THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Simoni lights up Zoncolan
Gilberto Simoni delivered on his promise to be the main protagonist up Monte Zoncolan, winning Thursday’s 12th stage in the epic shootout between the stars to tighten his grip on the overall lead.
The Saeco rider attacked with 3km to go from the menacing summit. The Giro’s strongest men were trading shots on the steepest road in Italy and the tifosi were eating it up.
Simoni hoped for more, but he finished 34 seconds ahead of pesky Stefano Garzelli (Caldirola-Sidermec) and Francesco Casagrande, who came across third at 39 seconds in arrears.
The win consolidates Simoni’s hold on the maglia rosa, now 44 seconds ahead Garzelli while Italian Andrea Noe (Alessio) stayed in third, now 2:23 back. As much as he wanted to win Thursday’s epic battle in the mountains, Simoni wanted to pad his lead, but he couldn’t shake the resilient Garzelli.
“It wasn't a great day for me. I wanted to reserve some of my energy for the end and as a result the gaps were smaller than I would have liked,” Simoni told AFP. “In fact, they're saying it was a relative victory for Garzelli today because he didn't lose so much time. Maybe I'm not the best placed person to say this but it was me who won the stage.”
Yaroslav Popovych (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) proved he’s the real deal after finishing fourth at 42 seconds back while Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) had the ride he was looking for in his comeback Giro, taking fifth at 43 seconds back. Pantani promises more in the coming days.
This Giro is far from over.
Cipo gone, early attacks
Riders woke up to the news that world champion Mario Cipollini (Domina Vacanze) wouldn’t be starting. Cipollini crashed in Wednesday’s rainy finishing sprint after Kelme’s Isaac Galvez slid out on a poorly placed final turn just 160 meters from the finish.
The Lion King didn’t break any bones, but team doctors told him it was better to not start. More than Cipollini’s shoulder has been bruised in what’s been a rough and tumble Giro for the 36-year-old Tuscan. Cipollini set the all-time Giro record with 42 stage victories, but his Domina Vacanze team was overlooked for the Tour de France.
More Photos from today's stage.
With Cipollini gone and the course going straight up, it was time for the Giro’s main players to step forward. Simoni entered the stage as the Giro’s man to beat. The 2001 Giro champion was strongest up the climb to Terminillo and his attack in Tuesday’s difficult transition stage put him into pink.
A break went away early that included Bo Hamburger (Formaggi Pinzolo), Ignacio Cataluna Gutierrez (Kelme), Sergiy Adyeyev (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago), Mauro Zanetti (Tenax) and Freddy Garcia (Colombia Selle-Italia). They were reeled in going into the day’s first climb, the Category 1 climb to Fuessa. There was a spill and Paolo Tiralongo (Panaria) and Cristian Moreni (Alessio) both abandoned. Kelme’s Carlos Garcia Quesada later abandoned as well.
Several riders tried to get away on the Cat. 1, but none were a threat to the overall leaders. The main bunch rode together, saving their energy for the main dish still on the horizon.
Marzio Bruseghin (Fassa Bortolo) attacked on the climb to Fuessa and held a gap heading up the Category 2 climb to Sella Valcalda some 23km from the summit. Several riders were in a chase group at 2:30 back while Saeco led the main bunch another minute back.
Bruseghin was the first to hit the base of the Zoncolan. Fourteen kilometers of pain and suffering awaited him.
Fighting for their lives
Wladimir Belli (Lampre) gave chase to reel in Bruseghin. About halfway up the climb, Belli was working alone about 30 seconds ahead of the lead bunch, now reduced to about 15 riders. From here on out, it was every man for himself.
One surprising face in the lead bunch was Fassa Bortolo’s Aitor Gonzalez, the 2002 Vuelta champion who fell out of contention in the Giro’s first climbing stage. Obviously having a better day, Gonzalez finished ninth at 1:30 back and has high hopes to make something happen to salvage what’s been a disappointing Giro.
“I felt good during the whole day. The best thing is that I didn’t like the previous days, since my debacle at Terminillo. My back isn’t hurting anymore and I am beginning to breath normally again,” Gonzalez said. “I’m not yet 100 percent, but if I can continue along these lines, I’m sure I can have a strong finish.”
The day’s fan favorite was none other than Pantani and the Pirate returned to glory in the steep Zoncolan climb after two years of mixed results and trouble with doping affairs. Pantani lost contact with the lead group, but pushed on by the support of his rabid fans, he fought back and even tried to attack in the final kilometers.
Pantani was more than satisfied to come across fifth.
“I worked very hard in this stage,” Pantani said. “This morning, I thought it was going to be a very hard day because I’m not yet 100 percent. But I know after my return from last year, I can hope for more. This result proves that all my hard work has been worth it. I hope to be strong in the final week. Ah, if I could win the final mountain stage!”
Pantani would have to wait. Simoni was determined to win his first stage of this year’s Giro and threw everything into the attack. Zoncolan, much like the Angliru stage at the Vuelta a España, is so steep that it’s difficult to open differences on strong riders, who can grind out a low gear and limit damages.
That was certainly true for Garzelli. He and Casagrande were best positioned to resist Simoni’s attacks and the pair kept the Saeco rider in safe distance.
“It was a superb day and I think it was great for cycling," said Garzelli. “My aim at the start of the stage was to lose a maximum of 30 seconds, so I'm pretty happy. Simoni attacked just as I thought he would.”
Simoni got his victory and widened his lead, so it was mission accomplished. He’s already looking forward to Saturday’s difficult climbing stage to Alpe di Pampeago. The profile is a page out of the Giro book of classics: three Cat. 1 climbs stacked up over 50km and then a summit finish that climbs 740 meters in just eight kilometers.
“I had hoped to do well on this stage but even more on Saturday's stage over the Passo Rolle, Passo Valles, the San Pellegrino and up the finish to Alpe di Pampeago,” Simoni said. “One climb after another like that will give me more chances to attack.”
More Photos from today's stage.
Friday's stage 13 is a relatively mild stage covering rolling hills along 149km (92.6 miles) from Pordenone to Marostica.To see how today's race unfolded, just follow this link to bring up our live update window.
