222.5 km. TdF analysis by Jean-François Pescheux: "Blagnac-Brive-la-Gaillarde: a 222.5 km hop to bring us a little closer to Paris and give leaders the chance to spin their legs before the Bonneval-Chartres time trial. This is obviously a golden opportunity for sprinters to shine again. I have already said that this Tour is not especially sprinter-friendly, since we have always chucked in one or two climbs to scatter the bunch."

GC:
1 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 78:28:02
2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:02:05
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:02:41
4 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:05:53
5 Tejay Van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:08:30
6 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:09:57
7 Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) RadioShack-Nissan 0:10:11
8 Pierre Rolland (Fra) Team Europcar 0:10:17
9 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:11:00
10 Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:11:46
11 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale 0:12:58
12 Andreas Klöden (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:09
13 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack-Nissan 0:14:22
14 Chris Anker Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 0:18:34
15 Denis Menchov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:22:42
16 Maxime Monfort (Bel) RadioShack-Nissan 0:24:24
17 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 0:25:32
18 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Por) Movistar Team 0:29:43
19 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Katusha Team 0:33:07
20 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team 0:33:38
21 Jerome Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:35:59
22 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 0:41:47
23 Michael Rogers (Aus) Sky Procycling 0:48:20
24 Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 0:49:52
25 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:52:36
26 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 0:53:01
27 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:54:29
28 Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 0:55:00
29 Peter Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:58:30
30 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 0:59:02
31 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 1:02:05
32 Alexandr Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:08:24
33 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 1:09:08
34 Richie Porte (Aus) Sky Procycling 1:10:38
35 Gorka Izaguirre Insausti (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 1:11:07
36 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Sharp 1:20:30
37 Rein Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 1:20:53
38 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha Team 1:21:35
39 George Hincapie (USA) BMC Racing Team 1:25:29
40 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:27:14
41 Fredrik Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team 1:28:33
42 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:32:30
43 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:33:16
44 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team 1:33:52
45 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:33:54
46 Amaël Moinard (Fra) BMC Racing Team 1:34:13
47 Pierrick Fedrigo (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 1:34:36
48 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 1:37:48
49 Dominik Nerz (Ger) Liquigas-Cannondale 1:37:58
50 Fabrice Jeandesboz (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 1:39:00
51 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha Team 1:39:44
52 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 1:40:01
53 Jens Voigt (Ger) RadioShack-Nissan 1:42:14
54 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Sky Procycling 1:44:50
55 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:46:18
56 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:47:19
57 Mikael Cherel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:48:39
58 Davide Malacarne (Ita) Team Europcar 1:48:49
59 Johnny Hoogerland (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:48:50
60 Marcus Burghardt (Ger) BMC Racing Team 1:49:40
61 Cyril Gautier (Fra) Team Europcar 1:51:08
62 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin - Sharp 1:55:00
63 Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 1:55:30
64 Dmitriy Fofonov (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 1:56:26
65 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre - ISD 1:59:21
66 Kevin De Weert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:00:30
67 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:01:54
68 Luis Leon Sanchez Gil (Spa) Rabobank Cycling Team 2:03:22
69 Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:04:16
70 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:06:24
71 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:07:20
72 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:07:26
73 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:08:13
74 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:08:58
75 Andrey Kashechkin (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:09:25
76 Guillaume Levarlet (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:09:31
77 Christophe Kern (Fra) Team Europcar 2:10:10
78 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack-Nissan 2:11:36
79 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - ISD 2:12:57
80 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 2:14:16
81 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:17:09
82 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Movistar Team 2:17:56
83 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Team Europcar 2:18:29
84 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol Team 2:19:17
85 Blel Kadri (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 2:22:50
86 Brice Feillu (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:23:22
87 Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:23:44
88 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 2:26:57
89 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:27:11
90 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:27:38
91 Ruben Perez Moreno (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 2:29:52
92 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team 2:30:51
93 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre - ISD 2:31:12
94 Romain Zingle (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:31:55
95 Julien Simon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 2:37:21
96 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:37:50
97 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Sharp 2:39:43
98 Federico Canuti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:41:23
99 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 2:42:10
100 Michael Albasini (Swi) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:43:02
101 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:43:04
102 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol Team 2:43:25
103 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:43:41
104 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:45:15
105 Nicki Sörensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:45:34
106 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 2:45:57
107 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol Team 2:47:02
108 David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin - Sharp 2:47:23
109 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 2:47:25
110 Koen De Kort (Ned) Argos-Shimano 2:47:51
111 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:49:45
112 Daniel Oss (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 2:49:49
113 Ruben Plaza Molina (Spa) Movistar Team 2:49:59
114 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha Team 2:51:05
115 Kris Boeckmans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:52:53
116 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Argos-Shimano 2:53:51
117 Baden Cooke (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:54:19
118 Nick Nuyens (Bel) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 2:54:55
119 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Katusha Team 2:56:01
120 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 2:57:29
121 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 2:58:11
122 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 3:00:04
123 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:00:11
124 Bert Grabsch (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quickstep 3:01:37
125 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:02:59
126 Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol Team 3:03:13
127 Pablo Urtasun Perez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi 3:04:34
128 Nicolas Edet (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:05:40
129 Jean Marc Marino (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:05:46
130 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:05:56
131 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ-Big Mat 3:07:33
132 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:07:59
133 Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:10:06
134 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol Team 3:11:36
135 Borut Bozic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 3:11:45
136 Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:12:14
137 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:12:20
138 Yohann Gene (Fra) Team Europcar 3:14:03
139 Yann Huguet (Fra) Argos-Shimano 3:15:24
140 Bram Tankink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 3:16:19
141 Cyril Lemoine (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:16:48
142 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank 3:18:39
143 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Argos-Shimano 3:20:08
144 Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Sky Procycling 3:21:46
145 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Sky Procycling 3:21:51
146 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team 3:26:57
147 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:28:28
148 Albert Timmer (Ned) Argos-Shimano 3:29:06
149 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha Team 3:31:18
150 Johan Vansummeren (Bel) Garmin - Sharp 3:31:49
151 Jimmy Engoulvent (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 3:40:19
152 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Sharp 3:44:02
153 Jan Ghyselinck (Bel) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne 3:45:23

Photo: Bettini

Follow on Twitter: ITALIANCYCJOURN

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, touring, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are always welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 2,500 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog. There is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.