Also, see the discussion: Sella Positive for EPO — podiumcafe McQuaid Reveals How The UCI Caught Sella: McQuaid revealed that Sella's urine samples from the Giro d'Italia could now be sent to Paris for testing for CERA.
If they turn out to be positive, Sella would then lose his three stage victories, his best climber's prize and sixth overall. The Giro tests could also be considered a separate doping offence and so he could be banned for a total of four years. — cyclingweekly.co.uk
The Giro keeps getting better and better
June 3 update: After three great weeks of racing, the Giro has added more people to the list who think it's the best race in cycling. The parcours was outstanding in design, difficulty and beauty (at the expense of some long transfers), the competition was hairy and hard fought and the tv production... slick and comprehensive as usual.
The weather was atrocious, but most pros are use to it. What many of them were not use to was the really difficult terrain. The pace of the Giro is traditionally slower on the flats than the Tour de France but the climbing is much more difficult as backed up by the comments of riders who have done both. If you're like me, I usually only find the last 20k of a flat stage interesting unless there is a credible break, but there weren't many flat stages. The hilly to mountain stages were action packed and excellent viewing as were the four time-trial stages.
The Giro is so dominated by Italian riders that peak for this event that it hurts it's international exposure. This year, two-thirds of the stages were won by Italians, but for the first time in 12 years a foreigner won the overall title which is great for the event. Alberto Contador is a good person (pistol gunshot victory salute aside), very talented and a deserving winner, but the theatrics of his team's management and the media in its back pocket is a little hard to endure. "He was on the beach and wasn't prepared... he has hayfever and can't breathe... he fractured/broke his elbow [with no apparent repercussions to his riding style]." The excuses were ready to flow if he didn't win or to justify an early exit. Even in winning, Astana's team director couldn't resist saying he won at only 80% top fitness. Versus' Paul Sherwin said during the final time-trial that Contador was "the man that dominated the Giro d'Italia in the big mountains." Really? And Phil Liggett continues to harp on Astana's exclusion from the Tour de France (that's who Alberto is taking a shot at too) when the Tour and Giro organizers have some different reasons for not inviting Astana. I know many of you do like Astana because there are lots of fine riders on the team and I like Phil and Paul's familiar enthusiasm, but aren't you getting a little sick of this media bias?
In this sport, it's often better not to follow the news to closely and to follow a televised broadcast in a language you don't understand... it often makes the sport more enjoyable. By the way, someday soon the Giro will be broadcast in HD. Can't wait. — Steve
Notable Team Achievements:
1st CSF Group - Navigare: a Divison Two team smokes the ProTour teams in winning the team competition; 4 stage wins, KOM winner, Most Aggressive Rider winner, only team with two riders in the top 10 on GC. Almost too good to be true.
2nd Astana No stage wins, but the team worked well in winning the GC on short notice. With Astana sending a great team, it sure gave the Giro a huge boost of worldwide exposure.
3rd High Road: 3 sprint stage wins and 3 guys in the top 4 on the final day time trial including 1st; nice to see 8 of 9 riders finish the race despite having no one high on GC.
4th Tinkoff Credit Systems: 2 thrilling stage wins from breaks for the Division Two team and two second place finishes
English translations of the podium interviews
Not Notable Team Achievements:
1st Gerolsteiner: Only two of nine riders finished. Almost nonexistent except for Johannes Frohlinger in a few breaks
2nd Euskaltel - Euskadi: For a ProTour climbing focused team, disappointing to see no stage wins, third last in the team competition and only four of nine riders finish.
Stage 21 results: Marco Pinotti leads Team High Road to 1st, 2nd and 4th in the final day ITT; Contador wraps up the overall with 11th. Cesano Maderno → Milano, 24k ITT (flat/slightly downhill)
May 31 update: As much as I enjoy Graham Watson's photos, his caption for this photo is a little overboard. It was once again a remarkable Giro, but Alberto Contador's overall lead/win has not been "remarkable." Contador has raced defensively demonstrating the minimum it takes to win an arduous three week Grand Tour where solid consistency is more important than explosive stage wins. Just ask CSF Navigare's Emanuele Sella, who won three mountain stages, but lost over 18 minutes on the treacherous, rain-soaked stage 11 parcours after crashing three times. If he didn't flat with 1k to go on stage 7 he might have even won four stages. But, Contador with his strong team, steady climbing and good time trial skills should finish it off tomorrow; he would do the maglia rosa proud by winning the time trial in Milano. Riccardo Ricco is only four seconds back, but no one expects him to beat Contador against the clock. Ricco has had an excellent Giro with two stage wins and consistently equalled or outperformed Contador in the mountain stages despite getting virtually no help from his Saunier-Duval team after his best domestique, Leonardo Piepoli, crashed out in stage 14. Too bad his trash-talking and off-court actions overshadowed his fine performance... not an easy task. In assuming a fair, three week race, the overall winner always deserves it. Thanks for tuning in... Steve
May 31 update: This has been another wild, unpredictable Giro. Every Giro seems to unfold this way so credit should be dispersed all around. The top three riders are separated by only 21 seconds and don't forget about the excellent time trialer that sits in fourth just 2 minutes back. Lets hope no excuses follow the final outcome since it's unlikely anyone is 100% at this point. If a rider peaked his training for the Giro then he still has to fight the elements. Everyone else has had a chance to ride into form over the three weeks.
The lousy weather has been the only disappointment. From cyclingnews:
The evidence was there of a wet Giro d'Italia while talking to [Jason] McCartney; his white and red CSC jersey was actually gray and dark red. "Yeah, it is nasty and it seems like every day it has been raining," he confirmed. "Your shoes are always wet; you always have paper in them. [The roads are] always up and down - it has been a hard one. ... The Giro is always hard, the climbs are always steeper. They always have these climbs that are not even on the profiles that are just ridiculous."
Expect the unexpected at the Giro and chances are RAI will give it to you (weather permitting) from multiple angles. Enjoy the last two days. — Steve
This famous photo of the one of most influential cycle tourers, Jobst Brandt, was taken on a narrow ledge of the Gavia Pass now replaced by a tunnel. (photo: Jobst Brandt)
Relive the bizzard at the top of the Gavia Pass during the 1988 Giro d'Italia where American Andy Hampsten placed 2nd on the day and ended the event as the first and only non-European winner of the Giro.
A scenic ride by motorcycle on the Gavia Pass (video:bikerdream)
May 30 update: After 19 days of one of the most difficult Giros, exhausted riders still have to scale the Cima Coppi and then one of the hardest climbs in Europe. This year Passo di Gavia, which tops out at 2618m, gets the honors as this year's highest point in the Giro. It's one of the most famous/scenic climbs in Europe and it's tough: 16.5k, gain 1361m, avg 8.2%, max 16%. But, it's not as tough as what follows next. As the second last climb on the second last day this year, Passo del Mortirolo (12.8k, gain 1317m, avg 10.3%, max 18%) will be even more grueling then ever. While training in the Italian Alps one month before the 2004 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong commented to La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It's a terrible climb...it's perfect for a mountain bike. On the hardest parts, I was riding a 39x27 and I was hurting, really hurting. (Mortirolo) is the hardest climb I've ever ridden." Maybe that's why Lance never competed in the Giro.
The last climb in the Giro will be the relatively modest Aprica (15.4k, gain 485m, avg 3.1%, max 9%). The Gavia-Mortirolo-Aprica combo was used as recently as 2006, when Ivan Basso went "extra-terrestrial" in Gilberto Simoni's words. This year's finish is 17k further with the descent into Tirano. If Alberto Contador is still in Pink at the end of the day then no one should overtake him in the final day TT in Milano.
Most people probably know this, but it's been 20 years since Andy Hampsten's famous Gavia moment. Attacking on the climb, Hampsten overcame a snow blizzard and sub-freezing temperatures to take the leader's jersey - although he finished second on the stage to Dutchman Erik Breukink. His subsequent overall victory in the 1988 Giro was the first and only by a non-European. (See the video left).
— Steve
Stage 19 results: Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems wins from the break on another miserable weather day; DiLuca and Ricco take big time out of Contador's GC lead Legnano → Monte Pora, 228k (mountainous)
Passo del Vivione is about the width of a golf cart path... (photo: Wouter De Ruyck)
The treacherous descent: getting to the top with the lead group is only half the challenge (photos: Wouter De Ruyck)
May 29 update: With two mountain stages and a final day time-trial remaining, there won't be dull moment until the race is decided on Sunday in Milano. All the action in Stage 19 is literally stacked in the last 80k of the 228k in total... the second longest stage of this year's Giro. At km 150, the riders hit Passo del Vivione (19.8k, avg 6.8%, max 13%) that features a very narrow climb and descent; in fact, the road isn't much wider than a golf cart path. It is expected to rain again and the already treacherous descent of Vivione could see as many crashes as stage 11 when Emanuele Sella crashed three times and lost 18 minutes. Sella is the story of this Giro and if he dominates the two remaining mountain stages then he'll overshadow the overall winner if he doesn't win the GC as well. After the Vivione, there are two more first categorized climbs including the moutaintop finish at the ski resort, Monte Pora. The end of this stage will be wild and it favours the best descenders among the good climbers. By the way, I don't recall every seeing Gilberto Simoni or Paolo Savoldelli hit the deck on a descent. Would anybody disagree if I said those two are the best bike handlers in the peloton?
Simoni and Riccardo Ricco, aren't getting much team support late in the mountain stages thus far so look for them to form an alliance (as rumoured) with Simoni getting the stage win in exchange for Ricco getting the Pink jersey. Will Alberto Contador respond like a champion or slink across the line? Lets hope the pace is fast on the 140k flat run up to Passo del Vivione and the race shatters shortly afterwards. Stay tuned.
— Steve
Stage 18 results: Jens Voigt solos the final 35k to claim CSC's first stage at this year's "insane" Giro; Bettini suffers in the break. Mendrisio → Varese, 147k (rolling)
May 28 update: Stage 18 incorporates the parcours of both the 2008 and 2009 world championships. The riders will start with one 13.4k circuit in Mendrisio, site of the 2009 World Championships and then finish with two laps of the 17.4k circuit in Varese to be used this fall for the 2008 Worlds. This is a scenic, rolling course with an uphill finish so maybe World Champion Paulo Bettini's two-year Giro winless streak will come to an end if all goes according to Hoyle. Or, it could be Di Luca and Ricco battling it out for the GC bonus seconds and in Di Luca's case, an elusive stage win. — Steve
Stage 17 results: Mark Cavendish's teammate Andre Greipel is rewarded with a cheeky win
Sondrio → Locarno, 192k (flat)
May 28 update: The remaining sprinters who stuck out the first round of mountains will welcome today's flat stage that finishes in Switzerland. (Actually, I think every rider with the exception of Emanuele Sella will welcome this stage). The riders will dodge the mountains and finish in Locarno, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore. Breaks are more likely to succeed at this late stage in the race so there's no guarantee the sprinters will get the field sprint they are hoping for. By the way, late yesterday I posted the versus video highlights for stages 9 through 15. Scroll down a little to the rest day entry. — Steve
Tuesday is a rest day
Is this year's Giro too hard?
Many riders are complaining that this year's race is too hard. "This race is ridiculous... insane" said David Millar after the TT; "It's a stupid race - I don't like it", said Jens Voigt. But, Giro d'Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan rightly shrugged off criticism from the riders: "Cycling needs a spectacle like this to lift it out of mediocrity. Look around us, there are not mountains like this anywhere in the world. What do (the riders) want? Every day, this Giro has had huge crowds along the road, on the finish, big audiences on TV," Zomegnan said. "This is the Giro, if they don't like it, they can race somewhere else." Amen!
source: Plan de Corones: Gimmick or epic? — velonews
Stage 16 results: Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) denies Emanuele Sella the Dolomiti hat-trick; Simoni moves up to third in GC
San Vigilio-Marebbe → Plan de Corones, uphill ITT, 12.9k
May 25 update: Doing a very steep, uphill time-trial after two epic mountain stages doesn't seem fair, but such planning is why we sadistic fans love the Giro. Actually, it's possible this stage will be postponed to the rest day on Tuesday if bad weather continues to plague the Giro on Monday. In any case, on Monday or Tuesday, riders will go up against the clock and the very narrow 12.9k road that rises 1080m to Plan de Corones. Part of it is gravel/dirt, hence the extra concern that inclement weather could play in the results. In 2006, this identical stage had to be shortened due to snow.
The mountain stages have had surprisingly little impact on producing a GC shake up. The weak have been filtered out, but the time gaps between the expected rivals have actually been reduced; only one-minute and twenty-six seconds separate the top six riders. Astana has not dominated this race as expected, but Alberto Contador is now wearing pink with a 33 second lead ahead of Riccardo Ricco.
— Steve
Video stage preview of the Passo Furcia to Plan de Corones section by the local organizing committee. Thanks Igor Tavella for sending it in.
Stage 15 results: Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare does it again breaking and soloing his way to victory in the 2nd mountain stage; Contador now in pink
May 23 update: Stage 15 meanders through the heart of the Dolomites collecting 4 cat 1 and 2 cat 2 climbs along the way... enough for two mountain stages. With 4700+ meters of climbing in just 153 km, this stage packs a lot of bang for the buck. For the first time, the Giro will finish on Marmolada Fedaia, a climb Francisco Moser called one of the most feared in the Giro in his day. I have painful memories of Fedaia's dead straight 18% section from my trip to Italy in 2002. Here's a picture of "Moser and Me" from that trip (). This spectacular area is a must for recreational cyclists that love the big climbs and love to travel. — Steve
The day starts off with three climbs all around 9.5k @ 5.7% providing ample warm-up before the long cat 1, Passo de Manghen. The descent down Passo de Manghen shouldn't be too technical by pro standards so it will be hard for a break on Manghen to stick. Instead, it could be Alberto Contador, Riccardo Ricco and Gilberto Simoni grinding it out as Alpe di Pampeago gets steeper and steeper -- the two young superstars against the wily, sentimental favourite. In total, stage 14 has 4000+ metres of climbing and this is just the start of what should be an exceptional final week at the Giro. — Steve
photo left: From five years ago, Gilberto Simoni wins on Alpe di Pampeago.
(photo courtesy of Iain at herneweb)
From the 1999 Giro d'Italia, video of the finishing climb up Alpe di Pampeago where Pantani and Simoni finished first and second. (good video; bad music)
Stage 13 results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
3 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram
Full Results — gazzetta.itLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 13Full General Classification — gazzetta.it
May 22 update: It's Friday the 13th. We have one last flat stage before the official mountain stages start and stage 13 is just the second last chance for the sprinters in this year's Giro. Tomorrow (or today), we'll head north with a flat finish in Cittadella before a transfer west to Verona and Saturday's stage 14. Judging from the English interview by cycleto, Paulo Bettini is still in good spirits despite not having won a Giro stage this year or last year. To the world champion's credit, he's worked unselfishly to help keep his teammate in the maglia rosa during the week. For those who understand Italian, it would be great to get English translations of the upcoming mountain stage pre and post race interviews conducted by La Gazzetta. Send me an email and I'll give you due credit. Stay tuned for extended coverage of the mountain stages. — Steve
Stage 12 results: Cavendish's poor positioning and bike throw costs him as Bennati jumps first and barely holds on in a photo finish won by 3 cm
Forlì
May 19 update: When I wrote yesterday that Stage 11 could be a wild one I wasn't referring to all the crashes. The narrow, slick descents were a real bike handling test. Have you ever seen so much crashing in a race? [Remember the stage 11 finish last year? ().] Emanuele Sella crashed three times before tossing his bike down an embankment. The maglia rosa crashed at 60 mph and limped across the line ()... ouch ()! All these stage wins by Italians is making me a little nervous... you know what I mean? But, lets be positive... I'm mean optimistic that the sport has changed otherwise there is no sense going on living.
The multiple breaks in stage 12 (often related to the numerous crashes) made the action hard to follow especially if your audio served a language you don't understand very well. Even the English Eurosport guys were confused. The cycling.tv commentators are usually the best at keeping score. The terse updates via the race radio ticker are also very useful.
Tomorrow's stage 12 is the first of two very flat stages before all hell breaks loose in the mountains starting this weekend. Robbie McEwen has said he's bailing out before then so he has two more chances for a stage win. See the interview (above) where mentions he's only had one clean shot at a sprint finish so far. — Steve
One other thing. I'm aware that some Windows users running IE7 get an error with some of the videos. Between problems with IE7 and javascript incompatibilities and the fact I don't have a Windows computer, the problem hasn't been solved. Try using the Firefox browser for now.
Stage 11 results: Alessandro Bertolini wins by TKO on a slippery, technical course giving the Italians more to cheer about
Urbania → Cesena, 193k (mountainous)
Stage 11 results
1 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) S.Diquigiovanni
2 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
4 Laurent Mangel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux
Full Results — gazzetta.itLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 11Full General Classification — gazzetta.it
Bertolini post-race translation: "I have never succeeded in winning a stage of the giro before... I am very happy. I thank Simoni who after the Carpegna gave me a free way and told me to ride to win. After the finish he had embraced me and was in a state of beautiful emotions. Now, I will give more than ever to carry him to the podium in Milano." He added, "I have succeded to win despite a bad crash and a injury to my elbow which constrains me to go to hospital for an xray." Translated by gavia at podiumcafe.com
Stage 11 preview
May 19 update: The best part of a Grand Tour is watching the shake out of the general classification as riders who peak too soon slip down while a steady performance is rewarded. After today's TT, it's clear Astana's Andreas Kloeden and Alberto Contador are living up to expectations. Besides Contador's excellent 2nd place TT result and the 7th place performance by Liquigas youngster, Vincenzo Nibali, Gilberto Simoni's 10th place finish is equally surprising; he finished just one second behind Levi Leipheimer. Is Simoni too old (37 in August) and two far back (2+ minutes behind Contador) to win another Giro? Probably... but we know he'll keep things very interesting in the mountain stages that start Saturday with Stage 14. Before we get there, tomorrow's stage is another unofficial mountain stage labeled "medium mountain." But, don't be fooled folks, tomorrow's stage will have four catergorized climbs: two cat 2's, San Marino and Perticara sandwiched around a difficult cat 1 in the middle, Monte Carpegna, followed by the cat 3 Sorrivoli that crests 20k before the run into the finish in Cesena. Stages like this, before a flat stage, are often wild so tune in early. You'll get idea of what Monte Carpegna is like (especially how narrow it is) from this recreational ride report. — Steve
Stage 10 results: Lampre's Marzio Bruseghin (Italy) wins ahead of Astana's Contador and Kloeden; The GC gets a shake-up with Astana ready to take control
Pesaro → Urbino ITT, 36k
May 19 update: After a long transfer followed by a rest day, the Italian dominance of this year's Giro will be seriously tested on the first of three individual time trial stages. Astana has been quiet so far minding their own business, but that should change tomorrow with most people expecting Kloeden, Leipheimer, Contador and Gusev to place prominently. By the way, Contador has a slight fracture in his elbow from a crash several days ago. If you haven't done so already, check out the Giro TourTracker with custom live video and audio options although it seems the Eurosport audio feeds are no longer available. If you find a new Europort audio feed link then let me know. — Steve
Also see, Stage 10 ITT Start Order — gazzetta.it Giro: All eyes turn to Kloeden — velonews Contador vows to ride despite fracture — velonews
Monday is a rest day
May 18 update: A Versus video recap of the week's action will be posted on Monday. Also, check out the clips from "The Other Giro TV" in Italian (see left) for a behind the scenes look at what goes on at the Giro. The first individual time trial follows the rest day. — Steve
May 17 update: The top 39 riders in stage 8 received the same time, but notably, it was nine Italians crossing first. After lots of uphill finishes like today, tomorrow's flat ride heading north along the Mediterranean Sea is a rare chance for the sprinters and Davide Cassini is predicting Robbie McEwen has found his form.
It's been a strenuous race for the riders with hard racing and lots of travel, but it's been a beautiful parcours. Today's helicopter shoots of ancient Tivoli were quite spectacular. Despite a few problems with the transmission early in Stage 8, the camera work has once again set the standard for others to follow. There must have been six camera angles at today's finish. In addition to watching the live coverage via the internet, I've also been watching some of the stages on TV via RAI International which I highly recommend.
Tomorrow's starting point is another scenic place in Italy; Civitavecchia also hosted the first two stages of Tirreno-Adriatico this year as you might recall. After tomorrow's stage 9, the riders will take a long bus ride back to the Adriatic Sea for Monday's rest day. Their Tirreno-Adriatico bus ride will be 256 miles or 4 hours long... the longest transfer of this year's Giro. — Steve
Stage 8 results: The Italians dominate again with Riccardo Ricco denying Paulo Bettini at the line
Rivisondoli → Tivoli , 200k (hilly then rolling)
Stage 8 results
1 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
3 David Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
5 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) LPR Brakes
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
Full Results — gazzetta.itLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 8
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes
4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
Full General Classiification — gazzetta.it
May 16 update: Stage 8 takes the Giro northwest back towards the Mediterranean Sea with an uphill finish in the ancient Italian town, Tivoli, just 30k from Rome. More to come... including a new live video/audio/ticker combination on one screen. — Steve
Stage 7 results: LPR Brakes' Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) wins the first mountaintop finish with his team leader crossing first among the GC contenders
Vasto → Pescocostanzo, 180k (mountainous)
May 16 update: At any other stage race, Stage 7 would most definitely be classified mountainous, but the Giro organizer is stingy with the mountain symbol; there are only four official mountain stages in this year's Giro and Stage 7 isn't one of them. Nonetheless, with a hilly route leading up to a finishing series of cat 3, 1 and 2 climbs, we'll call this an unofficial mountain stage. Someone at the Gazzetta graphics department seems to agree because they've posted graphic details of today's climbs just like they do for the official mountain stages. As mentioned, the parcours starts out hilly before leading into the first categorized climb, Valico di Macerone at kilometer 118. The cat 1 Rionero Sannitico comes next not far from the finish at km 131. The stage finishes with the two-tiered, cat 2, Pietransieri, the first mountaintop finish of this year's Giro. After six straight days of racing, stage 7 should see some shake out and the fireworks could start early in this 180k stage. Check out the start time and updated live coverage options and the stage 7 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve
Miscellaneous Notes: Seeing as the Gazzetta has added foreign language content to the official Giro site for the first time, I figure we should do the same. I've actually been posting Italian video interviews if you haven't noticed, but starting yesterday, I'll attempt to post links to the daily Eurosport One-Minute Highlights in italian, deutsch, español in addition to english. By the way, it seems the english highlights are now restricted to certain (European) countries so you may need to decide what your second best language is. ;) ... Speaking of languages, Atsushi Iijima has informed me that cyclingtime.com has live updates and daily Giro recaps in Japanese. I'll take his word for it! — Steve
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Stage 6 result: A break succeeds on a lazy, shortened stage; Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare wins
Potenza → Peschici, 265k 232k (flat)
Stage 6 results
1 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
2 Alan Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
3 Nikolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
4 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle - H30
5 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
6 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
7 Daniele Nardello (Ita) S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattol
8 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre
9 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
Full Results — gazzetta.itLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 6
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Daniele Nardello (Ita) S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 1.22
4 Alan Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 4.42
5 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre 5.34
6 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
7 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 9.08
8 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes 9.15
Stage 6 preview
May 14 update: Stage 6, at 265k 232k in length, is easily the longest stage of this year's Giro. The riders will head north to the east side of Italy finishing at the Adriatic Sea. And from past viewing experience, this long, flat stage will likely be boring to watch until the very end because it comes after five straight days of racing before a difficult "medium" mountain stage, after long transfers and many days before the first rest day. On the other hand, the scenery will be molto buon (very good). Here is how it will likely play out. The GC teams will give their domistiques an unofficial rest day so it will be up to the sprinter teams to calculate how much rope to give the inevitable break. As usual, a break succeeds in a stage like this by forming the right mix of strong, non-GC riders who can break the spirit of the sprinter teams forcing the chase to be called off. Usually though, a break dangles (very) painfully out front until reeled in near the finish followed by a massive field sprint. Paulo Bettini looked good finishing 5th in Stage 5 and long stages suit him best. He's overdue for a Giro stage win. Check out the start time and updated live coverage options and the stage 6 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve
May 15 update: Todays's course will be shortened
Giro d'Italia Director Angelo Zomegnan announced after the end of stage five that the Thursday's stage six would be shortened by 34km after representatives from the peloton spoke with organizers. This reduces stage six's distance from 265 kilometres to 231.6.
"In consideration of the uneasiness and stresses suffered by the riders in the last few days, and after consulting with the strongest riders of the peloton, we have decided that the stage tomorrow [Thursday] will finish directly in Peschici, without the finishing circuit of the Gargano," said Zomegnan according tuttobiciweb.it. "It will be 34km less, so riders will be able to catch up on more rest more tomorrow evening." Stage six will still start in Potenza as planned.
There have been many complaints about the length of the transfers thus far on the race, with Bradley Wiggins telling Cyclingnews Wednesday that he hasn't been to bed before midnight thus far as a result.
source: cyclingnews
Stage 5 results: The long five-man break survives with Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) laboring across the uphill finish first
Belvedere Marittimo → Contursi Terme, 170k (classically hilly)
Stage 5 results
1 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
2 Johannes Froehlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Luis Felipe Laverde (Col) CSF Group Navigare
4 Francisco Perez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
Full Results — cyclingnewsLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 5
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
May 13 update: The maglia rosa, Franco Pellizotti, is predicting stage five will be a "photocopy" of the stage two finish in Agrigento. The last three kilometers to Contursi Terme (avg 5.9%, max 9%), he says, will feature another power climb dual among Riccardo Ricco, Danilo Di Luca, Davide Rebellin and himself... the top four finishers from stage 2 along with Paulo Bettini this time. This will be a classic scenery and parcours day that heads north along the Mediterranian Sea before continuing inland over the cat 3 Fortino at the 80k point. The route then rolls along before the climb over San Gregorio Magno at kilometer 160 when the gloves should come off. From the top of the unrated San Gregorio Magno there is 30k of gentle descending before hitting the base of Contursi Terme. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 5 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve
Miscellaneous Notes: Traffic to this site is causing a "capacity problems" error message during busy periods... If you see such an error page then just hit the refresh button until this page appears. To improve performance slightly, all the profile, map and timetable links now up in a new window to eliminate return reload hits. (That may be more information than you need)... Speaking of traffic, the riders waged a minor protest (of the work-to-rule slow pace variety) a couple stages ago to demonstrate their displeasure with the long transfers between stages at this year's Giro. Learn more about what the riders are squawking about. If they are complaining after the first few days then they'll be really grumpy later on. More likely, they are doing it now before the competition heats up... Don R. has sent in an updated English Eurosport Audio link that actually works so you can turn the sound off on the foreign live feeds and listen to a language you understand. Of course, spending $30 for the cycling.tv giro package may be an easier alternative... Thanks also to the dependable Roger P. for his links and Lou M, Alex, and Sheila M for their input. If you have some links or feedback you'd like to share with others then send me an email. — Steve
Stage 4 results: High Road's Mark Cavendish gets the first Giro win by a Brit since 1987; more carnage in the final 1 km
Pizzo Calabro → Catanzaro Lungomare, 187k (one mountain then flat)
Stage 4 results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) High Road
2 Robert Foerster (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
4 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana
5 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre
6 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
7 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence-Lotto
Full Results — gazzetta.itLive Text Updates — cyclingnewsGeneral classification after stage 4
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream
May 13 update: We are back on the mainland for another hilly then flat stage like yesterday. Today the riders will start with a nice little cat 3 climb up to Passo di Pietra Spada cresting at the 64k point of the 183k course. After that, there is long descent going from 1353m down to almost sea level. The remaining 80k is flat with one bump at the 164k point. The sprinters will have plenty of time to catch back on, but lets hope for an exciting break. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 4 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve
Stage 3 results: Bennati wins a twisty, narrow sprint on the Giro's last day on Sicily
Catania → Milazzo, 208k (hilly/flat)
May 12 update: This is the final of three stages on Sicily and the first stage for the sprinters. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 3 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. More to come...
Stage 2 results: Riccardo Ricco wins an Italian dominated uphill finish in Agrigento; Franco Pellizotti now in pink
Cefalu → Agrigento, 207k (hilly)
May 11 update: It's a good sign that the three top teams in yestersday's TTT have strong anti-doping programmes and it gets the race off to a good start. Slipstream's TTT win yesterday is a also good story for the American team and Christian Vande Velde, the first American maglia rosa wearer in 20 years, but they will be tested today with a long, hilly stage 2 capped off with an uphill finish in Agrigento.
As reported in CyclingWeekly, World Champion Paulo Bettini has picked this stage as one of his best opportunities. "Agrigento is definitely the first good chance to win a stage. I know the finish because it was used for world championships in 1994 and I rode it the finish a few years ago when the Giro started down there. It's a difficult stage and not only because of the finish. It'll be tough all day. It's a good stage not to throw away."
Stage 1 TTT results
1 Slipstream - Chipotle 26.32
2 Team CSC 0.06
3 High Road 0.07
4 Liquigas 0.09
5 Barloworld 0.14
6 LPR Brakes - Ballan 0.28
7 Astana 0.29
8 Tinkoff Credit Systems 0.33
9 Quick Step 0.42
10 Lampre 0.45
11 Team Milram
12 S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 0.51
13 Gerolsteiner 0.54
14 Caisse d'Epargne
15 Saunier Duval - Scott 1.02
16 Rabobank 1.04
17 Ag2R La Mondiale 1.05
18 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone
19 CSF Group - Navigare 1.15
20 Euskaltel - Euskadi 1.17
21 Silence - Lotto 1.18
22 Francaise Des Jeux 1.26
Stage 1 Preview:
U.S. TT champ, David Zabriskie, and his Slipstream won the TTT at Tour de Georgia two weeks ago (Photo by Ken Conley)
May 9 update: For the second year in a row, the Giro d'Italia starts off with a team time trial from one of Italy's islands (Sicily this year, Sardinia last year). Two weeks ago, Team Slipstream won the TTT at the Tour de Georgia against Astana, CSC and Team High Road and expect all four teams to be at the top after Saturday even though the flat course through Palermo is quite different than the short but technical, hilly race track used in Georgia and last year's technical course on Sardina won by Liquigas. With three national TT champs on their Giro roster along with other strong time trialers, Slipstream is posed to win Saturday's hammerfest which, as Velonews points out, might put an American in the pink jersey for the first time since Andy Hampsten's Giro win 20 years ago. — Steve
May 8 update: Gazzetta TV is doing interviews in English for the first time. Here is some video and interviews (in Italian and English) as riders arrive in Palermo:
May 7 update: The Giro d'Italia was modeled years ago after the Tour de France. No bike race comes close to Le Tour in popularity, but the Giro has curved out its own niche giving it a solid second among cycling stage races. The level of rider and thus the average speed may be lower at the Giro, but the course, the tifosi, the quality tv work and the animated, unpredictable competition always seems to give this event a special aura that makes it, arguably, the most interesting race in cycling. This year, the organizers (RCS) played hardball with teams who, in the past, had sent their "B" squad. And it seems RCS has hit a home run since we'll unexpectedly see the best three cyclists from the best team in cycling; Astana's Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden will all be making their Giro debut this year. Needless to say, the string of 12 straight victories by the home side (Italy) is very much in jeopardy. Continue with the course preview... — Steve
May 6 update: Something called "The Other Giro TV" will launch on May 8th. Here are some the google translated details:
"It will be visible from both www.gazzetta.it www.giroditalia.it and collect on a single platform moments of ed'interesse spectacle of the race: the feast that animates the departure el'arrivo, the public who assiepa along the route, the background of the organisation and the caravan of the Tour. Four channels of Other Giro TV: Backstage, with the video "behind the scenes", the Quartier Stage, the Village commercial; Means of the Tour, a channel dedicated to vehicles, from bicycles to team cars, from motorcycles to vehicles the Caravan; In Around the Giro, videos dedicated to municipalities hosting the stages. Girovagando, a channel dedicated to the images that you will never see on TV. A unique way to experience the passion of the Tour 2008.
The site, starting on May 8th, will be active in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) and updated in real time, thanks to the service of Radio Corsa. Each day the site will host also direct the last 15 minutes of stage and interviews to rally departure and after arrival."
May 3 update: RCS called Astana team manager, Johan Bruyneel, yesterday to ask him if he still wanted to participate in the Giro and he said 'yes'," Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens told Reuters by telephone.
"We don't know why they've changed their minds. They did not explain anything. They told Johan, 'See you in Palermo.'
Why did RCS change their minds?
Back at the beginning of February, when the Giro organizer, RCS, selected this year's Giro teams and before the Tour de France teams were selected,
Giro chief Angelo Zomegnan told Gazzetta dello Sport: "[Alberto] Contador has always said that all he is interested in is the Tour de France, and for (American Levi) Leipheimer, the Giro has always been about trying to prepare for the Tour.
"If our race is not part of their plans, then we just won't invite them," he added. "Astana weren't exactly flawless last year. Okay, they have changed philosophy, and their management but we have to wait and see. You don't just wake up in the morning a changed person."
Since it's unlikely Astana will get a Tour de France invite, I think it's clear why RCS has changed their minds: Astana, without a doping infraction this year, will ride this year's Giro as their new main objective for 2008. Indeed, RCS recently said "Astana sent their request to us a month ago with a different approach regarding the quality of riders to take part in the race."
Zomegnan, quoted today by Gazzetta dello Sport, said the [official] decision would be made after Sunday's final stage of the Tour of Romandie. Astana rider Andreas Kloeden is currently leading the Swiss stage race. Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer have been confirmed for the start next Saturday and with Kloeden's good form we can assume he'll be there too. Contador, Leipheimer and Kloeden have never done the Giro. Update: According to a RCS Sport press release, the Astana team for the Giro consists of: Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, Vladimir Gusev, Antonio Colom, Maxime Iglinsky, Dimitri Muravyev, Andrei Mizourov, Andreas Kloden and Assan Bazayev.
— Steve
Maps, Profiles and Timetables for all stages are now up
April 29 update: The maps, profiles and timetables haven't appeared on the Italian site for some reason but they are now available. All of the pre-race links in the stage details table (right) are now activated. — Steve April 25 update: Former Giro winner Ivan Basso has signed with a new team for 2009 and 2010: Ivan Basso will return to racing on the Liquigas team — velonews
Also today, Barloworld names team for Giro — news24
Will Andy Schleck wear #1 at this year's Giro? Will he even be there?
April 10 update: Last year's second place finisher, Eddy Mazzoleni, has been suspended for two years for his links to the "Oil for Drugs" doping scandal and the winner, Danilo Di Luca, may face the same. Schleck says he is focusing on the Tour de France this year, but if he does the Giro, he's not interested in displacing the two Italians who finished ahead of him. By default, he would be given race number 01 normally reserved for the previous year's winner. Read more...
Meet the Giro bound... NGC Medical Cycling Team. Update This team will not be allowed to start for "sporting qualities" reasons (ie lack of a doping program or to make room for Astana).
February 1st update: Thanks to Bob H. for emailing the teams in...
AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)
ASTANA
BARLOWORLD (GBR) (Enrico Gasparotto and Mauricio Soler)
CAISSE D’EPARGNE (SPA)
COFIDIS, le credit par telephone (FRA)
CSF GROUP-NAVIGARE (IRL) (Luis Felipe Laverde)
DIQUIGIOVANNI-ANDRONI (VEN) (Gilberto Simoni)
EUSKALTEL EUSKADI (SPA)
FRANCAISE DES JEUX (FRA)
GEROLSTEINER (GER)
HIGH ROAD (USA)
LAMPRE (ITA)
LIQUIGAS(ITA)
LPR BRAKES (IRL) (Danilo Di Luca and Paolo Savoldelli) NGC MEDICAL-OTC (SVI) Who are they? and official site
QUICK STEP (BEL)
RABOBANK (OLA)
SAUNIER DUVAL-SCOTT (SPA)
SILENCE-LOTTO (BEL)
SLIPSTREAM (USA) (David Zabriskie)
TEAM CSC (DAN)
TEAM MILRAM (*)
TINKOFF Credit Systems (Mikhail Ignatiev)
February 2nd update: Judging by the reaction of fans and media, this might be one of the most contentious Grand Tour team announcements in a long time due to the number of quality teams that were snubbed. Notable omissions from the list include: Astana (ProTour), Team High Road (ProTour), and L'Acqua & Sapone-Mokambo (Stefano Garzelli), Credit Agricole (ProTour) and Bouygues Telecom (ProTour). Team selections were based on the following criteria: "ethical, quality, international, historical relations with Rcs Sport [the organizers]" and according to the organizeers they "reserve the right to unilaterally withdraw the invitation at any time." Each rider must be in good standing with a biological passport.
Clearly, now that the Giro has divorced itself from the ProTour, simmering bad blood has been spilt. If your team has slighted the organizers in the past by sending your "B" squad or sent your "A" squad for a training ride or have a tainted doping history or even have lingering doping question marks beside your roster then you and riders are not wanted. What we have left is a starting line-up that will be more animated, but deluted of marquee names. It's a bold move by RCS, but the omission of Team High Road is most confusing. Sure the old T-Mobile had a serious doping history, but it's reincarnation looks clean. High Road is stacked with international talent run by an outspoken anti-doper and last year it's Italian rider, Marco Pinnoti, wore the Maglia Rosa for four days although he had a weak supporting cast of T-Mobile riders. Maybe it was the negative statements from Team High Road before this year's announcement: "Michael [Roger] and Linus [Gerdemann] will ride the Giro and, all being well, the Tour also. We will take the first two weeks of the Giro very seriously... The final week of the Giro is extremely hard so we would assess things then. Do we have a rider capable of continuing for the GC, or are they tired? If necessary we'd pull them [Rogers and Gerdemann] out to get some rest before the Tour." Stuff like that gets said in cycling all the time which is really annoying. Think about it... what other sport do professional athletes come out beforehand and say they'll walk off if the game doesn't go as hoped? Since 2005, there was nothing events could do about such a cavalier attitude because ProTour events were required to invite ProTour teams. That being said, I don't know the real reasons for Team High Road's exclusion, but we do know that's partly why Astana wasn't invited.
Giro chief Angelo Zomegnan told Gazzetta dello Sport Saturday: "[Alberto] Contador has always said that all he is interested in is the Tour de France, and for (American Levi) Leipheimer, the Giro has always been about trying to prepare for the Tour.
"If our race is not part of their plans, then we just won't invite them," he added. "Astana weren't exactly flawless last year. Okay, they have changed philosophy, and their management but we have to wait and see. You don't just wake up in the morning a changed person."
RCS has the second most popular and arguably the most interesting stage race in cycling, but have they gained or lost stature with this year's team selections? Now, will the Tour de France organizer follow suit?. The unfortunate consequence of this uncertainty will fall on innocent riders and sponsors and the short term financial health of cycling in general.
— Steve
Damiano Cunego, left, Gilberto Simoni, second from left, Danilo Di Luca, center, Stefano Garzelli, second from right, and Paolo Savoldelli, right, pose in front of the map of the 91st Giro d'Italia during the presentation of the 2008 edition of the Tour of Italy cycling race, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007.
(AP Photo/Luca Bruno... more rollout photos)
The stage summary table (see right) is now up-to-date with all distances along with maps and profiles for the time-trial and mountain stages (1, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21). The Cima Coppi (the highest point in this year's Giro) is the Passo Gavia during Stage 20. There are only four official mountain stages with three mountaintop finishes (not including the mountain time-trial) and all of them are in the second half of the race starting with stage 14. However, past years have shown that the Giro organizers are stingy in awarding the mountain stage symbol so several of the seven so called "medium mountain stages", like Stage 7, should provide more action than expected. As noted earlier this week, there are two monster mountain stages before a final day time-trial in Milano, so the end of this year's Giro will be as exciting as you could possibly expect. "This year is the real Giro d'Italia," Italy president and cycling enthusiast Romano Prodi said in a prerecorded message. "By choosing (a route), not in a circle, but from south to north, (the Giro) is permitted to run through the entire country."
So who benefits most from a Giro with four time-trials? I briefly thought it would favour two-time Giro winner, Paolo Savoldelli, but now that he's riding for the continental team, LPR, instead of Discovery Channel, he's lost some opening day, team time-trial advantage. The long, steep mountain time-trial doesn't work in his favour either. In fact, there are only 59k of flatish, individual time-trialing in total. The number and type of time-trials will favour CSC's Andy Schleck more than anybody. He was only 22 years-old when you placed 3rd overall last May and he just might climb onto the top step on the final day next year. If he does, tiny Luxembourg would have it's first Giro title in almost 50 years and Italy's string of eleven straight wins would come to an end. Damiano Cunego and Riccardo Riccò are my picks for the home side, the same two that provided the finishing dual () at the last Giro di Lombardia. Update: Damiano Cunego and Andy Schleck are skipping this year's Giro in favor of the Tour de France. See the up-to-date pre-race favorites. — Steve
2008 Giro Quick Facts: Running from Saturday May 10th to Sunday June 1st 2008, the 91st Giro d'Italia will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,424 kilometres.
The 21 stages have the following profiles:
* 6 flat or mildly undulating stages
* 7 medium mountain stages
* 4 mountain stages (none until stage 14)
* 4 time-trial stages (1 mountain, 1 team)
Key points to this year's event
* 3 mountaintop finishes
* 9 long transfers between stages but only 2 rest days
* 102 kilometres of time-trials (59k flat, individual)
* ? category 1, category 2 and hors catégorie climbs
November 30th update: Profiles of the first three stages have been published in La Gazzetta dello Sport and have been added to stage summary table (right). The official announcement is tomorrow. — Steve
I was sent this unofficial map by one of our readers on Nov 27th that was originally published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa, a competitor to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Update December 1st, they were right! Hats off to lastampa.it for being the first with the scoop.
November 28th update: I just received the unofficial 2008 Giro route map which is slightly more up-to-date than the changes I made yesterday. Thanks for your input. — Steve
November 27th update: Lots of updates and confirmed towns, but the Stelvio may not be in the mix for stage 19 as originally rumoured. With two mountain stages before a final day time-trial in Milano, the final three days will be as exciting as you could possibly expect. Let me know if you have additional information. Remember the official announcement is this Saturday December 1st. — Steve
The Updated Rumoured Mountain Stages:
7 Peschici - PESCOCOSTANZO (roccaraso)
11 URBANIA - CESENA (San Marino, Monte Carpegna, Perticara and
muro di Sorrivoli)
14 VERONA - ALPE DI PAMPEAGO (Quinto, Manghen)
15 ARABBA - MARMOLADA FEDAIA (Pordoi, SanPellegrino, Giau, Falzarego and
Fedaia)
19 LEGNANO - MONTE PORA (?, ViaMala, Schilpario, Presolana, Pora)
20 ROVETTA - APRICA (CroceSalven, Gavia y Mortirolo)
November 14th update:According to Cyclingnews, there will be four time trials including a 30 km TT on the final day in Milano. This year's Giro will again kick off with the fan favorite team time trial this time in Palermo. In between, there will be two other time trials possibly including a 15k mountain time trial up Plan de Corones (see profile left). — Steve
October 31st update: Wednesday May 14th is likely a transfer (rest) day from Catania to Napoli and not a stage. This makes up for the missing second rest day. — Steve
October 29th update: It's still more than one month away until the official announcement (Dec. 1st), but a source that proved reliable last year has provided the first preliminary look at what the 2008 Giro d' Italia should look like. Apparently, there is only one rest day which seems unlikely. If you have some additional scoop then don't hesitate to let me know. In the meantime, until the rumours get confirmed, gray coloured hyperlinks in the stage details will denote unconfirmed host towns. — Steve
October 1st update: The route of the 2008 Giro d'Italia will be unveiled Dec. 1, organizers said Tuesday.
Just as predicted here, the 91st edition of the 21-stage race begins May 10 in Palermo, Sicily, and finishes three weeks later in Milan.
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca won this year's Giro and is expected to defend his title, pending the outcome of a doping hearing Thursday.
Giro d'italia 2008 will start on the island of Sicily
June 28th update: After a successful Sardinia start this year, the 2008 Giro d'Italia will start from another one of Italy's scenic Mediterranean islands... Sicily from the town of Palermo. We also know the Giro will once again pass through Austria next year. I've already been asked about the 2008 Giro dates and I'm willing to speculate that next year's dates will be Saturday May 10th - Sunday June 1st, 2008. I've simply noticed that four of the last six Giros have started on the second Saturday of May. The 2005 and 2006 events did start on the first Saturday of May, but the Giro has never started before May 6th in recent memory. So consider booking your hotels in Sicily on the second weekend in May and in Milano where the race should finish along the Corso Venezia on the last weekend of May as long as you can cancel later! — Steve
Tip: Try the Tour Tracker with custom video and audio option from Pop Up Tv. Select the video that's best for your internet connection and your language of choice.
Worldwide and regional live and same day video coveage
May 11 update: Your options for watching this year's Giro d'Italia are still unfolding, but here's what is known so far. For the U.S. and Canada, your TV choices are
RAI International ($11 per month) for daily, "as-live" broadcasts (3 hours delayed in Italian) and Versus' Cyclism Sunday for brief weekly recaps and delayed broadcasts of the Sunday stages. On the internet, currently your only option is Cycling.tv ($29.95), but more options in foreign languages may be available at race time. Note, Cycling.tv will not be broadcasting the Sunday stages (four in total). All Sunday stages will instead be broadcast on Versus' Cyclism Sunday. The Sunday stages include an important mountain stage (Marmolada Fedaia) and the final day TT in Milano. Last year, RAI was streaming free, live coverage over the internet without country restrictions, and we'll post the link to this year's coverage when it's available. [Update: see above]
Italy's RAI/RCS have the best camera work and most passionate broadcasters in the business. Watch the last 5k of last year's classic stage 14 in Bergamo and judge for yourself.
I had the RAI Int'l service last year and it was very good. They had a one hour, post-race show each day with interviews, highlights and a preview of the route and towns for the next stage. It was $11 for the month from Comcast (and others). The Italian broadcasters are the most passionate in the business and you'll learn some Italian.
In Europe, of course Rai Tre/Sport will broadcast live in Italy (and via satellite) and Eurosport will be broadcasting live on TV throughout most of Europe. In Germany, expect Eurosport Germany to be streaming free live video with country restrictions. For those in Belgium, sporza.be will be streaming live video. There will most certainly be more options for Europe. If a live video stream isn't available in your part of the world then you can listen to the free Eurosport audio accessible worldwide.
In Australia, you can watch highlights each morning at 7:15 AM on SBS. "Covering each stage of the Giro is a significant step for SBS as the network continues to strengthen its commitment to world cycling," said SBS Sport Presenter, Michael Tomalaris. If you see other TV and internet viewing options for North America or other countries then don't hestitate to send me an email. More to come at race time... — Steve updated May 9th
Giro d'Italia 2008 Stages 
2009 Giro d'Italia Live Dashboard
McQuaid Reveals How The UCI Caught Sella: McQuaid revealed that Sella's urine samples from the Giro d'Italia could now be sent to Paris for testing for CERA.
If they turn out to be positive, Sella would then lose his three stage victories, his best climber's prize and sixth overall. The Giro tests could also be considered a separate doping offence and so he could be banned for a total of four years. — cyclingweekly.co.uk
The Giro is so dominated by Italian riders that peak for this event that it hurts it's international exposure. This year, two-thirds of the stages were won by Italians, but for the first time in 12 years a foreigner won the overall title which is great for the event. Alberto Contador is a good person (pistol gunshot victory salute aside), very talented and a deserving winner, but the theatrics of his team's management and the media in its back pocket is a little hard to endure. "He was on the beach and wasn't prepared... he has hayfever and can't breathe... he fractured/broke his elbow [with no apparent repercussions to his riding style]." The excuses were ready to flow if he didn't win or to justify an early exit. Even in winning, Astana's team director couldn't resist saying he won at only 80% top fitness. Versus' Paul Sherwin said during the final time-trial that Contador was "the man that dominated the Giro d'Italia in the big mountains." Really? And Phil Liggett continues to harp on Astana's exclusion from the Tour de France (that's who Alberto is taking a shot at too) when the Tour and Giro organizers have some different reasons for not inviting Astana. I know many of you do like Astana because there are lots of fine riders on the team and I like Phil and Paul's familiar enthusiasm, but aren't you getting a little sick of this media bias?
Contador: "This was my Tour" — velonews
); stage 20: Extended Highlights of Gavia/Mortirolo (
Sirotti Photos from all 21 stages
Rider Start Order and Times — gazzetta.it
May 28 update: The remaining sprinters who stuck out the first round of mountains will welcome today's flat stage that finishes in Switzerland. (Actually, I think every rider with the exception of Emanuele Sella will welcome this stage). The riders will dodge the mountains and finish in Locarno, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore. Breaks are more likely to succeed at this late stage in the race so there's no guarantee the sprinters will get the field sprint they are hoping for. By the way, late yesterday I posted the versus video highlights for stages 9 through 15. Scroll down a little to the rest day entry. — Steve
May 23 update: Stage 15 meanders through the heart of the Dolomites collecting 4 cat 1 and 2 cat 2 climbs along the way... enough for two mountain stages. With 4700+ meters of climbing in just 153 km, this stage packs a lot of bang for the buck. For the first time, the Giro will finish on Marmolada Fedaia, a climb Francisco Moser called one of the most feared in the Giro in his day. I have painful memories of Fedaia's dead straight 18% section from my trip to Italy in 2002. Here's a picture of "Moser and Me" from that trip (
May 19 update: The best part of a Grand Tour is watching the shake out of the general classification as riders who peak too soon slip down while a steady performance is rewarded. After today's TT, it's clear Astana's Andreas Kloeden and Alberto Contador are living up to expectations. Besides Contador's excellent 2nd place TT result and the 7th place performance by Liquigas youngster, Vincenzo Nibali, Gilberto Simoni's 10th place finish is equally surprising; he finished just one second behind Levi Leipheimer. Is Simoni too old (37 in August) and two far back (2+ minutes behind Contador) to win another Giro? Probably... but we know he'll keep things very interesting in the mountain stages that start Saturday with Stage 14. Before we get there, tomorrow's stage is another unofficial mountain stage labeled "medium mountain." But, don't be fooled folks, tomorrow's stage will have four catergorized climbs: two cat 2's, San Marino and Perticara sandwiched around a difficult cat 1 in the middle, Monte Carpegna, followed by the cat 3 Sorrivoli that crests 20k before the run into the finish in Cesena. Stages like this, before a flat stage, are often wild so tune in early. You'll get idea of what Monte Carpegna is like (especially how narrow it is) from this recreational ride report. — Steve
Miscellaneous Notes: Seeing as the Gazzetta has added foreign language content to the official Giro site for the first time, I figure we should do the same. I've actually been posting Italian video interviews if you haven't noticed, but starting yesterday, I'll attempt to post links to the daily Eurosport One-Minute Highlights in italian, deutsch, español in addition to english. By the way, it seems the english highlights are now restricted to certain (European) countries so you may need to decide what your second best language is. ;) ... Speaking of languages, Atsushi Iijima has informed me that 
May 9 update: For the second year in a row, the Giro d'Italia starts off with a team time trial from one of Italy's islands (Sicily this year, Sardinia last year). Two weeks ago, Team Slipstream won the TTT at the Tour de Georgia against Astana, CSC and Team High Road and expect all four teams to be at the top after Saturday even though the flat course through Palermo is quite different than the short but technical, hilly race track used in Georgia and last year's technical course on Sardina won by Liquigas. With three national TT champs on their Giro roster along with other strong time trialers, Slipstream is posed to win Saturday's hammerfest which, as Velonews points out, might put an American in the pink jersey for the first time since Andy Hampsten's Giro win 20 years ago. — Steve
May 7 update: The Giro d'Italia was modeled years ago after the Tour de France. No bike race comes close to Le Tour in popularity, but the Giro has curved out its own niche giving it a solid second among cycling stage races. The level of rider and thus the average speed may be lower at the Giro, but the course, the tifosi, the quality tv work and the animated, unpredictable competition always seems to give this event a special aura that makes it, arguably, the most interesting race in cycling. This year, the organizers (RCS) played hardball with teams who, in the past, had sent their "B" squad. And it seems RCS has hit a home run since we'll unexpectedly see the best three cyclists from the best team in cycling; Astana's Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden will all be making their Giro debut this year. Needless to say, the string of 12 straight victories by the home side (Italy) is very much in jeopardy. Continue with the course preview... — Steve
May 3 update: RCS called Astana team manager, Johan Bruyneel, yesterday to ask him if he still wanted to participate in the Giro and he said 'yes'," Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens told Reuters by telephone.
"We don't know why they've changed their minds. They did not explain anything. They told Johan, 'See you in Palermo.'
April 25 update: Former Giro winner Ivan Basso has signed with a new team for 2009 and 2010:
November 14th update: 
May 11 update: Your options for watching this year's Giro d'Italia are still unfolding, but here's what is known so far. For the U.S. and Canada, your TV choices are
