Saturday, May 11, 2013

STAGE 9 Preview 2013 Giro d'Italia

 


Dowsett, the other British TT master
Mother nature was merciful today, offering the riders a dry course throughout the entire 55km Time Trial to Saltara. The weather would be no excuse for anyone whose GC chances were dashed today. British TT champ Alex Dowsett impressed all with his first Grand Tour stage win. Race favorite Wiggins looked to be under-performing until he pulled out a good finish up the final climb, which hit grades of 13%. Finishing second on the day, Wiggins moved himself well up the overall race standings from 23rd place to 4th. This would be great news to anyone else. To Wiggins fans who expected a superior thrashing of the competition today, the moody Brit’s performance might have left something to be desired. He came in to the stage with a 1:27 deficit to Italian favorite Vincenzo Nibali, and was only able to chop 11 seconds off of that.

Five riders managed to retain top-10 spots today: Nibali, Evans, Gesink, Santambrogio and Hesjedal, which means five others propelled themselves up into that select group. Hesjedal and Santambrogio moved down slightly in the General Classification, but are still threats inside the top-10.
My pick today, Wilco Kelderman, did not win, but his 14th place was good enough to take the white Young Rider's jersey off of Rafal Majka's back.
Here are my winners and losers from the crucial stage 8 ITT:

Big Winner(s):
Vincenzo Nibali, Cadel Evans, Robert Gesink, and Team Sky. 
Nibali demonstrated his excellent form, grabbing the pink jersey, and established the foundation for what looks to be a very promising Giro performance. "The Shark" has shown such impressive form that he must look like the dominant favorite now.

Gesink got one of the most challenging stages behind him and will head into the mountains one second ahead of race favorite Wiggins. Good legs in the Alps could potentially net the Condor a podium spot in Brescia.

Evans showed that he is indeed in very good form and now sits in 2nd place at +:29, the only challenger within a minute of Nibali’s lead. He is still looking to be in peak form for the Tour in July, so we’ll have to wait and see how long his good spring form keeps up in the mountains over the next two weeks.

Finally, Dave Brailsford’s Sky boys may not have put their captain in pink, but their three top riders, Wiggins and Colombians Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran, all climbed in the standings from outside the top 20 to inside the top 10.


Big Loser(s):
Beñat Intxausti and Giampaolo Caruso.
Intxausti, the popular Basque talent, lost the Maglia Rosa and over 3 ½ minutes to his Sicilian foe, Nibali. For someone who has shown some good results against the clock, particularly on hilly courses, today’s performance has to feel like a loss to his Movistar team. I thought he had a good chance of keeping a top-10 spot, at least.
Caruso was never many people’s favorite, but he has been climbing well lately and came in to the TT today only :10 off Intxausti’s lead in 4th place. A less than glowing result today leaves the 32-year old Sicilian in 30th place with a gap of 6:36 to Nibali. In fact his Russian Katusha squad dropped from 1st place to 7th in the Team competition, where their top riders collectively sit 9:40 behind their Kazakh cousins, Team Astana. A stage win could be in his future.
With all the mountains still ahead of them, the peloton know that this race is far from decided, but today’s TT went a long way toward establishing a pecking order.

Stage 9 Profile

STAGE 9 Picks

Another potential breakaway stage tomorrow through the hills of Tuscany.  A pair of legitimate climbs mark the middle of the 170-km stage, and a pair of smaller ones come near the end. The last one is a little cat. 4 that tops out with 10k to go to the finish in Florence. This year’s late-season World Championship race is supposed to cover these roads. The finale is a slight uphill drag of about 1.6 kms at about 3% gradient. Stefano Pirazzi and Giovanni Visconti may be out looking to grab points toward the Mountain Jersey tomorrow. Visconti is also a likely pick for the stage as this area is his local domain. Other locals familiar with these roads include Mauro Santambrogio’s Vini Fantini team. They will surely be looking for success tomorrow as well.
The first rest day follows stage 9 before the peloton tackles the first mountaintop finish stage on Tuesday. The GC contenders will probably hope to let an escape group go, as long as no one threatening the overall times gets clear. Teams like Euskatel, Vini Fantini, Androni Giocattoli and Saxo-Tinkoff will likely try to get riders in the break. Weather will be a factor again with thundershowers expected in the afternoon.

STAGE 9 PICKS:

LIKELY PICKS: Giovanni Visconti, Danilo Di Luca
DARK-HORSE PICK: Sandy Casar
MY PICKI think a break will succeed. "The Killer" Di Luca will have his day.


STAGE 8 Recap and Results


 

Saturday May 11, 2013
54.8 KM Individual Time Trial from Gabicce Mare to Saltara; 
Course: Technical, half-flat, half-rolling, with a punchy climb to the finish (last 1km @ 13%); INT time check at km 26.
Weather:  19 c; Wind N 10km/h; mostly sunny early then overcast later, but dry

DNS: Julien Berard (ALM)

British TT champ Alex Dowsett (24-MOV) sets the early mark at 36:20. Dowsett was 8th at the 45 km World Championship TT last September, finishing ahead of the mighty Alberto Contador.
TT specialist Jesse Sergent is currently in second at +1:18
The ailing pair of Taylor Phinney (BMC) and Dario Cataldo (Sky) would both have been favorites for today’s TT under healthier circumstances. At the first intermediate check point Phinney is riding in 4th place, 2:12 behind the current leader, while Cataldo is next, :13 behind Phinney. Doubtless those placings will drop as the leaders come in.

Kessiakoff prepares to start. He’s been quiet so far this year, but it will be interesting to see if he can match the winning TT performances he put on in last year’s Vuelta a España (where he beat the likes of Contador, Froome, Valverde, Porte and today’s Maglia Rosa wearer, Beñat Intxausti—as well as Tony Martin) and the Tour de Suisse (where he beat the great Fabian Cancellara).

Aussie champ Luke Durbridge (OGE) comes through the INT in 2nd place.

13:50:17 CEST:
After 90 minutes Belkov has a dominant lead:
1.    Maxime Belkov (KAT) 1:27:57
2.    Laurent Pichon (FDJ) +5:14
3.    Miguel Minguez (EUS) 5.37
4.    Bobridge (BLA) 6.25

Dowsett finishes and takes the lead with a time of 1.16.27 (at 43.008 kph), a full 2:00 ahead of second-place Jesse Sergent. I’m surprised he held that time up the last climb. Chapeau.

*Rain reported at the finish line now. (??? Looks dry to me—maybe there was a sprinkle off camera.) As I said in my preview, this will be a disadvantage—and potential danger—to all the riders who have to race the clock on wet roads.
Durbridge replaces Sergent in 2nd at the finish. Then Stef Clement (BLA) supplants Durbridge;
A Bardiani rider crashes on a corner.
Garate is late to the gate for his start;
Kessiakoff losing big time on the final climb;
Wiggins ready to start on dry roads in the sun.

Wiggins: mechanical issue (flat?) on the course and gets a new bike; discards the old one like trash--remembers to grab bidon;
Wiggo goes thru the 1st INT in 7th, just ahead of Saxo’s Manuele Boaro.
Evans starts; almost scrapes a wall taking a sharp left turn;
Uran thru the INT in 5th, 10 seconds faster than team leader Wiggins;
Kelderman (BLA) takes his time passing his minute-man, Sky’s Sergio Henao.
Wiggins gets mooned by the Tifosi. Good to see the Italians are keeping their butts clean;
Hesjedal then Nibali leave the start house. Nibali bunny-hops a bump in the road and then hugs the same corner wall that Evans nearly grazed.

Michele Scarponi (4th place overall last year) goes through the INT with a very good time of 36:50, good for 3rd place, :30 off the pace; Not a great TT’er, the 2011 Giro winner is one of my favorites for the overall, but was not expected to excel today.
Maglia Rosa wearer Intxausti is the last man out of the gate.
Dowsett still holds the lead ahead of Clement and Durbridge.
Tanel Kangert finishes with a very impressive 2nd place, :14 behind Dowsett.

*Some damp spots reported on the road, but for the most part the course is still dry, sky partly sunny.

Wiggins goes through the last time check in 5th. Not looking too sharp.
Evans holds nothing back as he uses all of the road hammering around the bends;
Henao crosses the line in 6th; He lost a minute since the first check;
*Wiggins made up some good time on the final climb and finishes in 2nd place, 10 seconds behind countryman Dowsett. Not the dominant ride we expected, but still very good for this stage, and remember he had a bike change earlier;
Uran comes in 8th as the clouds seem to be closing in overhead;
Scarponi, like Henao, lost a minute in between the time checks;
Tom Danielson (GRS) comes in over 4 minutes down;

No footage yet of Intxausti at all.
There he is going through the time check with no graphics available for time splits; Danny Lloyd says he’s over a minute off the pace, 15th at the INT;
Niemiec is 8th at the 2nd INT; finishes 12th, down 2:13.
Scarponi does a good job limiting his losses. He finishes in 8th place, within a minute of Dowsett’s time; No one has approached Dowsett’s time;

Kruijswijk and Kiserlovski posting less than impressive times.
We haven’t gotten a single look at Sanchez, who just as I write this, comes in 3:17 down.
Hesjedal passes his minute-man, Caruso before the last time check;
Evans has a real shot at glory here, but Kirby and Lloyd are now saying his pace is falling off;
Gesink finishes, currently in 9th at 1:17.49;
Weening 20th at +2.47;
Cadel attacks the final climb with legs he’s been saving all day; finishes just :39 off the best time set much earlier by Alex Dowsett; Evans’ time is currently 6th;

Not a great ride from the Canadian 2012 GDT winner, Hesjedal. He’s riding in 11th, about 2:44 down at the last time check;

Hesjedal finishes 2:23 down currently in 17th;
Nibali powers to the line :21 off Dowsett’s pace, for 4th (currently). The Italian hope is the only person to crack the top 5 since Wiggins finished in 2nd.
The Maglia Rosa is on the final climb, apparently about to concede the lead;
Intxausti “enjoys” his final minutes in pink with a long, lonely struggle up to the line, finishing just outside the top 40, conceding 3:52 to Wiggins, 3:41 to Nibali. Wow. Much worse than I expected. Too bad for the young Basque GC hopeful.
Wiggins might be ruing that flat he had early on. It probably cost him the win.

STAGE 8 (54.8K ITT) RESULTS:


1
Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
1:16:27

2
Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
0:00:10

3
Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
0:00:14

4
Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
0:00:21

5
Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:00:32

6
Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
0:00:35

7
Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
0:00:39

8
Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
0:00:45

9
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling
0:00:53

10
Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida


11
Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:01:22

12
Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
0:01:48

13
Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano


14
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:01:57

15
Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
0:02:00

16
Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida
0:02:13

17
Nelson Filipe Santos Oliveira (Por) RadioShack
0:02:17

18
Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
0:02:23

19
Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:02:28

20
Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
0:02:34

21
Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana
0:02:38

22
Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
0:02:40

23
Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
0:02:44

24
Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
0:02:47

25
Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
0:02:56

26
Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
0:02:59

27
Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
0:03:03

28
Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:03:09

29
Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
0:03:17

30
Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling
0:03:24

31
Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
0:03:27

32
Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
0:03:29

33
Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano
0:03:34

34
Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
0:03:40

35
Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
0:03:44

36
Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol
0:03:46

37
Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
0:03:56

38
Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge


39
Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
0:03:57

40
Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida
0:04:01

41
Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team
0:04:02

42
Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol
0:04:05

43
Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp


44
Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
0:04:06

45
Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
0:04:14

46
Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
0:04:18

47
Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard
0:04:22

48
Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling
0:04:24

49
Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling


50
Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
0:04:27

51
Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge
0:04:37

52
Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha
0:04:41

53
Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:04:42

54
Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
0:04:44

55
Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
0:04:48

56
Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team
0:04:50

57
Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
0:04:51

58
Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
0:04:53

59
Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling
0:04:54

60
Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Sky Procycling
0:04:56



Other notable times:
63. Damiano Caruso (Cannondale)  + 5:05
67. Carlos Betancur (AG2R)  5:19
69. Robert Kiserlovski (RadioShack)  5:21
72. Taylor Phinney (USA) (BMC)  5:28
90. Danilo Di Luca (Vini Fantini)  6:14
104. Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha)  6:52

And my pick for last place was correct. Mattia Gavazzi was the slowest of the 200 finishers today coming in 16:42 slower than stage winner Alex Dowsett.


General classification after stage 8
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 29:46:57
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:29
3 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:01:15
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:01:16
5 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:01:24
6 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp 0:02:05
7 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:11
8 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:43
9 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:02:44
10 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:49
11 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:02:50
12 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:03:02
13 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:03:26
14 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:03:36
15 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:03:43
16 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:04:05
17 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:04:09
18 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:04:31
19 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:04:37
20 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:04:50
21 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:04:57
22 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:05:03
23 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:05:09
24 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:05:17
25 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:05:29
26 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:05:41
27 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:05:42
28 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:08
29 Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:06:22
30 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 0:06:36
31 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:06:51


Points classification
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 58 pts
2 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 52
3 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 49
4 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 45
5 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 39
6 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 35
7 Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ 31
8 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 30
9 Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp 30
10 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 29
11 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling 28
12 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 28
13 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 27
14 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 25
15 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 25

Mountains classification
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 14 pts
2 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 13
3 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 12
4 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 12
5 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia 9
6 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 9
7 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 5
8 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 5

Premio della fuga classification
1 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 290 pts
2 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 278
3 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi 263
4 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 221
5 Ricardo Mestre (Por) Euskaltel-Euskadi 204
6 Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol 204
7 Fabio Taborre (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 202
8 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 197
9 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 178
10 Tomas Aurelio Gil Martinez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 177
11 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 177
12 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 176
13 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 167
14 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 167
15 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 167
16 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol 167
17 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 167
18 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 151
19 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 147
20 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 145

Young riders classification
1 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 29:50:23
2 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:43
3 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:01:05
4 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:42
5 Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:05:13
6 Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:05:27
7 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:06:26
8 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:11:53
9 Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:12:38
10 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 0:13:06

Teams classification
1 Astana Pro Team 88:40:51
2 Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:00:34
3 Sky Procycling 0:02:06
4 Lampre-Merida 0:04:55
5 Movistar Team 0:08:05
6 BMC Racing Team 0:08:23
7 Katusha 0:09:40
8 Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:10:02
9 RadioShack Leopard 0:10:23
10 Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:10:32
11 Garmin-Sharp 0:14:49
12 Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:16:38
13 Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:17:12
14 Androni Giocattoli 0:17:27
15 Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:21:10
16 Ag2R La Mondiale 0:21:30
17 Colombia 0:23:18
18 Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:29:54
19 FDJ 0:34:48
20 Orica-GreenEdge 0:41:26
21 Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:48:44
22 Lotto Belisol 0:51:34
23 Team Argos-Shimano 1:27:09




Friday, May 10, 2013

STAGE 8 Preview 2013 Giro d'Italia

 

Adam Hansen
Congratulations to Adam Hansen for a spectacular ride today on some treacherous roads! The Lotto-Belisol rider claimed his first career Grand Tour stage win. And that was one helluva course to win on. You might recall Hansen's uncommon feat of riding all three Grand Tours last year. Today's result however is a new plateau for the Australian, who turns 32 tomorrow.

The long Time Trial tomorrow should give Bradley Wiggins his best opportunity to recover the time he lost over the first week to the other GC favorites. Now 1:32 off the lead, he will have to put in as dominant a TT as he can muster if he wants to claim an advantage—or even the lead—before the second half of the race as it heads into the mountains. New race leader Beñat Intxausti is no slouch at the TT so everyone will have their work cut out for them.

The climbing kilometers, particularly the steep kick at the end of the stage, will make a high finish difficult for some of the pure Time Trialists, like Sven Tuft, Luke Durbridge, Jesse Sergent or Patrick Gretsch. The pure climbers will struggle with maintaining power over the 50 kms that precede the finishing climb. That last hill starts out easy but kicks up to 13% in the last km.


STAGE 8 PICKS:

LIKELY PICKS: Wiggins, Phinney, Durbridge
DARK-HORSE PICK: Tiago Machado
MY PICK: Not that I’m doubting Wiggins’ fitness based on the last few stages, but I just want to go with someone more interesting: Wilco Kelderman

Update: Thundershowers are expected again tomorrow, though maybe not until afternoon. Advantage to any early starters who might happen to get dry roads. It could be wet all day however, so only the GC guys and stage hopefuls will be interested in taking any risks.

STAGE 7 Recap and Results 2013 Giro d'Italia

 

STAGE 7-  
177km, Rolling (saw-tooth) from San Salvo to Pescara:
Friday May 10, 2013
Dry at the start, rain last hour.

Many short climbs spread across the whole course today. Four categorized climbs in the last 50 km (2 cat.3’s and 2 cat 4’s).  First time Giro starting in Marina di San Salvo.
Some stats for the climbs:
Bucchianico (max 15%), Villamagna (KOM), Chieti-Pietragrossa (max 16% - KOM), Chieti-Tricalle (max 19% - Sprint), Santa Maria de Criptis (max 16% - KOM) and San Silvestro (max 14% - KOM).

Besides Leigh Howard (OGE) who broke his collarbone yesterday, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC) also Did Not Start today.
Mattia Cattaneo (Lampre-Merida) is also out of the race after a crash just 3km into the stage.
Taylor Phinney (BMC) is struggling with hay fever and admitted today will be a battle of survival for him.
Dario Cataldo (Team Sky) is one of several riders fighting a virus for the last few days.
Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) has been struggling with a knee injury, and now a fever.

To the action:
 
Taborre and Trentin trying to break free…
Wiggins bike change;
Thomas Damuseau (ARG) and Fabio Taborre (VIN) were together with Danilo Hondo (RadioShack) in a break group. Then Hondo and Damuseau crashed, and Taborre continued on alone, with a 26 second gap.

*-141k Brk: Sella, Tamouridis, Tjallingii, Rollin, Hansen, and Ligthart build a 1-min. lead;

-140k: The gap is now 2:14 for Emanuele Sella (Androni Giacattoli), Ioannis Tamoridis (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Maarten Tjallingii (Blanco), Dominique Rollin (FdJ), Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) and Pim Ligthart (Vacansoleil-DCM).

Looks like they got away at km 29.
*Cattaneo (LAM) has been taken to hospital with a suspected fractured femur. UPDATE: No fracture.
Peloton lets the break go for a while.

-62k -5:38
1st KOM: 1. Sella  2. Tjallingi  3. Hansen
-50k: the lead is 2:40
-40k: lead @ 2:30;
Thunder and lightning reported at the finish, no rain yet;
Onto 2nd climb
-39.5k Taborre accelerates off the front of the pack; Uran has a silly fall and is back up;
2nd KOM: 1. Sella  2. Hansen  3. Rollin  4. Ligthart;
-35k onto the Chieti climb (see stage 5 of this year’s Tirreno Adriatico);
Hansen, Sella and Ligthart lead up the climb (~2:00 to peloton); other three from the lead are drifting back on the steep slope;
Taborre still trying to bridge up to the leaders in no-man’s-land;
1st INT Sprint: 1. Hansen  2. Sella  3. Ligthart  4. Tjallingi  5. Rollin
*-32k: Hansen and Sella drop Ligthart and summit together, as the leaders on the road;

-31k: roads are all wet now, entering light rain;
*Crash: Sella; skids out on a slick bend; he’s back up quickly;
Inside -28 k the rain is falling hard on the riders now;
2nd INT SPR: 1. Sella  2. Hansen  3. Ligthart  4. Tjallingi  5. Rollin
-25k: Taborre catches Tamouridis on the road;
-23.2k: crash:
-23k: Hansen waited for Sella to catch back up so they could work together through the difficult terrain; their lead to the chasing peloton is 3:00;
Tjallingi, Ligthart and Rollin form the first chase group behind the leaders, at +1:05; Rollin is dropped;
*Hansen drops Sella on the steeps and goes alone;

The peloton is riding very cautiously now, taking the corners slowly on the slippery, technical roads; Have they given up the chase?
-20k: Taborre 2:12 behind the 2 leaders; the peloton a further :30 back, as Bonnafond attacks out of the pack;
3rd KOM: 1. Hansen  2. Sella  3. Ligthart  4. Rollin;

BLANCO lead the peloton chase, and Di Luca escapes, catching Taborre under the 20k to go banner;
A select group forming behind; chasing Di Luca are Nibali, Scarponi, Santambrogio, Kiserlovski, et al;
NO SKY RIDERS AROUND AT THE FRONT!
Inside 15k to go, the leader, Hansen has :45 gap to Sella, and 2:15 to the chasing GC group;
Kangert then Di Luca attack with a big dig;
-12k: Pirazzi to the front of the chase; Water is puddling all over the road;

-10k: Weening attacks, followed by Pirazzi and Kiserlovski;
Hansen now leads Sella by 1:15, Kangert by 2:44 and the Maglia Rosa group by 3:12;
-8.5k: big attack from Nibali, Vicioso on his wheel; Stortoni trying to get on with Di Luca and Taborre;
Evans leads GC chase group over the final categorized summit;
4th KOM: 1. Hansen  2. Sella  3. Pirazzi;
Sella crashes again and gets back on again;
Several other crashes happening behind, incl. Wiggins;
A Movistar rider hits the pavement, as up ahead, Hansen has 4k to go to the finish;
The select group chasing Hansen swells to 12 then to around 20 riders;
-3k: Wiggins looks bad and is being passed by many riders; Uran drops back to help;
The sky is very dark and hurling down rain at the struggling riders as Adam Hansen rolls down the long finishing stretch with no challengers visible behind him; His birthday is tomorrow.

A lot of shake-up in the standings after today’s fast, wet stage. Tomorrow’s 55-km time trial should shake it up even more.


STAGE 7 RESULTS:

  1  HANSEN, Adam (LOTTO BELISOL)              4:35:49
  2  BATTAGLIN, Enrico (BARDIANI VALVOLE)       + 1:07
  3  DI LUCA, Danilo (VINI FANTINI)       
  4  SANTAMBROGIO, Mauro (VINI FANTINI)   
  5  CARUSO, Damiano (CANNONDALE PRO CYCLING)            
  6  EVANS, Cadel (BMC RACING)                           
  7  PIRAZZI, Stefano (BARDIANI VALVOLE - CSF INOX)      
  8  JEANNESSON, Arnold (FDJ)                            
  9  WEENING, Pieter (ORICA GREENEDGE)                   
  10 HESJEDAL, Ryder (GARMIN SHARP)                      
  11 CARUSO, Giampaolo (KATUSHA)                         
  12 SERPA PEREZ, Jose Rodolfo (LAMPRE-MERIDA)           
  13 BETANCUR GOMEZ, Carlos Alberto (AG2R LA MONDIALE)   
  14 INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA, Benat (MOVISTAR TEAM)          
  15 VALLS FERRI, Rafael (VACANSOLEIL-DCM)               
  16 KELDERMAN, Wilco (BLANCO PRO CYCLING)               
  17 KRUIJSWIJK, Steven (BLANCO PRO CYCLING)             
  18 MAJKA, Rafal (SAXO-TINKOFF)                         
  19 GESINK, Robert (BLANCO PRO CYCLING)                 
  20 SANCHEZ GONZALEZ, Samuel (EUSKALTEL EUSKADI)        
  21 NIEMIEC, Przemyslaw (LAMPRE-MERIDA)                 
  22 SCARPONI, Michele (LAMPRE-MERIDA)                   
  23 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA PRO TEAM)                  
  24 KISERLOVSKI, Robert (RADIOSHACK LEOPARD)            
  25 SANTAROMITA, Ivan (BMC RACING)




General Classification after Stage 7  
1
Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar
28:30:04

2
Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
0:00:05

3
Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
0:00:08

4
Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
0:00:10

5
Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini
0:00:13

6
Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
0:00:16

7
Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling
0:00:19

8
Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team
0:00:28

9
Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
0:00:29

10
Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack LT
0:00:34

11
Samuel Sanchez  (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
0:00:52

12
Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco 
0:00:53

13
Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida
0:00:57

14
Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida


15
Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
0:00:58

16
Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp


17
Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM
0:00:59

18
Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha
0:01:02

19
Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
0:01:08

20
Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
0:01:11


21
Carlos Betancur (Col) AG2R La Mondiale
0:01:15

22
Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
0:01:27

23
Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Procycling
0:01:32

24
Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini
0:01:41

25
Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky
0:01:44

26
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco 
0:01:55

27
Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-QS


28
Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R
0:01:57

29
Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre
0:02:06

30
Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale 
0:02:12



Points classification

Name (Country) Team
Points
1
Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
58
2
Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
52
3
Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
45
4
Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
40
5
Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
39
6
Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
35
7
Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) FDJ
31
8
John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
30
9
Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin-Sharp
30
10
Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
29
11
Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
28
12
Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard
25
13
Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
24
14
Arnold Jeannesson (Fra) FDJ
20
15
Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha
20
16
Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
20
17
Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team
18
18
Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
16
19
Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
16
20
Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
16
21
Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
16
22
Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
16
23
Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
16
24
Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
16
25
Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
15

                                   Mountains classification:

Name (Country) Team
Points
1
Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team
14
2
Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
13
3
Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
12
4
Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
12
5
Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia
9
6
Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM
9
7
Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
5
8
Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
5
9
Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
3
10
Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
3
11
Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
3
12
Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ
3
13
Fabio Taborre (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
3
14
Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano
3
15
Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling
3


Young rider classification


Result
1
Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
28:31:12

2
Carlos Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale
0:00:07

3
Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
0:00:47

4
Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team
0:01:05

5
Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
0:01:21

6
Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
0:02:41

7
Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia
0:02:49

8
Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole
0:08:53

9
Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
0:08:59

10
Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia
0:10:16




Fuga Pinarello classification

Points
1
Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling
290
2
Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
278
3
Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi
263
4
Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
221
5
Ricardo Mestre (Por) Euskaltel-Euskadi
204
6
Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol
204
7
Fabio Taborre (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
202
8
Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
197
9
Julien Berard (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
189
10
Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
178
11
Tomas A Gil Martinez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli
177
12
Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
177
13
Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
176
14
Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia
167
15
Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli
167
16
Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol
167
17
Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
167
18
Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling
167
19
Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
151
20
Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
147