Time for the Giro Del Lazio. Flat to begin with, hilly in the middle and flat to finish, this one would be perfect for Wegmann. He, along with Gilbert and new World Champion Valverde have chosen to skip this one - still there are plenty of others in the hunt.
Pre-race favourites are Ginanni, Kirchen and Anza. Also in with a good shout are Ben Nasser, Nocentini, Hermans, Bettini and Martin according to the bookies.
50kmph+ winds at the start see an immediate split in the pack.
Jack Wolfskin are the team to do the work and close the gap and after the early scare for Kirchen, a break of 9 does manage to get away. Saldarriaga (Benfica), Boucher (Molteni), De Kort (Jack Wolfskin), Striska (Ultra), Medina (NOS), Kvist (IKEA), Cioni (Acqua & Sapone), Cappelle (Vespa) and Diggle(Wiggle).
Diggle and De Kort put in their fair share of work in the break, but Cappelle is only along for the ride and steadfastly refuses to work with the group. This doesn't stop Vespa helping to set the pace back in the back with 100%ME and Sony.
In any case, with the hilly middle part of the course approaching (127k left) the lead nine have a lead that is coming down and is now at 6'39".
96k to go and the lead is being cut quickly - just 3'37" now. Despite the quickened pace, Dan Martin decides it is the time for him to try and make a move. Vespa would dearly love to sign him - is this his come and get me message to the Italians?
He opens a gap in an impressive show of power. Up front in the break, Saldarriaga suffers a puncture and Martin is soon up with him and both work hard to bridge across/back to the lead group. They make it across, but are not the only ones working hard. Vespa and Sony are really putting the pressure on at the front of the pack and by the time Martin gets up to the lead group the lead is just 1'27".
Martin drives this front group along though and the lead holds fairly steady through the next 20k or so of hilly country. At the foot of the day's final climb - 52k from the finish - the lead group of 10 have 1'23" back to the pack. Jack Wolfskin have moved up to the front now, and along with Vespa and Sony are pushing the pace and making it hurt for even the best of the puncheurs.
The pace may be high, but there is no shortage of takers attacking on this final climb. Rabon is the first to make a move from the pack.
Bertagnolli follows. Rabon closes on the front group which Dan Martin is ripping to pieces on the climb.
Anza senses the support riders at the front of the pack are tiring and he decides to set off. Ben Nasser follows. Nocentini goes. Tang from Ultra tries to cut loose. Bettini and Bosisio struggle to keep a lid on things.
Anza is first over the top of this climb. Behind him is Rabon, with Bertagnolli following close behind. Martin is next, but coming up fast is Nocentini, Ben Nasser and Ghisalberti. Then finally, Ginanni and Kirchen make moves.
No one is letting up on the descent. Risks are taken and miraculously no one falls. At first it looks as if 6 riders - Bertagnolli, Ginanni, Ben Nasser, Nocentini, Rabon and Anza - will escape and battle it out for the victory.
Behind them there are attacks aplenty as the wind and flatter terrain tempt others to try their luck too. Hermans, Ghisalberti, Vansummeren and Basso are the ones with the strength and timing to bridge accross to the leaders. 20k to go and this group have carved out a lead of over 2 minutes on a small group led by Kirchen who have failed to make it. After that, the pack have completely given up on any form of chase and are just rolling along.
10k to go - the wind at 48kmph - Ginanni, Anza and Rabon are just sitting on at the back of this group. The others are working hard and taking turns in the relay.
5k to go, the jockeying for positioning is beginning. Basso on the front - do we have a split?
Not for Wiggle anyway - Nocentini is the rider who closes the gap, but with just over 3k to go, the Sony pair are still struggling to get themselves into contention. Vansummeren is on the front, team-mate Rabon on his wheel.
2.5k to go and the train is formed. Vasummeren - Rabon - Ginanni - Nocentini - Hermans - Ben Nasser - with Basso and Bertagnolli struggling out wide in the wind.
Vansummeren leads all the way into the final kilometer and as we pass under the banner, Rabon is the first to try and jump from behind.
It looks to be the perfectly timed move, and no one seems to have the strength in the wind to try and come around him.
And they don't - it's a Rabon led procession in to the finish.
Ginanni is second, Nocentini third, Hermans fourth, Ben Nasser fifth, Bertagnolli sixth, Anza seventh, Vansummeren eighth, Basso ninth and Ghisalberti tenth.
Kirchen breaks away from the second group as we come into the final few kilometers, but he will no doubt be very dissapointed to finish where he did.
Results
1
Frantisek Rabon
Team NOS
5h14'48
2
Francesco Ginanni
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
3
Rinaldo Nocentini
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
4
Ben Hermans
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
5
Hassen Ben Nasser
100% ME
s.t.
6
Leonardo Bertagnolli
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
7
Santo Anza
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
8
Johan Vansummeren
Team NOS
s.t.
9
Ivan Basso
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
10
Sergio Ghisalberti
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
11
Kim Kirchen
Jack Wolfskin
+ 2'21
12
Manuele Mori
Sony Ericsson
+ 4'22
13
Tom Stamsnijder
Team NOS
s.t.
14
Manuel Medina
Team NOS
s.t.
15
Daniel Martin
100% ME
s.t.
16
Chris Froome
100% ME
s.t.
17
Wang-yip Tang
Team Ultra Adventure Pro Cycling - Sponsored by Hello Kitty
s.t.
18
Dario David Cioni
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
19
Michael Van Stayen
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
20
Marcel Wyss
Team IKEA - Bianchi
s.t.
21
Pieter Weening
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
22
Paolo Bettini
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
23
Jonas Ljungblad
Team IKEA - Bianchi
s.t.
24
Nuno Ribeiro
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
s.t.
25
Bart Wellens
Team NOS
s.t.
26
Alessandro Proni
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
27
Damiano Caruso
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
28
Yauhen Sobal
Team NOS
s.t.
29
Bas Giling
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
30
Coen Vermeltfoort
Team NOS
s.t.
31
Danilo Napolitano
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
32
Ivan Rovny
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
33
Raúl Granjel Cabrera
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
34
Daniel Moreno
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
s.t.
35
Simone Ponzi
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
36
Dmitri Muravjev
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
37
Nicolas Roche
100% ME
s.t.
38
Andy Cappelle
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
39
Dale Appleby
100% ME
s.t.
40
Paride Grillo
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
41
Daniel Lloyd
100% ME
s.t.
42
Magno Nazaret
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
s.t.
43
Rui Costa
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
s.t.
44
Aleksandar Flügel
Team IKEA - Bianchi
s.t.
45
Amets Txurruka
Molteni
s.t.
46
Kristof Vandewalle
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
47
Koen De Kort
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
48
Charles Wegelius
100% ME
s.t.
49
Dries Devenyns
Molteni
s.t.
50
Gabriele Bosisio
Vespa-Caffrey's
s.t.
51
Staf Scheirlinckx
Sony Ericsson
s.t.
52
Tom Diggle
Wiggle Pro Cycling Team
s.t.
53
Bruno Neves
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
+ 6'42
54
Dario Giancecchi
Team Ultra Adventure Pro Cycling - Sponsored by Hello Kitty
s.t.
55
Andy Flickinger
Acqua & Sapone
s.t.
56
Francis Mourey
Molteni
s.t.
57
Robbie Williams
Jack Wolfskin
s.t.
58
Bruno Lima
Sport Lisboa e Benfica - Michelin
s.t.
59
Mindaugas Striska
Team Ultra Adventure Pro Cycling - Sponsored by Hello Kitty
s.t.
60
David Boucher
Molteni
s.t.
61
Marzio Bruseghin
Team Ultra Adventure Pro Cycling - Sponsored by Hello Kitty
