Saturday, May 25, 2013

STAGE 20 Race Report and Results 2013 Giro d'Italia Tre Cime di Lavaredo



210 kilometers  from Silandro to Tre Cime di Lavaredo (cima coppi)
weather: 7 c (45 f) at the start, 0 c (32 f) at the finish; Rain is forecast for much of the route; snow for the finish;

Danilo Di Luca is being lambasted in the press for returning a positive sample in an out-of-competition drug test. His team, Vini Fantini-Selle Italia, duly fired him when the news broke yesterday. Even Lance Armstrong weighed in:
"Knowing I have 0 cred on the doping issue - I still can't help but think, really Di Luca? Are you that f--ing stupid?"

Also not taking the start today is Team Blanco’s leader, Robert Gesink. The Dutchman apparently took ill and pulled out of the race yesterday. He had been riding in 12th place.

Stage 19 was canceled and stage 20 cut to shreds because of snow
Stage 20 is not the queen stage we all looked forward to, but the RCS cannot control the weather, and the riders’ (as well as the caravan’s and the fans’) safety absolutely must come first.  Still, it is a mountaintop finish, and the Tre Cime will now be the Cima Coppi of the race (the highest peak). The finish line sits at an altitude of just over 2300 meters (7559 feet).

22 k before the finish, the riders will tackle the category-2 Tre Croci climb. It averages around 7% over eight kilometers. They will have a few kilometers to recover for the final ascent.

The final climb to the finish is a steep...

Friday, May 24, 2013

STAGE 20 Preview: New Profile and Picks; 2013 Giro d'Italia

Friday morning came with a double-shot of bad news for the Giro d’Italia. First, what was once planned to be among the most challenging stages of the race, stage 19 was canceled due to snow and unsafe road conditions over the entire route.  Organizers had released a modified route plan last night, but the awful weather superceded that modification.

Saturday's “20th” stage has been vastly altered as well. Race officials have canceled the first three planned climbs, but are still planning on finishing on the Tre Cime Di Lavaredo, at over 2300 meters in elevation. The revised route is 210 kilometers long, with the final 25 kms being the only section salvaged from the original profile. There will be no queen stage at this year's Giro d'Italia.


 Here is the revised stage 20 profile:

Saturday's revised sage 20 profile--for now.
Before the climb to the finish the riders will tackle the category-2 Tre Croci climb. It averages around 7% all the way up its eight-kilometer length.


They will have a few kilometers to recover for the final ascent. It starts steep, ends steep, and has a lot of steep all over it. The first km is over 10%, the final 3k average over 12%, and it has sections that come close to 20%. This mountain is for the pure climbers.



The final 3k are very steep



The cancellation of stage 19 and the modification of stage 20 have all but exhausted the possibility of anyone recovering time against the overall race leader, Astana's Vincenzo Nibali. The Tre Cime will be their last chance.

Only a disastrous day for Nibali could threaten his lead. The Sicilian's closest foe, Cadel Evans, trails by over four minutes. Although hot on Evans' heels--only ten seconds further back--is Team Sky's Rigoberto Uran.

If the Giro win is out of reach, several other competitions within the race are still being hotly contested. Pretty much all of the top ten places could shift around somewhat. Carlos Betancur and Rafal Majka have been wrestling over the white Young Rider’s Jersey, with Betancur currently trailing Majka by a mere two seconds. The Points Jersey, Intermediate Sprint competition and the Combativity competition are all still close races, too.


The loss of all these high mountains means that Stefano Pirazzi has locked up the King of the Mountains competition.  A few climbers still have a shot at the Points Jersey, but if you consider that sprinter-supreme, Mark Cavendish will probably not do too poorly on the final sprint into Brescia, their chances don't look too promising. After losing the jersey to Joaquin Rodriguez by a mere one point last year, it would seem Cavendish will not be denied that jersey this time around.












Giro d'Italia UPDATE: stage 19 canceled; Di Luca EPO positive

 
Friday May 23, 2013

Snow on the high mountain passes yesterday
This morning came with a double-shot of bad news for the Giro d’Italia. First, what was once planned to be among the most challenging stages of the race, stage 19 has been canceled entirely due to snow and unsafe road conditions.  Organizers had released a modified route plan last night, but now the weather has superceded that modification.

Race officials released the following statement:
"Due to adverse weather conditions and, in particular, snow on the stage route in its entirety, stage 19 of the Giro d’Italia, from Ponte di Legno to Val Martello/Martelltal, has been cancelled,"

No word yet on the likelihood of tomorrow’s “20th” stage being run. As of this writing, they have canceled the first three planned climbs.


 Here is the revised stage 20 profile:

Saturday's revised sage 20 profile--for now.

 While it was looking unlikely that anyone would successfully challenge Vincenzo Nibali’s race lead before the finish on Sunday, several other competitions within the race are still being hotly contested. Carlos Betancur and Rafal Majka have been wrestling over the white Young Rider’s Jersey, with Betancur currently trailing Majka by a mere two seconds.  The Points Jersey, Intermediate Sprint competition and the Combativity competition are all still close races.





 The second piece of bad news is the positive control for EPO returned by Danilo Di Luca.  The Italian was riding very well considering he only had a few racing days in his legs prior to the start of the Giro. He had suggested that good winter training was responsible for his good form. The positive doping result came from an out of competition test conducted on April 29th,, before the start of the Giro d’Italia.

Danilo Di Luca is going home
With a number of previous suspicious results, as well as a positive for CERA at the 2009 Giro d’Italia—for which he served a 15-month suspension—It is likely that this marks the end of the 37-year-old’s professional cycling career. Di Luca has been provisionally suspended by his team, Vini Fantini-Selle Italia. He had been riding in 26th place overall in this edition of the Giro, but had collected top-ten finishes on four separate stages, not including the team time trial.

More news will be posted when available.



Thursday, May 23, 2013

STAGE 19 Preview: 2013 Giro d'Italia




Distance: 160 km from Ponti di Legno to Val Martello
Date: Friday, May 24


The old route, but the general area of stage 19

RCS have posted the new route and profile for the revised stage 19 in the Dolomites. Snow forced the removal of the high mountain Gavia and Stelvio passes. They were to be the two highest climbs of the race (after the previously 2nd-highest Galibier climb was shortened for stage 15). Instead, the peloton will climb over two lower passes on the way to the same planned finish climb of the 2059-meter high Val Martello.




The revised stage 19 profile






As much as I was looking forward to it, I will not offer the majestic specs of the canceled Gavia and Stelvio passes, because it will just emphasize the huge difference in the revised course, and sadden me that we won’t get to see the two most impressive stages that really would have defined this tour. Course changes are not an unusual occurrence for the early-season Giro, as the snow obviously continues to threaten the Alps until summer. So, forget about that image of Andy Hampsten plowing through the snow over the Gavia, on his way to the 1988 Giro d’Italia win.

New stage 19 route map

The revised parcours is actually twenty kilometers longer, but involves significantly less climbing. It will still start with a 5-kilometer descent from Ponte di Legno as previously planned, but will head east instead of north. The new route will then take the riders over the 1883-meter (6178 feet) high, category-2 Passo del Tonale, a much less difficult climb than the Gavia.  The official Tonale climb is 8.3 km, has a vertical drop of 626 meters (2053 feet), averages 7.5% gradient, and maxes out at 10%. The Tonale summit comes at km 15.7 as you can see in the profile.

After a long northeasterly descent and a turn north over some rolling terrain, avoiding the Stelvio altogether, the riders will climb over the category one Passo Castrin. It measures 8.4 k—about the same as the Tonale—but averages a steeper 9.5%. It has sections over 10% including a max of 13%, tops out at 1706 meters, and has a more technical descent than its precursor.  Both of these new climbs are light snacks compared to the hearty meals of the canceled peaks.

After the 25-km northward descent from the Hofmahdjoch (the Castrin), the course turns to the southwest. About 60 kilometers from the summit of the Castrin the peloton will start the final climb to the Val Martello summit finish—weather permitting.

The final climb of stage 19
The category-one finish climb is 22.35 kilometers long, averages about 6.4% (this includes about 3 or 4 combined kms of relative flat at the beginning and near the end of the climb), and rises up to 2059 meters (6755 feet). The climb hits stretches over 10% sporadically and maxes out at 14% in spots around 5k and 1k from the summit. The final 1.5k averages about 10%.

The rider’s will have much fresher legs for the finish than they would have had on the “old” course, so expect a large group to make it to the foot of the Martelltal. A breakaway group could surely survive until the final climb, but count on the GC contenders to catch them before the finish, while attacking Nibali wherever possible in the last few kilometers.





Final 3k of the mountaintop finish




With only two stages remaining for the challengers to gain time this stage should still be full of fireworks.
Will the Colombians form an alliance (as Fabio Parra exhorted them to) and attack Nibali as a united front?
How big a factor will the weather be despite the changes to the profile?
With a comfortable 4-minute lead over his nearest rival, will anyone be able to find Vincenzo Nibali’s Acchiles heel? Does he have one?













STAGE 18 Recap and Results, 2013 Giro d'Italia

 
 
Thursday May 23, 2013
Individual Time Trial 20.6 kilometers, climbing
Partly cloudy, 11 c; rain on later starters; cold at the summit;


 A reminder of today’s profile:

Stage 18 ITT Profile
The route overall rises with an average gradient of about 5.4%, so it’s no Alpe d’Huez. You can see from the profile that it starts with a relatively flat kilometer-and-a-half and then climbs for about 7kms on a 6.6% average grade. The course then eases up for almost 5k before rising again to the top for another 7k stretch at the same average gradient as the first section of the climb. Those last kilometers provide the steepest gradients of the route, up to about 10% (at 5k to go), with some of the steeper sections close to the top. This means that the riders will have to gauge their efforts very carefully, and leave enough gas in the tank for the big finish...



Wednesday, May 22, 2013

STAGE 18 Preview, 2013 Giro d'Italia



 Wednesday May 22 6pm EDT

Giovanni Visconti amazed us all again winning his second stage of this year’s Giro d’Italia in Vicenza on Wednesday. He put on a show defending a slim lead of little more than 20 seconds that he built going over the short climb that topped out with 16 kilometers to go to the finish. His win is the third consecutive for his Movistar team. It is also Visconti’s second win of the year, the first coming just three days earlier on the Col du Galibier.

The peloton was blessed with good weather again for stage 17

[You can read my full race recap in the “Pages” menu to the right.]

The news came on Wednesday morning that a cold front is moving over northern Italy, bringing more snow, rain, and cold temperatures to the region. Giro d’Italia race organizers, Michele Acquarone and RCS Sport are scrambling to plan alternate routes for the upcoming two stages in the Dolomites after Thursday’s climbing time trial stage to Polsa.

Location of stage 18


Stages 19 and 20 were supposed to be the dual Queen stages; resplendent, powerhouse high-mountain stages, with eight big categorized climbs between them, including the 2618-meter high Passo Gavia, the 2758-meter high Stelvio Pass (the cima coppi of the race), and the 2059-meter Val Martello finish on Friday, and the Passos Costalunga (1745 m), San Pellegrino (1918 m), Giau (2236 m), Tre Croci (1805 m), and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo finish on Saturday at 2304 meters. 

Everything above 1500 meters is expected to get snow, so unfortunately it is unlikely that we will see many of those high peaks. They are monitoring the weather and updates are expected.






The stage 18 uphill time trial profile


Thursday brings the 20.6-kilometer climbing time trial from Mori to Polsa. The route overall rises with an average gradient of about 5.4%, so it’s no Alpe d’Huez. You can see from the profile that it starts with a relatively flat kilometer and a half, then climbs for about 7kms on a 6.6% average grade. The course then eases up for almost 5k before rising again to the top for another 7k stretch at the same average gradient as the first section of the climb. Those last kilometers provide the steepest gradients of the route, up to about 10%, with some of the steeper sections close to the top. This means that the riders will have to gauge their efforts very carefully, and leave enough gas in the tank for the big finish.
The final 3 kilometers to the finish




Based on the profile, I think several riders can excel on this stage. The time gaps among the top contenders may not be very big due to the gradients, but a poorly gauged effort could result in a significant time loss to the unprepared. Some of the strong time trialers could perform as well as the powerful climbers on a course like this. I’m thinking of guys like Stef Clement, Wilco Kelderman, Manuele Boaro, and Svein Tuft (although Tuft hasn’t really looked like he’s on his best form).


It still favors guys like Nibali, Evans, Kangert, Scarponi, half of Team Sky, etc. but we may see a surprise name or two in the mix at the top. I'll just throw one more name out there: Juan Manuel Garate of Team Blanco. If he's feeling good and not saving his energy for helping Gesink in the Dolomites, I could see him tearing up this course.



STAGE 17 Race Recap; 2013 Giro d'Italia


Wednesday May 21, 2013

214k from Caravaggio to Vicenza; mostly flat;
Partly cloudy, 21 c (70 f)
Happy 37th birthday to Garmin’s Christian Vande Velde.

Two days ahead of the second anniversary of the tragic off-road death of Xavier Tondo, his friend and teammate, Beñat Intxausti remembered Team Movistar’s talented climber, by crossing his fingers in an “X” as he crossed the finish line for the win in yesterday’s stage 16. Intxausti had been with Tondo when he lost his life in a freak, tragic accident. Tondo had just recently won the Vuelta a Castilla y Leon before his death.

Snow on the Stelvio Pass
The news came today that a cold front is moving over northern Italy...

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

STAGE 17 Preview 2013 Giro d'Italia


 
 

Beñat Intxausti gave Movistar their third stage win of the tour today
Today the GC contenders forced each other to race. After the large break was caught, the top contenders attacked each other relentlessly on the final lap into Ivrea. Sammy Sanchez, Michele Scarponi and others did their best trying to get some time back from the seemingly invincible Vincenzo Nibali. 

As the finish drew nearer, some saw the opportunity for a stage win. In the end, the trio of Beñat Intxausti (Movistar), Tanel Kangert (Astana) and Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre) had a gap, and sprinted for the finish. Movistar’s young all-arounder timed his sprint perfectly after Niemiec jumped early.

A big loser today was Vini Fantini’s Mauro Santambrogio, who got caught out on the climb to Andrate and lost over two minutes to the Pink Jersey holder, Astana’s Vincenzo Nibali.  Santambrogio, whose name has been buzzing in the media for fine performances in the mountains, drops from 4th to 6th place on the General Classification.

Team Lampre’s leader, Michele Scarponi moves up to 4th, and has a 1:07 deficit to the 3rd podium spot, currently occupied by Team Sky’s Rigoberto Uran. Uran might breathe a small sigh of relief as Santambrogio had been trailing his 3rd place spot by only one second before giving up 2:10 to the leader today. Still in first and second places are Nibali and BMC’s top man, Cadel Evans.


Stage 17 Profile
You can see from the profile that Wednesday’s 17th stage from Caravaggio to Vicenza has a bump at the end similar to stage 16. This hill however is only half as high.

The Cosara climb begins near km 193. Unlike yesterday, it does not come after quite as many kilometers, nor does the stage begin with a big climb into the snowy Alps. The first 192 kms are virtually flat.

The Crosara climb summits at 16 kms to the finish
The Crosara climb is a category 4. What does that mean? Well, not much. Although Wednesday’s climb to Crosara is half as high as Tuesday’s climb to Andrato, the very stingy Giro d’Italia categorizations for climbs don’t always tell the whole story.

Crosara is 5,3 km long and the first half averages around 9%.  It hits parts of 12% and has a 363-meter drop on some narrow roads. So, this little cat. 4 will serve as another fine launch pad for hungry stage hunters. 

I was wrong today, so I won't presume that the GC guys will not race for this one. Though I still think with Nibali riding as strong as he is, it doesn’t seem likely that he will let anyone get away here to chew away at his lead. And with the uphill time trial coming the next day, many will want to save some energy.












STAGE 16 Report and Results: 2013 Giro d'Italia



 
STAGE 16 Report/Recap
238 kms from Valloire to Ivrea
Weather: Partly cloudy early, becoming sunny; 15 c at the finish, warmer by late afternoon;

DNS: Wijnants (BLA)
Happy 28th birthday to Mark Cavendish who is still wearing the Red points jersey.


Stage 16 Profile


Several unsuccessful break attempts early on. Peloton still together after 30 kilometers.
Kelderman breaks off the front, but is reeled in.
He escapes again with 15 others.
-193 kms: At Km 45 the breakaway group is ahead by :46.
-184 k: The 16-man break has a 2:00 lead.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

STAGE 16 Preview - 2013 Giro d'Italia



A united peloton on Mont Cenis


30-year-old Giovanni Visconti climbed to his first Giro d’Italia stage win through cold, fog and snow on the Giro d’Italia’s 15th stage today. The top contenders put in a number of attacks at the top of the Galibier climb, but Visconti had gotten too big a lead after his attack on the middle of the Telegraph.
Visconti takes the Galibier
A good battle for the Young Rider’s Jersey has been raging between Carlos Betancur of Ag2R and Saxo-Tinkoff’s Rafal Majka. They both attacked several times on the final climb, but Betancur’s 2nd place finish netted him a :12 bonus that was enough to take the white jersey from Majka, who had been wearing it since stage 11.

Stefano Pirazzi was active on the peaks, and increased his lead in the Mountains Jersey competition. Visconti’s intrepid work netted him more mountain points as well, only losing two more points to Pirazzi in the end, but also distancing himself from those behind.



Monday brings the riders a much needed rest day.


Stage 16 Profile



Stage 16 heads east






Tuesday’s stage 16 retraces some of stage 15’s steps. It begins with a 15k run back down the Telegraphe, then back up the Col du Mont Cenis, and down the long descent back to Susa. From there the peloton has about a 120k lightly rolling trek up to and over a 6k, category 3 climb to Andrate, before dropping back down for an 8km flat run-in to the finish in Ivrea. Judging by the profile, the cat. 3 looks like it averages around 8% and has a 509-meter elevation gain. It’s a perfect place for a stage hunter to launch a late attack.






Here is a look at the late, category-3 Andrate climb profile, and the final 8 kilometers to the finish in Ivrea:


The cat. 3 climb before the finish
The last few kms to the finish






STAGE 15 Recap and Results 2013 Giro d'Italia


 
STAGE 15 from Cesana Torinese to the Col du Galibier
145 Kilometers; High Mountains;
Weather: Sunny skies, 8 c at the start (47 f); freezing temps and snow on top of the mountains; light wind;

The race organizers have decided to leave the stage unchanged except for the finish, which comes at the Marco Pantani memorial, at an altitude of 2300 meters, 4.25 kms before the Galibier summit.

The peloton will first climb to Mont Cenis after crossing into France, then take the harrowing descent down to St Michel du Maurienne before ascending the famous Telegraphe-Galibier duo. Local crews have been plowing the roads and preparing the course for the army of cars and bikes and fans that will turn the mountains into their playground today. This is the first time the Giro d’Italia will finish on the Col du Galibier, a Tour de France standard.

The Col du Mont Cenis is about 25 kms long averaging between 6%-7%, with a maximum gradient of 10% in the middle, and levels out at the top for a few kms.

The Telegraphe climbs 12 kms averaging over 7% with a max of 10 or 11%. Its KOM point is at 1566 meters high, after climbing 848 vertical meters (“drop”). The Galibier climb today is steep and unforgiving at about 14 kms and an average of 6+%, with a max of 11%, and an 896-meter drop. The cold weather will be a major factor up at altitude as well.

Pozzovivo and Intxausti have been fined and docked ten seconds for holding on to team cars yesterday. Both riders are inside the top ten on GC, and battling for high positions.

The race has begun.
After 20 kms no escape group has formed.
The riders approach the foot of the Mont Cenis climb, still together.

Astana are driving the pace at the front of the bunch. Riders are being shed off the back.
104 kms to go: Riders are getting warm clothes for the climb from their team cars.

The riders seem to have agreed to neutralize this part of the course. They continue to climb as one. Some riders were not happy with the final climb yesterday in horrendous weather. Illness and exhaustion throughout the peloton may be dictating this unified neutralization of the Mont Cenis climb.

Paolini goes up for a chat with ex-world champion Paolo Bettini in the official car, then returns to the pack.

-100k: peloton is still together.
The riders have crossed into France and are nearing the summit. The Mont Cenis descent is supposed to be intense and could cause more danger than the climb. It was one of the major concerns going into today’s stage. Will the riders stay together until after the descent?

Snow all over the high peak, on the sides of the road, getting deeper as they ascend; but the road has so far been safe for riding.
Near the top, Pirazzi (BAR) and Chalapud (COL) break for the line and the KOM points that they are both vying for.
Other riders break off and chase the first two. Weening (OGE) and Visconti (MOV) get up to Chalapud and are chasing Pirazzi, who takes the first points on the line.

1st KOM (Mont Cenis, km 58): 1. Pirazzi 2. Bongiorno 3. Chalapud 4. Weening 5. Visconti 6. Rabottini

The mountain-points chasers are going on ahead.
Patches of snow on the road suggest the descent could be icy.
Weening has gone ahead alone on the descent. Chasing :30 behind are Visconti, Rabottini (VIN), Chalapud, and Pirazzi and Bongiorno (BAR).

Weening has a gap of 2:30 on the peloton.
Visconti now drops the other chasers and descends the mountain in second position behind Weening.
-71 k: Visconti is joined by Rabotini.
Astana organizing at the front of the peloton, 3:00 behind the leader on the road, Weening. The chasers are :23 behind him.

The Mont Cenis descent turned out to be uneventful.

Rubiano (AND) is in the chase group with the other 5.
They are on mostly dry roads after the descent, and heading toward the 4.5 km uncategorized climb to the 1st Intermediate Sprint point at Aussois.
-65k: Weening leads. G2 is at +:24.  Peloton at +3;16.
After the INT sprint they’ll have a 25 k descent to the foot of the Telegraphe.

-62k: Chasers have caught Weening to form a now 7-man escape group.
-60k: The break has a gap of 4:43 to the peloton.

Km 90: 1ST INT: 1. Rubiano 2. Visconti 3. Rabottini 4. Pirazzi 5. Bongiorno

The riders are grabbing cups of warm tea off a rack on the back of a motorbike.
-50k: Break lead is 6:09.
-45k: 5:56

Pirazzi commands a big lead in the KOM jersey competition. He has 67 points now. In second is Chalapud with 28 pts. Jackson Rodriguez is right behind him with 26 pts.

Team Lotto has decided to take the horns at the front of the peloton (maybe De Greef feels good today?). They are riding a tempo that strings out the peloton and will start to wear down the more tired legs behind.
-40k: 4:55 lead;

The seven leaders on the road again:
Weening (OGE), Visconti (MOV), Rabottini (VIN), Rubiano (AND),
Chalapud, and Pirazzi (BAR), and Bongiorno (BAR).

Several riders have been caught out by the accelerations at the front. The peloton looks a dozen or two riders shorter.
-36k: lead is 3:45. The leaders are heading for the foot of the Telegraphe.

The peloton is cutting into the lead quickly now. They sliced a minute off the escapees’ lead in the last 5k.

30 k to go: the gap to the leaders is about 2:00;

-28 k: Indeed, De Greef is feeling frisky. He accelerates off the front of the bunch behind a Peter Stetina attack, with Gesink on their tail. A Euskatel rider has joined them. It’s Egoi Martinez. (I called Martinez for yesterday’s break; maybe today will be his day. Maybe.)

Gesink pushes it on the front of the new chase group, and leaves Stetina behind;
Martinez is now with Gesink up ahead, with De Greef trying to get back up to them. They’re still about 1:40 behind the break. The peloton are about another :30 back.

Bongiorno has been dropped from the break.
Astana is back controlling the peloton pace.
*-26.5 k: Henao breaks free from the peloton. Kiserlovski is chasing him. They are 13th and 12th on GC, separated by just :24. Gesink is currently 11th just :02 ahead of Kiserlovski.

They quickly pass De Greef.
-24k: Now they (G2) are a foursome of chasers: Gesink, Martinez, Henao and Kiserlovski.
Di Luca has made a move behind.

G2 trails the break by 1:33; Di Luca is about :20 behind G2; The peloton is at 2:28.

Visconti attacks the other leaders; Pirazzi chases.
Visconti’s teammate Herrada attacks the peloton.
An Ag2R rider gets on his wheel. It’s Ben Gastauer.

-23.1k: Di Luca catches up to the 4-man G2 chasers. They pass Bongiorno, and the fading Italian gives his countryman Di Luca a nice slingshot assist as he passes.
Astana are still riding tempo at the front of the pack.

Visconti has built a nice gap in the front of the race. He is looking to move up in the mountain jersey standings. He came into the stage in 7th place with 16 KOM points. He may just be hoping to maintain that position, as a few climbers could move up in the classification on the final climb.

Gastauer is struggling to stay with Herrada.

*20 k to go: The Gesink group of 7 is now G3 on the road, down 1:51.
Pirazzi, Rabottini and Weening are G2 ahead of Gesink. No time gap available between the leader on the road, Visconti, and G2.

Gesink stretches his legs coming around a hairpin. Kiserlovski and Martinez are the first two on his wheel. The group gets back on.

Visconti takes the top KOM pts. Behind, Pirazzi jumps out to take second, but Weening cagily sprints up behind him and almost pipped him at the line.

2nd KOM (Telegraphe, km 126): 1. Visconti 2. Pirazzi* 3. Weening* 4. Rabottini 5. Rubiano.
*[2nd and 3rd were a photo finish, and may switch places.]

They’re on the short descent toward the Galibier climb.

Onto the Galibier: Visconti has :57 on G2 (now Weening, Pirazzi, Rabottini);
The Gesink group (G3) are 1:52 back; Herrada is 2.19 behind, and the peloton are at 2:56. Right now they are all closing in on Visconti.

The broadcasters have the climb marked as 13.9 kms long, averaging 5.8%, maxing out at 11%, and a drop of 896 meters.
Snowing up on the Galibier.

-12.2k: Rabottini attacks, catches up to PW and SP.
Rabottini and Weening want Pirazzi to do some work but the Maglia Azzurra would prefer not to. He does not expect to win, and he already got what he came for: the first three peaks’ KOM points. So Rabottini takes off while Weening scolds Pirazzi.

-10k: The peloton trail by 2:35;
The graphics show more than 9k to go, yet they’ve passed the 2nd INT. They must have moved the sprint line back when they shortened the course. It was supposed to come at 8.3k to go from the original finish. If it is still in the same spot, then they would be within about 4k of the new finish line now. Go figure.

2nd INT: 1. Visconti 2. Rabottini 3. Pirazzi 4. Weening 5. Kiserlovski

Garate attacks at -8.7k; Petrov gets on to his wheel;
They are riding through rain now at about 2000 m.
-8k the peloton still trail by 2:30.

Snow has gotten worse at the finish line;
Visconti rides into the snow. Not much accumulated on the side of the road here yet.
Pirazzi and Weening are chasing behind Rabottini;
Visconti is looking very strong on the climb.
Behind him, Rabottini is fading a little.
Pozzovivo struggling to hang on to the peloton.
-5.1k: Sammy Sanchez makes a move. Damiano Caruso and Evgeni Petrov follow. The peloton keeps its pace.
Petrov is gone again.

-5k: Rabottini trails the leader Visconti by 1:00;
The peloton is down to about 35 riders, still about 2:30 back.
-4.3k: +2:12 to the Sanchez group;
Kelderman attacks and is trying to bridge up to Sanchez and Caruso;
-4k: Rabottini at +:1:05; Sanchez at 2:09; peloton at 2:23;
The snow falling on the riders has increased. Here in New York the Yankees got rained out.
-3.5k: Duarte attacks the pack;

*-3k: Visconti has a lead of 1:07 to Rabottini; 1:51 to Sanchez and 2:14 to the peloton;
-2.6 Sanchez and Caruso pass Pirazzi;
Scarponi attacks the peloton briefly; but is soon reeled in;
-2.25k: Kelderman passes Weening under heavy snowfall;

-2K: Rabottini at +:1:15; Sanchez at 1:40; peloton at 1:47;
Sanchez is with Weening, Caruso and Duarte; then he drops them.
The pink jersey group contains: Kangert, Nibali, Santambrogio, Betancur, Uran, Majka, Evans, Aru, Kiserlovski, Di Luca, Scarponi and Niemiec, Trofimov and at least one more I can’t make out.

-1.9k Nibali group catches Weening, Caruso and Chalapud on a switchback;
Henao and Atapuma are struggling behind the Maglia Rosa grp.

Snowing very hard now as Visconti motors on;
Rabottini is still chasing him in no-man’s-land.

-1.75 k: Nibali attacks, lets Scarponi and Santambrogio get on his tail, then the rest get back on, too.
-1.1k: The Nibali group passes Kelderman, and catches Rabottini;
Majka attacks; Betancur and Nibali follow. They pass Kelderman;

-1k for Visconti;
Duarte attacks the favorites, Rabottini fights to get on his wheel (he still has legs!). they get a gap;
-800m for Visconti: Attacks come from Caruso and Evans, Nibali is right on the Aussie’s wheel…

Majka attacks again, then Betancur, and they pass Rabottini under the flamme rouge;
Niemiec attacks.
Betancur puts in a good dig;

Majka, Betancur, and Duarte mark each other. Majka and Betancur are dueling for the White Jersey;
-300 meters for Visconte. He zips up and takes an impressive win. He rode alone up the Telegraph and the Galibier for about 24 kms. This is his 1st GDT stage win.
After a 7th place finsh in the one-day Roma Maxima he had a difficult spring, unable to finish five consecutive races including the Dwars Door Vlaanderen, the E3 Harelbeke, Gent-Wevelgem, The Tour of Flanders, and the Scheldeprijs. He seems to have found his form here at the Giro, apparently peaking as planned.

REST DAY 2 TOMORROW


Full Stage 15 Results:


Result
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 4:40:48
2 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:42
3 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida
4 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
5 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia 0:00:47
6 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:00:54
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team
8 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team
9 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
10 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling
11 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard
12 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:58
13 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
14 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:01:00
15 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha
16 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:01:06
17 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:09
18 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:01:24
19 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team
20 Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team 0:01:27
21 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team
22 Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:01:39
23 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale
24 Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:49
25 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
26 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:01:52
27 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 0:01:55
28 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:02:02
29 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:04
30 Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ 0:02:12
31 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
32 Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
33 José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:02:27
34 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:02:34
35 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:02:47
36 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:58
37 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:03:05
38 Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling 0:03:23
39 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team
40 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:03:26
41 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
42 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:03:41
43 Gorka Verdugo Marcotegui (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
44 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:03:55
45 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 0:04:33
46 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling 0:04:59
47 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:05:13
48 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 0:05:28
49 Xabier Zandio Echaide (Spa) Sky Procycling 0:06:32
50 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:07
51 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
52 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli 0:07:09
53 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano 0:09:53
54 George Bennett (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
55 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp
56 Alessandro Proni (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
57 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
58 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard
59 Bruno Pires (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
60 Ben Gastauer (Lux) Ag2R La Mondiale
61 Vladimir Gusev (Rus) Katusha
62 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
63 Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:09:59
64 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia 0:10:02
65 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:10:53
66 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 0:11:02
67 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling
68 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ 0:11:55
69 Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol 0:13:16
70 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol
71 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:13:37
72 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling
73 Ricardo Mestre (Por) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:14:04
74 Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:14:36
75 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:16:08
76 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
77 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team
78 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
79 Cristiano Salerno (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
80 Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale
81 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Sharp
82 Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha
83 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli
84 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team
85 Frederik Veuchelen (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
86 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:16:30
87 Wilson Alexander Marentes Torres (Col) Colombia 0:20:23
88 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge 0:20:26
89 Cayetano José Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Col) Cannondale Pro Cycling
90 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida
91 Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol
92 Kristijan Durasek (Cro) Lampre-Merida
93 Paolo Longo Borghini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
94 Gert Dockx (Bel) Lotto Belisol
95 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol
96 Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team
97 Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC Racing Team
98 Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
99 Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:21:15
100 Frederik Willems (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:22:17
101 Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:22:38
102 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:23:46
103 Edwin Alcibiades Avila Vanegas (Col) Colombia 0:25:07
104 Leonardo Fabio Duque (Col) Colombia
105 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard 0:27:54
106 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp
107 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
108 Andrey Zeits (Kaz) Astana Pro Team
109 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
110 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
111 Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
112 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
113 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
114 Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano
115 Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
116 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
117 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard
118 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
119 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
120 Kenny Dehaes (Bel) Lotto Belisol
121 Christian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
122 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp
123 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ
124 Serge Pauwels (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
125 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha
126 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi
127 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
128 Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
129 Rory Sutherland (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
130 Adam Blythe (GBr) BMC Racing Team
131 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
132 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp
133 Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
134 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ
135 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team
136 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
137 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
138 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
139 Nathan Haas (Aus) Garmin-Sharp
140 Dmitry Kozontchuk (Rus) Katusha
141 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol
142 Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
143 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
144 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge
145 Jérôme Pineau (Fra) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
146 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano
147 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
148 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
149 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard
150 Mads Christensen (Den) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
151 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
152 Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
153 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha
154 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale
155 Iljo Keisse (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
156 Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge
157 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard
158 Danny Pate (USA) Sky Procycling
159 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha
160 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team
161 Laurent Pichon (Fra) FDJ
162 Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge
163 Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team
164 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff
165 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
166 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team
167 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida
168 Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling
169 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
170 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step
171 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano
172 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
173 Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
174 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha
175 Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ
176 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
177 Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
178 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
179 Mattia Gavazzi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
180 Davide Appollonio (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale

General classification after stage 15


Result
1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 62:02:34
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:26
3 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:02:46
4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:02:47
5 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:03:53
6 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:04:35
7 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:05:15
8 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:05:20
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:05:57
10 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:06:21
11 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 0:06:42
12 Yury Trofimov (Rus) Katusha 0:07:25
13 Robert Gesink (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:07:38
14 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:08:09
15 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:08:15
16 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:08:16
17 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:08:36
18 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:09:57
19 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:13:29
20 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:14:44
21 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:16:16
22 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:16:55
23 Francis De Greef (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:18:37
24 Jose Rodolfo Serpa Perez (Col) Lampre-Merida 0:22:09
25 Francis Mourey (Fra) FDJ 0:24:02
26 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:24:29
27 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:24:36
28 Rafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:29:50
29 Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:30:45
30 José Herrada Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 0:33:34
31 Fabio Andres Duarte Arevalo (Col) Colombia 0:33:55
32 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 0:37:00
33 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:39:53
34 Hubert Dupont (Fra) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:41:26
35 Ivan Santaromita (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:43:39
36 Steve Morabito (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:48:57
37 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:50:07
38 Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Sky Procycling 0:50:26
39 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 0:50:51
40 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:52:31
41 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:52:55
42 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 0:57:01
43 Petr Ignatenko (Rus) Katusha 1:02:10
44 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:02:37
45 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Movistar Team 1:06:38
46 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:07:02
47 Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp 1:07:26
48 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 1:08:05
49 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 1:08:43
50 Peter Stetina (USA) Garmin-Sharp 1:14:21
51 Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli 1:14:33
52 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:15:50
53 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 1:15:55
54 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 1:16:18
55 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:16:26
56 Simone Stortoni (Ita) Lampre-Merida 1:18:06
57 Ben Gastauer (Lux) Ag2R La Mondiale 1:18:42
58 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 1:18:49
59 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 1:21:34
60 Stef Clement (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 1:26:14
180 Mattia Gavazzi (Androni Giocattoli) 3:51:38

Points classification


Result
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 109
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 91
3 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 84
4 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 79
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 74
6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 72
7 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 71
8 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 61
9 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 61
10 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 55
11 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 45
12 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 39
13 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) RadioShack Leopard 37
14 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 37
15 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 35
16 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 33
17 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 32
18 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 32
19 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 32
20 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 32
21 Luka Mezgec (Slo) Team Argos-Shimano 32
22 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 31
23 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 31
24 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 30
25 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 30
26 Manuel Belletti (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 30
27 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 29
28 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 29
29 Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team 29
30 Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge 28
31 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 27
32 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 25
33 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 24
34 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida 24
35 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 23
36 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 22
37 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 22
38 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 22
39 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 20
40 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 20

Mountains classification


Result
1 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 65
2 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 42
3 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia 28
4 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 26
5 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 23
6 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 18
7 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 18
8 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 17
9 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 15
10 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 13
11 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 12
12 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 12
13 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 9
14 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling 9
15 Tiago Machado (Por) RadioShack Leopard 9
16 Pieter Weening (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 9
17 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole 9


Best young rider classification


Result
1 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R La Mondiale 62:07:49
2 Rafal Majka (Pol) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:05
3 Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:08:14
4 Darwin Atapuma Hurtado (Col) Colombia 0:11:40
5 Diego Rosa (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:25:30
6 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 0:45:36
7 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 1:01:47
8 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 1:10:35
9 Thomas Damuseau (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 1:16:19
10 Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge 1:22:53
11 Nelson Filipe Santos Simoes Oliveira (Por) RadioShack Leopard 1:34:32
12 Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 1:36:21
13 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 1:36:43
14 Stefano Locatelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 1:50:51
15 Martijn Keizer (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:00:02

Teams classification


Result
1 Sky Procycling 185:45:06
2 Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:05:45
3 Lampre - ISD 0:05:56
4 Movistar Team 0:08:18
5 Pro Team Astana 0:09:01
6 AG2R La Mondiale 0:16:38
7 Androni Giocattoli 0:32:02
8 Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:39:19
9 Katusha Team 0:43:40
10 Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:44:51
11 BMC Racing Team 0:45:14
12 Colombia 0:58:12
13 Team Bianchi - M1 0:58:18
14 RadioShack Leopard 1:08:56
15 Cannondale Pro Cycling 1:53:14
16 Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2:15:00
17 FDJ 2:33:52
18 Lotto Belisol 2:38:06
19 Garmin-Sharp 2:42:29
20 Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 2:51:25
21 Team Argos-Shimano 3:12:02
22 Orica-GreenEdge 3:54:52
23 Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team 4:02:53

Sprint classification


Result
1 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 20  pts
2 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 19
3 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 18
4 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 15
5 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 13
6 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 13
7 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 13
8 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 11
9 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 11
10 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 10
11 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 10
12 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 10
13 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 9
14 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 9
15 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 8
16 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 8
17 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 8
18 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 8
19 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 7
20 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 7
21 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 7
22 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 7
23 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 7
24 Robinson Eduardo Chalapud Gomez (Col) Colombia 6
25 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 6

Most combative rider classification


Result
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 33
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 29
3 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 29
4 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 28
5 Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Ag2R 27
6 Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 23
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 21
8 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 20
9 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 20
10 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 20
11 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 18
12 Robinson Chalapud (Col) Colombia 16
13 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 15
14 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM  15
15 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 14
16 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 13
17 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 13
18 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 13
19 Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp 12
20 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 12
21 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM  12
22 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 12
23 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 12
24 Patrick Gretsch (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 11
25 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 11
26 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 10
27 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 10
28 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM  10
29 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 9
30 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 9

Fuga Pinarello classification


Result
1 Rafael Andriato (Bra) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 365
2 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling 290
3 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 278
4 Bert De Backer (Bel) Team Argos-Shimano 270
5 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi 263
6 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Movistar Team 227
7 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Lotto Belisol 223
8 Cameron Wurf (Aus) Cannondale Pro Cycling 221
9 Jackson Rodriguez (Ven) Androni Giocattoli 217
10 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 216
11 Ricardo Mestre (Por) Euskaltel-Euskadi 204
12 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 204
13 Brian Bulgac (Ned) Lotto Belisol 204
14 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 197
15 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 188
16 Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Team Argos-Shimano 188
17 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 188
18 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 178
19 Johan Le Bon (Fra) FDJ 176
20 Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha 172
21 Jarlinson Pantano (Col) Colombia 167
22 Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 167
23 Dirk Bellemakers (Ned) Lotto Belisol 167
24 Willem Wauters (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling 167
25 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 165
26 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 164
27 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 151
28 Matteo Trentin (Ita) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 148
29 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 147
30 Fabio Felline (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 125
31 Maurits Lammertink (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling 125
32 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 122
33 Dominique Rollin (Can) FDJ 112
34 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 112
35 Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 110