THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Garzelli takes two, Di Luca safe as Zoncolan awaits
Armed with the cunning – and innate sense of timing – that come from 11 years as a professional, 33 year-old Stefano Garzelli, just as he did three days before in Bergamo, gave a textbook display of controlled aggression Tuesday in Lienz, Austria. The reward? His second victory of the 2007 Giro.
Three short climbs in close succession, and all within 60 kilometers of the finish, was a bright orange carrot, dangling side to side with hypnotic effect, for the wannabe opportunists. At first, Garzelli wasn't one of them, and instead of going away with one of the two large groups, he chose to go solo, tear up the climbs in a frenetic onslaught, and rip right through each and every one of those ahead of him.
It was both delightful and breathtaking to watch.
"I took a risk on a downhill; then, I didn't know what to do, I was afraid that I'd be caught," explained Garzelli of his motives.
By the time he found himself at the finish, Garzelli was utterly spent, unable to do much more than a half-hearted victory salute. A one-minute winning margin over a five-strong chase group, led home by Ag2r Prévoyance's Laurent Mangel and Tinkoff's Ricardo Serrano, said it all.
"I'm very happy, it's been a beautiful Giro," Garzelli said, before turning his attention to a subject other than his win.
"Maybe more room should be given to invited teams; there are too many ProTour teams and some of them don't look happy to be here. The Giro is an important spectacle for Italian cycling."
Garzelli, well-placed on the general classification - though nowhere near enough to be a threat - was easily tempered by the gruppo maglia rosa, which strolled over the line eight and a quarter minutes behind him. The result saw Garzelli leapfrog from 17th to 12th, just behind Cofidis' Colombian climber, Ivan Parra Pinto, but the top ten remains unchanged - till tomorrow.
"Tomorrow, I'll have to watch my adversaries," said Di Luca, stating the obvious. "I have to gain time on Mazzoleni. The others, I can stay on their wheel."
What Wednesday brings, for the fans at least, is a mouth-watering yet excruciating spectacle of the wickedest kind.
If the likes of Mazzoleni, Andy Schleck, Gilberto Simoni, Damiano Cunego and Riccardo Ricco are to improve on their current standings, they must attack on Monte Zoncolan, and with everything they've got. The Verona time trial, four days down the track, will only change things if they can reduce their deficit to Danilo Di Luca to a margin under one and a half minutes.
It's a big ask, but anything's still possible.
Watching grass grow
The last days of pain and suffering were still evident at the noon start in Agordo, where the 143 remaining riders began their 189 kilometer journey northeast into Austria.
Completing just 25.1 kilometers in the first hour, and 24.1 clicks the next, one could say there was more going on at the side of the road where the grass grew than in the peloton. Under icy, overcast conditions, riders covered themselves with an additional assortment of arm, leg and knee warmers, winter gloves, shoe covers and rain capes, keeping their bodies temperate.
"It was very cold but four degrees [Celsius], not zero as we were told at the start," said Di Luca. "But we all agreed to stop in a tunnel to get changed."
With a century covered, and no less than eight lime green Liquigas men leading the peloton for maglia rosa Di Luca, it became crystal clear the decisive moves would come over the final 60k - the point where the borders of Italy and Austria found each other, and where three short climbs led to a flat, 20 kilometer run to the finish in Lienz. It provided the perfect platform for a late escape.
The action begins
With 85k left and lunchtime over, having passed the feed zone at Dobbiaco-Doblach a few kilometers back, it was time to race, and after a series of attacks, a big, fat break left the peloton's grasp.
Sparked by Mangel with Benoît Joachim (Astana) on his wheel, another 11 came along for the ride to make a front group of 13. Soon after, an equal-sized chase group formed, while back in the gruppo maglia rosa, veteran Garzelli went off on his own.
On the first, steep pinch to Anras, its crest situated at the 150 kilometer mark, the two groups split to pieces, leaving just four in front: Pietro Caucchioli (Crédit Agricole), Serrano, Mangel, and José Luis “Chechu” Rubiera (Discovery Channel).
Quite incredibly, Garzelli staged a magnificent chase to bridge up to the lead group, which, by the time he did, numbered seven. Then, more astoundingly, Garzelli chose to attack his companions on the descent before final Category 3 climb to Bannberg, his audacious move rewarded him with a 44 second advantage over Caucchioli, Serrano, Magel, Rubiera and Lastras, and a whopping 5:57 over the gruppo maglia rosa by the summit, 27 kilometers from the finish.
Well down on GC (17th at 20:02) after losing 15 minutes on Sunday, Garzelli, throughout these agonizing, final kilometers, was thinking only of victory, his contorted face telling all just how much pain was going through to his pedals.
Spaniard Lastras was the strongest of the five behind him, but not strong enough to get away, the lack of cohesion worked in Garzelli's favor. By the finish, the Italian veteran was able to enjoy his second stage win of the 2007 Giro, but after the traditional winner's salute, he was too stuffed to do much else.
A minute later, Mangel won the sprint for second from Serrano, while the gruppo maglia rosa took their time, rolling over 8:15 behind today's winner.
The road ahead
If there's going to be any change of significance on the overall leader board, it will happen Wednesday, on the road up Monte Zoncolan.
Just 142 kilometers long, Wednesday's short though brutal stage leaves little room for tactics; like maglia rosa Di Luca, the rest of the peloton might as well dispense with their radio earpieces.
As feared as the mythical climbs of the Angliru, Mortirolo and L'Alpe d'Huez, the 10.1 kilometer Zoncolan gains 1203 meters for an average grade of 11.9 percent, with sections in excess of 20 percent.
"The Zoncolan is harder than the other climbs of the Giro. I'll put on a 34x29," said Di Luca.Results - Stage 16
1. Stefano Garzelli (I), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil, 189km in 5:34:07(33.940kph)
2. Laurent Mangel (F), Ag2r Prevoyance, 1:01
3. Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Sp), TCS, 1:01
4. José Luis Rubiera Vigil(Sp), Discovery Channel, 1:01
5. Pietro Caucchioli (I), Credit Agricole, 1:01
6. Pablo Lastras Garcia (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 1:01
7. Salvatore Commesso (I), TCS, 2:29
8. Giovanni Visconti (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 2:29
9. Assan Bazayev (Kaz), Astana, 2:29
10. Lorenzo Bernucci (I), T-Mobile, 2:29
Overall standings
1. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas, 73:43:12
2. Eddy Mazzoleni (I), Astana, 1:51
3. Andy Schleck (Lux), CSC, 2:56
4. Gilberto Simoni (I), Saunier Duval, 3:19
5. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre, 3:23
6. Riccardo Ricco' (I), Saunier Duval, 3:39
7. David Arroyo Duran (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 6:05
8. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, 7:02
9. Evgeni Petrov (Rus), Tinkoff Credit Systems, 7:29
10. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Lampre, 9:29
