Joan Horrach (Caisse d’Epargne-Illes Balears) brought a Spanish accent to the 89th Giro d’Italia in a rough and tumble race that saw Emanuele Sella (Panaria) and Manuele Mori (Saunier Duval) crash twice while they were streaking toward victory.

Horrach was the last man standing of a 15-man group that tore away from main bunch in the 171km 12th stage along Italy’s spectacular Cinque Terre coast.

A frenetic final half of the stage saw the group whittled down by Sella’s and Mori’s aggression, but the pair crashed while nursing about a 20-second gap and Horrach was able to sneak through for the emotional victory.

“I thought my chance had gone when Mori and Sella opened a small gap, but when they crashed I went past them,” said Horrach, who hails from Spain’s Mallorca island. “I suppose I was lucky that they were unlucky.”

“We don't have anyone who can challenge for the overall classification so we are free to go for stage victories," said Horrach of his Franco-Spanish team. "For me this is a great victory. There are only 21 stages on the Giro, so to win one...."

Race leader Ivan Basso (CSC) calmly finished safely tucked in the main bunch in 33rd place led across the line by Paolo Bettini (Quick Step-Innergetic) at 7:03 back. Basso retained his overall lead of 2:48 ahead of José Enrique Gutiérrez (Phonak) going into this weekend’s climbing stages in the Alps.

Sella and Mori tried to slip away from the six remaining riders, but crashed twice on the twisting mountain descent toward the finish.

“I knew that the descent could have been dangerous,” Sella said. “On a tight turn, Mori fell in front of me, and I couldn't do anything to avoid sliding on the edge of the road.”

Indeed, Sella did more than slide as his bike hit a road-side barrier and he landed hard, straddling the steel structure. Remarkably, the 25-year-old who had earned an impressive stage win in the 2004 Giro, jumped up and continued to ride. But a kilometer down the road, Mori fell again, taking none other than Sella with him.

By that point, the other four built up a gap and were on their way into the final kilometer when the two hapless crash victims again rejoined the leaders. Horrach gambled and charged off the front moments before the two chasers rejoined. The remaining five, however, waited too long to chase and Horrach had a five-second gap with only a few hundred meters remaining.

Sella punched through for third, but his aggression pumped life into the fight for the overall. He surged up in the standings, starting the day 22nd and leap-frogging into fourth at 4:21 behind race leader Ivan Basso.

Others climbing specialists moved up as a result of the day’s winning move, with climber Wladimir Belli (Lampre) drawing up to fifth and Manuel Beltrán (Discovery Channel) into seventh.

There was also movement downward in the overall, with once third-place Sergei Honchar (T-Mobile) crashing early in the stage and dropping out of the top 20 after finishing more than six minutes behind the Basso group.

Four riders packed it in, including 2005 Tour de France king of the mountains champion Michael Rasmussen (Rabobank), Roberto Laiseka (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mark Scanlon (Ag2r) and Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux).

Team CSC didn’t want to give up too much time to the likes of Sella and Belli, but with a grueling week of racing still on tap, Basso but admitted the team has to decide how to use its efforts.

“We can’t watch everyone. We are concentrating on just six or seven riders,” Basso said. “This was a difficult stage but no stage is easy, because of the course or the pace. The Giro is getting more and more like the Tour de France. Even the stage starts are fast, but that’s good. At least we don’t get bored.”

The Giro changes gears in Saturday’s 216km 13th stage from Alessandria to La Thuile as the race pushes into the Alps for the first time.

The course gently rolls up the Aosta Valley for the first five hours of racing before hitting the short, but steep final climb over 1951-meter Colle San Carlo. The 10.5km climb features ramps as steep as 15 percent and averages 9.8 percent, sure to do some damage on a weary peloton nearing the end of two weeks of racing. The finish line comes at the end of a perilous six kilometer descent to La Thuile.

The Big 7
With 12 of 21 stages in the books, here’s a look at how the top seven contenders rank in the General Classification in the chase for this year’s overall Giro d’Italia title. Last year Paolo Savoldelli topped Gilberto Simoni by just 28 seconds in the final overall standings.

1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 44:31:52
2. Jose Gutierrez (Phonak), at 2:48
3. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery, at 3:26
10. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre, at 6:54
11. Gilberto Simoni (I), Saunier Duval, at 7:13
12. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, at 7:33
17. Jose Rujano (Ven), Selle Italia, at 9:19

The North Americans
With 12 of 21 stages in the books, here’s a look at the overall rankings for the seven North Americansracing in this year’s Giro d’Italia.

6. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 5:38
89. Patrick McCarty (USA), Phonak, 48:29
91. Julio Perez (Mex), Panaria, at 49:31
140. Bobby Julich (USA), CSC, 1:14:40
146. Moises Chavez (Mex), Panaria, at 1:06:55
151. Peter Mazur* (Pol), Saunier Duval, at 1:19:47
172, Aaron Olson (USA), Saunier Duval-Prodir, at 1:31:39
174. Jason McCartney (USA), Discovery, at 1:33:01

*A reader recently reminded us that Mazur is a Canadian racing with a Polish license, so what the heck, we'll include him, too.

Stage Results
1. Joan Horrach Rippoll (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne-I.B.
2. Addy Engels (Nl), Quick Step-Innergetic, at 0:05
3. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, at 0:05
4. Manuele Mori (I), Saunier Duval, at 0:05
5. Fortunato Baliani (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, at 0:05
6. Wladimir Belli (I), Colombia - Selle Italia, at0:05
7. Sven Krauss (G), Gerolsteiner, at 1:03
8. Alberto Ongarato (I), Milram, at 1:03
9. Joerg Ludewig (G), T-Mobile, at1:03
10. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, at1:03Overall Results
1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 44:31:52
2. Gutierrez Cataluna José E. (Sp), Phonak, at 2:48
3. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, at 3:26
4. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria, at 4:21
5. Wladimir Belli (I), Colombia - Selle Italia, at 5:31
6. Tom Danielson (USA), Discovery Channel, at 5:38
7. Manuel Beltran Martinez (Sp), Discovery Channel, at 6:36
8. Franco Pellizotti (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, at 6:37
9. Pena Grisales Victor Hugo (Col), Phonak, at 6:54
10. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre, at 6:54

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