Stage 7 takes us from Foggia, 222km up the Eastern side of Italy to Chieti. The stage is a hilly one, the first hilly stage of the Giro so far, and finishes with 3 short sharp climbs before running in to the finish line. The one mountain sprint is on the penultimate climb, and if the pack is back together Voeckler will go for the points!
We have been active in the breaks on most days up to now, so today we are not going to attack early. The plan is for the riders to stay low profile today until the last 3 hills. Gesink and Devine will follow Di Luca’s moves, Voeckler will try to get some mountain points if possible, and Lars Boom will stay close to the front for the run in, where his hill climbing, descending and sprinting skills will make him an ideal candidate to contest the stage. Other rivals today will probably include the likes of Efimkin, Ardila and, of course, that great descender Samuel Sanchez!
As usual, the attacks come early, and a group of 5 riders form today’s break, including De Groot of Rabobank and Boaro of Tinkoff
These riders are working well together, and set a furious pace in the first 100km
The peloton take their time, enjoying the rolling countryside, and at the halfway point in the stage, the break has 12 minutes advantage (PS lovely little village in the background! )
With 100km to ride, Agritubel decide that Caisse need some assistance, and the pace in the peloton shoots up
Astana join in with 50km to ride and the break is doomed
30km to ride, and the break is caught on the first of the three hills
and Voeckler takes his chance to attack for the mountain points
Voeckler is first across the line. He has given up any hope of a result in the stage, but now leads the KOM classification again!
Ardila attacks behind Voeckler, with 15km to go
But Astana are covering everything at the moment, and Sanchez is sticking close to the front
Over the top of the final hill, and Lund crashes! Will this crash destroy his chances of a good result in the Giro?
3km to ride, and Boom is sitting on Sanchez’ wheel! This is going to be a great sprint
The sprint starts, and its between Boom and Sanchez for the win
Boom is ahead by a wheel, but this is going to be close!
And he takes the victory! Boom justifies his selection with a great sprint victory over Sammy Sanchez! Team Columbia has its second stage win of the Giro!
Stage Result
1 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 5h14'00
2 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
3 Maxim Iglinskiy - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
4 Martin Elmiger - AG2R La Mondiale - s.t.
5 Sven Nys - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
6 Thomas Brigaud - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
7 Eddy Ratti - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
8 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
9 Vladimir Efimkin - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
10 Mauricio Ortega - Team CSC Saxo Bank - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 30h15'38 2 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - + 39
3 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 45
4 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 1'01
5 Vincenzo Nibali - Liquigas - s.t.
6 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
7 Álex Ardila - Rabobank - s.t. 8 John Devine - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'41
10 Marco Osella - Quick·Step - + 1'54
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 0 - 79 2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 25 - 75
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 0 - 55
4 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 0 - 54
5 Aurélien Passeron - Silence - Lotto - 0 - 51
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 3 - 17
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15
3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10
4 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - 0 - 6
5 Kasper Linde - Lampre - 0 - 4
Edited by facmanpob on 30-01-2009 14:19
Stage 8 takes us on our second hilly stage of the Giro, west from Chieti through the rolling countryside towards the Apennine foothills to L’Aquila. The stage is a short one, only 146km, but with a steep climb at 109km, and another at the finish, this is definitely one for the puncheurs.
We are looking to have a quiet day today, after our exertions in the last few stages, and aren’t intending to get into any breakaways. Voeckler is back in the lead in the mountain classification, and deserves a rest! We will, however, keep an eye on the favourites in the run in to the finish
The peloton ride through the beautiful national parks towards the first of today’s categorized climbs, content to ride together for a little while before the attacks come.
But come they do, at the foot of the first hilly section, with 12 riders breaking clear. None of the riders will threaten the mountain jersey of Thomas Voeckler, so we leave the break to itself
At the top of the climb, with just under 100km to ride, Masciarelli of Acqua e Sapone takes the points, with the rest of the break a short distance behind
Meanwhile, Caisse set the pace, and keep the break’s advantage under 5 minutes
50km to the line, and the break’s advantage remains 4 minutes as they turn towards the second of today’s climbs
A few minutes behind them, the pack makes the same turn, but Agritubel are helping Caisse and the pace is increasing
Ricardo Ricco’s Agritubel teammates set the pace up the climb, but Di Luca is ominously near the front as the break’s lead diminishes
Under the relentless pressure, the peloton starts to break up, and Di Luca makes a bid to join the breakaway riders! Is he crazy? There are still over 35km to ride!
Di Luca passes some of the faltering breakaway at the top of the climb, and zooms down the other side to join the rest of the break. The rest of the leaders think he has gone mad, and nobody attacks!
Di Luca flies down the other side, and goes straight to the front of the break, with about 1 minute’s advantage on the peloton. He sets a furious pace at the front
Ricco decides that this is serious, and has a go
We can’t ignore this, and Devine and Gesink attack, with Linde of Lampre
And together with Zubeldia of Euskaltel, Ardila of Rabobank and Nibali of Liquigas, we make it to the break
But Di Luca hasn’t waited for us, and has ridden out front on his own! He even takes the final sprint points!
Astana ride like men possessed, and bring back the escapees (except for Di Luca of course!) Devine and Gesink sit up and allow their teammates to protect them
Clearly the Italian weather gods are smiling on Di Luca today, as the wind whips up to 48km/hr, and the peloton starts to fragment, hampering the chase!
5km to ride, and the peloton has completely fragmented. A leading group, driven by Astana, is clawing back time on Di Luca, and we have 4 riders in it – Gesink, Devine, Voeckler and Boom
Di Luca starts the final climb with a lead, and looks comfortable
Ricco attacks up the final climb!
The best of the rest begin the sprint for the line, and our riders are looking strong
Di Luca is too tired to raise his arms as he crosses the line for the stage win! And what a win! 35km of solo riding, through winds of up to 50km/hr!
Ricco hangs on for 2nd place
And Devine is the strongest of the pack, coming home in 3rd for Team Columbia!
Di Luca's magnigficent solo ride has extended his lead in the Giro, and Ricco gains 12 seconds on Gesink to leapfrog him into 2nd place. Boom gains 4 points on the day and becomes joint leader in the Points competition.
Stage Result
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 3h36'46
2 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 35 3 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 47
4 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - s.t.
5 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - s.t.
6 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
7 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
8 Maxim Iglinskiy - Astana Cycling Team - s.t.
9 Vladimir Efimkin - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
10 Kasper Linde - Lampre - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 33h51'54
2 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 1'38 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - + 1'56 4 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 2'10
5 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 2'14
6 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'18
7 Vincenzo Nibali - Liquigas - s.t.
8 Álex Ardila - Rabobank - + 2'54
9 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'58
10 Maxim Iglinskiy - Astana Cycling Team - + 3'14
Points Classification
1 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 4 - 79 2 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 0 - 79
3 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 33 - 78
4 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - 10 - 55
5 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 0 - 55
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 17
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10
4 Simone Masciarelli - Acqua e Sapone - 8 - 8
5 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - 0 - 6
Oops, sorry - forgot about him! Lund lost 2' 38" on the leaders, and dropped to 76th place after stage 7. On stage 8 he finished 30th, 1'23" down on Di Luca, and 36" down on the main riders, leaving him in 71st place 7 minutes down on Di Luca.
Cuesta, by the way, has recovered, and is now finishing nicely in the pack!
Stage 9 – 176km north east from L’Aquila to the coastal town of Giulianova.
This sort of stage is the reason we take Pacheco to the Grand Tours! The first half of the stage is hilly enough to tire out the sprinters, especially if we take a few turns on the front! Pacheco’s hill climbing ability will ensure that he is still sharp for the flat sprint at the end! An early mountain sprint will allow Voeckler to attack, win some points and then drift back to the pack without expending too much energy
After yesterday’s stage win for Di Luca, and second place for Ricco, Gesink has moved down to 3rd place overall. Voeckler has retaken the lead in the mountain competition, and Boom and Pacheco are fighting it out for top spot in the points (for some reason the screenshot didn’t register Boom as being from Team Columbia!)
As usual, the attacks come just before the first climb, and Voeckler takes his chance to go with them
3 riders make it clear, and Voeckler edges out Elmiger for maximum points
Voeckler sits up and rejoins the pack on one of the downhill sections, while the rest of the break takes shape
The peloton are clearly bored, as they start to make interesting shapes for the helicopter. Here they form an upside-down cross!
Three riders are out front, Elmiger of AG2R, Marcato of Serramenti and Mazzanti of Barloworld
And a further 8 riders are 2 minutes behind the leading group
Columbia take a turn at the front on the hills, showing off for the sponsors, and tiring out the sprinters! Voeckler leads in the green mountain jersey, Moreno is 2nd wheel in the Team Columbia jersey, Boom is next in the mauve points jersey, followed by Gesink in the young rider’s and Blanco in the red and yellow Spanish Champion’s jersey!
Mitsubishi decide that they need to drive the action at the front, and the gap starts to reduce
With 12km left to ride, only the front 3 riders are left, but the pack is bearing down on them
But they are caught soon after, and with 4km left, the sprinters are preparing. Southerland has dropped away from our lead out, leaving Boom in the mauve sprint jersey to lead out Pacheco. Rollin of Gerolsteiner is on our wheel.
The sprint starts, and Boom leads off
Pacheco is on form today, and only Rollin can go with him. All of the other big sprinters haven’t the energy to get in his wheel
Pacheco powers away, and Rollin tries to keep up
But Pacheco takes his second stage win of the Giro
No great disasters for anyone today, and a great win for Team Columbia! B)
Stage Result
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 4h09'00
2 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
3 Bruno Bertolini - Ceramica Flaminia - s.t.
4 Sébastien Chavanel - Française des Jeux - s.t. 5 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
6 Mauro Facci - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
7 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
8 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - s.t.
9 Dimitri Claeys - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
10 Michael Albasini - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 38h00'54
2 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 1'38 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - + 1'56
4 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 2'10
5 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 2'14
6 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'18
7 Vincenzo Nibali - Liquigas - s.t.
8 Álex Ardila - Rabobank - + 2'54
9 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'58
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 25 - 104
2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 12 - 91
3 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 9 - 87
4 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 20 - 75
5 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - 0 - 55
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 5 - 22
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10
4 Simone Masciarelli - Acqua e Sapone - 0 - 8
5 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - 0 - 6
The lads head down to the beach for a nice rest, and to check out the ladies. Unfortunately, the ladies have heard that they are coming and have gone elsewhere!
So, tomorrow the Giro starts up again, and this is where the race gets serious: 9 stages gone, 12 to go……and what a set of stages we have to come.
Tomorrow we have a hilly Time Trial, followed by 3 flat sprinter stages, and then come the mountains! 5 mountain stages, a hilly stage, then a mountain TT, and then a final flat stage into Milan to finish.
So, the final 8 stages of the race have 5 mountain stages and 1 mountain TT! Insane!
Giro round up – The results so far
2 stage wins:
Jean-Patrick Nazon (AG2R) Francisco Pacheco (Team Columbia)
Danilo Di Luca (Caisse d’Epargne)
Notable other performances:
Dominique Rollin (Gerolsteiner) – two 2nd place and one 3rd place finish Francisco Pacheco (Team Columbia) – in addition to his two wins, he has a 2nd place and a 3rd place finish
Sammy Sanchez (Astana) – two 2nd place finishes
Ricardo Ricco (Agritubel) – one 2nd place and two 3rd place finishes
[EDIT] got the order of stages wrong Edited by facmanpob on 30-01-2009 18:46
After a day of rest and relaxation, the riders are confronted with a challenging 54km Time Trial circuit, starting and finishing in the port city of Giulianova. The course includes several steep climbs, and should really start to whittle out the riders who won’t challenge for the overall Race win.
Gesink, Boom and Devine will be our main contenders today, but the favourite for the stage win has to be Hector Gonzalez of Saunier Duval
Following his fall earlier in the race, Gustav Larsson is one of the earliest riders to set off, and he sets the pace across the line
Leleuso of Liquigas is flying, however, and beats Larsson by a whopping 40”!
Mikkel Lund sets off in 71st, and at the 2nd split has the same time as Leleuso! But with an extra effort on the final climb, Lund comes in 3 seconds faster than the Liquigas man, to set the fastest time of the day
Boom and Gonzalez set off next, and through the first split Boom sets the fastest time of the day, but Gonzalez is not far behind!
Boom starts to fade near the end, and can’t keep up his blistering pace. Still, he crosses the line in first place, just faster than Mikkel Lund! A great ride from Lars Boom
But Gonzalez has no such difficulty maintaining the pace, and immediately smashes Boom’s time!
The action then comes thick and fast, with all of the other top riders out on the course at the same time, including Basso, Linde, Gesink, Di Luca and Devine. With all the riders through the first checkpoint, Gonzalez is still the favourite, but Linde is close to matching his time!
Osella of Quickstep sets a great time, but Basso beats him into 2nd place. Gonzalez still has the lead with only 5 other rides on the road
Through the 2nd checkpoint, and Linde and Gesink are really motoring. Both have beaten Gonzalez’s time! Can they hold on?
Linde can! The Dane sets the fastest time of the day! Devine, Ricco and Di Luca won’t beat that time, and only Gesink has been riding as fast today.
But Gesink fades similarly to Lars Boom, and can only come home in 7th place
Kasper Linde takes the stage (and before anybody asks, I will post his stats later ) from Gonzalez and Basso, but Di Luca holds on to the overall lead
Stage Results
1 Kasper Linde - Lampre - 1h13'54
2 Héctor González - Saunier Duval - + 18
3 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 39
4 Marco Osella - Quick·Step - + 41 5 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - + 1'00
6 Mikkel Lund - Quick·Step - s.t. 7 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - + 1'01
8 Thomas Brigaud - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'03
9 Stefano Leleuso - Liquigas - s.t. 10 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 1'23
11 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'25
...
13 Gustav Larsson - Team CSC Saxo Bank - s.t.
20 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - + 1'50
28 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 2'20
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 39h16'38
2 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 24
3 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'07 4 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - s.t.
5 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 1'43
6 Vincenzo Nibali - Liquigas - + 1'55
7 Riccardo Riccò - Agritubel - + 2'08
8 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'33
9 Thomas Brigaud - Astana Cycling Team - + 2'35
10 Marco Osella - Quick·Step - + 2'38
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 0 - 104
2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 12 - 103
3 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 87
4 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 0 - 75
5 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - 5 - 60
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 22
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10Edited by facmanpob on 04-02-2009 12:01
Unfortunately, this staged crashed every time I loaded it! So in the end I was forced to sim it
100km north of yesterday's TT, Ancona hosts the start of stage 11, a flat stage, 175km long, to the Northern town of Faenza. Yet another stage for the sprinters
Another sprint day will see Pacheco trying to gain more sprint points!
Stage Results
1 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - 3h40'09
2 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - s.t.
3 Luciano Pagliarini - Saunier Duval - s.t.
4 Marco Benfatto - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
5 Pieter Seyffert - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
6 Nuno Marta - Mitsubishi - s.t.
7 Honorio Machado - Rabobank - s.t. 8 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Bruno Bertolini - Ceramica Flaminia - s.t.
10 Baden Cooke - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 42h56'47
2 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 24
3 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'07 4 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - s.t.
5 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 1'43
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 12 - 116
2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 0 - 103
3 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 87
4 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 5 - 80
5 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - 22 - 72
6 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - 25 - 60
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 22
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10
Today’s stage is the second of three flat stages before the mountains, and takes us 185km from Faenza to Ferrare on the famous River Po.
Today’s stage shouldn’t affect the GC, but Pacheco will be aiming to increase his lead in the Points Classification, and try to take another stage win. With the mountains approaching, none of our riders are particularly interested in getting into any breaks!
Today’s breakaway formed early, and established a lead on the peloton of about 5 minutes
But the pack never allowed them a significant enough lead to give them a chance of making it to the end, with several teams assisting in the chase
Inside the final 30km, and a few of the breakaway riders attack
But it’s a futile gesture as the peloton reels them in anyway!
With the race back together, the sprint teams start to wind things up
And the Columbia train of Southerland, Boom and Pacheco position themselves expertly. Dominique Rollin of Gerolsteiner grabs Pacheco’s wheel, in a bid to get his first stage win (he has two 2nd places and a 3rd!)
The sprint starts, and Boom is in a great position for the lead out
Pacheco hits the front, and Rollin comes out from his wheel!
Pacheco has the lead, but Rollin has more strength and is gaining. Chavanel of FdJ is flying after a bad start and is gaining on both of them!
Its between these three riders! Chavanel is the fastest, but has he left himself too much to do? Rollin is also gaining, and Pacheco is slowing……..
And it’s a photo finish!
But Pacheco holds on for his third stage win! This matches his results in the last two Giros and now he has a total of 9 stage wins in the Giro d’Italia!
Agony for Rollin, however, as he takes his 3rd second place of the Giro!
Stage Result
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 4h03'34
2 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
3 Sébastien Chavanel - Française des Jeux - s.t.
4 Pieter Seyffert - Acqua e Sapone - s.t.
5 Luciano Pagliarini - Saunier Duval - s.t.
6 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - s.t.
7 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - s.t. 8 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - s.t.
9 Phil Southerland - Team Columbia - s.t.
10 Baden Cooke - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 47h00'21
2 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 24 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - + 1'07
4 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - s.t. 5 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 1'43
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 25 - 141 2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 8 - 111
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 20 - 100
4 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 10 - 97
5 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - 0 - 72
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 22
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10Edited by facmanpob on 04-02-2009 13:56
Today’s stage is the final flat stage before the Alps, and takes us from Rovigo 131km north to Marostica, in the shadow of the Dolomites. Today is the last day for the sprinters before the climbers take over, and Pacheco will be looking to extend his lead in the Points Classification
Again, Columbia will not be interested in the breakaway, as we need to conserve our strength for the exertions ahead!
In howling crosswinds of up to 50km/hr, a group of riders attack early on
The peloton works hard not to let them go
But in the high winds the pack begins to fragment
And 13 riders make it clear
With 50km to ride, the break has a lead of almost 4 minutes, and the peloton rides hard to reduce the gap
The break fragments under the pressure, and the peloton bring them in
But in the high winds the peloton breaks up, and the sprinter teams can’t effectively form their trains!
The sprint starts in disarray, and Pacheco tries to get onto someone’s wheel
But he can’t get moving today and the stage is wide open
Chavanel of FdJ is in good spirits after his podium place yesterday, and hits the front!
The only other recognized sprinter is Nielsen of Mitsubishi, but he can’t make any inroads into Chavanel’s lead
And Chavanel wins the sprint! Pacheco can only make 15th today!
Disappointing for us, as Di Luca will gain a lot of points in the next few stages, and we were hoping that Pacheco could keep the jersey all the way to the end of the Giro. With Di Luca only 45 points behind that is going to be difficult!
Stage Result
1 Sébastien Chavanel - Française des Jeux - 2h55'42
2 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - s.t.
3 Nuno Marta - Mitsubishi - s.t.
4 Stefano Leleuso - Liquigas - s.t.
5 Rubén Plaza - Quick·Step - s.t.
6 Sven Nys - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
7 Mauro Facci - Gerolsteiner - s.t.
8 Romain Zingle - Silence - Lotto - s.t.
9 Tim Gudsell - Française des Jeux - s.t.
10 Carlos José Ochoa - Française des Jeux - s.t.
General Classification
1 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 49h56'03
2 Kasper Linde - Lampre - + 24
3 Ivan Basso - Astana Cycling Team - + 1'07 4 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - s.t.
5 John Devine - Team Columbia - + 1'43
Points Classification
1 Francisco Pacheco - Team Columbia - 1 - 142
2 Lars Boom - Team Columbia - 0 - 111
3 Dominique Rollin - Gerolsteiner - 0 - 100
4 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 97
5 Philip Nielsen - Mitsubishi - 20 - 78
6 Bernardo Riccio - Liquigas - 0 - 72
7 Hilton Clarke - Bouygues Télécom - 0 - 60
8 Samuel Sánchez - Astana Cycling Team - 0 - 60
9 Sébastien Chavanel - Française des Jeux - 25 - 55
10 Jean-Patrick Nazon - AG2R La Mondiale - 0 - 54
Mountain Classification
1 Thomas Voeckler - Team Columbia - 0 - 22
2 Danilo Di Luca - Caisse d'Epargne - 0 - 15 3 Robert Gesink - Team Columbia - 0 - 10
As we move into the Alps, the sponsors give us an update on how they are feeling - and it looks as if they are overjoyed with the performances of Pacheco and Voeckler in the Giro!
)
Lund lost 2' 38" on the leaders, and dropped to 76th place after stage 7. On stage 8 he finished 30th, 1'23" down on Di Luca, and 36" down on the main riders, leaving him in 71st place 7 minutes down on Di Luca.
Pacheco’s hill climbing ability will ensure that he is still sharp for the flat sprint at the end! 
So in the end I was forced to sim it
