Giro d'Italia 2008 Dashboard

Giro d'Italia 2008 Route Map, Stage Details
Teams, TV Schedule, Live Video, Results and Photos


Passo Pordoi was the first pass on the difficult stage 15 in the Dolomites (photo courtesy of clasohm.com)
Route Map  |  Route Profile  |  Preview  |  Live Coverage  |  Team Rosters  |  Stage Details



  Giro d'Italia 2008 Stages 
1 Saturday, May 10th 28.5 km 
PalermoPalermo TTT
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
2 Sunday, May 11th 207 km 
CefaluAgrigento
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
3 Monday, May 12th 208 km 
CataniaMilazzo
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
4 Tuesday, May 13th 187 km 
Pizzo CalabroCatanzaro Lungomare
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
5 Wednesday, May 14th 170 km 
Belvedere MarittimoContursi Terme
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
6 Thursday, May 15th 232 km 
PotenzaPeschici
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
7 Friday, May 16th 179 km 
VastoPescocostanzo
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
8 Saturday, May 17th 200 km 
RivisondoliTivoli
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
9 Sunday, May 18th 194 km 
CivitavecchiaSan Vincenzo
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
R Monday, May 19th
Rest day
10 Tuesday, May 20th 36 km 
PesaroUrbino TT
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
11 Wednesday, May 21st 193 km 
UrbaniaCesena
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
12 Thursday, May 22nd 171 km 
ForlìCarpi
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
13 Friday, May 23rd 192 km 
ModenaCittadella
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
14 Saturday, May 24th 195 km 
VeronaAlpe di Pampeago
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
15 Sunday, May 25th 153 km 
AarabbaMarmolada Fedaia
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
16 Monday, May 26th 12.9 km 
San Vigilio-MarebbePlan de Corones TT
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
R Tuesday, May 27th  
Rest day
17 Wednesday, May 28th 192 km 
SondrioLocarno (Switzerland)
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
18 Thursday, May 29th 147 km 
MendrisioVarese
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
19 Friday, May 30th 228 km 
LegnanoMonte Pora
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
20 Saturday, May 31st 224 km 
   RovettaTirano
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
21 Sunday, June 1st 23.5 km 
Cesano MadernoMilanoTT
profile | map | timetable | live | | photos | video
  Total Distance 3424 km 

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2008 Giro d'Italia Teams
Team Rosters and Withdrawals

LPR BRAKES (LPR)
1 DI LUCA  Danilo ITA
2 BAILETTI  Paolo ITA
3 BOSISIO  Gabriele ITA
4 CHIARINI  Riccardo ITA
5 ERMETI  Giairo ITA
6 GOLCER  Jure SLO
7 PIETROPOLLI  Daniele ITA
8 SAVOLDELLI  Paolo ITA
9 SPEZIALETTI  Alessandro ITA
AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)
11 VALJAVEC  Tadej SLO
12 DEIGNAN  Philip IRL
13 MANDRI  Rene EST
14 MANGEL  Laurent FRA
15 NOCENTINI  Rinaldo ITA
16 ROUSSEAU  Nicolas FRA
17 SONNERY  Blaise FRA
18 USOV  Alexandre BLR
19 KRIVTSOV  Yuriy UKR
ASTANA
21 LEIPHEIMER  Levi USA
22 CONTADOR  Alberto ESP
23 GUSEV  Vladimir RUS
24 COLOM  Antonio ESP
25 IGLINSKY  Maxime KAZ
26 MORABITO  Steve SUI
27 MIZOUROV  Andrei KAZ
28 KLÖDEN  Andreas GER
29 BAZAYEV  Assan KAZ
BARLOWORLD (BAR)
31 BELLOTTI  Francesco ITA
32 CALCAGNI  Patrick SUI
33 CARDENAS RAVALO  Felix Rafael COL
34 CUMMINGS  Steven GBR
35 GASPAROTTO  Enrico ITA
36 PFANNBERGER  Christian AUT
37 SCOGNAMIGLIO  Carlo ITA
38 SOLER HERNANDEZ  Juan M. COL
39 GERAINT  Thomas GBR
CAISSE D'EPARGNE (GCE)
41 PEREZ ARANGO  Marlon Alirio COL
42 HORRACH RIPPOLL  Joan ESP
43 KARPETS  Vladimir RUS
44 LASTRAS GARCIA  Pablo ESP
45 PEREZ SANCHEZ  Francisco ESP
46 PERGET  Mathieu FRA
47 RODRIGUEZ OLIVER  Joaquin ESP
48 RUJANO GUILLEN  José VEN
49 PASAMONTES RODRIGUEZ  Luis ESP
COFIDIS, LE CREDIT P. TELEPHONE (COF)
51 BUFFAZ  Mickael FRA
52 DE WEERT  Kevin BEL
53 FERNANDEZ BUSTINZA  Bingen ESP
54 HARTMANN  Nicolas FRA
55 ZAMPIERI  Steve SWI
56 HUGUET  Yann FRA
57 MONIER  Damien FRA
58 NUYENS  Nick BEL
59 VERBRUGGHE  Rik BEL
CSF GROUP - NAVIGARE (CSF)
61 SELLA  Emanuele ITA
62 BALIANI  Fortunato ITA
63 RICHEZE  Ariel Maximiliano ARG
64 LAVERDE JIMENEZ  Luis Felipe COL
65 PEREZ CUAPIO  Julio Alberto MEX
66 SAVINI  Filippo ITA
67 PRIAMO  Matteo ITA
68 DALL'ANTONIA  Tiziano ITA
69 POZZOVIVO  Domenico ITA
EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI (EUS)
71 AGIRRE ASEGINOLAZA  Josu ESP
72 APERRIBAY  Lander ESP
73 FERNANDEZ  Koldo ESP
74 GALDOS ALONSO  Aitor ESP
75 GALPARSORO MARTINEZ  Dionisio ESP
76 IRIZAR ARANBURU  Markel ESP
77 LANDALUZE INTXAURRAGA  Inigo ESP
78 PEREZ LEZAUN  Alan ESP
79 VELASCO MURILLO  Ivan ESP
FRANÇAISE DES JEUX (FDJ)
81 CHEREL  Mikael FRA
82 GUDSELL  Timothy NZL
83 HUTAROVICH  Yauheni BLR
84 JEGOU  Lilian FRA
85 LE BOULANGER  Yoann FRA
86 LEVARLET  Guillaume FRA
87 ROY  Jérémy FRA
88 STUBBE  Tom BEL
89 VEIKKANEN  Jussi FIN
GEROLSTEINER (GST)
91 FÖRSTER  Robert GER
92 FOTHEN  Thomas GER
93 FRÖHLINGER  Johannes GER
94 GATTO  Oscar ITA
95 KRAUSS  Sven GER
96 MOLETTA  Andrea ITA
97 ORDOWSKI  Volker GER
98 REBELLIN  Davide ITA
99 RUSS  Matthias GER
HIGH ROAD (THR)
101 CAVENDISH  Mark GBR
102 GREIPEL  Andrè GER
103 HANSEN  Adam AUS
104 MARTIN  Tony GER
105 PINOTTI  Marco ITA
106 POSSONI  Morris ITA
107 RABON   Frantisek CZE
108 SIVTSOV  Kanstantsin BLR
109 WIGGINS  Bradley GBR
LAMPRE (LAM)
111 BRUSEGHIN  Marzio ITA
112 BOSSONI  Paolo ITA
113 BALDATO  Fabio ITA
114 LOOSLI  David SUI
115 SZMYD  Sylvester POL
116 SPILAK  Simon SLO
117 LORENZETTO  Mirco ITA
118 SANTAMBROGIO  Mauro ITA
119 GAVAZZI  Francesco ITA
LIQUIGAS (LIQ)
121 BENNATI  Daniele ITA
122 CARLSTRÖM  Kjell FIN
123 CATALDO  Dario ITA
124 MIHOLJEVIC  Vladimir CRO
125 NIBALI  Vincenzo ITA
126 NOE'   Andrea ITA
127 PELLIZOTTI  Franco ITA
128 VANOTTI  Alessandro ITA
129 WEGELIUS  Charles GBR
QUICKSTEP (QST)
131 BETTINI  Paolo ITA
132 EFIMKIN  Vladimir RUS
133 ENGELS  Addy NED
134 FACCI  Mauro ITA
135 GARATE  Juan Manuel ESP
136 SCHWAB  Hubert SUI
137 SEELDRAYERS  Kevin BEL
138 TONTI  Andrea ITA
139 VISCONTI  Giovanni ITA
RABOBANK (RAB)
141 ARDILA CANO  Mauricio Alberto COL
142 BROWN  Graeme AUS
143 DE GROOT  Bram NED
144 ELTINK  Theo NED
145 HAYMAN  Mathew AUS
146 KOZONTCHUK  Dmitry RUS
147 LÖWIK  Gerben NED
148 MARTENS  Paul GER
149 MENCHOV  Denis RUS
SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT (SDV)
151 RICCO'  Riccardo ITA
152 BENITEZ ROMAN  Jose Alberto ESP
153 BELOHVOSCIKS  Raivis LAT
154 CAPECCHI  Eros ITA
155 CANADA GRACIA  David ESP
156 CAPELLI  Ermanno ITA
157 CAMANO ORTUZAR  Iker ESP
158 PAGLIARINI MENDONCA  Luciano BRA
159 PIEPOLI  Leonardo ITA
S. DIQUIGIOVANNI - ANDRONI G. (SDA)
161 SIMONI  Gilberto ITA
162 BERTOLINI  Alessandro ITA
163 HONDO  Danilo GER
164 ILLIANO  Raffaele ITA
165 IVANOV  Ruslan MDA
166 MISSAGLIA  Gabriele ITA
167 NARDELLO  Daniele ITA
168 OCHOA  Carlos José VEN
169 SERPA PEREZ  Jose Rodolfo COL
SILENCE - LOTTO (SIL)
171 STEURS  Geert BEL
172 CORNU  Dominique BEL
173 DE GREEF  Francis BEL
174 DEVENYNS  Dries BEL
175 GATES  Nick AUS
176 LLOYD  Matthew AUS
177 MCEWEN  Robbie AUS
178 VAN DEN BROECK  Jurgen BEL
179 VAN HUFFEL  Wim BEL
SLIPSTREAM - CHIPOTLE (TSL)
181 BACKSTEDT  Magnus SWE
182 DEAN  Julian NZL
183 HESJEDAL  Ryder CAN
184 MILLAR  David GBR
185 MC CARTY  Jonathan Patrick USA
186 PATE  Danny USA
187 SUTTON  Christopher AUS
188 VANDEVELDE  Christian USA
189 ZABRISKIE  David USA
TEAM CSC (CSC)
191 LUND  Anders DEN
192 MCGEE  Bradley AUS
193 SÖRENSEN  Chris DEN
194 LARSSON  Gustav Erik SWE
195 MCCARTNEY  Jason USA
196 VOIGT  Jens GER
197 BLAUDZUN  Michael DEN
198 SÖRENSEN  Nicki DEN
199 O'GRADY  Stuart AUS
TEAM MILRAM (MRM)
201 ZABEL  Erik GER
202 ASTARLOA ASCASIBAR  Igor ESP
203 EICHLER  Markus GER
204 GHISALBERTI  Sergio ITA
205 JURCO  Matej SVK
206 ONGARATO  Alberto ITA
207 POITSCHKE  Enrico GER
208 SABATINI  Fabio ITA
209 VELO  Marco ITA
TINKOFF CREDIT SYSTEMS (TCS)
211 PETROV  Evgeni RUS
212 KIRYIENKA  Vasil BLR
213 MAZZANTI  Luca ITA
214 LODDO  Alberto ITA
215 IGNATIEV  Mikhail RUS
216 TRUSSOV  Nikolai RUS
217 BRUTT  Pavel RUS
218 KLIMOV  Serguei RUS
219 SEROV  Alexander RUS


Y! 2009 Giro d'Italia Live Dashboard

Sella's Giro performance was in fact too good to be true

Aug 6 update: Looks like CSF's and Emanuele Sella's performance was too good to be true: Giro's king of the mountain Sella positive for EPO-CERAcyclingnews

Also, see the discussion: Sella Positive for EPOpodiumcafe
McQuaid Reveals How The UCI Caught Sella: McQuaid revealed that Sella's urine samples from the Giro d'Italia could now be sent to Paris for testing for CERA. If they turn out to be positive, Sella would then lose his three stage victories, his best climber's prize and sixth overall. The Giro tests could also be considered a separate doping offence and so he could be banned for a total of four years. — cyclingweekly.co.uk

The Giro keeps getting better and better

June 3 update: After three great weeks of racing, the Giro has added more people to the list who think it's the best race in cycling. The parcours was outstanding in design, difficulty and beauty (at the expense of some long transfers), the competition was hairy and hard fought and the tv production... slick and comprehensive as usual.

The weather was atrocious, but most pros are use to it. What many of them were not use to was the really difficult terrain. The pace of the Giro is traditionally slower on the flats than the Tour de France but the climbing is much more difficult as backed up by the comments of riders who have done both. If you're like me, I usually only find the last 20k of a flat stage interesting unless there is a credible break, but there weren't many flat stages. The hilly to mountain stages were action packed and excellent viewing as were the four time-trial stages.

The Giro is so dominated by Italian riders that peak for this event that it hurts it's international exposure. This year, two-thirds of the stages were won by Italians, but for the first time in 12 years a foreigner won the overall title which is great for the event. Alberto Contador is a good person (pistol gunshot victory salute aside), very talented and a deserving winner, but the theatrics of his team's management and the media in its back pocket is a little hard to endure. "He was on the beach and wasn't prepared... he has hayfever and can't breathe... he fractured/broke his elbow [with no apparent repercussions to his riding style]." The excuses were ready to flow if he didn't win or to justify an early exit. Even in winning, Astana's team director couldn't resist saying he won at only 80% top fitness. Versus' Paul Sherwin said during the final time-trial that Contador was "the man that dominated the Giro d'Italia in the big mountains." Really? And Phil Liggett continues to harp on Astana's exclusion from the Tour de France (that's who Alberto is taking a shot at too) when the Tour and Giro organizers have some different reasons for not inviting Astana. I know many of you do like Astana because there are lots of fine riders on the team and I like Phil and Paul's familiar enthusiasm, but aren't you getting a little sick of this media bias?

In this sport, it's often better not to follow the news to closely and to follow a televised broadcast in a language you don't understand... it often makes the sport more enjoyable. By the way, someday soon the Giro will be broadcast in HD. Can't wait. — Steve

Notable Team Achievements:

1st CSF Group - Navigare: a Divison Two team smokes the ProTour teams in winning the team competition; 4 stage wins, KOM winner, Most Aggressive Rider winner, only team with two riders in the top 10 on GC. Almost too good to be true.
2nd Astana No stage wins, but the team worked well in winning the GC on short notice. With Astana sending a great team, it sure gave the Giro a huge boost of worldwide exposure.
3rd High Road: 3 sprint stage wins and 3 guys in the top 4 on the final day time trial including 1st; nice to see 8 of 9 riders finish the race despite having no one high on GC.
4th Tinkoff Credit Systems: 2 thrilling stage wins from breaks for the Division Two team and two second place finishes
English translations of the podium interviews

Not Notable Team Achievements:

1st Gerolsteiner: Only two of nine riders finished. Almost nonexistent except for Johannes Frohlinger in a few breaks
2nd Euskaltel - Euskadi: For a ProTour climbing focused team, disappointing to see no stage wins, third last in the team competition and only four of nine riders finish.

Contador: "This was my Tour"velonews
Contador eyes grand tour sweep with Vueltavelonews [Doesn't a sweep imply consecutive wins? But, Contador didn't compete in last year's Vuelta after his Tour win. Besides we are talking about different racing season. Both are minor points I guess.]
Millar looks forward to Tour; The answer of Astana; Giro sound bites; Rabobank happy with Menchovcyclingnews
Bruyneel: 'We're seeing the birth of a great champion'velonews
Contador: "I'm among the greatest"uk.eurosport.yahoo

versus highlights (english): stage 21: Contador's TT (); stage 20: Extended Highlights of Gavia/Mortirolo (); stage 19: Extended Highlights: Kiryienka/DiLuca big winners ()
Sirotti Photos from all 21 stages


Stage 21 results: Marco Pinotti leads Team High Road to 1st, 2nd and 4th in the final day ITT; Contador wraps up the overall with 11th. Cesano Maderno → Milano, 24k ITT (flat/slightly downhill)


high-res victory salute
Stage 21 results
1 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team High Road                                  32.45
2 Tony Martin (Ger) Team High Road                                    32.52
3 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems                       32.55
4 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Team High Road                                32.58
5 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30    33.07
...
11 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                                      33.24
25 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                                       34.14
27 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                                   34.15
28 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                                      34.18
68 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval                                 35.17
71 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                            35.20
110 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                                   36.21
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

Final General classification
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
2 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott         1.57
3 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                      2.54
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Pinotti wins the final time trial, Ricco puts up little fight velonews
Hola! Contador conquers second Grand Tourcyclingnews
Contador re d'Italia La crono a Pinottigazzetta.it
Contador Gana El Giro '08es.eurosport.yahoo
  Highlightssporza.be
  Highlightsversus
  Eurosport 1-Minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
(Windows IE7 users may need to use the Firefox browser to view these videos; also country restrictions may apply)
Photos: cyclingnews   |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson   |  sport.yahoo  |  PezCycling/Sirotti


Stage 21 preview: Cesano Maderno → Milano, 24k ITT (flat/slightly downhill)

May 31 update: As much as I enjoy Graham Watson's photos, his caption for this photo is a little overboard. It was once again a remarkable Giro, but Alberto Contador's overall lead/win has not been "remarkable." Contador has raced defensively demonstrating the minimum it takes to win an arduous three week Grand Tour where solid consistency is more important than explosive stage wins. Just ask CSF Navigare's Emanuele Sella, who won three mountain stages, but lost over 18 minutes on the treacherous, rain-soaked stage 11 parcours after crashing three times. If he didn't flat with 1k to go on stage 7 he might have even won four stages. But, Contador with his strong team, steady climbing and good time trial skills should finish it off tomorrow; he would do the maglia rosa proud by winning the time trial in Milano. Riccardo Ricco is only four seconds back, but no one expects him to beat Contador against the clock. Ricco has had an excellent Giro with two stage wins and consistently equalled or outperformed Contador in the mountain stages despite getting virtually no help from his Saunier-Duval team after his best domestique, Leonardo Piepoli, crashed out in stage 14. Too bad his trash-talking and off-court actions overshadowed his fine performance... not an easy task. In assuming a fair, three week race, the overall winner always deserves it. Thanks for tuning in... Steve

Rider Start Order and Timesgazzetta.it


Stage 20 results: Sella takes his third mountain stage; Di Luca gets dropped on the Mortirolo
Rovetta → Tirano, 224k (mountainous)


high-res victory salute
Stage 20 results
1 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
2 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli    1.04
3 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                                 1.21
4 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott
5 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 20
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
2 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott         0.04
3 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                      2.00
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                   2.05
5 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare            2.35
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                       2.47
7 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                    4.18
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto        4.26
9 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Contador calmly defendsvelonews
Contador one step closer to pink dream; Sella launches on Passo del Mortirolo to win third stagecyclingnews
Sella: "Bravo Contador"; Ricco: "No, non merita" (it) / Sella, "Contador is good"; Ricco, "He doesn't deserve it" (en) — gazzetta.it
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  Extended Highlightsrai.it
  40 minutes of coverage: Part 1 and Part 2uk.eurosport
  Eurosport 1-Minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
(Windows IE7 users may need to use the Firefox browser to view these videos; also country restrictions may apply)
  Post-Race Show: Processo alla 20^Tapparai.it
  Post race interviews with Contador, Sella, Ricco, and Bruseghingazzetta.it
Photos: cyclingnews   |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson   |  sport.yahoo  |  PezCycling/Sirotti





English translations of the post race interviewsgazzetta.it

The final weekend


photo credit: scalatore92
May 31 update: This has been another wild, unpredictable Giro. Every Giro seems to unfold this way so credit should be dispersed all around. The top three riders are separated by only 21 seconds and don't forget about the excellent time trialer that sits in fourth just 2 minutes back. Lets hope no excuses follow the final outcome since it's unlikely anyone is 100% at this point. If a rider peaked his training for the Giro then he still has to fight the elements. Everyone else has had a chance to ride into form over the three weeks.

The lousy weather has been the only disappointment. From cyclingnews:

The evidence was there of a wet Giro d'Italia while talking to [Jason] McCartney; his white and red CSC jersey was actually gray and dark red. "Yeah, it is nasty and it seems like every day it has been raining," he confirmed. "Your shoes are always wet; you always have paper in them. [The roads are] always up and down - it has been a hard one. ... The Giro is always hard, the climbs are always steeper. They always have these climbs that are not even on the profiles that are just ridiculous."

Expect the unexpected at the Giro and chances are RAI will give it to you (weather permitting) from multiple angles. Enjoy the last two days. — Steve


Stage 20 preview: Rovetta → Tirano, 224k (mountainous)



This famous photo of the one of most influential cycle tourers, Jobst Brandt, was taken on a narrow ledge of the Gavia Pass now replaced by a tunnel. (photo: Jobst Brandt)


Relive the bizzard at the top of the Gavia Pass during the 1988 Giro d'Italia where American Andy Hampsten placed 2nd on the day and ended the event as the first and only non-European winner of the Giro.


A scenic ride by motorcycle on the Gavia Pass (video:bikerdream)
May 30 update: After 19 days of one of the most difficult Giros, exhausted riders still have to scale the Cima Coppi and then one of the hardest climbs in Europe. This year Passo di Gavia, which tops out at 2618m, gets the honors as this year's highest point in the Giro. It's one of the most famous/scenic climbs in Europe and it's tough: 16.5k, gain 1361m, avg 8.2%, max 16%. But, it's not as tough as what follows next. As the second last climb on the second last day this year, Passo del Mortirolo (12.8k, gain 1317m, avg 10.3%, max 18%) will be even more grueling then ever. While training in the Italian Alps one month before the 2004 Tour de France, Lance Armstrong commented to La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It's a terrible climb...it's perfect for a mountain bike. On the hardest parts, I was riding a 39x27 and I was hurting, really hurting. (Mortirolo) is the hardest climb I've ever ridden." Maybe that's why Lance never competed in the Giro.

The last climb in the Giro will be the relatively modest Aprica (15.4k, gain 485m, avg 3.1%, max 9%). The Gavia-Mortirolo-Aprica combo was used as recently as 2006, when Ivan Basso went "extra-terrestrial" in Gilberto Simoni's words. This year's finish is 17k further with the descent into Tirano. If Alberto Contador is still in Pink at the end of the day then no one should overtake him in the final day TT in Milano.

Most people probably know this, but it's been 20 years since Andy Hampsten's famous Gavia moment. Attacking on the climb, Hampsten overcame a snow blizzard and sub-freezing temperatures to take the leader's jersey - although he finished second on the stage to Dutchman Erik Breukink. His subsequent overall victory in the 1988 Giro was the first and only by a non-European. (See the video left). — Steve

Stage 20: detailed contoured maps and profiles


RAI Stage 20 Preview (click to watch)


Stage 19 results: Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems wins from the break on another miserable weather day; DiLuca and Ricco take big time out of Contador's GC lead
Legnano → Monte Pora, 228k (mountainous)


high-res victory salute
Stage 19 results
1 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                             4.36
3 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) Quick Step                          4.43
4 Steven Cummings (GBr) Barloworld                            5.25
5 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott                  5.44
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 19
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana
2 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott         0.04
3 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                    0.21
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                      2.00
5 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                   2.05
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Alberto Contador keeps the Giro lead by a narrow marginvelonews
Contador proves tough under Di Luca's pressure; Kiryienka rides free from escape on Presolana as GC tightens behindcyclingnews
Contador va fuori giri Ricco a 4'', Di Luca a 21'' (it) / Contador falls behind Ricco at 4", Di Luca at 21'' (en) — gazzetta.it
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  Extended Highlightsrai.it
  Post-Race Show: Processo alla 19^Tapparai.it
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Stage 19 preview


Passo del Vivione is about the width of a golf cart path...
(photo: Wouter De Ruyck)


The treacherous descent: getting to the top with the lead group is only half the challenge (photos: Wouter De Ruyck)

May 29 update: With two mountain stages and a final day time-trial remaining, there won't be dull moment until the race is decided on Sunday in Milano. All the action in Stage 19 is literally stacked in the last 80k of the 228k in total... the second longest stage of this year's Giro. At km 150, the riders hit Passo del Vivione (19.8k, avg 6.8%, max 13%) that features a very narrow climb and descent; in fact, the road isn't much wider than a golf cart path. It is expected to rain again and the already treacherous descent of Vivione could see as many crashes as stage 11 when Emanuele Sella crashed three times and lost 18 minutes. Sella is the story of this Giro and if he dominates the two remaining mountain stages then he'll overshadow the overall winner if he doesn't win the GC as well. After the Vivione, there are two more first categorized climbs including the moutaintop finish at the ski resort, Monte Pora. The end of this stage will be wild and it favours the best descenders among the good climbers. By the way, I don't recall every seeing Gilberto Simoni or Paolo Savoldelli hit the deck on a descent. Would anybody disagree if I said those two are the best bike handlers in the peloton?

Simoni and Riccardo Ricco, aren't getting much team support late in the mountain stages thus far so look for them to form an alliance (as rumoured) with Simoni getting the stage win in exchange for Ricco getting the Pink jersey. Will Alberto Contador respond like a champion or slink across the line? Lets hope the pace is fast on the 140k flat run up to Passo del Vivione and the race shatters shortly afterwards. Stay tuned. — Steve

Stage 19: detailed contoured maps and profiles


RAI Stage 19 Preview (click to watch)


Stage 18 results: Jens Voigt solos the final 35k to claim CSC's first stage at this year's "insane" Giro; Bettini suffers in the break. Mendrisio → Varese, 147k (rolling)


high-res podium kiss
Stage 18 results
1 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC
2 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step           1.07
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
4 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes
5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
6 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
7 Felix Rafael Cardenas Ravalo (Col) Barloworld
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 18
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)
2 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)                0.41
3 Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni)        1.21
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)                             2.00
5 Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)                          2.05
6 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)                           2.18
7 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)                              2.47
8 Emanuele Sella (CSF Navigare)                         4.25
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence - Lotto)               4.26
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
CSC's Jens Voigt shells break to win Stage 18velonews
Fuga dei big, ma vince Voigtgazzetta.it
Voigt setzt deutsche Siegesserie fortde.eurosport.yahoo
Voigt conquers Worlds parcours for CSC wincyclingnews
  A short race clip (click on 'verslag') — sporza.be
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English post-race interview translationsgazzetta.it

Stage 18 preview

May 28 update: Stage 18 incorporates the parcours of both the 2008 and 2009 world championships. The riders will start with one 13.4k circuit in Mendrisio, site of the 2009 World Championships and then finish with two laps of the 17.4k circuit in Varese to be used this fall for the 2008 Worlds. This is a scenic, rolling course with an uphill finish so maybe World Champion Paulo Bettini's two-year Giro winless streak will come to an end if all goes according to Hoyle. Or, it could be Di Luca and Ricco battling it out for the GC bonus seconds and in Di Luca's case, an elusive stage win. — Steve

Stage 17 results: Mark Cavendish's teammate Andre Greipel is rewarded with a cheeky win
Sondrio → Locarno, 192k (flat)


high-res victory salute

Stage 17 results
1 Andre Greipel (Ger) Team High Road
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
5 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana   
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 17
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)
2 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)                0.41
3 Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni)        1.21
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)                             2.00
5 Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)                          2.05
6 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)                           2.18
7 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)                              2.47
8 Emanuele Sella (CSF Navigare)                         4.25
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence - Lotto)               4.26
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
High Road's Greipel and Cavendish dominate finish in Giro Stage 17velonews
Coup von High Road - Greipel triumphiertde.eurosport.yahoo
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Stage 17 preview

May 28 update: The remaining sprinters who stuck out the first round of mountains will welcome today's flat stage that finishes in Switzerland. (Actually, I think every rider with the exception of Emanuele Sella will welcome this stage). The riders will dodge the mountains and finish in Locarno, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore. Breaks are more likely to succeed at this late stage in the race so there's no guarantee the sprinters will get the field sprint they are hoping for. By the way, late yesterday I posted the versus video highlights for stages 9 through 15. Scroll down a little to the rest day entry. — Steve

Tuesday is a rest day


Is this year's Giro too hard?
Many riders are complaining that this year's race is too hard. "This race is ridiculous... insane" said David Millar after the TT; "It's a stupid race - I don't like it", said Jens Voigt. But, Giro d'Italia race director Angelo Zomegnan rightly shrugged off criticism from the riders: "Cycling needs a spectacle like this to lift it out of mediocrity. Look around us, there are not mountains like this anywhere in the world. What do (the riders) want? Every day, this Giro has had huge crowds along the road, on the finish, big audiences on TV," Zomegnan said. "This is the Giro, if they don't like it, they can race somewhere else." Amen!
source: Plan de Corones: Gimmick or epic?velonews

Rest day analysis: Contador in driver's seat going into Giro's final weekvelonews
Five Days To Go, What's In Store?cyclingweekly.co.uk
Stage 16 Post-Race Interviews (English translations) — dailypeloton

versus highlights (english): stage 9 (); stage 10 (); stage 11 (); stage 12 (); stage 13-14 (); stage 15 ()




Stage 16 results: Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) denies Emanuele Sella the Dolomiti hat-trick; Simoni moves up to third in GC
San Vigilio-Marebbe → Plan de Corones, uphill ITT, 12.9k



Stage 16 results
1 Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)                             40.26 (19.142 km/h)
2 Emanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare)                        .06
3 Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni)             .17
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)                          .22
5 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)                     .30
6 Jose Rujano Guillen (Caisse d'Epargne)                     .49 
7 Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)                                 1.04
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (CSF Group Navigare)                   1.43
9 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)                               1.45
10 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)                                 1.49     
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 16
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)
2 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)                0.41
3 Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni)        1.21
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)                             2.00
5 Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas)                          2.05
6 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)                           2.18
7 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)                              2.47
8 Emanuele Sella (CSF Navigare)                         4.25
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence - Lotto)               4.26
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it

Pellizotti wins the Giro's uphill time trialvelonews
Franco Pellizotti is king of Coronescyclingnews
Stage 16 Post-Race Interviews (English translations) — dailypeloton
Pellizotti 'Flies' Up Corones!pezcyclingnews
Plan de Corones: Gimmick or epic?velonews
Pellizotti re sullo sterrato Contador, le mani sul Girogazzetta.it
Contador logra su objetivoes.eurosport.yahoo
  Highlights (click on 'wedstrijdverslag') — sporza.be
  Extended Highlightsrai.it
  18 Minutes of Highlightsuk.eurosport
  Post-Race Show: Processo alla 16^Tapparai.it
Plan de corones spectator footage () — bepiiii
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Stage 16 Post-Race Interviews (English translations) — dailypeloton

Stage 16 preview

May 25 update: Doing a very steep, uphill time-trial after two epic mountain stages doesn't seem fair, but such planning is why we sadistic fans love the Giro. Actually, it's possible this stage will be postponed to the rest day on Tuesday if bad weather continues to plague the Giro on Monday. In any case, on Monday or Tuesday, riders will go up against the clock and the very narrow 12.9k road that rises 1080m to Plan de Corones. Part of it is gravel/dirt, hence the extra concern that inclement weather could play in the results. In 2006, this identical stage had to be shortened due to snow.

The mountain stages have had surprisingly little impact on producing a GC shake up. The weak have been filtered out, but the time gaps between the expected rivals have actually been reduced; only one-minute and twenty-six seconds separate the top six riders. Astana has not dominated this race as expected, but Alberto Contador is now wearing pink with a 33 second lead ahead of Riccardo Ricco. — Steve

Rating the TT favouritespodiumcafe
Cast your vote for the winnergazzetta.it
Start Order and Timesgazzetta.it


Video stage preview of the Passo Furcia to Plan de Corones section by the local organizing committee. Thanks Igor Tavella for sending it in.


Stage 15 results: Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare does it again breaking and soloing his way to victory in the 2nd mountain stage; Contador now in pink

Aarabba → Marmolada Fedaia, 153k (ridiculously mountainous)


high-res victory salute  |   high-res: Contador in pink

Stage 15 results
1 Emanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare)                4.53.24
2 Domenico Pozzovivo (CSF Group Navigare)
3 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)
4 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)
5 Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli)
6 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)
7 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)
8 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Silence - Lotto) 
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 15
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)
2 Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval - Scott)          0.33
3 Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes)                     0.55
4 Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre)                       1.18
5 Denis Menchov (Rabobank)                        1.20
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Sella takes a second stage as Contador dons maglia rosavelonews
Dolomite delight: Italy's Sella doubles, Contador in maglia rosa; Passo Fedaia sees Ricco fly ahead of classification favouritescyclingnews
Sella secures second scalpuk.eurosport
Sella-bis come Pantani Contador maglia rosagazzetta.it
Sella repite y Contador se viste de rosaes.eurosport
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English Translations of the post-race interviewsgazzetta.it

Stage 15 preview

May 23 update: Stage 15 meanders through the heart of the Dolomites collecting 4 cat 1 and 2 cat 2 climbs along the way... enough for two mountain stages. With 4700+ meters of climbing in just 153 km, this stage packs a lot of bang for the buck. For the first time, the Giro will finish on Marmolada Fedaia, a climb Francisco Moser called one of the most feared in the Giro in his day. I have painful memories of Fedaia's dead straight 18% section from my trip to Italy in 2002. Here's a picture of "Moser and Me" from that trip (). This spectacular area is a must for recreational cyclists that love the big climbs and love to travel. — Steve

Stage 15: detailed contoured maps and profiles

Watch a recreational cyclist crawl up the Marmolada Fedaia, the finishing climb for stage 15, then view a 360 panoramic clip of the area.

video by: KarlheinzVR




Stage 14 results: Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare drops his breakmates on Passo Manghen and solos in from 50k out; The GC gets a shake up

Verona → Alpe di Pampeago, 195k (mountainous)



high-res emotional victory  |   high-res champagne celebration

Stage 14 results
1 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare          5.37.14 (34.338 km/h)
2 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems       4.38
3 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne            5.08
4 Jose Rujano Guillen (Ven) Caisse d'Epargne          7.28
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step                      7.59
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                        8.48
7 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                    8.57
8 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott     
9 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) S Androni Giocattoli          9.01
10 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Silence - Lotto   
11 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                      9.03
12 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare  
13 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                    9.14
14 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott       9.27
15 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana              9.33
16 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle    9.38
17 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) Astana                       9.57
18 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale         
19 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) LPR Brakes                 10.11
20 Chris Anker Sorensen (Den) Team CSC               10.23
21 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes                 10.37
22 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) CSF Group Navigare        10.42
23 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                
24 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Silence - Lotto               10.47
25 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team CSC    
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 14
1 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana           0.05
3 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                   0.28
4 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott      1.02
5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                 1.07
6 Andreas Kloden (Ger) Astana                     1.11
7 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                    1.18
8 Gilberto Simoni                                 1.31
9 Franco Pellizottti                              1.32
10 Giovanni Visconti                              1.35
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Sella wins in Dolomites; Bosisio takes over lead at Giro d'Italiavelonews
Sella dominates Giro's first high-mountain stage; Menchov shines in classification battle as maglia rosa passes to Bosisiocyclingnews
Sella Storms Pampeago!pezcyclingnews
Sella eroe per un giorno Bosisio nuova maglia rosa (it)/ Sella king for a day Bosisio is new pink jersey (en)gazzetta.it
Contador: "No he tenido un buen dia"es.eurosport.yahoo
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  The Last 1 kmeurosport germany
  40 minutes of coverage: Part 1 and Part 2uk.eurosport
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high-res champagne celebration


Stage 14 preview

May 23 update: Five years ago to the day, Gilberto Simoni won stage 14 of the Giro d'Italia atop Alpe di Pampeago in the Dolomites -- his home turf. This year's stage 14 also finishes on the steep Alpe di Pampeago (7.8k, avg 9.6%) and Simoni said back in March that a possible repeat was his best shot for winning a stage at his final Giro. (By the way, in 1999 he finished second on Alpe di Pampeago behind Marco Pantani. See video below)

The day starts off with three climbs all around 9.5k @ 5.7% providing ample warm-up before the long cat 1, Passo de Manghen. The descent down Passo de Manghen shouldn't be too technical by pro standards so it will be hard for a break on Manghen to stick. Instead, it could be Alberto Contador, Riccardo Ricco and Gilberto Simoni grinding it out as Alpe di Pampeago gets steeper and steeper -- the two young superstars against the wily, sentimental favourite. In total, stage 14 has 4000+ metres of climbing and this is just the start of what should be an exceptional final week at the Giro. — Steve

Stage 14: detailed maps and profiles

photo left: From five years ago, Gilberto Simoni wins on Alpe di Pampeago.
(photo courtesy of Iain at herneweb)


From the 1999 Giro d'Italia, video of the finishing climb up Alpe di Pampeago where Pantani and Simoni finished first and second.
(good video; bad music)


Also see,
Rivals to face off in epic Dolomites showdown: Alberto Contador (Astana) is poised to become the first Spanish rider to wear the pink jersey since Juan Carlos Dominguez won the opening prologue in 2002. — velonews
Modest Leipheimer forms part of dangerous Astana triocyclingnews
Contador: "Non temo Ricco Simoni invece mi fa paura" (it) / Contador, "I'm not afraid of Ricco but Simoni scares me" (en)gazzetta.it
Giro de Italia - Llegan los Dolomitas y la oportunidad de Contadores.eurosport.yahoo


Stage 13 results: Mark Cavendish easily wins the sprint finish in Cittadella
Modena → Cittadella, 192k (flat)


high-res podium kisses
Stage 13 results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
2 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
3 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Milram       
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 13
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Full reportvelonews
Cavendish di potenza E' la risposta a Bennatigazzetta.it
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  The Last 4 kmeurosport germany
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Stage 13 preview

May 22 update: It's Friday the 13th. We have one last flat stage before the official mountain stages start and stage 13 is just the second last chance for the sprinters in this year's Giro. Tomorrow (or today), we'll head north with a flat finish in Cittadella before a transfer west to Verona and Saturday's stage 14. Judging from the English interview by cycleto, Paulo Bettini is still in good spirits despite not having won a Giro stage this year or last year. To the world champion's credit, he's worked unselfishly to help keep his teammate in the maglia rosa during the week. For those who understand Italian, it would be great to get English translations of the upcoming mountain stage pre and post race interviews conducted by La Gazzetta. Send me an email and I'll give you due credit. Stay tuned for extended coverage of the mountain stages. — Steve



Stage 12 results: Cavendish's poor positioning and bike throw costs him as Bennati jumps first and barely holds on in a photo finish won by 3 cm
Forlì → Carpi, 171k (flat)


high-res: too close for a victory salute
Stage 12 results
1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence - Lotto
4 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step          
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 12
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it

Bennati Wins, Galparsoro The Heropezcyclingnews
Benna takes three despite Cavendish comebackcyclingnews
Bennati claims a controversial stage winvelonews (Velonews gets their headline wrong today)
Bennati stupito dal tris "Pensavo d'aver perso" (it) / Bennati shocked by 3rd win "I thought I'd lost" (en) — gazzetta.it
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English translation: Bennati interviewenglish.gazzetta.it

Stage 12 preview

May 19 update: When I wrote yesterday that Stage 11 could be a wild one I wasn't referring to all the crashes. The narrow, slick descents were a real bike handling test. Have you ever seen so much crashing in a race? [Remember the stage 11 finish last year? ().] Emanuele Sella crashed three times before tossing his bike down an embankment. The maglia rosa crashed at 60 mph and limped across the line ()... ouch ()! All these stage wins by Italians is making me a little nervous... you know what I mean? But, lets be positive... I'm mean optimistic that the sport has changed otherwise there is no sense going on living.

The multiple breaks in stage 12 (often related to the numerous crashes) made the action hard to follow especially if your audio served a language you don't understand very well. Even the English Eurosport guys were confused. The cycling.tv commentators are usually the best at keeping score. The terse updates via the race radio ticker are also very useful.

Tomorrow's stage 12 is the first of two very flat stages before all hell breaks loose in the mountains starting this weekend. Robbie McEwen has said he's bailing out before then so he has two more chances for a stage win. See the interview (above) where mentions he's only had one clean shot at a sprint finish so far. — Steve

One other thing. I'm aware that some Windows users running IE7 get an error with some of the videos. Between problems with IE7 and javascript incompatibilities and the fact I don't have a Windows computer, the problem hasn't been solved. Try using the Firefox browser for now.


Stage 11 results: Alessandro Bertolini wins by TKO on a slippery, technical course giving the Italians more to cheer about
Urbania → Cesena, 193k (mountainous)


Stage 11 results
1 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) S.Diquigiovanni
2 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
3 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
4 Laurent Mangel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale
5 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux            
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 11
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it

high-res victory salute
Full Report: Bertolini wins a crash-filed stage 11velonews
Bertolini Scores On Pantani's Turfpezcyclingnews
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  Extended Highlightsgiroditalia.rai.it
  Processo alla 11^tappa (crash highlights; DiLuca, Simoni interviews) — giroditalia.rai.it
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Bertolini post-race translation: "I have never succeeded in winning a stage of the giro before... I am very happy. I thank Simoni who after the Carpegna gave me a free way and told me to ride to win. After the finish he had embraced me and was in a state of beautiful emotions. Now, I will give more than ever to carry him to the podium in Milano." He added, "I have succeded to win despite a bad crash and a injury to my elbow which constrains me to go to hospital for an xray." Translated by gavia at podiumcafe.com

Stage 11 preview

May 19 update: The best part of a Grand Tour is watching the shake out of the general classification as riders who peak too soon slip down while a steady performance is rewarded. After today's TT, it's clear Astana's Andreas Kloeden and Alberto Contador are living up to expectations. Besides Contador's excellent 2nd place TT result and the 7th place performance by Liquigas youngster, Vincenzo Nibali, Gilberto Simoni's 10th place finish is equally surprising; he finished just one second behind Levi Leipheimer. Is Simoni too old (37 in August) and two far back (2+ minutes behind Contador) to win another Giro? Probably... but we know he'll keep things very interesting in the mountain stages that start Saturday with Stage 14. Before we get there, tomorrow's stage is another unofficial mountain stage labeled "medium mountain." But, don't be fooled folks, tomorrow's stage will have four catergorized climbs: two cat 2's, San Marino and Perticara sandwiched around a difficult cat 1 in the middle, Monte Carpegna, followed by the cat 3 Sorrivoli that crests 20k before the run into the finish in Cesena. Stages like this, before a flat stage, are often wild so tune in early. You'll get idea of what Monte Carpegna is like (especially how narrow it is) from this recreational ride report. — Steve

Stage 10 results: Lampre's Marzio Bruseghin (Italy) wins ahead of Astana's Contador and Kloeden; The GC gets a shake-up with Astana ready to take control
Pesaro → Urbino ITT, 36k


high-res victory finish
Stage 10 results
1 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                   56.41 (41.705)
2 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana           56.49
3 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) Astana                    57.01
4 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team High Road              57.17
5 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) LPR Brakes               57.25
6 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank                    57.27
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                  57.35
8 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team CSC              57.40
9 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana                    57.42
10 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC           57.43             
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 10
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step          43.12.02
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                3.31
3 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes               5.50
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana           6.59
5 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre                   7.52
6 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) Astana                    7.54
7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                  8.04
8 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) LPR Brakes               8.09
9 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott      8.32
10 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                8.33
Full General Classificationgazzetta.it
Full Report: Bruseghin Beats the Best!pezcyclingnews
Full Report: Wet Urbino run sorts out classificationcyclingnews
Contador delivers extraordinary Giro performancerte.ie
Urbino incorona Bruseghin Visconti resta in rosagazzetta.it
  Extended Highlightsgiroditalia.rai.it
  Eurosport 1-Minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson   |  sport.yahoo
Kloeden turns his back on Germanysports.yahoo and video () — eurosport


Stage 10 preview

May 19 update: After a long transfer followed by a rest day, the Italian dominance of this year's Giro will be seriously tested on the first of three individual time trial stages. Astana has been quiet so far minding their own business, but that should change tomorrow with most people expecting Kloeden, Leipheimer, Contador and Gusev to place prominently. By the way, Contador has a slight fracture in his elbow from a crash several days ago. If you haven't done so already, check out the Giro TourTracker with custom live video and audio options although it seems the Eurosport audio feeds are no longer available. If you find a new Europort audio feed link then let me know. — Steve
Also see,
Stage 10 ITT Start Ordergazzetta.it
Giro: All eyes turn to Kloedenvelonews
Contador vows to ride despite fracturevelonews


Monday is a rest day

May 18 update: A Versus video recap of the week's action will be posted on Monday. Also, check out the clips from "The Other Giro TV" in Italian (see left) for a behind the scenes look at what goes on at the Giro. The first individual time trial follows the rest day. — Steve

versus highlights (english): stage 1 (); stage 2 (); stage 3 (); stage 4-6 (); stage 7-8 ()


Stage 9 results: Bettini denied for the second straight day; Daniele Bennati wins the photo finish
Civitavecchia → San Vincenzo, 194k (flat)


high-res victory salute
Stage 9 results
1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas                      5.30.06 (39.624 km/h)
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step                                         
3 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence - Lotto                                                     
4 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram                                                            
5 Koldo Fernandez De Larrea (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi                                     
6 Robert Foerster (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                                       
7 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team High Road                                                     
8 Tiziano dall'Antonia (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                                           
9 Julian Dean (NZl) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30                                  
10 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2R La Mondiale              
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 9
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step                             42.14.16
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner                                   0.34
3 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes                                  5.53
4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                                    7.27
5 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare                            7.32
6 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott                         7.33
7 Felix Rafael Cardenas Ravalo (Col) Barloworld                      7.46
8 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana                              7.56
9 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                                   8.11
Full General Classiificationgazzetta.it
Full Reportvelonews
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  The Last 2 kmeurosport germany
  Eurosport 1-minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson
Spectator Roadside Slideshowalex boyce


Stage 9 preview

May 17 update: The top 39 riders in stage 8 received the same time, but notably, it was nine Italians crossing first. After lots of uphill finishes like today, tomorrow's flat ride heading north along the Mediterranean Sea is a rare chance for the sprinters and Davide Cassini is predicting Robbie McEwen has found his form.

It's been a strenuous race for the riders with hard racing and lots of travel, but it's been a beautiful parcours. Today's helicopter shoots of ancient Tivoli were quite spectacular. Despite a few problems with the transmission early in Stage 8, the camera work has once again set the standard for others to follow. There must have been six camera angles at today's finish. In addition to watching the live coverage via the internet, I've also been watching some of the stages on TV via RAI International which I highly recommend.

Tomorrow's starting point is another scenic place in Italy; Civitavecchia also hosted the first two stages of Tirreno-Adriatico this year as you might recall. After tomorrow's stage 9, the riders will take a long bus ride back to the Adriatic Sea for Monday's rest day. Their Tirreno-Adriatico bus ride will be 256 miles or 4 hours long... the longest transfer of this year's Giro. — Steve


Stage 8 results: The Italians dominate again with Riccardo Ricco denying Paulo Bettini at the line
Rivisondoli → Tivoli , 200k (hilly then rolling)

Stage 8 results
1 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
3 David Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
5 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) LPR Brakes
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 8
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes
4 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
Full General Classiificationgazzetta.it

high-res victory salute
Full Report: Saunier Duval's Riccardo Ricco scores another stage winvelonews
Stage 8 Interviews Roundupdailypeloton
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  The Last 4 kmeurosport germany
  Extended Highlightsrai.it
  Eurosport 40-sec Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson  |  sports.yahoo
Ricco-bis davanti a Bettinigazzetta.it
From Yesterday: Ricco Criticises Contador After First Giro Mountain Stagecyclingweekly.co.uk

Stage 8 preview

May 16 update: Stage 8 takes the Giro northwest back towards the Mediterranean Sea with an uphill finish in the ancient Italian town, Tivoli, just 30k from Rome. More to come... including a new live video/audio/ticker combination on one screen. — Steve

Stage 7 results: LPR Brakes' Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) wins the first mountaintop finish with his team leader crossing first among the GC contenders
Vasto → Pescocostanzo, 180k (mountainous)


high-res victory celebration
Stage 7 results
1 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes             4.45.05
2 Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Tinkoff Credit Systems      .46
3 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare          1.02 
4 Felix Rafael Cardenas (Col) Barloworld           1.33
5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                  2.04
6 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott           "
7 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval-Scott       2.07
8 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana                    2.10
9 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner               2.55
10 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                  "
17 Gilberto Simoni (Ita)                             "
18 Levi Leipheimer (USA)                             "
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 7
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
Full General Classiificationgazzetta.it
Bosisio takes 1st summit finish: Di Luca, by comparison, seemed to be working through a bit of anger management post-stage. "This Giro is very tactical, like today with a breakaway of more than 30 riders," he said. "How did we do? We won the stage and took valuable seconds from a number of riders."velonews
Di Luca's mate Bosisio takes Giro's first serious testcyclingnews
Stage 7 Interviews Roundupdailypeloton
Maglia Rosa Updates: winners and loserspodiumcafe
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  Extended Highlightsrai.it
  Eurosport One-Minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
  The Last 13 Minutes)eurosport germany
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson  |  sports.yahoo
Bosisio esulta a casa Di Luca Ma i grandi entrano in scenagazzetta.it

Stage 7 preview

May 16 update: At any other stage race, Stage 7 would most definitely be classified mountainous, but the Giro organizer is stingy with the mountain symbol; there are only four official mountain stages in this year's Giro and Stage 7 isn't one of them. Nonetheless, with a hilly route leading up to a finishing series of cat 3, 1 and 2 climbs, we'll call this an unofficial mountain stage. Someone at the Gazzetta graphics department seems to agree because they've posted graphic details of today's climbs just like they do for the official mountain stages. As mentioned, the parcours starts out hilly before leading into the first categorized climb, Valico di Macerone at kilometer 118. The cat 1 Rionero Sannitico comes next not far from the finish at km 131. The stage finishes with the two-tiered, cat 2, Pietransieri, the first mountaintop finish of this year's Giro. After six straight days of racing, stage 7 should see some shake out and the fireworks could start early in this 180k stage. Check out the start time and updated live coverage options and the stage 7 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve

Miscellaneous Notes: Seeing as the Gazzetta has added foreign language content to the official Giro site for the first time, I figure we should do the same. I've actually been posting Italian video interviews if you haven't noticed, but starting yesterday, I'll attempt to post links to the daily Eurosport One-Minute Highlights in italian, deutsch, español in addition to english. By the way, it seems the english highlights are now restricted to certain (European) countries so you may need to decide what your second best language is. ;) ... Speaking of languages, Atsushi Iijima has informed me that cyclingtime.com has live updates and daily Giro recaps in Japanese. I'll take his word for it! — Steve


>

Stage 6 result: A break succeeds on a lazy, shortened stage; Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare wins
Potenza → Peschici, 265k 232k (flat)

Visconti seizes lead at Giro as Priamo wins stage 6velonews
Priamo with premio - Italian champ Visconti rosacyclingnews
  The Last Kmsporza.be
  Eurosport One-Minute Highlights in: english  |  italiano  |  deutsch  |  español
  The Last 9 Minutes)eurosport germany
  David Millar's bike toss (from yesterday) in slow motioneurosport
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson  |  sports.yahoo
Epico Priamo a Peschici Visconti si prende la rosagazzetta.it

high-res victory salute
Stage 6 results
1 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
2 Alan Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
3 Nikolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
4 Magnus Backstedt (Swe) Slipstream Chipotle - H30
5 Paul Martens (Ger) Rabobank
6 Maxim Iglinsky (Kaz) Astana
7 Daniele Nardello (Ita) S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattol
8 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre
9 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 6
1 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quick Step
2 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner   
3 Daniele Nardello (Ita) S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli  1.22
4 Alan Perez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi                          4.42
5 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre                              5.34
6 Matteo Priamo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
7 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                            9.08
8 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                             9.15

Stage 6 preview

May 14 update: Stage 6, at 265k 232k in length, is easily the longest stage of this year's Giro. The riders will head north to the east side of Italy finishing at the Adriatic Sea. And from past viewing experience, this long, flat stage will likely be boring to watch until the very end because it comes after five straight days of racing before a difficult "medium" mountain stage, after long transfers and many days before the first rest day. On the other hand, the scenery will be molto buon (very good). Here is how it will likely play out. The GC teams will give their domistiques an unofficial rest day so it will be up to the sprinter teams to calculate how much rope to give the inevitable break. As usual, a break succeeds in a stage like this by forming the right mix of strong, non-GC riders who can break the spirit of the sprinter teams forcing the chase to be called off. Usually though, a break dangles (very) painfully out front until reeled in near the finish followed by a massive field sprint. Paulo Bettini looked good finishing 5th in Stage 5 and long stages suit him best. He's overdue for a Giro stage win. Check out the start time and updated live coverage options and the stage 6 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve

May 15 update: Todays's course will be shortened
Giro d'Italia Director Angelo Zomegnan announced after the end of stage five that the Thursday's stage six would be shortened by 34km after representatives from the peloton spoke with organizers. This reduces stage six's distance from 265 kilometres to 231.6.

"In consideration of the uneasiness and stresses suffered by the riders in the last few days, and after consulting with the strongest riders of the peloton, we have decided that the stage tomorrow [Thursday] will finish directly in Peschici, without the finishing circuit of the Gargano," said Zomegnan according tuttobiciweb.it. "It will be 34km less, so riders will be able to catch up on more rest more tomorrow evening." Stage six will still start in Potenza as planned.

There have been many complaints about the length of the transfers thus far on the race, with Bradley Wiggins telling Cyclingnews Wednesday that he hasn't been to bed before midnight thus far as a result.
source: cyclingnews

Also see, Peloton growing peevish over transfers, travailsvelonews


Stage 5 results: The long five-man break survives with Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff) laboring across the uphill finish first
Belvedere Marittimo → Contursi Terme, 170k (classically hilly)


high-res winning move
Stage 5 results
1 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit Systems
2 Johannes Froehlinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Luis Felipe Laverde (Col) CSF Group Navigare
4 Francisco Perez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
5 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
Full Resultscyclingnews
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 5
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas

David Millar's bike toss () is reminiscent of Bjarne Riis' bike toss () at the 1997 Tour de France.
Who's toss was better? vote here
Millar Denied At The Last By Mechanical Problemcyclingweekly.co.uk
Millar Speaks After Missing Out In Giro d'Italiacyclingweekly.co.uk
  David Millar's bike toss in slow motioneurosport
Brutt battles to stage-5 winvelonews
  The Last Km and Highlightssporza.be
  The Last 3 Km (the final climb to Contursi Terme)eurosport germany
  One-Minute Highlightseurosport uk (Europe country restriction)
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson  |  sports.yahoo
Brutt, fuga per la vittoriagazzetta.it

Stage 5 preview

May 13 update: The maglia rosa, Franco Pellizotti, is predicting stage five will be a "photocopy" of the stage two finish in Agrigento. The last three kilometers to Contursi Terme (avg 5.9%, max 9%), he says, will feature another power climb dual among Riccardo Ricco, Danilo Di Luca, Davide Rebellin and himself... the top four finishers from stage 2 along with Paulo Bettini this time. This will be a classic scenery and parcours day that heads north along the Mediterranian Sea before continuing inland over the cat 3 Fortino at the 80k point. The route then rolls along before the climb over San Gregorio Magno at kilometer 160 when the gloves should come off. From the top of the unrated San Gregorio Magno there is 30k of gentle descending before hitting the base of Contursi Terme. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 5 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve

Miscellaneous Notes: Traffic to this site is causing a "capacity problems" error message during busy periods... If you see such an error page then just hit the refresh button until this page appears. To improve performance slightly, all the profile, map and timetable links now up in a new window to eliminate return reload hits. (That may be more information than you need)... Speaking of traffic, the riders waged a minor protest (of the work-to-rule slow pace variety) a couple stages ago to demonstrate their displeasure with the long transfers between stages at this year's Giro. Learn more about what the riders are squawking about. If they are complaining after the first few days then they'll be really grumpy later on. More likely, they are doing it now before the competition heats up... Don R. has sent in an updated English Eurosport Audio link that actually works so you can turn the sound off on the foreign live feeds and listen to a language you understand. Of course, spending $30 for the cycling.tv giro package may be an easier alternative... Thanks also to the dependable Roger P. for his links and Lou M, Alex, and Sheila M for their input. If you have some links or feedback you'd like to share with others then send me an email. — Steve


Stage 4 results: High Road's Mark Cavendish gets the first Giro win by a Brit since 1987; more carnage in the final 1 km
Pizzo Calabro → Catanzaro Lungomare, 187k (one mountain then flat)

Stage 4 results
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) High Road
2 Robert Foerster (Ger) Gerolsteiner
3 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
4 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana
5 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre
6 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
7 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Silence-Lotto
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 4
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream

high-res victory salute
  The Last Km (ultimo kilometro) with a big crashsporza.be
  The Last Km with slow-mo finish highlightseurosport germany
  One-Minute Highlightseurosport (Europe country restriction)
Cavendish Wins Giro Stage Fourcyclingweekly.co.uk
Cavendish: This Is My Biggest Wincyclingweekly.co.uk
'Manx Express' Cavendish takes first Grand Tour wincyclingnews
Full Report: Cavendish rockets to stage-4 winvelonews
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson  |  sports.yahoo
Maxi-caduta in volata Poi Cavendish stravincegazzetta.it


Stage 4 preview

May 13 update: We are back on the mainland for another hilly then flat stage like yesterday. Today the riders will start with a nice little cat 3 climb up to Passo di Pietra Spada cresting at the 64k point of the 183k course. After that, there is long descent going from 1353m down to almost sea level. The remaining 80k is flat with one bump at the 164k point. The sprinters will have plenty of time to catch back on, but lets hope for an exciting break. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 4 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve

Stage 3 results: Bennati wins a twisty, narrow sprint on the Giro's last day on Sicily
Catania → Milazzo, 208k (hilly/flat)


high-res victory salute
Stage 3 results
1 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
2 Erik Zabel (Ger) Team Milram
3 Danilo Hondo (Ger) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
Full Resultsgazzetta.it
Full Results: Bennati completes good day for Liquigascyclingnews
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 3
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
  The Last 2 Kmeurosport germany
  The Last Km (ultimo kilometro)sporza.be
  One-Minute Highlightseurosport uk (Europe country restriction)
  20 minutes of extended highlightseurosport uk
  Big crash started by Andre Griepeleurosport germany
Full Report: Bennati survives carnage to win stage 3velonews
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson
Giro: la prima di Bennatigazzetta.it
Bennati wint voor het eerst in de Girosporza.be

Stage 3 preview

May 12 update: This is the final of three stages on Sicily and the first stage for the sprinters. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 3 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. More to come...

Stage 2 results: Riccardo Ricco wins an Italian dominated uphill finish in Agrigento; Franco Pellizotti now in pink
Cefalu → Agrigento, 207k (hilly)


high-res victory salute
Stage 2 results
1 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott        5.48.35 (35.629 km/h)
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes                                                        
3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner                                                     
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas                                                       
5 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) LPR Brakes                                                      
6 Joaquin Rodriguez (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne                       
7 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Francaise des Jeux             0.04
8 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas                       0.08
9 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott                                           
10 Andreas Kloeden (Ger) Astana
Full Resultscyclingnews
Live Text Updatescyclingnews

General classification after stage 2
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
2 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Slipstream Chipotle Presented By H30
  The Last Km (ultimo kilometro)sporza.be
   The Last Km (ultimo kilometro)versus
  One-Minute Highlightseurosport uk (Europe country restriction)
  The Last 10 minuteseurosport germany
  20 minutes of extended highlightseurosport uk
Ricco wint koninklijke sprintsporza.be
Key Moments: Ricco wins, Pellizotti in pinkeurosport
Pellizotti in pink after Ricco wins stage 2velonews
Photos: cyclingnews  |  Roberto Bettini  |  Graham Watson
Ricco brucia Di Luca Maglia rosa a Pellizottigazzetta.it

Interviews following stage 2 in Agrigento

Stage 2 preview

May 11 update: It's a good sign that the three top teams in yestersday's TTT have strong anti-doping programmes and it gets the race off to a good start. Slipstream's TTT win yesterday is a also good story for the American team and Christian Vande Velde, the first American maglia rosa wearer in 20 years, but they will be tested today with a long, hilly stage 2 capped off with an uphill finish in Agrigento. As reported in CyclingWeekly, World Champion Paulo Bettini has picked this stage as one of his best opportunities. "Agrigento is definitely the first good chance to win a stage. I know the finish because it was used for world championships in 1994 and I rode it the finish a few years ago when the Giro started down there. It's a difficult stage and not only because of the finish. It'll be tough all day. It's a good stage not to throw away."

This is the second of three stages on Sicily. Check out the start time and live coverage options and the stage 2 profile, map and timetable (see right) for more details. — Steve

Vande Velde hopes team-mates can also have jersey; Millar: 'The hard work has paid off'cyclingnews


Stage 1 results: Slipstream gives the U.S. it's first pink jersey in 20 years
Palermo TTT, 28k (flat)

Full Resultscyclingnews
Full Reportvelonews
high-res victory salute
afp photos
cronosquadre photos bettiniphoto.net
Graham Watson's Photo Recap
Cyclingnews photos
  One-Minutes Highlightseurosport uk (Europe country restriction)
  20 minutes of extended highlightseurosport uk
   Video Highlightsversus
   Christian Vende Valde Profileversus
  Video Highlightssporza.be
  Christian Vande Velde Interviewgazzetta.it
  Spectator TTT Clipsyoutube
  video coming soongazzetta.it
... more to come...

Vandevelde is de eerste leider in de Girosporza.be
Vande Velde incredulo: "Momento indimenticabile"gazzetta.it
Vande Velde in rosa Di Luca e Contador a 30''gazzetta.it
  Cronosquadre: le reazioni. Parlano Gasparotto, Nibali e Bruseghingazzetta.it

Stage 1 TTT results
1 Slipstream - Chipotle                 26.32
2 Team CSC                               0.06
3 High Road                              0.07
4 Liquigas                               0.09
5 Barloworld                             0.14
6 LPR Brakes - Ballan                    0.28
7 Astana                                 0.29
8 Tinkoff Credit Systems                 0.33
9 Quick Step                             0.42
10 Lampre                                0.45
11 Team Milram                                                                       
12 S. Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli   0.51
13 Gerolsteiner                          0.54
14 Caisse d'Epargne                                                                  
15 Saunier Duval - Scott                 1.02
16 Rabobank                              1.04
17 Ag2R La Mondiale                      1.05
18 Cofidis, Le Credit Par Telephone                    
19 CSF Group - Navigare                  1.15
20 Euskaltel - Euskadi                   1.17
21 Silence - Lotto                       1.18
22 Francaise Des Jeux                    1.26

Stage 1 Preview:

Slipstream TTT - (c) Ken ConleyU.S. TT champ, David Zabriskie, and his Slipstream won the TTT at Tour de Georgia two weeks ago
(Photo by Ken Conley)

May 9 update: For the second year in a row, the Giro d'Italia starts off with a team time trial from one of Italy's islands (Sicily this year, Sardinia last year). Two weeks ago, Team Slipstream won the TTT at the Tour de Georgia against Astana, CSC and Team High Road and expect all four teams to be at the top after Saturday even though the flat course through Palermo is quite different than the short but technical, hilly race track used in Georgia and last year's technical course on Sardina won by Liquigas. With three national TT champs on their Giro roster along with other strong time trialers, Slipstream is posed to win Saturday's hammerfest which, as Velonews points out, might put an American in the pink jersey for the first time since Andy Hampsten's Giro win 20 years ago. — Steve

Also see,
  Recon'ing Palermo and the TTT course (Il tracciato della cronosquadre di Palermo)gazzetta.it
Another American in pink? TTT presents historic opportunityvelonews
Astana pulls together for Giro; Simoni prepared for last Grand Tour; David Arroyo fractures his arm and is outcyclingnews
Ariel Richeze is withdrawn from 2008 Giro d'Italia start list: Argentinian Ariel Maximiliano Richeze, who rides for CSF, tested positive for doping last month and has been withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia, his team announced Friday. — velonews
The 2008 Giro d'Italia: the best field of the year?velonews
Giro d'Italia is first big showcase of cycling's brave new worldiht
Team Presentation Photos and other Thursday photos; Friday training photosbettiniphoto.net
  Live/same day video options with more coming on Saturday



Thursday Pre-Race Hype

May 8 update: Gazzetta TV is doing interviews in English for the first time. Here is some video and interviews (in Italian and English) as riders arrive in Palermo:

Giro Climbs & Comparable USA Climbs Part 1 and Part 2dailypeloton via john summerson


Analyzing the Team Rosters and GC Favourites

May 7 update: The Giro d'Italia was modeled years ago after the Tour de France. No bike race comes close to Le Tour in popularity, but the Giro has curved out its own niche giving it a solid second among cycling stage races. The level of rider and thus the average speed may be lower at the Giro, but the course, the tifosi, the quality tv work and the animated, unpredictable competition always seems to give this event a special aura that makes it, arguably, the most interesting race in cycling. This year, the organizers (RCS) played hardball with teams who, in the past, had sent their "B" squad. And it seems RCS has hit a home run since we'll unexpectedly see the best three cyclists from the best team in cycling; Astana's Alberto Contador, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloeden will all be making their Giro debut this year. Needless to say, the string of 12 straight victories by the home side (Italy) is very much in jeopardy. Continue with the course preview...Steve

Updated Preview: "It is 12 years since a foreign rider won the Giro d'Italia, but Astana's last-gasp admission to the race threatens to upset that run of home dominance." — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Who Will Win?: going (somewhat) against the odds — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni Team Preview: "Whether Gilberto Simoni still has the legs to take home the pink jersey remains to be seen, but what is clear is that no other rider lines up in Palermo with a comparable consistency of performance in the past decade of the race." — dailypeloton
Saunier Duval/Scott Team Previewdailypeloton
High Road Team Previewdailypeloton
Caisse d'Epargne Team Previewdailypeloton
Team Barloworld Previewdailypeloton
Barloworld's Corti aims for well-managed Giro teamcyclingnews
Soler: Riding for stage wins or the jersey?velonews
David Arroyo (Caisse d'Epargne) wants Giro top fivecyclingnews
Astarloa racing towards Giro d'Italia; Ricco to lead Saunier Duval's Giro bid; Loddo targets Tinkoff Giro stage winscyclingnews
Bettini Looking For Final Giro Glory: "It's the second time I'm riding it as world champion; I didn't win a stage last year so it's important to win this year. I think my form is better than last year. I was a bit behind earlier in the season, then my form was coming and then I crash but since Liege-Bastogne-Liege I've realised that my form's getting better all the time." — cyclingweekly.co.uk
Liquigas Team Previewdailypeloton
Brits in the 2008 Girodailypeloton
The 2008 Giro d'Italia: the best field of the year?velonews


L'Altro Giro TV aka The Other Giro TV

May 6 update: Something called "The Other Giro TV" will launch on May 8th. Here are some the google translated details:

"It will be visible from both www.gazzetta.it www.giroditalia.it and collect on a single platform moments of ed'interesse spectacle of the race: the feast that animates the departure el'arrivo, the public who assiepa along the route, the background of the organisation and the caravan of the Tour. Four channels of Other Giro TV: Backstage, with the video "behind the scenes", the Quartier Stage, the Village commercial; Means of the Tour, a channel dedicated to vehicles, from bicycles to team cars, from motorcycles to vehicles the Caravan; In Around the Giro, videos dedicated to municipalities hosting the stages. Girovagando, a channel dedicated to the images that you will never see on TV. A unique way to experience the passion of the Tour 2008.

The site, starting on May 8th, will be active in five languages (English, French, German, Spanish and Italian) and updated in real time, thanks to the service of Radio Corsa. Each day the site will host also direct the last 15 minutes of stage and interviews to rally departure and after arrival."

If anyone knows more about this then send me an email. — Steve
May 8 update: The site has gone live, here it is: altrogirotv.gazzetta.it. Italiano seems to be the only language.
original source in Italian: Con il Giro parte anche "Altro Giro Tv"tuttobiciweb.it
Also see. Giro live video coverage



Rosters are now official

May 5 update: The official start list is now upSteve

Also, see Top sprinter Petacchi to miss Giro d'Italia with virusiht
Giro Confirms Astana Invite, NGC Left Outcyclingweekly.co.uk
Astana officially in the Giro; Leipheimer, Contador and Kloeden to attendcyclingnews


Giro organizer gives last minute invite to Astana

May 3 update: RCS called Astana team manager, Johan Bruyneel, yesterday to ask him if he still wanted to participate in the Giro and he said 'yes'," Astana spokesman Philippe Maertens told Reuters by telephone. "We don't know why they've changed their minds. They did not explain anything. They told Johan, 'See you in Palermo.'

Why did RCS change their minds?
Back at the beginning of February, when the Giro organizer, RCS, selected this year's Giro teams and before the Tour de France teams were selected, Giro chief Angelo Zomegnan told Gazzetta dello Sport: "[Alberto] Contador has always said that all he is interested in is the Tour de France, and for (American Levi) Leipheimer, the Giro has always been about trying to prepare for the Tour. "If our race is not part of their plans, then we just won't invite them," he added. "Astana weren't exactly flawless last year. Okay, they have changed philosophy, and their management but we have to wait and see. You don't just wake up in the morning a changed person."

Since it's unlikely Astana will get a Tour de France invite, I think it's clear why RCS has changed their minds: Astana, without a doping infraction this year, will ride this year's Giro as their new main objective for 2008. Indeed, RCS recently said "Astana sent their request to us a month ago with a different approach regarding the quality of riders to take part in the race."

Zomegnan, quoted today by Gazzetta dello Sport, said the [official] decision would be made after Sunday's final stage of the Tour of Romandie. Astana rider Andreas Kloeden is currently leading the Swiss stage race. Alberto Contador and Levi Leipheimer have been confirmed for the start next Saturday and with Kloeden's good form we can assume he'll be there too. Contador, Leipheimer and Kloeden have never done the Giro. Update: According to a RCS Sport press release, the Astana team for the Giro consists of: Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, Vladimir Gusev, Antonio Colom, Maxime Iglinsky, Dimitri Muravyev, Andrei Mizourov, Andreas Kloden and Assan Bazayev. — Steve

Also see, Giro Confirms Astana Invite, NGC Left Outcyclingweekly.co.uk
Astana officially in the Giro; Leipheimer, Contador and Kloeden to attendcyclingnews


Maps, Profiles and Timetables for all stages are now up

April 29 update: The maps, profiles and timetables haven't appeared on the Italian site for some reason but they are now available. All of the pre-race links in the stage details table (right) are now activated. — Steve

April 25 update: Former Giro winner Ivan Basso has signed with a new team for 2009 and 2010:
Ivan Basso will return to racing on the Liquigas teamvelonews
Also today, Barloworld names team for Gironews24

Will Andy Schleck wear #1 at this year's Giro? Will he even be there?

April 10 update: Last year's second place finisher, Eddy Mazzoleni, has been suspended for two years for his links to the "Oil for Drugs" doping scandal and the winner, Danilo Di Luca, may face the same. Schleck says he is focusing on the Tour de France this year, but if he does the Giro, he's not interested in displacing the two Italians who finished ahead of him. By default, he would be given race number 01 normally reserved for the previous year's winner. Read more...

April 16 update: Giro winner Di Luca cleared of dopingfrance24


April 1 update: Damiano Cunego Skipping Giro d'Italiabikeradar

March 20 update: Milan-San Remo 2008 Live Dashboard... is now posted with info and links for this Saturday's race

February 15th update: It looks like RCS has taken the high road afterall. High Road says it has been invited to the GiroVelonews

The contentous selection of 21 teams (9 riders each) for the 2008 Giro d'Italia

Meet the Giro bound...
NGC Medical Cycling Team. Update This team will not be allowed to start for "sporting qualities" reasons (ie lack of a doping program or to make room for Astana).

Who are they?

February 1st update: Thanks to Bob H. for emailing the teams in...

AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)
ASTANA Y!
BARLOWORLD (GBR) (Enrico Gasparotto and Mauricio Soler)
CAISSE D’EPARGNE (SPA)
COFIDIS, le credit par telephone (FRA)
CSF GROUP-NAVIGARE (IRL) (Luis Felipe Laverde)
DIQUIGIOVANNI-ANDRONI (VEN) (Gilberto Simoni)
EUSKALTEL EUSKADI (SPA)
FRANCAISE DES JEUX (FRA)
GEROLSTEINER (GER)
HIGH ROAD (USA)
LAMPRE (ITA)
LIQUIGAS(ITA)
LPR BRAKES (IRL) (Danilo Di Luca and Paolo Savoldelli)
NGC MEDICAL-OTC (SVI) Who are they? and official site
QUICK STEP (BEL)
RABOBANK (OLA)
SAUNIER DUVAL-SCOTT (SPA)
SILENCE-LOTTO (BEL)
SLIPSTREAM (USA) (David Zabriskie)
TEAM CSC (DAN)
TEAM MILRAM (*)
TINKOFF Credit Systems (Mikhail Ignatiev)

February 2nd update: Judging by the reaction of fans and media, this might be one of the most contentious Grand Tour team announcements in a long time due to the number of quality teams that were snubbed. Notable omissions from the list include: Astana (ProTour), Team High Road (ProTour), and L'Acqua & Sapone-Mokambo (Stefano Garzelli), Credit Agricole (ProTour) and Bouygues Telecom (ProTour). Team selections were based on the following criteria: "ethical, quality, international, historical relations with Rcs Sport [the organizers]" and according to the organizeers they "reserve the right to unilaterally withdraw the invitation at any time." Each rider must be in good standing with a biological passport.

Clearly, now that the Giro has divorced itself from the ProTour, simmering bad blood has been spilt. If your team has slighted the organizers in the past by sending your "B" squad or sent your "A" squad for a training ride or have a tainted doping history or even have lingering doping question marks beside your roster then you and riders are not wanted. What we have left is a starting line-up that will be more animated, but deluted of marquee names. It's a bold move by RCS, but the omission of Team High Road is most confusing. Sure the old T-Mobile had a serious doping history, but it's reincarnation looks clean. High Road is stacked with international talent run by an outspoken anti-doper and last year it's Italian rider, Marco Pinnoti, wore the Maglia Rosa for four days although he had a weak supporting cast of T-Mobile riders. Maybe it was the negative statements from Team High Road before this year's announcement: "Michael [Roger] and Linus [Gerdemann] will ride the Giro and, all being well, the Tour also. We will take the first two weeks of the Giro very seriously... The final week of the Giro is extremely hard so we would assess things then. Do we have a rider capable of continuing for the GC, or are they tired? If necessary we'd pull them [Rogers and Gerdemann] out to get some rest before the Tour." Stuff like that gets said in cycling all the time which is really annoying. Think about it... what other sport do professional athletes come out beforehand and say they'll walk off if the game doesn't go as hoped? Since 2005, there was nothing events could do about such a cavalier attitude because ProTour events were required to invite ProTour teams. That being said, I don't know the real reasons for Team High Road's exclusion, but we do know that's partly why Astana wasn't invited.

Giro chief Angelo Zomegnan told Gazzetta dello Sport Saturday: "[Alberto] Contador has always said that all he is interested in is the Tour de France, and for (American Levi) Leipheimer, the Giro has always been about trying to prepare for the Tour. "If our race is not part of their plans, then we just won't invite them," he added. "Astana weren't exactly flawless last year. Okay, they have changed philosophy, and their management but we have to wait and see. You don't just wake up in the morning a changed person."

RCS has the second most popular and arguably the most interesting stage race in cycling, but have they gained or lost stature with this year's team selections? Now, will the Tour de France organizer follow suit?. The unfortunate consequence of this uncertainty will fall on innocent riders and sponsors and the short term financial health of cycling in general. — Steve

Some ProTour teams without 2008 Giro d'Italia invititationsCyclingnews
Astana reacts to Giro decisionCyclingnews
Y! High Road Could Get Final Giro d'Italia PlaceCyclingWeekly


Teams to be announced very soon

January 20th update: Slipstream scores Giro invite; the full list of invited teams is expected to be announced by RCS in the next few days.

The official Giro announcement confirms the rumours

A Show of Hands by Past Winners
Damiano Cunego, left, Gilberto Simoni, second from left, Danilo Di Luca, center, Stefano Garzelli, second from right, and Paolo Savoldelli, right, pose in front of the map of the 91st Giro d'Italia during the presentation of the 2008 edition of the Tour of Italy cycling race, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Dec. 1, 2007. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno... more rollout photos)

Official Route Map


Route Profile
December 1st update: From the official announcement (exactly as predicted earlier this week):
Official Route Map
Course Profile Overview
Official Site (Italian only)

The stage summary table (see right) is now up-to-date with all distances along with maps and profiles for the time-trial and mountain stages (1, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 21). The Cima Coppi (the highest point in this year's Giro) is the Passo Gavia during Stage 20. There are only four official mountain stages with three mountaintop finishes (not including the mountain time-trial) and all of them are in the second half of the race starting with stage 14. However, past years have shown that the Giro organizers are stingy in awarding the mountain stage symbol so several of the seven so called "medium mountain stages", like Stage 7, should provide more action than expected. As noted earlier this week, there are two monster mountain stages before a final day time-trial in Milano, so the end of this year's Giro will be as exciting as you could possibly expect. "This year is the real Giro d'Italia," Italy president and cycling enthusiast Romano Prodi said in a prerecorded message. "By choosing (a route), not in a circle, but from south to north, (the Giro) is permitted to run through the entire country."

“The future's so bright,
I gotta wear shades”
Most people, including his former teammate Giberto Simoni, would say Riccardo Riccò has goofy taste in eyewear.
(Photo © Fotoreporter Sirotti, more photos)
So who benefits most from a Giro with four time-trials? I briefly thought it would favour two-time Giro winner, Paolo Savoldelli, but now that he's riding for the continental team, LPR, instead of Discovery Channel, he's lost some opening day, team time-trial advantage. The long, steep mountain time-trial doesn't work in his favour either. In fact, there are only 59k of flatish, individual time-trialing in total. The number and type of time-trials will favour CSC's Andy Schleck more than anybody. He was only 22 years-old when you placed 3rd overall last May and he just might climb onto the top step on the final day next year. If he does, tiny Luxembourg would have it's first Giro title in almost 50 years and Italy's string of eleven straight wins would come to an end. Damiano Cunego and Riccardo Riccò are my picks for the home side, the same two that provided the finishing dual () at the last Giro di Lombardia. Update: Damiano Cunego and Andy Schleck are skipping this year's Giro in favor of the Tour de France. See the up-to-date pre-race favorites. — Steve

2008 Giro Quick Facts: Running from Saturday May 10th to Sunday June 1st 2008, the 91st Giro d'Italia will be made up of 21 stages and will cover a total distance of 3,424 kilometres.
The 21 stages have the following profiles:
* 6 flat or mildly undulating stages
* 7 medium mountain stages
* 4 mountain stages (none until stage 14)
* 4 time-trial stages (1 mountain, 1 team)
Key points to this year's event
* 3 mountaintop finishes
* 9 long transfers between stages but only 2 rest days
* 102 kilometres of time-trials (59k flat, individual)
* ? category 1, category 2 and hors catégorie climbs

Time trials mark another testing Giro d'Italia; Rider reactionsCyclingnews (Photos )
Giro organisers announce route, demand changeEurosport
2008 Giro d'Italia riders will need biological passportUSA Today/AP
Giro d'Italia organiser calls for clean race in 2008Guardian Unlimited
Course Sneak PeakPezCyclingNews
It's been 20 years since Andy Hampsten's famous Passo Gavia momentPezCyclingNews
  Announcement ceremony and rider reactions (2:26 secs in Italian) — Gazzetta TV
PEZ Gets The Dirt (ie. Rider Reactions) — PezCyclingNews
Mountain Goats' MenuPodium Cafe
Jonathan Vaughters represents Slipstream at Giro d'Italia launchCyclingnews
Pinotti expects to show off tricolore in TT-laden GiroCyclingnews

November 30th update: Profiles of the first three stages have been published in La Gazzetta dello Sport and have been added to stage summary table (right). The official announcement is tomorrow. — Steve

I was sent this unofficial map by one of our readers on Nov 27th that was originally published in the Italian newspaper La Stampa, a competitor to La Gazzetta dello Sport. Update December 1st, they were right! Hats off to lastampa.it for being the first with the scoop.
November 28th update: I just received the unofficial 2008 Giro route map which is slightly more up-to-date than the changes I made yesterday. Thanks for your input. — Steve


November 27th update: Lots of updates and confirmed towns, but the Stelvio may not be in the mix for stage 19 as originally rumoured. With two mountain stages before a final day time-trial in Milano, the final three days will be as exciting as you could possibly expect. Let me know if you have additional information. Remember the official announcement is this Saturday December 1st. — Steve

The Updated Rumoured Mountain Stages:

7 Peschici - PESCOCOSTANZO (roccaraso)
11 URBANIA - CESENA  (San Marino, Monte Carpegna, Perticara and 
muro di Sorrivoli)
14 VERONA - ALPE DI PAMPEAGO (Quinto, Manghen) 
15 ARABBA - MARMOLADA FEDAIA (Pordoi, SanPellegrino, Giau, Falzarego and 
Fedaia)
19 LEGNANO - MONTE PORA (?,  ViaMala, Schilpario, Presolana, Pora) 
20 ROVETTA - APRICA (CroceSalven, Gavia y Mortirolo)

November 14th update: According to Cyclingnews, there will be four time trials including a 30 km TT on the final day in Milano. This year's Giro will again kick off with the fan favorite team time trial this time in Palermo. In between, there will be two other time trials possibly including a 15k mountain time trial up Plan de Corones (see profile left). — Steve

October 31st update: Wednesday May 14th is likely a transfer (rest) day from Catania to Napoli and not a stage. This makes up for the missing second rest day. — Steve

October 29th update: It's still more than one month away until the official announcement (Dec. 1st), but a source that proved reliable last year has provided the first preliminary look at what the 2008 Giro d' Italia should look like. Apparently, there is only one rest day which seems unlikely. If you have some additional scoop then don't hesitate to let me know. In the meantime, until the rumours get confirmed, gray coloured hyperlinks in the stage details will denote unconfirmed host towns. — Steve

October 1st update: The route of the 2008 Giro d'Italia will be unveiled Dec. 1, organizers said Tuesday. Just as predicted here, the 91st edition of the 21-stage race begins May 10 in Palermo, Sicily, and finishes three weeks later in Milan. Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca won this year's Giro and is expected to defend his title, pending the outcome of a doping hearing Thursday.

Giro d'italia 2008 will start on the island of Sicily

June 28th update: After a successful Sardinia start this year, the 2008 Giro d'Italia will start from another one of Italy's scenic Mediterranean islands... Sicily from the town of Palermo. We also know the Giro will once again pass through Austria next year. I've already been asked about the 2008 Giro dates and I'm willing to speculate that next year's dates will be Saturday May 10th - Sunday June 1st, 2008. I've simply noticed that four of the last six Giros have started on the second Saturday of May. The 2005 and 2006 events did start on the first Saturday of May, but the Giro has never started before May 6th in recent memory. So consider booking your hotels in Sicily on the second weekend in May and in Milano where the race should finish along the Corso Venezia on the last weekend of May as long as you can cancel later! — Steve

Live/same day options for watching Giro d'Italia 2008

stage 21 race start: Sunday 12:30 AM CEST ();
live video coverage starts: 15:00 PM CEST ();
approximate finish: 17:15 PM CEST ()

Stage 21 Profile, Map and Timetable
Rider Start Order and Timesgazzetta.it

Tip: Try the Tour Tracker with custom video and audio option from Pop Up Tv. Select the video that's best for your internet connection and your language of choice.

media source tv or internet comments/restrictions
  live video w/ticker combines video, audio and tickers on one screen.
  live feed or
  alternative feed
worldwide, free streaming
  TV schedule Italy; refer to the RAI Tre guide
  1-hour delayed TV broadcast Available worldwide; $3-11 U.S; contact your cable/satellite distributor
  live internet video (1000 kps)
  live internet video (600 kps)
  live internet video (200 kps)
Norway; available free worldwide
  live internet video
except Sundays
Good English commentary; $30, U.S. and Canada only
  live internet video Belgium only
  UK TV schedule daily live coverage
  live internet video France only; 4.90 Euros; Eurosport Fr. audio
  internet audio free; available worldwide
  highlights tv schedule Australia; daily highlights at 7:15 AM
  TV Sunday stages only North America; Sunday delayed broadcasts
live text updates
live text updates
live text updates
official live ticker new: italian, english, french, spanish, german
live text updates Japanese coverage of the Giro
check back at race time for more and updated links; email send a comment or a new live link

Also see a somewhat outdated explanation of the live options posted last week

Worldwide and regional live and same day video coveage

May 11 update: Your options for watching this year's Giro d'Italia are still unfolding, but here's what is known so far. For the U.S. and Canada, your TV choices are RAI International ($11 per month) for daily, "as-live" broadcasts (3 hours delayed in Italian) and Versus' Cyclism Sunday for brief weekly recaps and delayed broadcasts of the Sunday stages. On the internet, currently your only option is Cycling.tv ($29.95), but more options in foreign languages may be available at race time. Note, Cycling.tv will not be broadcasting the Sunday stages (four in total). All Sunday stages will instead be broadcast on Versus' Cyclism Sunday. The Sunday stages include an important mountain stage (Marmolada Fedaia) and the final day TT in Milano. Last year, RAI was streaming free, live coverage over the internet without country restrictions, and we'll post the link to this year's coverage when it's available. [Update: see above]

Italy's RAI/RCS have the best camera work and most passionate broadcasters in the business. Watch the last 5k of last year's classic stage 14 in Bergamo and judge for yourself.
I had the RAI Int'l service last year and it was very good. They had a one hour, post-race show each day with interviews, highlights and a preview of the route and towns for the next stage. It was $11 for the month from Comcast (and others). The Italian broadcasters are the most passionate in the business and you'll learn some Italian.

In Europe, of course Rai Tre/Sport will broadcast live in Italy (and via satellite) and Eurosport will be broadcasting live on TV throughout most of Europe. In Germany, expect Eurosport Germany to be streaming free live video with country restrictions. For those in Belgium, sporza.be will be streaming live video. There will most certainly be more options for Europe. If a live video stream isn't available in your part of the world then you can listen to the free Eurosport audio accessible worldwide.

In Australia, you can watch highlights each morning at 7:15 AM on SBS. "Covering each stage of the Giro is a significant step for SBS as the network continues to strengthen its commitment to world cycling," said SBS Sport Presenter, Michael Tomalaris. If you see other TV and internet viewing options for North America or other countries then don't hestitate to send me an email. More to come at race time... — Steve updated May 9th

May 6 update: L'Altro Giro TV aka Other Giro TV

The Giro d'Italia is available worldwide
on television via RAI International.
Contact your cable or satellite distributor:
North America
Latin America
Australia and Oceania
Asia
Africa
Europe



Official Route Map


Route Profile




Completed 2007 Giro d'Italia coverage