Race:

197km to go

Welcome at the start of the 2013 edition of the Giro dell'Emilia. All 116 riders have gathered at the start here in Cento for 197 kilometers. The weather forecast says it will be around 21 degrees with a few clouds, but no rain expected. Who is the first one to finish in San Luca after some local laps? Stick around to find out the answer!

187km to go

The first one to attack is San Marinese champion Pennarossa (CAN), who for some reason couldn't wear his national jersey. He's followed by Cusin (IAM) and others, but the group didn't get a true gap.

177km to go

A new attempt, this time with 6 riders. Dall'Antonia (CAN), Feunard (CJR), Gastauer (ALM), Gutierrez (MOV), Thwaites (TNE) and Vigano (LAM) got 1 minute at the moment.

167km to go

But they don't get the green light from the peleton as well and whilst they're being caught, De Negri (VIN), Ochoa (AND), Pelucchi (IAM) and Roth (CSS)

157km to go

Attacks, attacks everywhere. But no group is really rid of the peleton at the moment. Will we ever see a break in this race?

147km to go

Perhaps this big group of 14 riders. 1 minute and 30 seconds, but more attacks coming out of the back and the peleton chasing them down firmly.

135km to go

The gap increased to 2 minutes, is this the break of the day? The names: Gomez (CJR), Ista (IAM), Klimov (RVL), Sanz (MOV), Tanner (BEL) and the previous attackers Dall'Antonia, De Negri, Gastauer, Gutierrez, Ochoa, Pennarossa, Roth, Thwaites and Vigano

125km to go

The peleton (led by Astana, BMC, Euskaltel and Cannondale despite their 2 men in the break) is keeping the gap at 2 minutes. Meanwhile, Wetterhall (TNE) placed an attempt to join the break, but hasn't quite bridge the gap yet.

117km to go

The peleton has caught up with the leading group again.

106km to go

And here we go again. Feunard is the first one to give it another go!

96km to go

He is joined by 6 others: De Negri, Ista and Vigano from before and Bardet (ALM), Bongiorno (BAR) and Izagirre (EUS). They're 2 minutes and 30 seconds clear of the peleton, it seems like we have a break on our hands!

84km to go

The gap slowly extended to 3 minutes. Astana, BMC and Cannondale take charge of the peleton.

79km to go

Of course, the race is not completely flat, as showed on this picture. This little hill in Italy forced a split in the break. Bardet, Bongiorno and Izagirre, arguably the best riders in the break, have created a small gap over the other 4.

67km to go

Their little adventure didn't last long, because 7 kilometers later the break was reunited. However, it did have some impact on the gap to the peleton. It has now increased to 5 minutes and 30 seconds.

51km to go

Thanks to the work done by Astana, Belkin and Cannondale, the gap has been reduced by a minute. However, it remains the question whether or not the break can be caught in time, and if we can see a somewhat suprising winner here.

38km to go

We are riding under a sign which showes us there's 1 kilometer left, but in reality it's still 38 kilometers to go. Only logical conclusion: we have reached the local laps! The gap is down by another minute to around 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Champion System has joined the other teams in the relay.

34km to go

And, the break has seperated again, in the same composition as before. Bardet, Bongiorno and Izagirre are a whopping 1 minute and 30 seconds ahead of De Negri, Feunard, Ista and Vigano.

28km to go

3 laps to go for the leaders. Current situation: E1 - E2 3 minutes - P 15 seconds. The first dropped riders have been signalled, we hope they won't cause any problems while being lapped.

21km to go

The peleton now counts 39 riders, including the 4 riders dropped from the break. The gap is coming down, 2 minutes and 45 seconds according to our GPS signals. Astana and Belkin have the control over the peleton.

19km to go

Here we go! Nibali (AST) is the first one of the favourites to attack! It seems like a long shot, but with the Italian you never know.

16km to go

The prove my statement right he (behind the tree in the back) has already brought down to gap with the leaders to a mere 1 minute and 15 seconds. Gesink (BEL) trails him by 30 seconds, followed by Kangert (AST) and Sagan (CAN) another 20 seconds further down the road. Behind them a small group with Frank (BMC), Kakhi (CSS), Verboven (EUS) and Visconti (MOV). The rest seems out of contention already.

14km to go

Oh, sneaky downhill attack by Bardet. He may have realised his best shot is to get rid of Bongiorno and Izagirre and go to the line alone. But Nibali is already within a minute with 14 kilometers to go!

11km to go

The Italian and the Spaniard managed to catch up with the Frenchman again to form a coalition to withhold Nibali. Gesink and Sagan are only 30 seconds behind the Italian and shouldn't be counted out yet. The rest is over a minute behind them.

9000m to go

1 lap, 9000 meters, 1 hill. That's all that seperates the leaders from a possible victory. Nibali is 40 seconds behind, but now experiences some inconveniences with lapped riders. The gap to Gesink and Sagan extends to 1 minute and 40 seconds. The remainder of the favourites are 2 minutes behind the 3 leaders.

7000m to go

3 leaders, bullshit. We now have 4 leaders! Bardet, Bongiorno, Izagirre and.........Vincenzo Nibali! He joined the breakaway and is now the absolute favourite to win the race. The rest isn't coming any closer.

2500m to go

2 and a half kilometers left, we're at the bottom of the hill. The finish is at the top of it. 3 riders have been at the front nearly all day long, 1 is relatively fresh and strong. The first chasers are 1 minute and 10 seconds behind, so it's safe to say the winner will be one of these 4.

1250m to go

Or should I have said it's safe to say. Vincenzo Nibali will be the winner. We aren't even in the final kilometers and he's managed to create a big gap. The other will battle for second place, with Bongiorno seemingly having the best papers there.

500m to go

It's not a question whether or not Nibali will win today, but can he overtake that group of riders battling for 109th place.

0m to go

Yes he can! With ease, he can overtake them and crosses the line in first place! Vincenzo Nibali is the winner of this year's edition of the Giro dell'Emilia!


Bongiorno crosses the line in second, 1 minute and 46 seconds behind his countryman. Bardet takes third ahead of Izagirre. Gesink got rid of Sagan at he final climb, they finish fifth and sixth respectively. Nocentini (ALM) grabs eight with a late attack, followed by Sanchez (BEL) and Kangert. Visconti completes the top 10. And guess which team finished eleventh............

Results:

Rank	Name	Team	Time
1	Vincenzo Nibali	Astana Pro Team	5h02'22
2	Francesco Bongiorno	Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox	+ 1'46
3	Romain Bardet	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 1'59
4	Gorka Izagirre	Euskaltel - Euskadi	+ 2'14
5	Robert Gesink	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 2'37
6	Peter Sagan	Cannondale Pro Cycling	+ 2'43
7	Rinaldo Nocentini	AG2R La Mondiale	+ 3'27
8	Luis León Sánchez	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 3'36
9	Tanel Kangert	Astana Pro Team	+ 3'50
10	Giovanni Visconti	Movistar Team	+ 3'56
11	Matthias Frank	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
12	Jorge Cristobal Riquelme	Belkin Pro Cycling Team	+ 4'00
13	Tejay Van Garderen	BMC Racing Team	+ 4'07
14	Rudy Verboven	Euskaltel - Euskadi	s.t.
15	Ivan Santaromita	BMC Racing Team	s.t.
16	Diego Johnson	Astana Pro Team	s.t.
17	Rajesh Kakhi	Champion System Pro Cycling Team	s.t.
18	Jakob Fuglsang	Astana Pro Team	+ 4'20
19	Enrico Gasparotto	Astana Pro Team	+ 5'06
20	Enrico Battaglin	Bardiani Valvole - CSF Inox	s.t.