THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Giro d'Italia: CSC's Voigt earns a world-class win
Cárdenas moves up with break
It was a world championship-style victory for Jens Voigt (CSC) in Thursday’s 147km 17th stage that traced the routes of the 2008 and 2009 worlds courses.
Voigt attacked an all-star group that included two-time world champ Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and the national champions of Italy and Spain with 35km to go at the start of two finishing circuits on the Varese worlds course the peloton will see in October.
Chasers left it too late and never saw Voigt again as the German diesel hammered home to one of his most impressive victories of his head-banging career.
“I looked at the group, with riders like Bettini, Bennati, Bosisio and Visconti, and I knew I would never be able to beat them in a sprint,” said Voigt, who soloed across the line 1:07. “I’m not a puncheur who can beat them at the line, so I decided the best tactic was to go from a long way. When I attacked, my sport director said, ‘Oh, that’s a little too far.’ But I saved some strength for the final kilometers.”
Alberto Contador (Astana) retained his 41-second lead to Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) as the peloton crossed the line 7:51 in arrears, but Colombian climber Félix Cárdenas (Barloworld) moved from 15th to 11th at 5:37 back.
There were no other major shakeups in the overall standings as Contador rides into Friday’s penultimate climbing stage in the driver’s seat.
“Tomorrow is a difficult stage. All the GC riders will be attacking me, but I hope to have the legs to be able to respond,” Contador said. “I know the fans would love to see me attack, but I only have to respond to the others. It’s not the way I’d like to race, but that’s the way it is considering the conditions at which I arrived at this race. I hope at the end of the day I am still in the maglia rosa.”
World-class break
Light rain dampened the starting 146 riders in Mendrisio, Switzerland, site of the 2009 road world championships. The rain didn’t dull the race as the peloton ripped one lap over the 13.8km loop it will see next year.
Winless in two Giros wearing the rainbow jersey, the stage seemed scripted for a Bettini victory. The Cricket lived up to his end of the bargain and charged off the front just 9km into the stage.
Quickly marking the wheel were Voigt, Spanish national champ Joaquim Rodríguez (Caisse d’Epargne) and Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step).
Other big names bridged out to set the all-star breakaway, including Cárdenas, Gabriele Bosisio (LPR), Mauricio Ardila (Rabobank), Simon Spilak (Lampre), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), Alan Pérez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Nikolai Trussov (Tinkoff).
“We all smiled when we got away,” said Bettini. “It was like a world championships race and we pulled away for good. We knew we’d be fighting for the stage.”
There was some serious horsepower in the group and it opened up a gap of 2:12 at 20km after rolling out of the Mendrisio circuit. Bennati shot ahead to scoop up more bonuses to pad his lead in the points jersey at 66km and the gap was more than four minutes.
The breakaway worked together to drive a winning gap toward two, 17.4km laps on the worlds loop for the 2008 worlds in September.
Deciding that a long attack was the best strategy, Voigt dropped the hammer just ahead of the finish line with about 35km to go just as rain started to fall. No one from the break immediately countered and that was all she wrote.
“In a situation like that, it favors a rider who takes the initiative,” said Voigt, who attacked in breakaways Saturday and Sunday and finished 11th at Plan de Corones. “I wanted to go hard as I could at first to open up a margin and then try to save my legs for the final kilometers.”
According to Visconti, Voigt was also complaining that he didn’t feel good. When the German attacked, they didn’t believe he’d have the legs to hold off a chase.
Spilak tried with 25km to go, but didn’t receive much help. He faded as Visconti, Bosisio and Nocentini counter-attacked to form an Italian chase group, but they faced a losing battle.
At the bell lap, Voigt held a 38-second gap to the three chasers with the Bettini group at 58 seconds.
“When Voigt attacked, we left him out there too long. He said he was suffering, but he tricked us and he won. Well, that’s cycling!” said Bettini with a shrug. “I really suffered out there today. It seems I’m not meant to win a stage wearing the maglia rosa at the Giro.”
Voigt saved some legs for the finale and had plenty of time to celebrate with 1:07 ahead of Visconti. Bettini sat up in the sprint to allow Bennati to come through at 2:04 back.
GC battle looms
After the sprinters drove home the chase in Wednesday’s stage, Astana had its first day at the front to control the peloton since Contador took the maglia rosa last Sunday.
Contador is getting more comfortable in the pink jersey and is enjoying enormous support from Italian fans.
“I want to say thanks to the Italian tifosi. They have cheered for me as if I were Italian. They are calling my name from the road and cheering me on,” Contador said. “It’s a big surprise that they are behind me in this manner. I’m very happy to be at the Giro. I wasn’t expecting to be here and it’s great to discover what the Giro is.”
While the Italian fans are cheering for the Spanish climber, the Italian GC riders might not be so supportive.
Riccò and Co. promise to attack in Friday’s three-climb, 228km 19th stage from Legnano to Presolana-Monte Pora.
Many are predicting heavy artillery on the Cat. 1 Passo del Vivione with 56km to go to try to soften up Contador’s legs before the double-whammy finish of the Cat. 1 Presalona with 12km to go and the Giro’s final summit finish at Monte Pora.
“If we wait to attack him at the Mortirolo (Saturday), it will be too late,” said defending champ Danilo Di Luca (LPR), sixth at 2:18 back. “The longer we wait to attack, the less opportunities we’ll have. Tomorrow will show if Contador has any kinks in his armor.”
The big question is whether the Italians will collaborate to try to eliminate Contador.
They didn’t when they had Contador on the ropes in Sunday’s six-climb stage across the Dolomites when he faltered on the Passo Giau, so Astana isn’t expecting them to combine interests in the final weekend of racing.
“I think we’re going to count on the Italians riding against each other. Maybe they’d rather see Contador win than each other. At least that’s the hope,” said Levi Leipheimer, who was at the front Thursday riding in the U.S. national jersey. “Nobody wants to work against Alberto to see someone else win. People will start to think about second and third place. That’s how it usually works.”
One scenario is Saunier Duval controlling the breakaways to bring Riccò to the final climb up the Monte Pora with the leaders intact.
The idea then includes to see Riccò bolt away on the short, but steep 5km summit finish to take the time bonuses and steal away another 10 to 15 seconds more from Contador’s lead, perhaps even slipping into the pink jersey.
“I don’t agree with that,” Contador said. “On the contrary, I’d like to gain time. I don’t want to lose a 20-second bonus to Riccò or anyone else. He’s fast and he can be a factor in the end of the stage for a sprint, but tomorrow I don’t want to lose any time. It’s even better if I can gain time.”
Friday’s stage will reveal a lot about how the 2008 Giro story will end. If the Italians can lay down the gauntlet, the race for the maglia rosa might still have some life in it.
If not, the remaining two days at the Giro could become a fight for leftovers.
