Today's stage: The climb up Monte Zoncolan. Nothing more with the Monte Crostis climb eliminated and fans blocking the replacement Tualis climb in protest of the elimination of Crostis.
Who won the stage? Igor Anton attacked up the Zoncolan and won the stage fairly easily over race leader Alberto Contador and second place Vincenzo Nibali.
What matters in the GC race? Contador continued to extend his lead. Nibali remains second while Anton has a good shot at overtaking Nibali or remaining on the podium in third.
Biggest surprise: Anton was able to get away from Contador and make it stick. That likely won't happen again.
Biggest disappointment: No Crostis. The fans protested and the race was most certainly made easier for Contador. While I can understand the trepidation over the descent off of Crostis, this should have been taken care of months ago and those who forced its removal the night before the stage should be be ashamed. Where was this outcry months ago? Where was this outcry on the rest day Monday when the riders were shown the safety measures put in place and approved it? All we have now is a race where nobody except the Sporting Directors who want total control of everything and forced this change and race-leader Contador, who didn't have to defend himself on two major climbs, are happy.
Other items of note: Fans booed everyone all day and the writing on the roads protested the removal of Crostis. Meanwhile in California (where I was too sick to go as planned), Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner were the best men and took advantage of having the best team, blowing up the race up Mt. Baldy to seal a 1-2 Tour of California finish.
What is coming tomorrow? Another summit finish after five climbs. This is yet another killer stage and another chance for Contador to put time into his rivals.
Any GC changes tomorrow? Anton could pass Nibali for second. Other than that, not much. The race will remain in a similar order to how we start, maybe with bigger time gaps. If there is a day where having a terrible day could hurt Contador, this is it.
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