The Cycliste Moderne, May 20, 2005

Into the mountains

The Giro d’Italia rolled into the mountains. Lampre-Caffita rode hard to shatter the peleton but at the end of the day, Lampre-Caffita was shattered. Last year’s champion, Damiano Cunego, lost more than six minutes on the stage and Gilberto Simoni finished third but also lost time to the leaders. Ivan Basso and Paolo Savoldelli rode inspired races, each proving that they have the skills and strength to win the race. Basso rode his own race and reaffirmed his position as the leader of the race.

Savoldelli rode within himself and did not panic in reaction to the efforts being put in by Lampre on the early climbs. He proved that his nickname “Il Falco” (the Falcon) was well deserved. On the descent approaching the last climb, Savoldelli managed to put twenty seconds on the rest of the leaders with his aggressive descending. On the last climb, Savoldelli and Basso worked together to drop Simoni and put distance on Cunego and Stefano Garzelli of Liquigas.

There is still a long way to go, but Savoldelli and Basso have shown they can time trial, they have shown they can climb, they have shown their skills are essentially equal. They both have strong well-managed teams that will protect them. CSC is probably the stronger team but do not count out Discovery’s ability to deliver Savoldelli to the base of the climbs in a position to win.

Surprise of the Day I

Danilo Di Luca was the surprise of the day. He rode hard to minimize his losses and managed to finish fourth on the stage. While he is a strong rider, he is not known as a pure climber. It will be interesting to see how well Di Luca does in the high mountains to come this weekend.

Surprise of the Day II

Wim Van Huffel of Davitamon-Lotto finished sixth on the stage. Never heard of him? You’re not the only one. Not a name you expect to find at the top of the board in a high mountain stage.

Surprise of the Day III

Evidencing the difficulty of today’s stage, CSC’s mechanics set Basso’s bike up with a 52/36 front chain ring. He obviously put it to use to get up the last climb of the day.

Cippo News

Mario Cippolini cannot stay out of the news for long. He and his wife announced their separation this week. Isn’t that what happens when most guys retire?