This stage was supposed to be a time trial, but because of a problem it can only be raced as an ordinary 58 km. stage. And in fact, it turned out to be a pretty interesting stage.
About the stage: Because of it's shortness, it will be very difficult to tire the big guns. Therefore, it's likely to end in a bunch sprint. However, there's a steep hill at the end of the race which can be used for attacks.
(We are of course sorry about it, but at least it was playable )
Änyway, even though the stage was short there's still time for a TV-break: Bernucci, Moreni, Redondo, Lorenzetto and Cardenas. Behind them was Docker and Mori, trying to bridge the gap. Because of the shortness of the stage, they were never allowed to go very far, but with 31 km to go they did have a gap of 2'43 -- and a chasing peloton behind them.
On the hill which I mentioned in the intro, action started. Carrara obviously wanted to show that he's not just a flash in the pan, and he launched an attack. Cunego was quick to respond, though, and Andy Schleck's Domina Vacanze team also responded immediately by now allowing them to go anywhere. The increased pace also meant that the TV-breaks were caught.
Some riders were allowed to go on the climb, though: Cataluña, Piepoli, Nibali, Paulinho, Botero and Gadret, and with just 11 km to go, it seemed very likely that this strong group would be able to make it. Cataluña is placed 7th in the GC, but he's almost 5 minutes behind, so none of them are any danger for Cunego.
As expected, they managed to stay away, and the sprint started like this:
After some problems starting the engine Cataluña finally got off, and he ended up winning the sprint easily -- a victory for the Saturn team which is really needed. Just 55 seconds later, the peloton came in.
)
