FINALLY! We are back in the mountains! Today's stage is definitely going to be tought. There's a short, but very steep mountain waiting for the peloton early on the stage. After a rather long flat part, the peloton once again has to pass a steep mountain. After downhilling, the great mountain Passo Duran will have to be climbed - a long mountain where anything can happen. Will Ricco finally manage to take time on Cunego? And can Carrara keep up with his great performances? Or is Cunego just as unbeatable as he looks to be? And what about the crashes a few stages ago - will they have any influence? Today's stage will tell.
Today's first break consisted of 4 riders -- all 4, who have been participating in breakaways throughout the entire tour: Flecha, Meier, Vaugrenard and Docker. These 4 worked well together - until the first mountain. Meier and Docker immediately dropped the two other guys and kept on going by themselves.
And if anyone thought today was going to be another relaxing day, the first mountain made them think otherwise. Near the top, several riders attacked for what I thought was an attempt to get mountain points. But obviously, that wasn't the case - they were going for victory. Savoldelli, Iglinski, Sartasov, Medina and Mercado all attacked near the top, and was devided into smaller groups during the downhill section. Savoldelli managed to get contact with Meier and Docker.
And once again, I have to say: This stage was an aggressive stage. The phenomal Carrara launched an attack with 5.5 km. to go on the 2nd climb and was followed by several of his competitors - but not Cunego and not Ricco! Instead, it was Schleck, Sella, Lopez Garcia and Simoni who tried to follow Carrara - but with no luck. Carrara kept on going and managed to get up to the group in front, Mercado and Medina.
Obviously, Cunego had to do something. Carrara even had Meier in front of him, who would be able to pace for him if necessary. And on the way to the front, there would be many other excellent riders to help him. So Cunego did what he needed to do -- attack, 2 km. from the top. And this time, Ricco responded! But as seen before, Cunego's attacks are just too explosive, and Ricco wasn't able to follow. Cunego got contact with the group behind Carrara (Schleck, Sella, Garcia and Simoni) while Piepoli and Ricco were trying to bridge the gap behind them.
On the downhill section towards the last mountain, the Cunego-group evolved into a 10-man-group. Piepoli and Ricco bridged the gap + Cunego + Schleck, Sella, Garcia and Simoni + riders from early breakaways -- so, at this point, the situation is:
E1: Sartasov and Iglinsky
E2: Carrara and Savoldelli - 57 seconds to E1
E3: Cunego-group - 1'41 to E1
P: 25 riders - 3'25 to E1
.. and here we are the at foot of the last mountain. Carrara uses the energy he has saved to try to get away from Savoldelli and get up to Sartasov and Iglinsky. He does get rid of Savoldelli, but he got some problems getting up to the 2-man-break. There's also chaos in the Cunego-group. After series of unsuccesful attacks, Cunego tries to get away, but Schleck follows him easily and even goes past him! Schleck gets up to Carrara, and together they bridge the gap to Sartasov and Iglinsky.
But it doesn't take long before Cunego is back - not alone, though. He has brought an entire pack of riders with him. 13 riders are now in the front group. Several times, some of the favourites try to force the pace, and some are being dropped from the group. No one gets away, though, and instead it will be a sprint finish. In front of the group, we have Cunego, Ricco and Sella, and there's a small gap to Piepoli who's fourth in the row. At the back, Carrara is looking dead. Same goes for the two Virgin riders, Lopez Garcia and Iglinsky.
Less than 1 km to go now! It's Ricco leading with Cunego and Sella right behind him. It will be a sprint battle between Ricco and Cunego - Sella is dead. And Carrara can't keep up - he's getting "catched" by the Virgin-guys. This is not looking good for him.
... and it's a win for Riccardo Ricco! Fantastic race by the Magenta-rider. Cunego takes 2nd. And it seems like there's a gap to the riders behind them. And Carrara is not in the 2nd group. This is looking really good for Cunego's chances. Now, he only needs to get rid of Ricco for good.
