Time for the racing to begin here in Italy. The sky is blue, the sun is shining and Gabriel Brizuela of Lipton launches himself as we leave town.
Van Poppel (Eurosport), Cummings (Wiggle), Hopman (Virgin) and Engels (Warner) are all in a hurry to join him. For a few kilometers it looks as if this group may be let get away. Gatis Smukul has other ideas though, and when he takes off six or seven others scramble to follow him. The group is too big now to be let go and with B&O, Accumulax, Festina and La Gazzetta on the front the escapees are brought back. Everything is together again with 165k to go.
It doesn't stay that way for long and the next set of riders to try their luck get themselves into the break of the day. Engels is there for Warner, Brizuela again for Lipton, Ford for Virgin, Ingels for Festina. As we head into the hills, there are 105k to go and this group of four have a lead of around six and a half minutes.
It is B&O and Accumulux doing most of the work on the front and when the pack reaches the same point in the road the gap has also shrunk close to five and a half minutes.
Up the first slope Simon Gerrans is the first from the pack to put in an attack. Behind him, Eurosport captain Velits decides to test his legs too. Mollema and Hermans are the Rabobank and Wiggle riders who follow.
Even with La Gazzetta on the front of the pack hammering out a high pace these four manage to start to open a gap.
At the top of this first climb the original lead group have a gap of just over two and a half minutes back to the four chasers. The pack are a further 55 seconds behind. The main bunch ease up on the descent, the Gerrans/Velits/Mollema/Hermans groups do not and really hammer the pace as the gap increases.
Pineau (Wikipedia) decides the time may be right to make a move and jumps from out of the pack. Going with him are Gusev (Philips), Bellis (BA) and Cherel (White Bear).
At the foot of the days second major obstacle, the lead four now have a gap of only 28" on the second group who led by Velits are closing in quick. They are soon up to them and the lead group becomes 8. Bellis and Cherel are working hard to try and bridge up to this and Pineau and Gusev are struggling to stay with them.
Just under 70k to go and Bellis and Cherel have joined the lead 8 meaning it is now a group of 10. We are over the second of the days two big climbs. Pineau and Gusev have failed to make it across. They are 50' back, with the La Gazzetta, B&O and Festina led-pack around 2 minutes behind them.
Pineau and Gusev work hard on the descent but with 10 riders in front of them working hard togehter they just can't close the gap. 50k to go they are still 1'06" behind. The pack are picking up speed and have closed to 1'14" of this pair.
The pace and 20mph win is beginning to tell in the lead group. Ingels is the first to drift off the back and as we move into the final 30k, the lead nine have just under 1'30" on the charging pack.
There are three short sharp climbs on the run in and it looks as if Engels might be the strongest rider in the escape.
Back in the pack, Ballan is the rider who launches the first big attack.
He has quickly bridged up to the escapees, but with the Virgin now at the head of the pack, everything is just about together at the top.
On the flat before the next climb, it's Ballan again who makes a move.
Under the 20k to go banner and onto the second of the three climbs before the finish, he has a lead of just over 30 seconds. Posthuma puts in a major turn on the front for La Gazzetta on this climb, completely nullifying attacks from Ulissi and Sinkewitz.
He can't stop Nibali though he launches himself close to the summit. 18.5k to go.
Just under 15k to go, these two have just under 30 seconds. Do the two Italians have what it takes here to deliver a surprise result?
10k and the final climb of the run in. The two are striving to stay away. De La Fuente is the Gazzetta rider now burying himself for Cunego. But what of the other favourites?
Not quite at the summit, but here's one of them. With Ballan and Nibali just about caught, Rodriguez Oliver is making a move for Virgin.
It looks like a very well timed move too. Cunego and Sanchez are slow to see the danger but do eventually react.
With team leader Schleck in the pack but perhaps suffering from stomach problems, Pellizotti is much closer to the top when he is given the green light to pursue his own ambitions.
The descent and the run in to the finish is a fast one, and try and he might Nibali cannot stay with these four other powerhouses who have surely now made the winning move.
The finish is an uphill one and it is Cunego who leads the sprint out from a long, long way.
He's still leading 700 meters from the line. Do Rodriguez or Sanchez have the legs to come around?
500m and has Cunego finally hit the wall?
The last 250 meters. The others are running out of space.
After an extremely strong finish Cunego has delivered for his team and has won the Giro dell'Emilia and perhaps pushed La Gazzetta out of reach in the race for the PT title.
Sammy Sanchez takes 2nd, Rodriguez fades over the final few meters and is pipped at the line for 3rd by Pellizzoti who delivers for Accumulux in Schleck's place.
Nibali is swallowed up by the pack in the closing meters and Monfort delivers an impressive 5th for White Bear. 6th for Philips is Ulissi. Claeys is 7th for Domina, Marzano (Unicef) 8th, the unfortunate Nibali 9th and Danilo Di Luca grabs 10th.
Results
1
Damiano Cunego
La Gazzetta dello Sport
4h52'21
2
Samuel Sánchez Gonzalez
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
3
Franco Pellizotti
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
4
Joaquin Rodriguez Oliver
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
5
Maxime Monfort
White Bear - Wild Horse
+ 37
6
Diego Ulissi
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
7
Dimitri Claeys
Domina Vacanze
+ 48
8
Marco Marzano
Unicef RT
s.t.
9
Vincenzo Nibali
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
10
Danilo Di Luca
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
11
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
12
Constantino Zaballa
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
13
Frank Schleck
Accumalux-Huez
+ 1'08
14
David López Garcia
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
15
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Team B&O
s.t.
16
Patrik Sinkewitz
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
17
Luis Leon Sanchez Gil
Rabobank
s.t.
18
Rinaldo Nocentini
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
19
Jan Bakelants
Rabobank
s.t.
20
José Rujano
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
21
John Gadret
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
22
Jonathan Bellis
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
23
Laurens Ten Dam
Rabobank
s.t.
24
Simon Gerrans
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
25
Jordi Grau
Rabobank
s.t.
26
Ignas Konovalovas
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
27
Peter Velits
Eurosport
s.t.
28
Bauke Mollema
Rabobank
s.t.
29
Theo Eltink
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
30
Francesco Bellotti
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
31
Xavier Florencio
Wikipedia
s.t.
32
Francisco Perez Sanchez
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
33
Andrei Grivko
Team B&O
s.t.
34
Amaël Moinard
Rabobank
s.t.
35
Ben Hermans
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
36
David De la Fuente
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
37
Wim Van Huffel
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
38
Alessandro Ballan
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
39
Mikaël Chérel
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
40
Karsten Kroon
Rabobank
s.t.
41
Simone Ponzi
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
42
Nick Nuyens
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
43
Hubert Schwab
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
44
Andrei Amador
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
45
Cyril Gautier
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
46
Vladimir Gusev
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
47
Mauro Facci
Warner Brothers
s.t.
48
Przemyslaw Niemiec
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
49
Sébastien Joly
Eurosport
s.t.
50
Matteo Bono
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
51
Jukka Vastaranta
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
52
Steve Morabito
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
53
Alexandre Vinokourov
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
54
Christophe Brandt
Unicef RT
s.t.
55
Joost Posthuma
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
56
Moises Dueñas
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
57
Remmert Wielinga
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
58
Jurgen Van Goolen
Festina - Seiko
+ 2'16
59
José Antonio Pecharroman
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
60
Mathieu Perget
Crédit Lyonnais
+ 2'32
61
Philip Deignan
Eurosport
+ 2'56
62
Matej Mugerli
La Gazzetta dello Sport
+ 3'17
63
Drasutis Stundzia
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
64
José Chacon
American Suzuki
+ 3'25
65
Damiano Caruso
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
66
Jérôme Pineau
Wikipedia
+ 3'49
67
Domenik Klemme
Team B&O
+ 4'09
68
Marcus Burghardt
Wikipedia
+ 4'17
69
Stefano Garzelli
Eurosport
s.t.
70
Ricardo Mestre
Team B&O
s.t.
71
Mauro Santambrogio
La Gazzetta dello Sport
s.t.
72
Christian Knees
Eurosport
s.t.
73
Tom Leezer
SIC Radical - Timberland
s.t.
74
André Steensen
Team B&O
+ 4'41
75
Julien Berard
American Suzuki
s.t.
76
David Herrero Llorente
Wikipedia
s.t.
77
Fredy Montaña
Unicef RT
s.t.
78
Anthony Geslin
Festina - Seiko
s.t.
79
Marcello Pavarin
Wikipedia
s.t.
80
Lars Ytting Bak
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
81
John-Lee Augustyn
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
82
Jairo Agudelo
Unicef RT
s.t.
83
Alex Dowsett
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
84
João Cabreira
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
85
Jai Crawford
American Suzuki
s.t.
86
Jaime Suaza
Unicef RT
s.t.
87
Dietmar Mehr-Wenige
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
88
Pierre Rolland
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
89
Nico Sijmens
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
90
Thomas De Gendt
Team B&O
s.t.
91
Laurent Mangel
Crédit Lyonnais
s.t.
92
Jay Thomson
Unicef RT
s.t.
93
Addy Engels
Warner Brothers
s.t.
94
Chris Anker Sørensen
Team B&O
s.t.
95
Andrei Sartasov
Eurosport
s.t.
96
William Ford
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
+ 5'45
97
Dmitri Kozontchuk
Rabobank
+ 5'57
98
Gatis Smukulis
Accumalux-Huez
+ 6'53
99
Matthieu Ladagnous
American Suzuki
s.t.
100
David Vitoria
SIC Radical - Timberland
+ 7'05
101
Mauro Da Dalto
Domina Vacanze
+ 7'13
102
Tom Diggle
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
+ 7'25
103
Sébastien Rosseler
Warner Brothers
+ 7'33
104
Gabriel Brizuela
Lipton Ice Tea
+ 7'45
105
Erik Hoffmann
British Airways - Martini
+ 7'53
106
Kevin Van Impe
Warner Brothers
+ 8'05
107
Boy Van Poppel
Eurosport
+ 8'13
108
Ivan Stevic
Wikipedia
+ 8'21
109
Pieter Jacobs
Unicef RT
+ 8'33
110
Juri Krivtsov
Crédit Lyonnais
+ 8'41
111
Laurent Lefèvre
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
112
Christoph Mai
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
113
Kenny Van Hummel
Warner Brothers
+ 8'57
114
Christophe Kern
Philips - Hummel
s.t.
115
Lars Croket
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
116
Steven Cummings
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
+ 9'21
117
Nikolas Maes
Wikipedia
s.t.
118
Chiaffredo Grippo
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
119
Jacob Fiedler
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
120
Sebastien Einsle
Accumalux-Huez
s.t.
121
Vadim Ratiy
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
122
Nick Ingels
Festina - Seiko
+ 10'25
123
Kam-po Wong
British Airways - Martini
+ 12'45
124
Brad Armstrong
American Suzuki
+ 13'01
125
Clément Lhotellerie
Unicef RT
+ 13'53
126
Chris Barton
Wikipedia
s.t.
127
Imanol Erviti
American Suzuki
+ 14'01
128
Danilo Wyss
Domina Vacanze
s.t.
129
Jan Hopman
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
+ 14'29
130
Thomas Bontenackels
Lipton Ice Tea
+ 15'41
131
Aleksandr Khatuntsev
Lipton Ice Tea
s.t.
132
Sid Taberlay
Domina Vacanze
+ 15'53
133
John Devine
American Suzuki
+ 16'33
134
Koldo Fernandez
Domina Vacanze
+ 19'45
135
Khayabkhyrvaa Uugunbayar
British Airways - Martini
+ 20'05
136
Carlos Alexandre Manarelli
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
+ 20'25
137
Luke Roberts
Eurosport
+ 20'33
138
Remy Bourdouxhe
Lipton Ice Tea
+ 20'53
139
Fabio Borghesi
American Suzuki
+ 21'37
140
Óscar Avelino
Lipton Ice Tea
+ 21'45
141
Mathieu Bernaudeau
Festina - Seiko
+ 22'05
142
Christian Ranneries
Festina - Seiko
+ 22'13
143
Pim Ligthart
Virgin Media - Caisse d'Epargne
s.t.
144
Wilfried Cretskens
Warner Brothers
+ 22'25
145
Ismaël Kip
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
146
Ahmed Ahmed
Warner Brothers
+ 22'33
147
Christian Frommelt
British Airways - Martini
s.t.
148
Lars Tommersen
British Airways - Martini
+ 23'21
149
Mads Kaggestad
Warner Brothers
+ 23'33
150
Ramunas Navardauskas
Festina - Seiko
+ 23'45
151
Roman Maksimov
White Bear - Wild Horse
s.t.
152
Morten Hegreberg
Team B&O
+ 24'17
153
Ananias Ananias
100% ME
+ 24'33
154
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke
100% ME
s.t.
155
Peter Williams
100% ME
+ 26'25
156
Kristian House
100% ME
+ 28'01
*Don't know what happened with Schleck. Was played with random fitness off I can confirm.
