could you stop calling Jurgen van den Broeck 'Vandenbroeck' because it constantly makes me think it's Frank Vandenbroucke, which is of course very bad.

You don't really need to do anything with all these idiots, and the Giro is yours

Stage 15

4 big climbs are on the menu today


Matej Mugerli went on a solo break over the first climb, but Popovych and Medina took over on the 2nd.


In descending the 2nd climb, Di Luca's Giro got even worse, as he crashed


Valverde attacked with 4km to the top of the 3rd climb


He was joined by Kohl, Ricco and Txurruka. The 4 best placed riders overall all in battle.


They pass by Medina and Popovych and with 12km to the summit, Kohl makes a move.


Monfort leads the attacks from the peleton on the climb. Pliuschin and van den Broeck were the first to counter.


Kohl is pulling away from his rivals, the Austrian is lookinbg very impressive.


Riccardo Ricco has also broken free of the chase group and Valverde + Txurruka have been joined by Monfort, Pellizotti, and Van den Broeck. But what's this? Valverde is in big trouble!!!!!


Aleksandr Pliuschin can't believe his eyes as he and Brajkovic move past Valverde.


I dont think the Astana team can believe it either. Kohl raises both arms to celebrate his stage victory - but will he be repeating the celebrations on the podium wearing a certain pink jersey?


Riccardo Ricco takes 2nd on the stage, while Monfort will take 3rd.


Pliuschin finishes 6th while Valverde can only manage 10th. And at 4 and a half minutes behind Kohl - he has lost the race lead!


1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 6h13'22
2 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'38
3 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 2'19
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
5 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2'29
6 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'44
7 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
8 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
9 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'10
10 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'32
11 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
12 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD + 4'48
13 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
14 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
15 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
16 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5'08
17 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
18 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
19 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
20 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 5'38
21 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 5'56
22 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 6'03
23 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 6'12
24 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
25 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
26 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 6'37
27 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 10'22
28 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 10'48
29 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
30 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 10'57
31 Peter Velits TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 11'09
32 Philip Deignan DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 11'24
33 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 11'40
34 Sylvester Szmyd BARLOWORLD + 11'54
35 Paolo Tiralongo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 12'15
36 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 12'46
37 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS + 12'54
38 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 14'06
39 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 14'14
40 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS s.t.
41 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 14'22
42 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 14'46
43 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 14'54
44 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
45 Christophe Brandt PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 15'26
46 Guido Trentin SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 15'42
47 Marco Pinotti T-MOBILE TEAM + 16'30
48 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC + 17'08
49 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
50 Grischa Niermann RABOBANK + 17'32

GC
1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 69h54'52
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 53
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3'28
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 13'32
5 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 20'00
6 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 24'43
7 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 25'13
8 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 27'24
9 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 29'16
10 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 29'26
11 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 31'38
12 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 33'03
13 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 34'42
14 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 37'21
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 37'48
16 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 45'04
17 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 47'44
18 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 48'56
19 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 48'57
20 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 50'09
21 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 50'47
22 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 53'01
23 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 53'39
24 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 55'59
25 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 56'19
26 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 57'49
27 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h00'55
28 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h02'33
29 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h02'49
30 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h04'48

Looking good for a top 10

possibly a top 5 with good luck and Pelizzoti cracking

Stage 16



Its a mountain TT and Perez is DFL's best performer today. Passing Cobo on his way to 9th.


Pliuschin did not fare quite so well, he was passed by Simoni with 5km still to go to the finish.


The consolation though is that Simoni was undefeatable today and won the stage. Danilo Di Luca was 3rd, 58 seconds behind while Bernhard Kohl took 2nd place and gained a minute on Valverde


1 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 43'43
2 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 23
3 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 58
4 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'18
5 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'20
6 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
7 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 1'32
8 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1'35
9 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1'38
10 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 1'40
11 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1'42
12 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 1'45
13 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 2'03
14 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 2'08
15 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
16 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 2'09
17 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2'13
18 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2'14
19 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
20 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 2'18
21 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 2'25
22 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'31
23 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'33
24 Sylvester Szmyd BARLOWORLD + 2'46
25 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD + 2'48
26 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2'51
27 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2'58
28 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3'02
29 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS + 3'09
30 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 3'10
31 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
32 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3'15
33 Paolo Tiralongo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3'21
34 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'36
35 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 3'40
36 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'41
37 Peter Velits TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 3'44
38 Andrea Tonti QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 3'46
39 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 3'47
40 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 3'56
41 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC + 3'57
42 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 3'59
43 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC + 4'06
44 Philip Deignan DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4'07
45 Ivan Santaromita QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 4'10
46 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'14
47 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 4'16
48 Constantino Zaballa CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'18
49 Dioni Galparsoro EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
50 Massimiliano Gentili QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 4'20

Stage 17

Geraint Thomas went with the unsuccessful break as Stage 16 would end in a sprint. The sprint itself was fairly unorganised, could Danniele Bennati benefit from being in the relay train?


Yes he can! Despite being in the front for the final 2.5km, Bennati holds off Sutton for his first stage win of the Giro


Of the 9 DFL riders, only Uran, Perez and Pliuschin finished in the peleton.

1 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL 3h48'09
2 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
3 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM s.t.
4 Koldo Fernández de Larrea EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
5 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
6 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
7 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA s.t.
8 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM s.t.
9 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
10 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
11 Erik Zabel PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
12 Anthony Geslin TEAM WIESENHOF FELT s.t.
13 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER s.t.
14 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
15 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
16 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
17 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
18 Allan Davis TEAM MILRAM s.t.
19 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
20 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA s.t.
21 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS s.t.
22 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
23 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
24 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
25 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
26 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
27 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
28 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
29 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
30 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
31 Bert Grabsch T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
32 Constantino Zaballa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
33 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
34 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
35 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
36 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
37 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
38 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
39 Andrea Tonti QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
40 Guido Trentin SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
41 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
42 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
43 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
44 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC s.t.
45 Dario Cataldo T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
46 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC s.t.
47 Pieter Weening RABOBANK s.t.
48 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC s.t.
49 Marco Pinotti T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
50 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.

GC
1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 74h27'07
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'50
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'23
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 14'49
5 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 21'46
6 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 24'20
7 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 27'04
8 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 28'33
9 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 30'13
10 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 31'11
11 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 33'28
12 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 34'54
13 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 35'09
14 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 38'36
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 40'27
16 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 46'44
17 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 49'06
18 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 50'09
19 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 51'31
20 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 53'33
21 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 54'46
22 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 55'00
23 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 58'46
24 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 59'16
25 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h00'36
26 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h03'03
27 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h03'23
28 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h06'09
29 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h06'50
30 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 1h08'28
31 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h08'31
32 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 1h10'09
33 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 1h12'08
34 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h13'16
35 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h13'42

Valverde
Can't believe he blew up there

Nice stuff

All the Pink jersey candidates in the sprint? wtf!

They have a high 60/low 70 sprint stat and the best recovery of all riders in the race.

Stage 18

The final mountain stage!


T-Mobile have had a miserable Giro since team leader Nibali crashed out with a Broken Neck. Dario Cataldo is looking to take something from the race as he goes on a long solo attack.


He held a large gap for much of the stage, holding at 20 minutes for a while but it inevitably began to fall.

Monfort led the peleton's attacks on the final climb


He was joined by the race's podium riders: Kohl, Ricco and Valverde.


Heartbreak for Cataldo came with 2km to the summit as he is caught by Kohl, Ricco and Valverde - with Monfort having been gapped.


Kohl is simply in top form right now, and wins the stage.


1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 6h54'33
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 7
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
4 Dario Cataldo T-MOBILE TEAM + 1'36
5 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK s.t.
6 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM s.t.
7 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
8 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
9 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 3'00
10 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'12
11 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'35
12 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
13 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL s.t.
14 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
15 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
16 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD s.t.
17 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS s.t.
18 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS s.t.
19 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
20 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS s.t.
21 Pieter Weening RABOBANK s.t.
22 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
23 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
24 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
25 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS s.t.
26 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
27 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
28 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
29 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
30 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
31 Philip Deignan DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4'30
32 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
33 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
34 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC s.t.
35 Jelle Vanendert TEAM WIESENHOF FELT s.t.
36 Sylvester Szmyd BARLOWORLD s.t.
37 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC s.t.
38 Guido Trentin SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'56
39 Matej Mugerli LIQUIGAS + 5'18
40 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC s.t.
41 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
42 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 5'35
43 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 5'50
44 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
45 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX s.t.
46 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER s.t.
47 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
48 Gabriele Bosisio CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
49 Paolo Tiralongo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 6'24
50 Grischa Niermann RABOBANK + 6'37

GC
1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 81h21'20
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'05
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'42
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 18'09
5 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 25'41
6 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 28'15
7 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 30'36
8 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 32'28
9 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 33'07
10 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 34'08
11 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 35'24
12 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 37'05
13 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 42'31
14 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 43'12
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 44'22
16 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 50'39
17 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 53'01
18 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 56'21
19 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 57'28
20 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 58'55
21 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h00'56
22 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h02'41
23 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h03'11
24 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h03'39
25 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h04'31
26 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h06'58
27 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h07'18
28 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h08'46
29 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 1h12'23
30 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 1h14'04
31 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h14'09
32 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h14'11
33 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 1h16'58
34 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h17'37
35 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h18'06

Frederik Nolf has maxed out level 4, and his stats boost means he should have a real chance of victory in the 2009 cobbled classics.


Stage 19

Nolf goes with the large break.


Nolf is the strongest, but is caught with 2km to go


Bazayev wins the stage, Manan finishes 5th


1 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 2h40'06
2 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
3 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
4 Erik Zabel PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
5 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
6 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
7 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
8 Allan Davis TEAM MILRAM s.t.
9 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
10 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
11 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM s.t.
12 Koldo Fernández de Larrea EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
13 Martin Pedersen UNIBET.COM s.t.
14 Fabrizio Guidi BARLOWORLD s.t.
15 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM s.t.
16 Antonio Aldegani QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
17 Davide Viganò QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
18 Stefano Zanini PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
19 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA s.t.
20 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
21 Murilo Fischer LIQUIGAS s.t.
22 Robert Retschke TEAM WIESENHOF FELT s.t.
23 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
24 Ernesto Bertini LIQUIGAS s.t.
25 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.

GC
1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 84h01'26
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'05
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4'42
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 18'09
5 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 25'41
6 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 28'15
7 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 30'36
8 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 32'28
9 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 33'07
10 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 34'08
11 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 35'24
12 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 37'05
13 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 42'31
14 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 43'12
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 44'22
16 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 50'39
17 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 53'01
18 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 56'21
19 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 57'28
20 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 58'55
21 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h00'56
22 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h02'41
23 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h03'11
24 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h03'39
25 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h04'31
26 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h06'58
27 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h07'18
28 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h08'46
29 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 1h12'23
30 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 1h14'04
31 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h14'09
32 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h14'11
33 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 1h16'58
34 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h17'37
35 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h18'06

Stage 20

A 56km TT. Pliuschin shouyld be able to make up the 2'34 needed to take 6th overall from Simoni while Perez will need a good ride to avoid falling from 13th to 15th


Janez Brajkovic was outstanding today. When he finished, he was 1'42 better than previous best Jose Ivan Gutierrez.


Pliuschin comfortably passed Cunego, who started 2 minutes infront of him, and would go onto finish a further 2 minutes ahead


At checkpoint 1, Pliuschin was 4th. 50 seconds down on Brajkovic and also behind Kohl and van den Broeck. At the 2nd check, he slipped to 7th, 1'33 behind the Slovenian but an excellent finish saw him gain a whole minute on Brajkovic, finishing in a provisional 2nd.

Overtaking Simoni is assured but as Pellizotti has been submitting poor times, the pressure is now on him if he wants to keep 5th place


Kohl secures his Giro victory in style as he overtakes Valverde.

But neither Kohl nor van den Broeck could beat Pliuschin so its 2nd place for the Moldovan today.

1 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL 1h18'16
2 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 33
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA + 45
4 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
5 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1'43
6 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC s.t.
7 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 1'44
8 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 2'09
9 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'15
10 Marco Velo TEAM MILRAM + 2'34
11 Bert Grabsch T-MOBILE TEAM s.t.
12 Peter Velits TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 2'38
13 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2'43
14 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 2'48
15 Marco Pinotti T-MOBILE TEAM + 2'54
16 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
17 David George DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 2'57
18 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 3'00
19 Tom Veelers COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 3'02
20 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
21 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 3'07
22 Steven Cummings DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3'14
23 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
24 Martin Mortensen LIQUIGAS + 3'15
25 Torsten Hiekmann GEROLSTEINER + 3'21
26 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 3'24
27 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'27
28 Koen De Kort TEAM ASTANA s.t.
29 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3'28
30 Niels Scheuneman UNIBET.COM + 3'31
31 Maxime Bouet COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 3'33
32 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'36
33 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 3'37
34 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 3'39
35 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 3'40
36 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3'42
37 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS + 3'44
38 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 3'48
39 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM s.t.
40 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3'51
41 Grischa Niermann RABOBANK + 4'00
42 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 4'07
43 Florent Brard CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'10
44 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 4'12
45 Bastiaan Giling TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 4'13
46 Kasper Klostergaard TEAM CSC + 4'14
47 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM + 4'19
48 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4'23
49 Santiago Ojeda UNIBET.COM + 4'24
50 Constantino Zaballa CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'32
65 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 5'12
71 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 5'38

GC
1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 85h20'27
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'14
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'45
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 21'58
5 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 30'24
6 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 30'34
7 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 32'42
8 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 35'10
9 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 35'24
10 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 36'06
11 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 36'45
12 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 40'08
13 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 44'11
14 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 45'22
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 46'51
16 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 54'25
17 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 56'19
18 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 59'13
19 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 1h00'23
20 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h01'37
21 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h06'01
22 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h06'19
23 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h06'59
24 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h07'07
25 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h07'54
26 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h10'01
27 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h11'08
28 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h13'58
29 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h16'52
30 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 1h18'50
31 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 1h19'13
32 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h19'41
33 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h20'06
34 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 1h20'49
35 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h21'03

Nicely done

Pliuschin in the top 5, awesome job SN

Very nice work

And Nolf

Thanks



Plus his percentage on cobbles in the stat increase thingy is 87% so he should soon be at 81 cobbles

Stage 21

16 men went on the attack in today's final stage. Including Marzoli.


But the pack just dont like a breakaway and kept them under control, but when nearly caught Marzoli and Barlowrold's Szymyd attacked and were still ahead as the sprint began.


As the sprint began, Tiralongo causes a crash in the peleton. Pliuschin is down!

Di Luca also hits the deck but noone will lose any time.

Napolitano overhauled Marzoli inside the final kilometre


And the Italian took his 3rd win of the race, ahead of the Milram duo of Davis and Petacchi. Manan finished 7th while Marzoli ended 15th.


1 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 2h12'10
2 Allan Davis TEAM MILRAM s.t.
3 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM s.t.
4 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
5 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
6 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
7 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
8 Koldo Fernández de Larrea EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI s.t.
9 Erik Zabel PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
10 Matthew Goss TEAM CSC s.t.
11 Mirko Lorenzetto TEAM MILRAM s.t.
12 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
13 Francesco Chicchi UNIBET.COM s.t.
14 Fabrizio Guidi BARLOWORLD s.t.
15 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
16 Antonio Aldegani QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
17 Tom Veelers COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
18 Stefano Zanini PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
19 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
20 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR s.t.
21 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED s.t.
22 Davide Viganò QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC s.t.
23 Constantino Zaballa CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
24 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
25 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM s.t.
26 Martin Pedersen UNIBET.COM s.t.
27 Fabio Baldato COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
28 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
29 Fabio Gilioli UNIBET.COM s.t.
30 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
31 Sebastian Siedler TEAM MILRAM s.t.
32 Filippo Savini CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE s.t.
33 Sylvester Szmyd BARLOWORLD s.t.
34 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA s.t.
35 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE s.t.
36 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA s.t.
37 Daniele Righi LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
38 Santiago Ojeda UNIBET.COM s.t.
39 Florent Brard CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.
40 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO s.t.
41 Marco Velo TEAM MILRAM s.t.
42 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC s.t.
43 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA s.t.
44 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL s.t.
45 Maxime Bouet COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE s.t.
46 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC s.t.
47 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA s.t.
48 Koen De Kort TEAM ASTANA s.t.
49 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC s.t.
50 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE s.t.




1 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 87h32'37
2 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 4'14
3 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 7'45
4 Amets Txurruka EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 21'58
5 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 30'24
6 Franco Pellizotti LIQUIGAS + 30'34
7 Gilberto Simoni SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 32'42
8 Haimar Zubeldia RABOBANK + 35'10
9 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 35'24
10 Óscar Pereiro CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 36'06
11 Damiano Cunego TEAM ASTANA + 36'45
12 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM + 40'08
13 Paolo Savoldelli EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 44'11
14 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 45'22
15 Juanjo Cobo CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 46'51
16 Yaroslav Popovych TEAM ASTANA + 54'25
17 Emanuele Sella CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 56'13
18 Hernán Buenahora QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 59'13
19 Pieter Weening RABOBANK + 1h00'23
20 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h01'37
21 Tom Danielson DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h06'01
22 Chris Horner PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 1h06'19
23 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h06'59
24 Freddy Piamonte QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 1h07'07
25 Pietro Caucchioli COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h07'54
26 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h10'01
27 Maxime Monfort COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 1h11'08
28 Leonardo Piepoli SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h13'58
29 Janez Brajkovic DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h16'52
30 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS + 1h18'50
31 Christian Vandevelde TEAM CSC + 1h19'13
32 Alexander Efimkin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 1h19'41
33 Giovanni Visconti TEAM ASTANA + 1h20'06
34 Luca Mazzanti LIQUIGAS + 1h20'49
35 José Azevedo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h21'03
36 José Iván Gutiérrez CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1h25'24
37 Mauricio Ortega SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h26'44
38 Charles Wegelius LIQUIGAS + 1h27'06
39 Alexandr Kolobnev TEAM CSC + 1h27'36
40 Bobby Julich TEAM CSC + 1h28'55
41 Francesco Bellotti BARLOWORLD + 1h34'33
42 Guido Trentin SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 1h35'45
43 Philip Deignan DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 1h36'39
44 Peter Velits TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 1h37'20
45 Paolo Tiralongo LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h39'35
46 Dario Cataldo T-MOBILE TEAM + 1h41'50
47 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 1h42'35
48 Marco Pinotti T-MOBILE TEAM + 1h42'43
49 Sylvester Szmyd BARLOWORLD + 1h46'31
50 Pablo Lastras CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1h54'08
51 Xavier Zandio CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 1h54'44
52 Grischa Niermann RABOBANK + 1h57'28
53 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 2h05'13
54 Constantino Zaballa CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2h06'26
55 Massimiliano Gentili QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h08'15
56 Davide Rebellin GEROLSTEINER + 2h09'21
57 Gabriele Bosisio CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 2h12'38
58 Dioni Galparsoro EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2h15'46
59 Dimitri Fofonov CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 2h18'52
60 Ivan Rovny LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 2h23'40
61 Andrea Moletta GEROLSTEINER + 2h25'51
62 Andrea Tonti QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h26'48
63 Joan Horrach CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 2h28'27
64 Matej Mugerli LIQUIGAS + 2h29'49
65 Koldo Fernández de Larrea EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 2h36'23
66 Christophe Brandt PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 2h41'03
67 Ivan Santaromita QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 2h42'23
68 Murilo Fischer LIQUIGAS + 2h51'58
69 Antonio García González SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 2h52'02
70 Jelle Vanendert TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 2h55'05
71 Steve Morabito TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 2h56'26
72 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 3h08'39
73 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM + 3h09'04
74 David George DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3h11'56
75 Anthony Charteau CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3h14'15
76 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3h22'24
77 Steven Cummings DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3h23'21
78 Torsten Hiekmann GEROLSTEINER + 3h25'04
79 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3h28'09
80 Allan Davis TEAM MILRAM + 3h29'58
81 Marco Velo TEAM MILRAM + 3h30'05
82 Mirko Lorenzetto TEAM MILRAM + 3h36'47
83 Vladimir Bileka DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 3h37'36
84 Jean-Marc Marino CRÉDIT AGRICOLE + 3h40'44
85 Blake Caldwell LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3h43'38
86 Daniele Righi LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 3h44'25
87 Adam Blythe DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 3h45'10
88 Pedro Barnabé TEAM CSC + 3h49'12
89 Manuele Mori FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 3h51'01
90 Evgeni Sladkov BARLOWORLD + 3h51'09
91 Florent Brard CAISSE D'EPARGNE + 3h54'25
92 Thorwald Veneberg RABOBANK + 4h05'32
93 Fabio Gilioli UNIBET.COM + 4h08'09
94 Adamo Casisa RABOBANK + 4h09'56
95 Tyler Farrar COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 4h13'39
96 Paolo Bossoni LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 4h13'59
97 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 4h19'21
98 Bert Grabsch T-MOBILE TEAM + 4h19'50
99 Matej Jurco TEAM MILRAM + 4h20'45
100 Eduard Vorganov EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 4h21'20
101 Anthony Geslin TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 4h21'41
102 Santiago Ojeda UNIBET.COM + 4h26'24
103 Erik Zabel PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 4h27'28
104 Antxon Luengo EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 4h34'38
105 Indalecio López Duque BARLOWORLD + 4h34'58
106 Carlos Zárate SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR + 4h35'29
107 Fabrizio Guidi BARLOWORLD + 4h35'36
108 Antonio Quadranti UNIBET.COM + 4h38'50
109 Martin Mortensen LIQUIGAS + 4h44'50
110 Koen De Kort TEAM ASTANA + 4h46'08
111 Nikolas Maes RABOBANK + 4h46'16
112 Roberto Petito LIQUIGAS + 4h46'40
113 Matthew Goss TEAM CSC + 4h49'08
114 Maxime Bouet COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 4h49'44
115 Niels Scheuneman UNIBET.COM + 4h50'25
116 Grégory Rast TEAM ASTANA + 4h52'44
117 Uros Murn DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 4h55'04
118 Robert Retschke TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 4h58'45
119 Jakob Piil T-MOBILE TEAM + 5h00'15
120 Taylor Phinney DISCOVERY CHANNEL + 5h00'34
121 Diego Ulissi TEAM ASTANA + 5h01'20
122 Scott Davis T-MOBILE TEAM + 5h04'43
123 Luca Barla CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 5h07'47
124 Francesco Chicchi UNIBET.COM + 5h12'43
125 Martin Pedersen UNIBET.COM + 5h13'26
126 Cyrille Monnerais FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 5h20'09
127 Bram Schmitz RABOBANK + 5h20'29
128 Mikaël Chérel FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 5h20'42
129 Lander Aperribay EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 5h25'03
130 Tim Gudsell FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 5h26'22
131 Leonardo Scarselli QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 5h27'41
132 Michele Scotto d'Abusco CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 5h27'56
133 Mathieu Ladagnous FRANÇAISE DES JEUX + 5h28'08
134 Filippo Savini CERAMICA PANARIA - NAVIGARE + 5h34'35
135 Alexei Kolessov TEAM ASTANA + 5h40'04
136 Matthew Hayman RABOBANK + 5h40'43
137 Bastiaan Giling TEAM WIESENHOF FELT + 5h43'29
138 Tom Veelers COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 5h45'54
139 Joseba Zubeldia EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 5h45'55
140 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED + 5h47'07
141 Marc Lotz BARLOWORLD + 5h51'41
142 Unai Uribarri EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI + 5h55'04
143 Ersilio Calogero TEAM MILRAM + 5h56'57
144 Stefano Zanini PREDICTOR - LOTTO + 6h03'02
145 Gwenaël Merville COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 6h11'11
146 Diego Caccia BARLOWORLD + 6h13'46
147 Jose Segura GEROLSTEINER + 6h21'36
148 Paolo Fornaciari LAMPRE - FONDITAL + 6h22'16
149 Kasper Klostergaard TEAM CSC + 6h25'28
150 Fabio Baldato COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE + 6h26'18
151 Antonio Aldegani QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 6h28'21
152 Davide Viganò QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 6h34'53
153 Wilfried Cretskens QUICKSTEP - INNERGETIC + 6h35'46
154 Sebastian Siedler TEAM MILRAM + 6h51'10

Points
1 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 236
2 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 201
3 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 192
4 Daniele Bennati LAMPRE - FONDITAL 153
5 Danilo Napolitano LAMPRE - FONDITAL 133
6 Christopher Sutton COFIDIS, LE CRÉDIT PAR TÉLÉPHONE 118
7 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 114
8 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM 110
9 Alessandro Petacchi TEAM MILRAM 108
10 Assan Bazayev CRÉDIT AGRICOLE 92
21 Anuar Manan DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 55
23 Geraint Thomas DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 45
27 Ruggero Marzoli DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 35
40 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 19
44 Fran Pérez DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 17
60 Frederik Nolf DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 10

KoM
1 Danilo Di Luca UNIBET.COM 61
2 Bernhard Kohl TEAM ASTANA 55
3 Alejandro Valverde CAISSE D'EPARGNE 49
4 Matej Mugerli LIQUIGAS 36
5 Riccardo Riccò SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 35
6 Dario Cataldo T-MOBILE TEAM 34
7 Leonardo Bertagnolli LIQUIGAS 33
8 Jurgen Van den Broeck PREDICTOR - LOTTO 19
9 Dioni Galparsoro EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 18
10 Manuel Medina SAUNIER DUVAL - PRODIR 14
30 Aleksandr Pliuschin DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 4
34 Rigoberto Urán DFL - CYCLINGNEWS - LITESPEED 3

5th in the Giro is nice, but Jay-Z winning, that is awesome

5th nice

Scary for a moment there with the crash

A very nice Giro

great stuff in the giro, 5th is realy good

too bad though for Cataldo and Marzoli.. both being passed just before the finish...

and about Nolf... I think his flat and resistance skill are still a bit too low for cobbeld victory, but we'll see