COMUNICATI
STAMPA DALLA CORSA
Giro
d’Italia
Il
plauso dell'Assocorridori:
"Si
è agito con prontezza e senso di responsabilità"
24
maggio -
Le drammatiche condizioni meteorologiche hanno prodotto
una significativa modifica del percorso della 17a tappa
del Giro d’Italia, Termeno-Plan de Corones.
Il
presidente dell’ACCPI, Amedeo Colombo,
osserva come «l’organizzazione
del Giro abbia raccolto con senso di responsabilità
l’appello lanciato dai corridori all’inizio
della tappa. Gli atleti avevano richiesto, in caso di
maltempo, la modifica del percorso e, qualora se ne fosse
presentata l’esigenza, l’accorciamento della
tappa. Desidero ringraziare RCS Sport, le forze
dell’ordine, la giuria e tutti gli addetti per la
prontezza e la professionalità dimostrate».
Ufficio
stampa ACCPI
Basso
Keeps on Truckin’
May
24, 2006 - Basso
slides in second to Leonardo Piepoli, solidifying
his
overall Giro lead.
Team CSC´s Ivan Basso did it again, finishing
second in Wednesday´s weather-shortened 17th stage
and padding his lead with just four days left to in the
89th Giro d’Italia.
Basso
was totally in control and rode wheel-to-wheel with Italian
climber Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) to drop
the rest of the contenders up the rainy and cold final
climb Piepoli
snuck ahead to win his second stage of this year´s
Giro while Basso came through second with
the same time, expanding his lead to 5:43.
“I’m
not a pure climber but I managed to stay with Piepoli
simply because I am feeling great right now,” a
content Basso said after the stage. “The
pace was hard but I was able to stay with the leaders.”
With
Basso’s domination showing now signs of cracking,
it’s obvious to just about everyone that the race
for the overall title is all but over.
“We
are now in a very good position and only a crash or illness
can stop Ivan from winning. I told Ivan to stay at the
front today,” said Team CSC manager
Bjarne Riis. “Of course,
we cannot let our guard down and we cannot celebrate anything
until Milan. We saw what happened last year and we won’t
forget that.”
Cold,
rain and even snow forced race organizers to eliminate
one of the day’s two grueling climbs and shorten
the final summit climb up the feared Plan de Corones.
There were white-out conditions on the upper reaches of
Wednesday’s mountaintop finish, prompting race organizers
to move the finish line by about five kilometers lower
on the mountain.
“If
we had done Plan de Corones in its entirety it
would have been difficult to stay with Piepoli
the whole way,” Basso admitted.
“Even climbing, it was very
cold. I think the race organizers made the right decision
to shorten the stage.”
There
was some controversy before the start, with several riders
openly complaining to Giro officials that the race should
be shortened. Weather conditions forced the organizers’
hands, but Riis wasn’t happy to see the riders
trying to influence the decision.
“We
have to trust that the UCI and the race organization will
make the safest decision for the interests of the riders,”
Riis said. “They
just have to wait for orders, because otherwise this will
open up conflicts with different teams with different
interests trying to manipulate the race.”
Without
the day’s earlier climb over the Passo delle Erbe
at 96 kilometers eliminated, the peloton rode together
over a gradually climbing approach to the final climb
to Plan de Corones.
Three
riders went away early, but none posed a serious threat
to Basso’s lead and were eventually reeled in on
the final climb. Team CSC rode at the front most
of the day, with Jens Voigt and Volodimir Gustov
taking pulls at the front.
The
cream quickly rose to the top once the peloton turned
up the steep Corones climb. Five riders eventually set
the winning pace, with Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas),
Perez Cuapio (Panaria) and José Enrique
Gutiérrez (Phonak) following Basso and
Piepoli.
Piepoli
attacked with one kilometer to go and only Basso
could follow. Gutiérrez came through second
at 15 seconds back, forfeiting more terrain to Basso
but securing his hold on second place.
“Basso
is clearly the strongest rider this year in the Giro,”
a satisfied 
Riis
surmised. “Basso
is at the level you see at the Tour de France and
it´s obvious the others are not. Our team is the
strongest here compared to the others.”
Basso
has been superb in all the decisive stages, either winning
or finishing second in each mountain stage or long time
trial so far.
A
smiling Basso strode atop the podium to slip on
the maglia rosa for the 10th day in a row. The team is
only feeding off of Basso’s confidence.
“When
you see Ivan so strong and doing well, it makes you go
that much harder,” said Team CSC veteran
Michael Blaudzun. “That
gives us more motivation and the other riders see us strong
in the peloton. You can see the others know we are strong
and that Ivan is strong.”
Thursday’s
hilly 210-kilometer 18th stage from Sillian to
Gemona del Friuli should open the door for riders
not in contention to slip away for a shot at a stage victory.
Team CSC will just have to ride at the front of the
main bunch to keep Basso out of trouble.
Gutierrez extends his lead over the 3rd-place holder
2006-05-24
- With
four days to go in the Giro d'Italia Phonak captain
José Enriqué Gutierrez has an ever-tighter
grip on an overall 2nd place. Nevertheless, the Spaniard,
who placed 3rd for the stage, lost 15 seconds to stage
winner Leonardo Piepoli (Saunier Duval) and overall
leader Ivan Basso (CSC). But because Paolo Savoldelli
let his competitor Gilberto Simoni pass, thus surrendering
his overall 3rd place to him, Gutierrez now has
nearly a 5-minute lead over Simoni.
The
17th stage from Termeno to Plan de Corones
was altered considerably due to bad weather conditions
– heavy rainfall and some snow flurries. As a result,
the Würzjoch (Passo delle Erbe) was deleted
from the parcours and the finish line was moved 5 kilometres
further down the mountain, which meant that the dreaded
gravel road section was also eliminated. In addition,
a tactical move on the part of Phonak Cycling paid
off. Just before the beginning of the final climb, the
team changed their bikes and used a gear ratio of 39/25
(3.34 m per pedal rotation) for the final kilometres.
Stage
17: Termeno/Tramin to Plan De Corones/Kronplatz, 133 km
/ 83 mi
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L'arrivo
di Savoldelli sul Furcia -©Photo
grhamwatson - .the paceline,com
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by
Chris Brewer
Welcome
to sunny and warm Italy - not. Nasty, nasty weather conditions
greeted the 163 riders left in the race, with temperatures
set at 3C / 37F and snowing atop the final ascent of the
Plan de Corones and a very chilly rain throughout
the stage prior. Before the race even began things started
to heat up as the riders and their directors protested
the course in relation to the weather conditions. But
the only result of their protests - initially - was that
the top portion of the first climb, the Passo delle
Erbe, was cancelled due to snow conditions (primarily
for the descent).
50
kms into the race and two riders, Poilvet (Credit
Agricole) and Cioni (Liquigas), were off the front
and bid a hearty "Good luck" from the peloton
as they went on their own. While the peloton shivered
en masse and was lead by Saunier Duval for Simoni
looking to jump into 3rd overall - or better - on the
final ascent, the duo had two minutes time gap.
With
about half the stage completed word spread throughout
the race that the recently paved / extremely steep final
5.5 km final portion had been cancelled. Initially a gravel
road section with sections of 24% grade(!), the race organizers
had tried to make it rideable by paving it but then recent
weather and the conditions today prevented it from curing
completely and bikes / vehicles were literally sinking
into the road. But there still would be a tough 12 km
finale to the line…
With
40 kms left in the day Discovery Channel's top man Paolo
Savoldelli had to stop roadside and change a lot of
his clothing to try and warm up. Other riders were seen
swapping their bikes for ones with normal gearing, many
having gone with extreme set ups in anticipation of the
last 5.5 kms. Onto the foothills and Saunier Duval continued
to drive the pace knowing they only needed 17 seconds
to move Simoni past Savoldelli and 1'30" to the two
men away.
As
the riders approached the final climb everyone was soaking
wet and caked with road grime, not a happy face among
the entire peloton. One of the ironies of proper clothing
was that the rain jackets that had protected them so far
could encumber them on the final climb, and so despite
the temperatures dropping, many of the riders wanting
to do well were handing their gear back into the team
cars.
With
the duo now nearly reeled in and the climb just starting
it was Iliano from Selle-Italia going on the attack first
as Saunier Duval and CSC now drove what was left of the
lead portion of the peloton, now down to just 30 or so
riders. Davis (TMob) then came forward and joined Iliano
as the duo that had been on point was finally brought
back. Meanwhile in the bunch all the main men were still
there save for DiLuca who had dropped off the pace early
on the climb - 5 kms to the line.
In
a repeat of yesterday's tactics, Piepoli (SD) then
came forward to lift the pace and try and force another
selection in the main element. DC's Savoldelli
was initially off the pace but still had the lead group
in sight for a while but then couldn't hold the pace as
Panaria's Cuapio again lifted the pace. Now only
Gutierrez, Piepoli, Cuapio, and Basso
were on the front as Simoni tried to move back
up while Savoldelli worked to get back to him -
2 kms left in the stage.
Pelizotti
(Liqi) - 6th on GC - then made a strong move and came
back to the main men - and then Basso was out of
the saddle and attacking hard in the final km! Piepoli
was the only man who could go with him and the two riders
were now going to fight to the line for the stage win.
Piepoli looked the stronger of the two as Basso
was clearly giving his all in the miserable conditions.
Basso was content to sit on the little man's wheel
and Piepoli had the stage win, Basso second
- and now the clock watching began.
Gutierrez
wasn’t too far down coming 15 seconds after the winner
and holding onto his 2nd place podium spot, and then Simoni
came in 50 seconds after Piepoli - the key was
where was Savoldelli? That question was answered
43 seconds later as a DC teammate lead Savoldelli
home, his 17 second gap to Simoni now eclipsed, but with
two mountaintop finishes still to come. What a tough,
tough day in the saddle for sure.
Tappa
accorciata: saltato l'arrivo a Plan de Corones
24
maggio ore 23:00 - Non è stata soddisfatta
la curiosità dei tanti che attendevano il passaggio
del Giro sullo sterrato di Plan de Corones:
il maltempo che ha imperversato per tutto il giorno ha
costretto gli organizzatori a modificare il percorso della
17ª tappa, eliminando la salita del Passo delle
Erbe e fissando l'arrivo anticipato in cima al Furcia.
La vittoria è andata a Piepoli, giunto al
traguardo in compagnia di Basso. La giornata ha
visto un Cunego determinato stringere i denti in
salita: Damiano è salito con proprio passo
e nel finale ha trovato un'efficace andatura che gli ha
permesso di giungere 7° a 41" dal vincitore.
Una prova grintosa quella di Damiano, che dimostra
l'orgoglio di un ciclista di classe: "Nel
finale ho recuperato qualche posizione - ha
affermato Cunego al termine della gara, aggiungendo
poi scherzosamente - magari sullo
sterrato avrei potuto tirar fuori le caratteristiche affinate
ne i miei trascorsi nella corsa campestre!".
Poi ha proseguito più seriamente: "Penso
che l'organizzazione abbia fatto bene a non farci salire
a Plan de Corones".
Questi gli arrivi dei Lampre-Fondital:
7° Cunego a 41"
25° Vila a 1'50"
29° Tiralongo a 2'13"
37° Szmyd a 2'55"
51° Rossi a 3'47"
88° Stangelj a 5'28"
92° Bruseghin a 5'52"
111° Fornaciari a 11'11"
130° Petrov a 11'11"
La
classifica generale per i ciclisti della Lampre-Fondital:
8° Cunego a 13'55"
17° Vila a 18'48"
19° Tiralongo a 20'37"
21 Szmyd a 22'03"
27° Bruseghin a 28'40"
43° Valjavec a 37'57"
61° Petrov a 56'52"
73° Stangelj a 1h12'28"
150° Fornaciari a 2h18'28"
There
was no satisfaction for the curiosity of the people thatwas
waiting the Giro on the street of Plan de Corones:
because of the bad weather conditions, the Giro's organization
change the track of the 17th stage, cancelling the Passo
delle Erbe climb and fixing the finish line o n the
top of Passo Furcia, instead of Plan de Corones.
Pieopoli won, reaching the finish line with Basso.
We saw the great determination of Cunego on the
climb: Damiano covered the climb with his pace
and in the final part found a good speed that permitted
him to finish 7th at 41" from the winner.
A performance of hearth, that showed the pride of Damiano:
"In the final part I recovered
some positions - said Cunego, adding
in a funny way - maybe on the street
without asphalt I could had show the characteristics improved
in cross country race in my youth. Then, said seriously:
"I
think that the jury had made the right chosen, eliminating
the final climb".
Stage
standing for Lampre-Fondital:
7° Cunego a 41"
25° Vila a 1'50"
29° Tiralongo a 2'13"
37° Szmyd a 2'55"
51° Rossi a 3'47"
88° Stangelj a 5'28"
92° Bruseghin a 5'52"
111° Fornaciari a 11'11"
130° Petrov a 11'11"
The
overall standing for Lampre-Fondital's cyclists:
8° Cunego a 13'55"
17° Vila a 18'48"
19° Tiralongo a 20'37"
21 Szmyd a 22'03"
27° Bruseghin a 28'40"
43° Valjavec a 37'57"
61° Petrov a 56'52"
73° Stangelj a 1h12'28"
150° Fornaciari a 2h18'28"
Vor
allem Sven Krauß trotzt Wetter und Berg
Die
Rennfahrer aus dem Team Gerolsteiner haben Wetter
und Berg getrotzt - allen voran Sven Krauß und
Stefan Schumacher. Der Duo fuhr auf der 17. Etappe
des 89. Giro d'Italia im Vorderfeld mit und ließ
sich auch von Regen, Schneetreiben und dem Anstieg hinauf
zum Ziel nicht beeindrucken: Krauß landete auf Platz
35, Schumacher auf dem 42. Rang. Zwar sorgten die
Witterungsbedingungen dafür, dass am Mittwoch anstatt
der ursprünglich vorgesehenen 133 nur etwa 120 Kilometer
nach dem Start in Termeno anstanden, und zudem
die geplante Ankunft auf dem verschneiten 2273 Meter hohen
Plan de Corones ausfiel. Doch auch der Weg zum
improvisierten Ziel am Passo del Furcia, nach dem
eigentlich noch fünf Kilometer anstanden, hatte es
in sich.
Am besten meisterte die Kletterpartie der Italiener Leonardo
Piepoli (Saunier Duval), der als Tagessieger zeitgleich
mit Gesamtspitzenreiter Ivan Basso (Italien/CSC) das Ziel
erreichte. In einer der ersten Verfolgergruppen kam dann
Sven Krauß an. Kurz darauf passierte Stefan Schumacher
den Zielstrich. Ihre Gerolsteiner-Teamkollegen ließen
sich ebenfalls nicht unter kriegen, so dass Christian
Wegmann nicht ohne Stolz meinte: "Alle
sind locker durchgekommen". Manch einer
der Rennfahrer aus der Eifel-Equipe war danach sogar zu
Scherzen aufgelegt - etwa Robert "Frösi"
Förster. "Frösi
sagte, er war schon ein bisschen traurig. Er wäre
gerne bis ganz nach oben gefahren. Er wollte sich den
Kronenplatz doch mal anschauen", sagte
der Sportliche Leiter weiter.
Nach einem Wetter bedingten Protest der Fahrer wurde zunächst
die Fahrt über das Würzjoch (1987 m hoch) gestrichen.
Durch den Schneefall mussten die Organisatoren der ersten
dreiwöchigen Rundfahrt der ProTour-Saison dann auch
auf Fahrt über eine notdürftig asphaltierte
Piste hinauf auf den Plan de Corones verzichten.
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Leonardo
Piepoli attacca Ivan Basso in vista
del passo Furcia -©Bettini
Photo
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