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May 9, 2012 – Giro d'Italia





No breakaway could really establish itself today as Liquigas was doing the pace. We saw what was the reason on the last two mountain sprint when Nibali attacked to take the points. Afterwards, Liquigas dropped back a bit, which allowed Juan José Oroz the chance to attack. And fitting to this weird Giro (in terms of sprinting), no one aimed to bring him back. Eventually, he saved a couple of meters in front of the pack which was led by Tyler Farrar (who I must have overseen completely in the preview).

1	Juan José Oroz	Euskaltel – Euskadi	4h39'33
2	Tyler Farrar	Team Garmin – Cervélo	s.t.
3	Koldo Fernández	Eukaltel – Euskadi	s.t.

The hilly transfer stage looked perfectly well for a break so we sent Capecchi in the group of the day which consisted of 14 riders. And indeed they got away and increased the advance. And increased. And increased. Eventually, the pack finished 25'27 (!) behind, which vaults Capecchi to 16th overall. In the sprint for the win, he finished fifth. Mirco Lorenzetto won the sprint easily ahead of Harald Starzengruber.

1	Mirco Lorenzetto	Pro Team Astana	4h28'41
2	Harald Starzengruber	Leopard – Trek	s.t.
3	Steve Chainel	FDJ	s.t.

The action already started on the third to last climb when Sylvester Szmyd upped the pace. Only 15 riders could stay together, some of the Top 10 were missing. The group passed the penultimate climb together as well and entered the last ascent. About halfway through it, Fabio Duarte attacked. He quickly created a gap of 40 seconds and some riders followed. Nibali decided to constantly ride a high pace and slowly closed up to the front.

One after another, he overtook almost all riders in front him until, on the last kilometer, he was side by side to Scarponi and only a bit behind Duarte. The Colombian could hold on to his third stage win and Scarponi outsprinted Nibali but they're only 16 seconds behind. Most important today: Michael Rogers lost almost two minutes on Nibali and falls back to third. The fight for the podium is very tight but the overall seems to be safe for the Italian!

On other note, 25 riders had to abandon today, among them unfortunatly four of ours: Bodnar, Wurf, Viviani and Guarnieri.

1	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	6h00'37
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 16
3	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	s.t.
4	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 51
5	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
6	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 1'04
7	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 1'41
8	Dario Cataldo	Quick·Step Cycling Team	s.t.
9	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 1'59
10	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 2'18

General Classification after Stage 15:

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	65h50'41
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 3'41
3	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 3'51
4	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 4'15
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 6'13
6	Dario Cataldo	Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 11'14
7	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 13'34
8	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 14'09
9	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 16'11
10	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	+ 16'39

Points Classification after Stage 15:

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	153
2	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	115
3	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	106

Mountain Classification after Stage 15:

1	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	59
2	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	49
3	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	46

Young Riders Classification after Stage 15:

1	Alexandre Geniez	Skil - Shimano	66h48'34
2	Andrew Talansky	Team Garmin - Cervélo	+ 3'57
3	Rafael Valls	Geox - TMC	+ 5'52

Team Classification after Stage 15:

1	Liquigas - Cannondale		196h31'41
2	Katusha Team		+ 35'51
3	Geox - TMC		+ 56'22

Rogers seems to be struggle in the mountains, which is good for Nibali Nice performance again.. Duarte's three stage-wins are pretty awesome, looks like he will be able to take the 3rd Overall at least... and what a break there, 25 minutes.. that doesn't happen so often.

I actually hope Rogers gets 2nd because i like him.

A fine 3rd place behind two GC contenders and still a healthy lead overall

Still cruising towards the GC-win! Too bad 4 riders finished outside the time-limit, but I had the same in my story in the 2011-Giro, as long as you cankeep at least 3 guys to bring Nibali water! GL for the last stages.

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May 9, 2012 – Giro d'Italia





The break of the day consisted of a couple strong riders including Marzio Bruseghin. They got a big advance of more than ten minutes and still 3 of them were left when Bruseghin entered the last 5 kms, now alone in front. The first chasing group was already rather small. No attacks were made until the final kilometer when they began sprinting towards Bruseghin. But the Italian saved some meters into the finish and got a surprising win.

Vincenzo Nibali had his first bad day and lost 50 seconds to Duarte and 38 seconds to Scarponi who both come a bit closer in the GC.

1	Marzio Bruseghin	Movistar Team	4h57'19
2	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 21
3	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
4	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 33
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 58
6	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	+ 1'11
7	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	s.t.
8	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 1'39
9	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 1'48
10	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.

The break of the day consisted of several good climbers including Eros Capecchi. They entered the last climb 18 mintues in front of the favorites. Capecchi soon fell back and finished sixth while Francis De Greef won way in front of Davide Rebellin.

Among the GC contenders, Michele Scarponi and Fabio Duarte were the strongest, just like yesterday, and made up 37 seconds on Nibali, who had another rather bad day. He's still 2'26 in front in the GC with only one MTF left though, so he shouldn't mind too much.

...forgot to take a screen...

1	Francis De Greef	Omega Pharma – Lotto	4h57'17
2	Davide Rebellin	Katusha Team	+ 5'24
3	Simone Stortoni	Colnago – CSF Inox	+ 6'15

We sent Sylvester Szmyd into the break, but without success. 14 riders passed the biggest climb together. Some attacks were neutralized, but on the last climb, the group again split and only five riders sprinted for the win. Duarte won his fourth stage gaining another 20 seconds on Nibali who finished fourth behind Scarponi and Rujano. Mosquera was the fifth member of that group, Michael Rogers might have lost all his podium ambitions today as he finished about a minute behind the leaders.

1	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	6h00'37
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre – ISD	s.t.
3	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.
4	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	s.t.
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	s.t.
6	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	s.t.
7	Mauricio Alberto Ardila	Geox – TMC	+ 47
8	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 1'17
9	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	s.t.
10	Dario Cataldo	Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 3'29

General Classification after Stage 18:

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	81h05'38
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 2'14
3	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 2'16
4	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 5'08
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 6'00
6	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	+ 14'56
7	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 17'58
8	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 18'19
9	Dario Cataldo	Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 18'37
10	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 19'23

Points Classification after Stage 18:

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	180
2	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	167
3	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	146
4	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	99
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	91

Mountain Classification after Stage 18:

1	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	75
2	Marzio Bruseghin	Movistar Team	65
3	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	61

Young Riders Classification after Stage 18:

1	Alexandre Geniez	Skil - Shimano	82h54'51
2	Andrew Talansky	Team Garmin - Cervélo	+ 2'55
3	Rafael Valls	Geox - TMC	+ 25'25

Team Classification after Stage 18:

1	Liquigas - Cannondale		242h34'17
2	Katusha Team		+ 39'52
3	Geox - TMC		+ 1h04'43

I see Duarte and Rujano are very strong here too...but this Giro is going to Nibali....well done.

Losing some time, but 2'14 still should be enough!

Duarte's 4th stage-win.. nice... Nibali had a first bad day, but he looks good! I really love that pic in stage 16 with the mountain in the back

Nice nice Giro so far

Mmmmm they are closing the gap on you, be careful

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May 9, 2012 – Giro d'Italia





An easy stage before the last epic queen stage. Not surprisingly, a break won this. Thomas Rohregger left his companions in the dust on the last hill and finishes first. The favorites finish 23 minutes behind them. Nibali uses the last descent to gain another 36 seconds on his opponents. Michael Rogers crashed and lost almost 3 minutes, he falls back to GC fifth.

… forgot to take a screen ...

1	Thomas Rohregger	Leopard – Trek	5h00'55
2	Davide Malacarne	Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 5'20
3	Rob Ruijgh	GreenEdge Cycling	+ 7'29

Here we are at the sickest of all stages! After three incredibly hard weeks, the organisation tops it all with 180 deathly kilometers.

As if the riders made a gentlemen's agreement, the day began very quiet. A group around Mikel Nieve and Alexandre Geniez got away and quickly created a large gap. Over the first mountains, the favorites stayed completely together. A group of 19 riders entered the last climb together while the front group was still seven minutes in front. By and by, the group decreased until only the top 6 of the GC were together.

José Rujano attacked about halfway through the climb and created a decent gap. One after another, he caught the escapees and rode towards the stage win! Behind him, Nibali continued to show weakness in this last week. He couldn't keep up with Duarte, who was again the strongest, and also Scarponi and Mosquera finished in front of him.

Another couple of riders had to abandon today. Among them is Daniel Oss, which means that only four Liquigas riders will finish tomorrow.

1	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	6h20'04
2	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 40
3	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 1'05
4	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 2'17
5	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	+ 2'36
6	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 3'15
7	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 3'27
8	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 4'33
9	Kanstantsin Siutsou	Team T-Mobile	+ 4'47
10	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	s.t.

The GC before the concluding time trial looks as follows:

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	92h52'33
2	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 44
3	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 1'11
4	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 6'17
5	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 9'03

Nibali shouldn't lose his overall lead anymore, although Scarponi showed up to be stronger in the previous days. Duarte should, if nothing extraordinary happens, fall back to third.





The fight for the overall involved the fight for the stage win today. Michael Rogers set a great best time, and it soon became clear that it would last! The Australian grabed the last stage win of this year's Giro.

More important was the battle of the Top 3: At checkpoint one, Scarponi led with 21 seconds to Nibali, it looked as if he could maybe attack him. Duarte followed only a second behind.

Checkpoint two showed the same image: Scarponi increased his lead to 32 seconds on Nibali and 35 seconds to Duarte. Scarponi would need another 39 seconds for the win.

But Nibali stroke back on the last part! He even cut 2 seconds out of the gap to Scarponi, who has to cope with the second spot both today and in the GC.

1	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	34'51
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 42
3	Cadel Evans	BMC Racing Team	+ 52
...
8	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	+ 1'12
...
19	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 1'57
...
32	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 2'21

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May 30, 2012 – Giro d'Italia

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	93h28'36
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	+ 41
3	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	+ 1'29
4	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	+ 7'26
5	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	+ 7'51
6	José Rujano	Androni Giocattoli	+ 13'03
7	Stefano Garzelli	Katusha Team	+ 21'04
8	Ivan Basso	Katusha Team	+ 21'32
9	Emanuele Sella	Androni Giocattoli	+ 22'32
10	Kanstantsin Siutsou	Team T-Mobile	+ 26'36

Vincenzo Nibali takes home his second Giro win in a row. He might not have been the strongest in the mountain, but he just was the cleverest, gaining multiple seconds with nicely timed late attacks on mediocrely hard stages. Plus, he convinced in the time trials.

Fabio Duarte showed up to be the best climber, underlined by four stage wins. A rather bad first week and his lack of time trialing skills denied him a better placement.

The most positive surprise surely was Michael Rogers. During the first half of the race, he even had realistical chances on a podium spot. In contrary to him, Ivan Basso surely was the most negative appearance here, finishing even behind his 38 years old team mate Garzelli.

1	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	207
2	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	188
3	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	187
4	Michael Rogers	Sky ProCycling	134
5	Ezequiel Mosquera	Movistar Team	105

At every point of the race, the climbers were in charge of this ranking. Nibali took it due to his consistency.

1	Fabio Duarte	Geox - TMC	90
2	Vincenzo Nibali	Liquigas - Cannondale	65
3	Marzio Bruseghin	Movistar Team	65
4	Michele Scarponi	Lampre - ISD	55
5	Francis De Greef	Omega Pharma - Lotto	52

Consequentally, the best climber wins this racing. Marzio Bruseghin and Francis De Greef benefited from multiple breakaways.

1	Alexandre Geniez	Skil - Shimano	95h46'02
2	Andrew Talansky	Team Garmin - Cervélo	+ 9'17
3	Rafael Valls	Geox - TMC	+ 39'58
4	Davide Malacarne	Quick·Step Cycling Team	+ 1h41'43
5	Anthony Roux	FDJ	+ 1h50'13

For a long time, Talanksy and Valls were still in the game. But on the last queen stage, stage 20, Geniez left them completely behind and took the lead in the ranking.

1	Liquigas - Cannondale		280h00'36
2	Katusha Team		+ 41'29
3	Androni Giocattoli		+ 1h09'52
4	Movistar Team		+ 1h29'21
5	Geox - TMC		+ 1h44'12

Liquigas smashed the concurrence! Although only four riders finished, three of them were within the Top 15.







With four stage wins, Duarte was the shining figure of this Giro. It was due to his weak time trialing that he missed the win but with his first Grand Tour podium he finally fulfills his prosising potential.




You have to mention the overall winner here. Sure, last year he won five stages, this year only the time trial. But the startlist was unevenly harder. He made perfect use of his strong team, his downhilling and his cleverness to collect the advance he needed for his second win in a row.




The team came to Italy without a real GC leader and no one expected much. Therefore, three stage wins and a second spot, all from breakaways, are a fantastic result. Especially impressive was Davide Viganò, who won two stages in three days. The team was a enrichment for the race.

Other positive appearances:

Michael Rogers – Surprising GC fifth

Stefano Garzelli – 38 years old and normally domestique for Ivan Basso, he finished seventh overall.

The wild card teams – Three riders in the Top 10 and 6 stage wins. Only Acqua & Sapone couldn't really contribute anything.






The Australian crashed early in the race and never could keep up with the leaders. He eventually finished 18th, more than an hour off. Very disappointing.




Started as one of the overall contenders, the winner of 2010 and 2006 was never near the podium. Finishing eigth, he even arrived behind his luxury domestique Stefano Garzelli. A weak performance.




Sure, the route wasn't really made for sprinters. But there were opportunities. Thus, it's very rare that not a single stage was won in a veritable bunch sprint.

Other negative appearances:

Mikel Nieve – Top 5 contender in the first week, he couldn't live up to the expectations and fell back to 13th.

Tejay Van Garderen – Came here with the goal to win the young riders classification and didn't even finish.

Daniel Martin – Similar to Nieve, he seemed to be capable of a Top 10, then fell back to 26th




We can hardly say anything negative about this Giro. Sure, we didn't win 8 stages like last year but still: Nibali won the overall and points classification and we completely dominated the team classification with the overall places 1, 14, 15 and 21.

The only bad thing might be that only four riders finished. But considering the difficulty of the race that's not too bad. No team finished with more than seven riders, some brought only three riders to Milano.

YEEHH GREAT victory for Nibali

Nice summary of the Giro and a great win for Nibali against some very strong climbers like Scarponi and Duarte! The smartest rider won this race, collecting some important seconds on descents and doing very well in the timetrials.. A nice Giro with some surprises and the best climber winning the KoM-jersey as well I think it's time for a Duarte-podium @Dark Dog, too

But anyway: for this Giro (reports and results)

Nothing to add about this great Giro, maybe only one more

Great summary. Winning a GT is always great. Especially if it`s the Giro or the Tour.

That was pretty close in the end... Congrats in winning the Giro! Also a great review, now love to see some Nerz-action.