The Giro d'Italia is one of cycling three Grand Tours. It is airing daily on Universal Sports through May 29 and during the race daily recaps can be found here on this blog.
Due to scheduling, I will be covering the last two days stages today in one post.
The stages: Stage 10 was a sprint stage without much in the way of hills while stage 11 was a transitional stage built for possible breakaway's with lots of rolling hills and short climbs.
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| Cavendish sprints out to the Stage 10 win. |
Who won the stages? Mark Cavendish, the best sprinter in the world, won stage 10 in a bunch sprint beating previous stage winners Francisco Ventoso and Alessandro Petacchi after the breakaway was reeled in under 10 km from the finish. John Gadret surprisingly attacked on the finishing hill in stage 11 to take the win over Joaquim Rodriguez in an entertaining stage marked by overall contender Christope le Mevel being in the breakaway.
What matters in the GC race? Contador seems to be willing to drop the pink jersey for a while to avoid the pressure of defending it. At least that is what allowing Le Mevel to get in the break and stay away for awhile would seem to indicate. I would also wager that this shows Contador doesn't really fear him. At the same time, Vincenzo Nibali attempted to get in a breakaway and Contador's Saxo Bank team immediately chased him down.
Biggest surprises: None on stage 10. Le Mevel being in the break was a surprise, but nothing like Gadret's attack and stage victory. Gadret is a pretty good climber with the capability to win these stages, but attacking the way he did has not been in his repertoire.
Biggest disappointments: Nothing. Everybody has pretty much ridden to form the last two days. Maybe that Saxo Bank is not really working at the front of the field to keep things in check, but that is just for those who want a closer race.
Other items of note: There was a moment of silence both at the Giro d'Italia and the Tour of California for Wouter Weylandt, killed last week in a crash during Stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia. Today was the funeral. In California, Chris Horner of Team Radioshack took the race lead riding away from the field on the final climb. Weylandt teammate and Tour de France favorite Andy Schleck was second there.
What is coming tomorrow? The most flatly pancaked stage I have ever seen at the Giro d'Italia. If the sprinters don't control and win this stage, they screwed up royally.
Any GC changes tomorrow? Don't make me laugh. Only if there is a big crash involving a favorite.
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