Tomas Vaitkus pulled off two great feats at the close of Monday's 132km run from Francavilla al Mare to Termoli. In winning the bunch sprint down the main drag of this sleepy beach town on the Adriatic, Vaitkus became the first Lithuanian to win a Giro d'Italia stage. But maybe more impressive was the fact that Vaitkus did so ahead of Robbie McEwen, heretofore unbeatable in mass gallops at this year's Giro.

McEwen actually finished fourth on stage 9, with Vaitkus (Ag2r), Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) and Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) all besting the Davitamon-Lotto rider. Afterwards McEwen gave most of the credit for being vanquished to a category-3 climb that came 30km from the finish.

"The climb cooked me a bit, but I was able to get back on," explained McEwen, who has three stage wins at this year's Giro. "I didn't have much left when I was back in the bunch. I struggled all the way to the line."

In front of the "Pocket Rocket" the battle was on, with Vaitkus and Bettini shoulder to shoulder as they roared to the finish. Initially the Italian thought he had taken the day, even throwing his hands in the air in triumph.

But the photo finish told a different story, and Il Grillo was left to lament a six-inch defeat. Afterwards he exchanged words with Vaitkus, accusing the shy 24-year-old of moving into him. But Bettini changed his tune after taking a look at the television replay.

"It wasn't that bad," said Bettini, who's yet to win a stage at this year's Giro and is clearly growing frustrated. "He just closed me a little bit. He bent the rules but he didn't break them. I still thought I'd won."

For Vaitkus, the victory marked the high point of a young career that was previously capped by a world under-23 time trial title in 2002. His father also won a world junior title in 1979.

"I raced in Italy before France and that is where I learned to climb," said Vaitkus, explaining why he still had some gas in the tank after the tough closing kilometers. "I saw Bettini on the left, then I started my sprint. He said I did a bad move. It is possible, but I didn't try to do anything. Sometimes it just happens. It was not my intention. When I saw him throw his arms up, I thought I'd lost."

There was no change in the overall standings, with Ivan Basso (Team CSC) enjoying a relatively calm first day in the maglia rosa.

"It was a good day," said Basso, who isn't exactly a quote machine. "I just tried to be very attentive and not work the team too much."

Racing began at just past 2 in the afternoon on Francavilla al Mare's Viale Alcione, a seaside drive that runs along the beach here in central Italy. Once again the tifosi were out in force, saving their loudest cheers for the five Italian GC favorites - Basso, Damiano Cunego, Gilberto Simoni, Paolo Savoldelli and Danilo Di Luca.

The quintet knew this was a not a day for concern, as the race profile included only the category-3 Guglionesi climb plus a few rollers. Otherwise it was a tranquil run along the coast before the course did a buttonhook at the 50km-to-go mark, turning west before rounding once more into Termoli.

As usual the day included a futile breakaway, with Ukrainian Yuriy Krivtsov (Ag2r) taking off at the 5km mark. He was joined by France's Cyrille Monnerais (Française des Jeux) and the pair spent the next few hours on their own, until Monnerais was dropped and trickled back to a bunch being driven by Quick Step, which was hoping to set up Bettini.

Krivtsov didn't last a whole lot longer, as he was sucked in 104km into the race, at the base of the category-3 ascent. The attacks came quickly going up the gradual hill, and it was stage-8 sensation Jose Gutierrez (Phonak) taking the KoM points. Behind the Spaniard the bunch was in shambles, with most of the speedsters, including McEwen, laboring off the back.

Eventually the field split in half, with gruppo McEwen losing 30 seconds at one point. The Aussie's team was up to the task, though, and the race was soon all back together for the charge into Termoli. McEwen couldn't repay the effort, though, his legs sapped by the late climb.

"I just didn't have the punch to go in a long sprint like that after such a hard final," he said. "I didn't ride a tactically very smart sprint either. I was a fair way behind following Pollack. I should have just let him go to lead me out, but I came straight away next to him and in the wind - it was a head wind - I just blew. As soon as I went, I came on line with all the others and started to struggle. I knew I should have waited and just used Pollack, then come out in the last 75 meters. But once you've started it's too late and you have to go with it."

The question now was how much longer McEwen would be in Italy. It's no secret that he does not plan to finish the race.

"I don't know, we'll see," he said, adding that after the stage-11 time trial back in northern Italy seemed probable. "Yeah, somewhere close to an airport."

With another long transfer and a rest day beckoning, Tuesday's 187km stage from Termoli to Peschici is ideal for a successful breakaway or a late solo attack. With 66km to go the course climbs from the coast into the Gargano National Park on a 10km, near-7-percent ascent to Monte San Angelo and then winds across a rolling plateau before plunging back to the coast 8km from the finish. A few more short hills stand in the way, including one with a 10-percent grade, before the uphill sprint into Peschici.

Race notes
During the post-race press conference in the small - and packed - classroom of the elementary school that hosted the world's cycling media, Vaitkus said he'd won the stage so that he could meet the woman who ended up doing the Lithuanian-to-Italian translation. Turns out her main job at the Giro is as a podium girl, and she had asked several of the riders she's presented flowers to in the preceding days to say hi to the peloton's only Lithuanian rider. "I guess this was the best way to meet her," Vaitkus joked.

The day after losing more than 23 minutes on stage 8, Jason McCartney had another rough day, finishing 178th at 8:29 on Monday. Turns out McCartney - and some of his teammates - fallen ill. "I'm just trying to make it through to [Wednesday’s] rest day," said the American. "We've got a couple guys who are sick so we'll see what happens." Last year one of the big stories at the Giro was the stomach bug that derailed current race leader Basso, who lost nearly 40 minutes on one stage.

The Big 7
With nine of 21 stages in the books, here's a look at how the top seven contenders stand against each other in the chase for this year's overall Giro d'Italia title. Spaniard Jose Gutierrez earned his way onto this list after jumping to second place overall on Sunday. Last year Paolo Savoldelli topped Gilberto Simoni by just 28 seconds in the final overall standings.1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC
2. Jose Gutierrez (Phonak), at 1:34
3. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre-Fondital, at 1:48
4. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, at 2:35
5. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas, at 2:48
6. Gilberto Simoni (I), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 3:20
7. Jose Rujano (Ven), Selle Italia, at 5:32

Now, here's a look at the overall rankings for the seven North Americans racing in this year's Giro d'Italia.

8. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 3:31
81. Julio Perez (Mex), Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, at 32:12
84. Patrick McCarty (USA), Phonak, 32:23
133. Bobby Julich (USA), Team CSC, 44:15
165. Jason McCartney (USA), Discovery Channel, at 55:42
174. Moises Chavez (Mex), Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, at 57:32
181. Aaron Olson (USA), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 59:21

Results – Stage 9
1. Tomas Vaitkus (Lit), Ag2r Prevoyance, 127km in 3:05:13
2. Paolo Bettini (I) Quick Step-Innergetic, at 0:00
3. Olaf Pollack (G) T-Mobile, at 0:00
4. Robbie McEwen (Aus) Davitamon-Lotto, at 0:00
5. Philippe Gilbert (B) Francaise des Jeux, at 0:00
6. Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Credit Agricole, at 0:00
7. Manuele Mori (I) Saunier Duval, at 0:00
8. Maximiliano Axel Richeze (ARG) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, at 0:00
9. Leonardo Duque (Col) Cofidis, at 0:00
10. Alessandro Spezialetti (I) Liquigas-Bianchi, at 0:00

Overall, after 9 stages
1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 34:36:40
2. José Gutierrez Cataluna (Sp) Phonak, at 1:34
3. Damiano Cunego (I) Lampre, at 1:48
4. Paolo Savoldelli (I) Discovery Channel, at 2:35
5. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr) T-Mobile, at 2:43
6. Danilo Di Luca (I) Liquigas-Bianchi, at 2:48
7. Gilberto Simoni (I) Saunier Duval, at 3:20
8. Giampaolo Caruso (I) Liberty Seguros, at 3:23
9. Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel, at 3:31
10. José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Sp) Discovery Channel, at 3:39

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