Gazzetta dello Sport Grades the Contenders' Performances

ICJ reader Bob mails in the Gazetta dello Sport grades for the Giro d'Italia contenders:

After the three stages of the Giro d'Italia in the Netherlands, the overall classification is still very close but has given a first indication of how the rest of the race could evolve and how the main overall contenders will perform.

Just like in Italian schools, the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper has published their report card on the leading Giro contenders, giving them marks out of ten. Anything above six is considered sufficient but anything below that is considered a failure.

Lead columnist Paolo Condo' also wrote some colourful comments about each rider that describes how they have performed so far in the Giro.

Alexandre Vinokourov (Astana): race leader
Marks out of ten: 8
"Vinokourov is like a wolf that hides in the bushes but is able to strike hard and fast at exactly the right time. At 36 he's able to understand his rivals like an old sailor and seems to be getting even stronger as the race goes on. A lot of people think he'll struggle on the steep climbs in the final week, but the Alps is the terrain of wild wolves as they store reserves for the winter. His ice-cold eyes are scary."

Ritchie Porte (Saxo Bank): 2nd at same time
Marks out of ten: 7.5
"He's second only by 18/100 of a second and is the real revelation of the start of the Giro. He's a strong time trialist and has a strong team to back him up. He hopes to win the white jersey (of best young ride) this year but hopes to win the pink jersey in the future."

Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Doimo): 14th at 18 seconds
Marks out of ten: 7
"He hopes to limit his losses in the Netherlands but arrived in Italy with most of his rivals behind him. He's riding strongly but without taking any crazy risks. He's a virtual race leader in waiting."

Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo): 4th at 5 seconds
Marks out of ten: 7
"He was a late entry at the Giro but could take the maglia rosa in the team time trial. The Terminillo is like a Tour de France climb and so everyone better watch him, including teammate Ivan Basso."

Michele Scarponi (Androni Giocattoli): 11th at 16 seconds
Marks out of ten: 6.5
"He's using his relaxed attitude to race wisely. This could be the Giro of his life and everything he is doing indicates he could be on track for glory."

Cadel Evans (BMC) 24th at 43 seconds
Marks out of ten: 6
"He fought like a lion on the good day to Utrecht and on the bad day to Middelburg. Yet when the race became hard, he was suddenly on his own. The doubts about the BMC team are increasing and nobody has ever won the Giro without a team."

Bradley Wiggins (Team Sky) 55th at 4:22
Marks out of ten: 5.5
"His time trial win in Amsterdam was amazing but nothing has gone right since then. The first crash may have been somebody else's fault but allowing yourself to be caught out on other occasions is his fault."

Carlos Sastre (Cervelo TestTeam): 43rd at 1:40
Marks out of ten 4.5
"Even if he'd been on the Titanic, he wouldn't have fought for a place on a lifeboat. He doesn't like fighting for a place at the front and is waiting to jump away on his own in the mountains. It's just a pity he will start with a 100-second handicap."

Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Farnese Vini): 50th at 2:07
Marks out of ten: 4
"He's lost seconds everyday, like a leaking bidon. Perhaps it will help him go on the attack later in the race, it may even be a tactic, but it's disappointing to see."

Tomorrow is the 33 km team time trial from Savigliano to Cuneo. The oddsmakers' favorite is Garmin – Transitions. Other contenders: Astana, Team SKY, HTC-Columbia, and Team Saxo Bank. It's going to be another exciting day....

Photo" Why not dream" Nibali

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Le Cirque du Ciclisme, June 4th-6th

If you want to see lots of vintage Italian (and from other countries) racing bikes, buy/sell and swap, ride, and hangout with like minded people consider going to the 13th annual "Le Cirque du Ciclisme" which is being held in historic Leesburg, Virginia, from June 4 to June 6.

The event website is http://www.cirqueducyclisme.com/
On the home page you can find links to photos from the 1998 to 2009 events.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

Giro d'Italia Recipes, Stages 1, 2 and 3

I haven't lost my mind...

The Giro d'Italia is featuring a recipe for each stage. Here are the Stage 1, 2, and 3 recipes. They are in Italian so it might take a bit of work to translate them. You can also use the translate button at the bottom of this page (scroll all the way to the bottom), you are likely to get some interesting results. Finding the ingredients may be difficult but you can try experimenting with substitutes.

Stage 1:
Penne con Pomodoro di Pachino Igp appassiti al forno e Olio dei Monti Iblei Dop e Val di Mazara Dop alle erbe aromatiche Italiane con filetti di cacioricotta.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Penne 280g
Basilico 10g
Timo 10g
Maggiorana 10g
Menta 10g
Aglio 1 spicchio
Cacioricotta a filetti 80g
Pomodoro di Pachino Igp 400g
Monti Iblei Dop Olio extravergine di oliva cucchiai 3
Val di Mazara Dop Olio extravergine di oliva cucchiai 3
Sale

Esecuzione:

In una teglia mettete i pomodori conditi con metà dell’olio, l’aglio, il sale e la metà delle erbe aromatiche. Fate cuocere in forno a fuoco lentissimo, a circa 80°C.
Appena i pomodori sono appassiti ritirateli in una padella e lasciateli al caldo. Mettete il rimanente olio in una casseruola con le erbe sminuzzate, lasciatelo insaporire a fuoco dolce e tenetelo a parte.
Fate cuocere la pasta. Appena pronta scolatela e conditela con i Pomodori di Pachino Igp appassiti, l’olio dei Monti Iblei Dop e Val di Mazara Dop aromatizzato e servite cosparsa di cacioricotta a filetti.


Stage 2
Fusilli con salsa di rucola, Olio extravergine di oliva di Bruzio Dop, Parmigiano Reggiano Dop e pinoli.

Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Fusilli 280g
Rucola 80g
Succo di ½ limone
Aglio ¼ spicchio
Parmigiano Reggiano Dop g 80
Pinoli g20
Bruzio Dop Olio extravergine di oliva cucchiai 5 Sale

Esecuzione:


In un frullatore mettete il succo del limone, la rucola sminuzzata, l’olio extravergine di oliva di Bruzio, il Parmigiano Reggiano grattugiato, i pinoli, un cubetto di ghiaccio, il sale, l’aglio e frullate il tutto fino ad ottenere una crema.
Fate cuocere la pasta, scolatela in una ciotola e conditela con la crema di rucola. Servite tiepida o anche fredda cosparsa di scaglie di Parmigiano Reggiano.


Stage 3
Crostini di pane alla Fontina Dop, funghi e timo.


Ingredienti per 4 persone:


Pane 300g
Fontina Dop 200g
Funghi Trifolati 150g
Timo ciuffi 4
Burro 80g
Farina 70g
Latte dl2
Sale

Esecuzione:


In un pentolino fate fondere il burro. Spostate dal fuoco e aggiungeteci di colpo la farina.
Mescolate e rimettete sul fuoco, lasciate cuocere per dieci minuti a fuoco dolcissimo. Spostate dal fuoco e aggiungete il latte freddo.
Mescolate fin quando il composto non risulta liscio. Rimettete sul fuoco e fate cuocere per cinque minuti a fuoco lento. Aggiungete la Fontina tagliata a piccoli pezzi e i funghi trifolati tritati aromatizzati al timo, rimettete sul fuoco finché il composto non risulterà liscio e fondente. Lasciatelo freddare.
Tagliate il pane a fette, cospargetelo con il composto ai funghi e Fontina e fatelo gratinare in forno. Servite caldo tagliato a pezzi.

Photo: Fusilli


Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 3 Results

Middleburg, 10 May: The flat stage from Amsterdam to Middelburg, 224 km, became a chaotic stage thanks to winds, narrow roads, and crashes in the peloton. The result was that the head of the peloton had only has 26 riders when it reached Middleburg. Begian rider Wouter Weylandt won the sprint and the pink jersey moved to the shoulders of Alexandre Vinokourov. The majority of the peloton finished almost eight minutes back.

It was a little bit dangerous [in the finale]," said Weylandt afterwards, referring to the last left-hand corner before the finish line. "I was thinking Greipel would go for it there so I immediately went through the middle of the corner." Greipel was visibly angry following the stage, and took out his rage on the stage winner. “You didn't do anything at all, you rotten dumbass,” he said and threatened the Belgian with his fist, complaining that the Quick Step rider had not participated in the work in the front group.

"I hadn't planned to take the (pink) jersey so soon, it's only possible because of the work of my teammates. In this situation we will be much more motivated for the team time trial on Wednesday", said Vinokourov.

Cadel Evans, in the pink jersey, was caught up in a crash and found himself in the second group. "It's very frustrating. You do everything you can to avoid crashes but when five crash in front of you and they take you out from behind, what can you do?" said Evans. Evans had to do the most work at the front of his group, which had no BMC teammates in it, as he tried to minimize his time losses. He didn't get much help and is now 43 seconds behind Vinokourov.

Nibali is the first Italian rider in the GC at -5 from Vinokourov; Scarponi at -16, and Basso at -18.

Saxo Bank's Grand Tour debutante, Richie Porte, who now sits in second on general classification during his first year in the ProTour ranks will be in a good position to take the overall lead on Wednesday when the 33 km team time trail from Savigliano to Cuneo takes place.

Christian Vande Velde has had to abandon the Giro after a crash today, possibly with a broken collarbone. Vande Velde also crashed and abandoned during Stage 3 of the Giro last year. What bad luck.

Photos: Bettini

GC Results (in full so you can see the huge resulting split times):
1 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 10:07:18
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
3 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:01
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:05
5 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:07
6 Matthew Goss (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:10
7 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia
8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:00:12
9 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:00:15
10 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:16
11 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
12 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:17
13 Baden Cooke (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:18
14 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo
15 Robert Forster (Ger) Team Milram 0:00:21
16 Wouter Weylandt (Bel) Quick Step
17 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) Team Milram 0:00:24
18 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:25
19 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana 0:00:26
20 Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:28
21 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Lampre-Farnese Vini
22 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 0:00:29
23 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana 0:00:42
24 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:43
25 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:44
26 Adam Hansen (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:45
27 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:46
28 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:50
29 Michael Morkov (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:56
30 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:01:00
31 Adam Blythe (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:01:03
32 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:01:08
33 Sebastian Lang (Ger) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:01:11
34 Markus Fothen (Ger) Team Milram 0:01:13
35 Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Arg) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:21
36 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Astana 0:01:22
37 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 0:01:26
38 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:01:27
39 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 0:01:29
40 William Bonnet (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:01:35
41 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:01:36
42 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Team HTC - Columbia 0:01:40
43 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
44 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Rabobank 0:01:41
45 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC - Columbia 0:01:45
46 Nicki Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:51
47 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:01:57
48 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Astana 0:02:00
49 Ludovic Turpin (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:06
50 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:02:07
51 Markus Eibegger (Aut) Footon-Servetto 0:02:15
52 Robert McEwen (Aus) Team Katusha 0:02:19
53 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Rabobank 0:02:28
54 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Acqua & Sapone 0:04:22
55 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:04:28
56 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:04:34
57 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:04:41
58 Julian Dean (NZl) Garmin - Transitions 0:04:44
59 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:04:47
60 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 0:05:00
61 Michael Barry (Can) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:05:01
62 Gregory Henderson (NZl) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:05:02
63 Sacha Modolo (Ita) COG 0:06:09
64 Daniel Lloyd (GBr) Cervelo Test Team 0:06:20
65 Mathew Hayman (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:06:49
66 Mauricio Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank 0:08:16
67 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:08:18
68 Michiel Elijzen (Ned) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:08:20
69 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:08:22
70 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step
71 Marco Velo (Ita) Quick Step 0:08:27
72 Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:08:30
73 Luke Roberts (Aus) Team Milram 0:08:33
74 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 0:08:35
75 Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:08:37
76 Serguei Klimov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:08:39
77 David Loosli (Swi) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:08:40
78 Julien Fouchard (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
79 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step 0:08:42
80 Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:08:43
81 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team
82 Steven Cummings (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team
83 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Astana 0:08:44
84 Matthias Brandle (Aut) Footon-Servetto
85 Anthony Ravard (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:45
86 Marcel Wyss (Swi) Cervelo Test Team
87 Alexsandr Dyachenko (Kaz) Astana 0:08:47
88 Sebastien Hinault (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
89 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d'Epargne 0:08:48
90 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) Garmin - Transitions 0:08:51
91 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:08:52
92 Jan Bakelandts (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
93 Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:53
94 Roman Kireyev (Kaz) Astana
95 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:08:54
96 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2R La Mondiale 0:08:56
97 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Omega Pharma-Lotto
98 Remi Cusin (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:08:59
99 Craig Lewis (USA) Team HTC - Columbia 0:09:02
100 Michele Merlo (Ita) Footon-Servetto
101 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Team Katusha 0:09:03
102 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Androni Giocattoli 0:09:04
103 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
104 Francis De Greef (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 0:09:06
105 Francesco Failli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:09:07
106 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin - Transitions
107 Dominik Roels (Ger) Team Milram
108 Jeffry Louder (USA) BMC Racing Team
109 Daniele Righi (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:09:08
110 Inigo Cuesta Lopez (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 0:09:10
111 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo 0:09:11
112 John Gadret (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:09:13
113 Yukiya Arashiro (Jpn) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
114 Olivier Kaisen (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
115 Juan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Team Katusha 0:09:14
116 Michael Albasini (Swi) Team HTC - Columbia
117 Jerome Pineau (Fra) Quick Step
118 Branislau Samoilau (Blr) Quick Step 0:09:15
119 Damien Monier (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
120 Guillaume Le Floch (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
121 Leonardo Bertagnolli (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:09:16
122 Simone Stortoni (Ita) COG
123 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step
124 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
125 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) Team HTC - Columbia 0:09:17
126 Massimo Codol (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
127 Andrei Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:19
128 Gabriel Rasch (Nor) Cervelo Test Team 0:09:20
129 Francesco Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
130 Iban Mayoz Echeverria (Spa) Footon-Servetto
131 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Bbox Bouygues Telecom
132 Fabian Wegmann (Ger) Team Milram 0:09:22
133 Johann Tschopp (Swi) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:09:23
134 Mickael Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
135 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:09:24
136 Addy Engels (Ned) Quick Step 0:09:25
137 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Team Katusha
138 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:09:26
139 Nico Sijmens (Bel) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne
140 Florian Stalder (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:09:27
141 Giampaolo Cheula (Ita) Footon-Servetto
142 Manuel Belletti (Ita) COG
143 Chris Sorensen (Den) Team Saxo Bank 0:09:28
144 Alessandro Donati (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:09:29
145 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) COG 0:09:30
146 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Footon-Servetto 0:09:32
147 Kalle Kriit (Est) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:09:33
148 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Cervelo Test Team 0:09:36
149 Valentin Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana 0:09:39
150 Alessandro Bisolti (Ita) COG
151 Carlos Jose Ochoa (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 0:09:40
152 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:41
153 Paul Voss (Ger) Team Milram
154 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Omega Pharma-Lotto
155 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:09:43
156 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha 0:09:45
157 Mathieu Claude (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:09:48
158 Anders Lund (Den) Team Saxo Bank
159 Edward King (USA) Cervelo Test Team
160 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:09:49
161 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:09:53
162 Martin Pedersen (Den) Footon-Servetto 0:09:59
163 Guillaume Blot (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:10:00
164 Marco Frapporti (Ita) COG 0:10:02
165 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:10:14
166 John Murphy (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:10:28
167 Matthias Russ (Ger) Team Milram 0:10:47
168 Andrea Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:10:50
169 Rick Flens (Ned) Rabobank 0:10:51
170 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team
171 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0:11:03
172 Alan Marangoni (Ita) COG 0:11:04
173 Cayetano Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Acqua & Sapone 0:11:08
174 Alberto Loddo (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:12:30
175 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Rabobank 0:12:35
176 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:12:41
177 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Androni Giocattoli
178 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 0:12:42
179 Mauro Facci (Ita) Quick Step 0:12:45
180 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:13:01
181 Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne 0:13:02
182 Ermanno Capelli (Ita) Footon-Servetto 0:13:26
183 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Doimo 0:14:20
184 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:14:26
185 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 0:14:38
186 Federico Canuti (Ita) COG 0:15:05
187 Anthony Charteau (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:15:41
188 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Garmin - Transitions 0:15:59
189 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Caisse d'Epargne 0:16:02
190 David Moncoutie (Fra) Cofidis, le Credit en Ligne 0:16:09
191 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) COG 0:16:43
192 Damien Gaudin (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom 0:17:49
193 Morris Possoni (Ita) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:19:44
194 Jack Bobridge (Aus) Garmin - Transitions 0:19:56
195 Rene Mandri (Est) AG2R La Mondiale 0:20:07
196 Marco Corti (Ita) Footon-Servetto 0:20:21

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

2010 Giro d'Italia, Stage 2 Results

Utrecht, 9 May: Tyler Farrar (Garmin) won the 2nd stage, 210 km Amsterdam to Utrecht, in a bunch sprint. It was Farrar's first Giro stage win. The pink jersey passed from Bradley Wiggins (SKY) to World Champion Cadel Evans (BMC) who leads the GC by only one second over Farrar. Wiggins was involved in two crashes and lost 32 seconds.

It was 8 C degrees and humid at the start of a stage that ultimately had many crashes on the narrow and dangerous roads better suited and navigated by "classics" specialists.

"It’s fantastic to have won. It's certainly one of the special ones. Last year was a breakthrough year winning what I did. To win the first sprint is nice. It takes some pressure off for the rest of the race,” Farrar said. "The team were fantastic. I couldn't have asked for a better delivery to the line. We've said since the beginning of the season that we're putting a lot of effort into beefing up our lead-out and you saw today it has paid off. Sutton (SKY) tried to jump us into the last turn but Dean did a fantastic job closing the gap and gave me a clean tow to the line.”

Cadel Evans is wearing the pink jersey again after eight years, having worn it once before for one day near the end of the 2002 Giro. "I was 25 years old when I last wore the pink jersey in 2002. Now, everything is different. I have a strong team that likes to work hard." Regarding tomorrow, "We will not look at keeping the jersey at any cost tomorrow. Farrar is only one second behind me. I'm not going to look for bonus seconds on the road tomorrow against him. But I'll drop him off on the Zoncolan if he's still there!".

Tomorrow is the last stage in Holland, 224 km from Amsterdam to Middelburg. A perfectly flat course. Tuesday is a very early rest day for the riders as the Giro transfers back to Italy for the remainder of the race. The volcano in Iceland is once again spewing and causing airport closures in Europe; the organizers have arranged for transfers by bus if necessary.

Top 10 GC:
1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 5:07:09
2 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:01
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:00:03
4 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank
5 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:04
6 Jos Van Emden (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:07
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:08
8 Tom Stamsnijder (Ned) Rabobank 0:00:09
9 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:10
10 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:13

Photos: Bettini

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

New: Colnago C59

The good people at http://www.cyclingnews.com/ have some spy photos of the unannounced new C59 model from Colnago. Ernesto Colnago had alluded to some new surprises for later this year. The C59 will makes it first appearance tomorrow in Stage 2 of the Giro.

More details, and photos, from cyclingnews.com here.

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondo, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.

May 9: Giornata Nazionale della Bicicletta

Tomorrow, Sunday, May 9th, is the first annual "Giornata Nazionale della Bicicletta" (National Bike Day) in Italy. Organized by the Ministero dell’Ambiente, more than 1,300 communities throughout Italy have joined "biciday" in order to highlight how the bicycle can be an environmentally sound, practical, and feasible mobility alternative.

All the initiatives can be found here (in Italian):
http://giornatadellabicicletta.minambiente.it/

Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.