Despite being only the second stage out of five, the nearly 260km ride would likely determine the overall GC victory for the Giro di Sardegna. There was no pressure on Michele Scarponi to win, but we did want him to test his legs. An attack from the final climb would in all likelihood not stick, but we told Scarponi to attack 3km from top of the climb.
Getting into today's break was not easy. Multiple attempts were launched before a group of riders got away. With today's profile, there was a chance with a big enough lead, they could hold off the contenders and steal a victory. Additionally the length of the stage gave the hope that the peloton may be too generous and get burned.
Eventually a break of five got away. Androni sent Fabio Taborre, still feeling the heat from the sponsors. He was joined by Claudio Corioni (De Rosa), Bernardo Riccio (CDC - Cavaliere), Davide Ricci Bitti (ISD), and the dangerous Eros Capecchi (Footon). More than one of the commentators were surprised the peloton allowed his inclusion.
The break of 5 were given a very healthy lead. They lead by 10 minutes halfway through the stage.
As the peloton neared the final climb of the day, it was clear they had the break under control. Focus quickly shifted to the contenders. Would any make a move so far out?
That was answered 5km out when Rinaldo Nocentini attacked.
Nocentini moves onto the attack, nearly 45km away from the finish.
Pierrick Fédrigo and Andrea Noè (Ceramica) followed after him. And with 3km from the top, Michele Scarponi attacked. Not so much in response, but just to gain some fitness.
Scarponi didn't have the legs to reach any of the attacking favorites.
Scarponi was not the only one unable to reach Nocentini. Neither Fédrigo or Noè could ever bridge his blistering attack had caused. As the peloton came back together, it was Nocentini vs. a group of around 80 riders.
Nocentini's gap continued to grow, as it reached a maximum of 3'04" with 20km to go. No team wanted to react and make the effort and reel him in.
Finally, the peloton started to ride, but it would be too late to catch Nocentini. The lack of reaction from the peloton may have been because of low energy levels, but was still unacceptable.
Nocentini soloed to an emphatic victory.
In the last kilometers, Damiano Cunego got away from the group to take second place. Scarponi, Bertagnolli, Bertogliati, and Piemontesi all finished with the main group.
This is classed as a flat stage, but I'll be surprised if a sprinter wins the stage. A short climb is situated 10km from the finish line and appears to be in the perfect place for a rider to launch an attack. While it won't create massive gaps, it'll be interesting to see if any rider can make a move that sticks.
An 11 man break formed fairly quickly today. The best placed rider was Enrico Zen (Colnago) who was 2'24" behind the leader Rinaldo Nocentini. Damiano Marguti made the break for Androni Giocattoli. Perhaps the most dangerous man in the break was Pierre Rolland (Bbox) who was nearly 6 minutes off the pace entering the day.
The eleven man break by the coast.
At the second sprint point, the breakaway had a lead of 7'15" over the peloton. AG2R seemed indifferent to the break and certainly no other team would do their work for them.
As the breakaway reached the 2nd of 3 climbs, Rolland and Zen rode off the the front and away from the group. These two were going for the stage win, with Zen looking to make a significant move up the GC rankings.
With the peloton in the background and the rest of the breakaway almost completely out of the shot, Rolland and Zen make their move.
As the two leading riders made the short descent into the valley, they had a 3 minutes lead over the peloton. However, survival would be hard with other 2 riders, and it was clear Zen was tiring fast.
Before the last climb, Rolland left Zen behind, knowing that if he could survive for 13km, he would have the stage victory. The other 9 breakaway riders were caught at the base of the final climb, leaving only Rolland, and the exhausted Zen ahead.
Scarponi sensed his opportunity when the peloton slowed after catching most of the breakaway. He tore off the front, hoping to separate himself from the competition.
Scarponi attacking, only a little more than 1km from the top of the hill.
Scarponi was the only rider to attack on the climb. He did create a bit of a gap, but not enough to hold off the surging peloton. Had a couple riders went with him, they perhaps could have worked together to gain time.
With the finish nearing, it was clear that Rolland was struggling. The lead which was once minutes, had become seconds and was shrinking fast. As the peloton entered the final kilometer, Rolland was desperately sprinting for the line, praying he could hold off the fierce surge for a deserved victory.
If the course was 100m longer, Rolland surely would've lost, but he beat the peloton of 120 riders to the line for victory in the third stage. No Androni rider figured in the sprint.
Rolland is ecstatic, crossing the line just as he's caught.
Again classed as a flat stage, the two climbs in the second half of the stage would certainly factor in the outcome. The second climb finishes 40km from the line, but a long descent into the line could aid an attacking rider. Any high pace up the climbs will definitely eliminate most of the sprinters.
For 50km, the peloton would not let a break start. Every attack was quickly reeled in as it was clear the group was nervous about the stage. With a big enough lead, any rider who crests the second climb ahead of the peloton could make a good descent and stay away.
As attack after attack was brought back, the Androni team decided to sent Michele Scarponi on the attack. Surprisingly, the group allowed him to get away with 7 other riders. Scarponi was in 16th place, 2'24" behind Nocentini.
Scarponi caught the peloton asleep and got into the break.
Anticipating a response, Scarponi originally did not contribute much work to the break. However as the lead grew out, it became clear the peloton was letting the break go. Scarponi sensed the opportunity and immediately went to the front of the group.
Scarponi leads the break through the rain.
Astonishingly enough, the peloton didn't even keep the lead of the breakaway in check. With 100km to go, the breakaway had a lead of 7.5 minutes.
Scarponi made his move on the slopes of the first climb. While he was still 65km from the finish, he knew the breakaway riders would only slow him down.
Scarponi leaves the breakaway, making his intentions clear.
At this point, AG2R and Team Katusha began to realize the danger they were in and began to chase. At the top of the first climb, Scarponi was 1'23" ahead of the break and 5'37" ahead of the peloton.
Scarponi found his rhythm quickly and was looking strong as he climbed the second hill of the day. Despite this, the peloton was closing in, when Nocentini began the attacks. Several other riders responded, and formed an elite chase group behind Scarponi. The riders were Nocentini, Bennati, Mirco Lorezetto (Lampre), Federigo, Kirchen, Le Lay (AG2R), and Marcato (Vacansoleil).
A chase group formed on the second climb. This would make Scarponi's job even harder.
This group was 2'30" behind Scarponi and only 30" ahead of the peloton of 20 riders. As everyone chased Scarponi, most of the riders came back together, with the exception of Daniele Bennati, who was clearly very strong today.
Scarponi went under the 10km banner with a 56" lead over the chasing Bennati and 2'13" ahead of the 26 rider peloton. Tiring, it looked 50/50 whether he could hold off Bennati.
Scarponi had only 10km to go for victory. He had been off on his own for 55km.
As Bennati surged, it began clear that he would likely catch Scarponi. The question turned from if to when. That was answered when Bennati positioned himself directly behind Scarponi's wheel with 3.4km to go. The peloton was 1'30" behind.
As the two riders entered the final straight, Scarponi delayed sprinting, knowing he would lose to Bennati. Finally with 0.8km, both men opened up almost simultaneously. Scarponi gave everything he had, but had to settle for 2nd place.
After all that work, Scarponi has to watch Bennati take the victory.
Scarponi would move up the GC rankings, but he was clearly distraught to lose the stage victory. It was a brilliant move and brilliant ride and showed he was beginning to come into shape. A good sign for his first goal in March, the Tirreno-Adriatico.
Wow, an amazing story. Your english is flawless, wich makes this story even better. And the fact that you are Amercian makes your english good i guess hehe.
hillis91 wrote:
Wow, an amazing story. Your english is flawsless, wich makes this story even better. And the fact that you are Amercian makes your english good i guess hehe.
hillis91 wrote:
Wow, an amazing story. Your english is flawsless, wich makes this story even better. And the fact that you are Amercian makes your english good i guess hehe.
hillis91 wrote:
Wow, an amazing story. Your english is flawsless, wich makes this story even better. And the fact that you are Amercian makes your english good i guess hehe.
hillis91 wrote:
Wow, an amazing story. Your english is flawsless, wich makes this story even better. And the fact that you are Amercian makes your english good i guess hehe.
Keep it up
Wow thanks. Not sure my English is flawless, but I'd hope it would be half-way decent
valverde321 wrote:
And he's not from Jersey, so another bonus.
Haha, thankfully. Although my dad is...
I'm actually a Boston transplant living/working in NYC.
The final stage of the Giro di Sardegna should be one for the sprinters. There are two little rises in the middle, but nothing that should split up the pack. Androni will be hoping to protect Michele Scarponi's position, and put Alberto Loddo in position to have a strong sprint.
A breakaway formed very early into the stage, consisting of low placed riders. 14 riders made the move, none, being closer than 5 minutes in the GC. The make-up of the breakaway definitely caused a sense of relaxation in the peloton.
Early-on, race leader Rinaldo Nocentini punctured, but was able to recover quickly. No one in the peloton upped the pace when this happened.
The 14-man breakaway.
The peloton was slow to react, but eventually, when the breakaway lead reached 7 minutes, AG2R took to the front and began to work. While the lead was coming down, it was clear the breakaway would have a chance for victory. If they worked together, instead of attacking, each other.
The break begins to sprint for the win as the peloton closes in.
In the final straights, the group of 11 breakaway riders who had survived desperately tried to sprint for the win. Marcello Pavarin who was in 4th position in the breakaway sprint line was able to take the victory ahead of Nicolas Vogondy.
A one-day race which has a rather flat profile until around 10 km from the finish. Once there, the peloton will do two short circuits that feature a short, but steep climb. There will undoubtedly be action on these climbs as the riders fight for victory. Androni will be hoping Francesco Ginnani can continue his good form. Additionally, it will be the first race days for for our 3 South American riders, Serpa, Rodriguez, and Ochoa.
Attacks began as soon as the riders rolled out of the neutral zone, with 17 riders creating a gap. A breakaway of this size would not be tolerated by the peloton, as the teams, especially BMC, worked hard to reel them in. As the group reorganized, Jackson Rodriguez attacked, with only Fortunato Baliani (Miche) following him.
These two riders set off on their own, with no other rider adventurous to join in the break.
Rodriguez and Baliani were the only two riders in the break.
Rodriguez began to realize that as the lead grew, Baliani was doing no work. Not wanting to give a free ride, Rodriguez attacked Baliani with 80km to go. He successfully created a gap of around 25 seconds (which would grow), and was around 4 minutes ahead of the peloton.
On a solo mission, it would be difficult for Rodriguez to stay away.
AG2R took up the chasing duties and caught Baliani with 27km to go. At this point, Jackson Rodriguez was 1'52" ahead, and it looked unlikely he would survive. He managed to keep the lead steady, until he cracked with 14km to go. He was caught near the top of the first climb, but it was a great ride and valiant try.
AG2R and BMC reeling in Rodriguez with 11.4km to go.
With Rodriguez back in the main field, Androni turned their attention to Francesco Ginnani. Luca Solari, who had done a great job protecting the team leader all day, had moved Ginnani into position before the first climb. The Androni team had originally planned to attack on the first climb, but Ginnani was not going to attack his teammate Rodriguez, even though he was fading. With no one else attacking on the first climb, the race would come down to the final climb.
As the peloton began the final ascent, Ginnani let loose a blistering attack.
Ginnani created a lot of daylight with his attack with 3.4km remaining.
With Ginnani looking over his shoulder, no other rider responded. It was almost as if the rest of the field just let him go. Not one to waste such an opportunity, Ginnani continued his attack to the top of the hill and made the short descent to victory.
Arms aloft, Ginnani celebrates his second victory of the season.
What a crash
hehe.
