Giro d'Italia Daily Stage Report

Yesterday was stage 15 of the Giro d'Italia and the final stage of the Tour of California. Both are covered here.

The stages: In Italy it was a psychotic climbing day with five climbs taking over 7.5 hours while in California, it was a rolling hilly stage to a sprint finish to complete the race.

Who won the stages? In Italy, Mikel Nieve was part of a big early breakaway, took the lead on the final climb and held on to win the stage as the GC contenders closed down the gap. In California, matt Goss won his first race since taking Milan-San Remo in the expected sprint.

GC news? In Italy, Alberto Contador extended his lead further and Michele Scarponi moved into second place after Igor Anton lacked legs after the win on Monte Zoncolan yesterday and Vincenzo Nibali attacked on a descent and wore himself out enough that he cracked twice. In California, Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer completed their 1-2 finish in the race.

Biggest surprise: Contador's team still didn't do any work. Of course that is because they all faded early in the stage along with every other non-lite climber who wasn't in the breakaway. The stage was just ridiculous in its difficulty.

Biggest disappointment: Contador appears to have a deal worked out with the Spanish team to help him since his team since to be unwilling or unable to help him. As soon as Nibali got away on the descent, Contador sent Movistar team leader David Arroyo, himself well placed on the GC in the top 10, to the front to work for him. The Italian teams plus Contador's former team at Astana all need to band together or we could be looking at a 10 minute gap come the finish on Sunday.

Other items of note: Kudos to Scarponi and Nibali for at least trying to attack, something none of the other GC rivals (except Joaquim Rodriguez who obviously doesn't have the legs right now) can say. Nieve was the leader of the race on the road at one point when the breakaway was 10 minutes ahead. Nieve's stage win made it two days in a row for the Euskatel team after having never won a Giro stage before this year.

What is coming tomorrow? More pain. Mountain time-trial. Good luck to those remaining non-climber in the race. You are likely to need it to stay within the time cut.

Any GC changes tomorrow? Lots. Contador will still lead, but I expect Nibali to put in a good ride and possibly move back into second over Scarponi. Denis Menchov, placed in the back of the top 10, is a threat for the stage win and a possible move to the top five overall.

Giro d'Italia Daily Stage 14 – Anton wins stage as fans blow gasket

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.

Giro d'Italia Daily Stage 13 – Contador blows the field up, again

Today's stage: A climb fest ending on Austria's highest mountain, the Grossglockner.

Jose Rujano celebrates his victory
while Alberto Contador follows him in.
Photo courtesy velonews.competitor.com

Who won the stage? Jose Rujano of the Androni Giocattoli team was able to stay with race leader Alberto Contador and was gifted the stage win by the stronger Contador after helping him extend his overall lead over the main contenders.

What matters in the GC race? Contador now leads by over three minutes. Barring something insane happening, this race is over even with the killer climbs remaining. Contador can now likely survive a bad day and still win the race. Vincenzo Nibali is now second, a position where he will likely finish considering he is the favorite on stage 17, a mountain stage with a descent finish, and the time trial where he figures to be strong. Michele Scarponi remains just four seconds behind Nibali for second place.

Biggest surprise: Contador attacked today. Considering this was thought to be a breakaway stage with the GC men sitting out waiting for the killer stage (more on that later) tomorrow, the favorite and race leader was considered among the least likely to attack.

Biggest disappointment: Other teams did all the work in chasing down the breakaway giving Contador an incentive to attack for the time bonus. Not much could be done about Contador's dominance so far. He has been that good. Even so, this has been a pathetic tactical race by the race of the field and they are paying for it every time the road turns mountainous.

Other items of note: The epic Monte Zoncolan stage tomorrow will be a little less epic after the controversial and dangerous Monte Crostis climb was removed from the race route after racing finished today. Oddly, it was not for safety concerns, but for competition concerns. The UCI (a bunch of morons governing a sport if there ever was one) forced the change because of the inability for team cars to get onto the pass in the event of mechanical failures. Oh really. Tom Boonen would like his chance to win Paris-Roubaix back then considering he flatted in the Arnberg Trench where team cars are not allowed and never caught the main filed again. Dropped for safety fine. The descent of Monte Crostis is stupid dangerous. For competition reasons you have to be kidding me. Meanwhile in California, Dave Zabriskie won the Solvang Time Trial at the Tour of California and Chris Horner had his lead chopped by Levi Leipheimer. I will be at tomorrow's queen stage climb up Mount Baldy so expect a longer Tour of California entry tomorrow.

What is coming tomorrow? Monte Zoncolan. Even without Crostis, Zoncolan is a fearsome proposition. It is a beast of a climb where time gaps can be absolutely huge.

Any GC changes tomorrow? Contador will still lead. Behind him is anybody's guess. All positions are up for grabs on one of the most difficult climbs in Europe. Chris Fontecchio on podiumcafe says the climb is hard to describe without using profanity. And that's before you realize there are gravel sections too. I expect Contador to retain his top spot and Nibali to remain second since he does a good job of not overriding and cracking on climbs. The rest, who the heck knows? All I know is the top ten will likely look very different tomorrow night.