VISCONTI , GALVINIZED BY WIN ON GALIBIER, STRIKES AGAIN IN VICENZA; MAGLIA ROSA NEVER IN DIFFICULTY
Giovanni Visconti (Movistar) won stage 17 in Vicenza today, attacking on the final climb and holding off the chase. Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin Sharp) finished second, 19 seconds behind Visconti. Third, in the same time, was Luka Mezgec (Argos Shimano).
The Maglia Rosa Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) was never in difficulty on today’s mostly flat stage. The top of the General classification is unchanged.
Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), stage winner:
Did you plan today’s attack? "Before the Galibier stage, I had earmarked the Ivrea and Vicenza stages. At Ivrea, I finished close to the GC riders, even though I was tired after the Galibier. So I thought of today. The team was thinking of Ventoso and me. I decided to try my luck on the climb, and leave the sprint to Ventoso. I saw Di Luca and Rubiano ahead. I caught them, and dropped them on the climb. I dropped Rubiano because he is fast in the sprint. Then I just gave it full gas on the descent and flat."
The stage finish: "When I saw the neutral service car behind me, I knew I’d won it. The cheering of the crowds made the hairs stands on the back of my neck. On the final corner, with 200m to go, everything around me was like a dream - beautiful. In the final 50m, I was already thinking of the photograph in tomorrow’s papers, the photo I’ll put on the wall at home. What more could I ask for?"
What has changed in you? "My mentality has changed completely. It is now what it was before, and how it should be: your head can make you ride badly, but it can also revive you. The stimulus of the win on the Galibier and the congratulations I received, were deeply touching. I felt fearless today. I rode 13 km without panicking. The kilometers flowed past by one after the other and it was wonderful. I can’t describe it. The crowds shouting my name. Today was special for me."
Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Maglia Rosa:
The crowds: "It seemed like a national holiday, from the start of the stage to the finish. There were huge crowds along the route. It was emotional, not just for me but also for cycling, and for all the riders. There were great crowds waiting for us in the villages, when we went past in the group. On the final climb, too – it was really a wonderful experience."
Tomorrow’s mountain time trial: "A the last mountain time trials in the Giro d’Italia, at Nevegal and Plan de Corones, I finished second and fourth, so I’ve always ridden well in mountain time trials. If I lead Cadel by 2 minutes tomorrow evening, it would be a big lead. However, it’s hard to predict things right now, because Cadel is always in the lead group, he’s pedalling very well, so we’ll just have to see tomorrow."
A stage win? "I’m only thinking about winning one stage, so whether it’s tomorrow or one of the mountain stages on Firday and Saturday, we’ll just have to see. It’s always hard to win, but it is also very hard to defend a very important jersey like the Maglia Rosa. I hope to gain something else on my rivals. If I can win a stage, I’ll certainly try."
Evans, who is 1:26 behind Nibali, noting that the mountain top finishes planned for Friday and Saturday may be affected by weather, said about tomorrow's 20.6 km time trial, "I look at it as three really important days for selection. Obviously if you take out two of those, then a minute and a half to take back in 20 kilometers is pretty difficult. The time trial was always going to be one of those (decisive stages) and it's not a very long one. But even if you have one percent more in the legs or a little bit better recovery, or you've had a little less effort in the two weeks leading into it, you can really make a difference. It's pretty much up all uphill."
Stage 17 highlights:
Top 10 Stage 17:
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 5:15:34
2 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 0:00:19
3 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
4 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
5 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
6 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
7 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
8 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
9 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
10 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
Top 20 GC:
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 73:11:29
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:26
3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:46
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:03:53
5 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:04:13
6 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:04:57
7 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:05:15
8 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:05:20
9 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:47
10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:07:24
11 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:07:34
12 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:07:43
13 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:08:15
14 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:08:19
15 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:08:36
16 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:09:02
17 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:11:18
18 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:15:04
19 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:18:26
20 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:21:34
Tomorrow: 20.6 km individual time trial, uphill, near the eastern shore of Lake Garda, Mori to Polsa. Riders will start in reverse order of GC; Rafael Andriato (Vini Fantini) first at 13.12, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) last at 16.33. Divided into three parts the first and third parts average 6.6% with a max of 10% in the third part; the middle part of the course averages 1.6%
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