COMUNICATI
STAMPA DALLA CORSA
Denis Menchov winner at Alpe
di Siusi
Stage
five of the Giro was short but beefy; 125 km between
San Martino di Castrozza and Alpe di Siusi,
with the ascent of Passo Rolle immediately after the start,
followed by a 65 kilometres descent, and finishing with
the gruelling 25 kilometres climb to Alpe di Siusi.
Six
riders escaped before Passo Rolle: Thomas Voeckler
(Bouygues Telecom), Eros Capecchi (Fuji-Servetto),
Francesco Gavazzi (Lampre), Daniele Pietropolli
(LPR Brakes), Giovanni Visconti (ISD), Jose Serpa
and Carlos José Ochoa (Serramenti) reached
the top with 1' on an already thinned out peloton. The
gap reached later up to 4'30.
On
the ascent to Alpe di Siusi, the peloton accelerated
- thinning even more in the process – and caught
the last escaper with 13 kilometres to go. The stage went
to Russian Denis Menchov (Rabobank) ahead of Danilo
Di Luca (Team LPR) and Sweden's Thomas Lövkvist
(Team Columbia).
Di
Luca takes the pink jersey from Lövkvist,
who is now 2nd 5 seconds down; his team mate Michael Rogers
is 3rd 36" down.
Giro
d’Italia, 5^tappa: Cunego e Bruseghin in ritardo
all’arrivo
Trentaduesimo Cunego a 2’39”
dal vincitore Menchov, trentesimo Bruseghin
a 2’26”: i numeri descrivono per la Lampre-NGC
una tappa con risultati non pari alle aspettative.
“Ho
patito il ritmo alto imposto alla corsa sull’ultima
salita. Dopo aver provato a tener duro nei primi chilometri,
a 5.500 metri dal traguardo mi sono accorto che stavo
andando fuori giri e ho così scelto di salire con
un passo costante che mi permettesse di non affondare.
Purtroppo davanti hanno tenuto una velocità alta
e così ho accusato un consistente ritardo. So di
aver già complicato notevolmente le cose in ottica
classifica generale, ma accetto la situazione e vedrò
di impegnarmi al massimo per vedere cosa si può
fare nelle prossime tappe”: così
ha parlato Cunego dopo l’arrivo della 5^frazione,
la San Martino di Castrozza-Alpe di Siusi.
Anche Bruseghin ha analizzato con lucidità
la sua prova: “La tappa
di 
oggi
era troppo corta per le mie caratteristiche: ho solitamente
bisogno di qualche chilometro in più e magari di
un’altra salita per carburare. Nonostante mi fossi
già scaldato prima della partenza, ho dovuto soffrire,
anche se non mi aspettavo di dover accusare un distacco
così ampio. Mi spiace che anche Damiano abbia avuto
difficoltà”.
Dopo la tappa odierna, Bruseghin occupa la 19^
posizione in classifica generale con un ritardo di 3’16”
dalla maglia rosa Di Luca, mentre Cunego
è 21° a 3’29”.
Da segnalare in positivo la fuga di Gavazzi, abile
ad unirsi ad altri 5 contrattaccanti sulla prima salita
del Passo Rolle e a pedalare poi in avanscoperta
fino all’inizio dell’ascesa finale.
32nd place for Cunego at 2’39”to
the winner Menchov, 30th Bruseghin at 2’26”:
these numbers describes for Lampre-NGC a stage that can’t
satisfy the expectations.
“I suffered the high pace on the last climb. After
having tried to keep hard in the early kilometres of the
climb, at 5.500 km to go I understood that I was at the
limit and so I chose to go on with a regular pace. I know
that for the overall standing things are quite complicated,
but I accept the situation and I’ll try to give my
best to realize something good in the next stages”:
these are Cunego’s words after the arrival of the
5th stage, San Martino di Castrozza-Alpe di Siusi.
Bruseghin to analysed in a clear way his performance:
“Today stage was too short for my characteristics:
usually I need more kilometres and maybe one more climb
to be at the top. Even if I had warmed before the start,
I had to suffer, but I could not think to lose so many
seconds. I’m sorry for Damiano difficulties too”.
After today stage, Bruseghin is 19th in the overall standing
at 3’16” to the pink jersey Di Luca, while Cunego
is 21st at 3’29”.
One positive note for Lampre-NGC is Gavazzi breakaway:
with other 5 riders, he pedalled on the head of the race
from the Passo Rolle to the beginning of the last climb.
Stage
5: San Martino Di Castrozza to Alpe di Siusi, 125km/78mi
By
Cathy Mehl
No
one said it was going to be easy for Team Astana’s
Lance Armstrong to make a comeback after more
than three years out of competition, least of all Armstrong
himself. Prior to the stage start the seven-time Tour
de France champion made clear his goal was to not lose
too much time on the stage and to minimize his losses
as he continued to find form after his broken collarbone
of March 23rd.
Finishing
over two minutes behind stage winner Denis Menchov
(Rabobank) Lance showed no regrets with his performance
and plans to continue bringing along his form. Today’s
steep uphill finish was just the type of racing Armstrong
knew he needed and would find at the 92nd Giro d’Italia.
Danilo
Di Luca (LPR) took second on the day, earning enough
time bonuses to take the Maglia Rosa from Thomas Lövkvist
(Columbia) who finished third. Levi Leipheimer and Chris
Horner came in with the front group for 5th and 6th and
moved higher on the overall classification, sitting 4th
and 8th respectively.
"It
was a hard climb," said Lance to the press.
"We knew I would be behind.
We decided to ride our tempo and limit the losses. I've
lost some minutes, yes. But it's ok. I knew the first
half of the Giro would not be my race as I need condition
back after the accident. I can't expect to be in the front.
" Armstrong
continued, "We will
see what happens in part two of the Giro. This was the
last big mountain stage for awhile now."
Lars
Bak Well-positioned on Stage Five
The
125 kilometer fifth stage of Giro d'Italia between
San Martino di Castrozza and Alpe di Siusi
eventually ended in a battle between the favorites for
the overall victory. On the last meters on top of the
mountain, it was nevertheless Denis Menchov (Rabobank)
who was the stronger man, and he took the stage victory
ahead of yesterday's winner Danilo di Luca.
The
day was, however, dominated by a breakaway of seven riders,
but their advantage soon shrinked as Liquigas took the
front at the bottom of the last climb.
As the breakaway was caught with ten kilometres from the
finish line a few riders initiated counter-attacks but
they were were all soon inhaled.
The Danish Team Saxo Bank rider, Lars Bak, crossed
the line in the same group as Lance Armstrong about
three minutes behind Menchov:
"I
felt very good today. When you can follow Armstrong to
the top of a mountain, it can not be totally bad",
said a delighted Jutlander.
But
Lars Bak is still focused on each stage: "I'm
still going for stage victories during the race, and the
next days are looking interesting so I will definitely
go for it. It is no use waiting in the group of favorites.
I'm primarily here to win stages, but one does not necessarily
preclude the other. If I can get to the finish line in
a small group well ahead of the peloton, I can take a
major leap in the overall standings. But I'll take it
day by day".
And
sports director, Lars Michaelsen, totally agrees:
"We
had no expectations from the riders before today's stage
more than they had to save their strength for later when
we have a chance of achieving our primary goal - stage
victories."
The
first two days on the mountains of the 92nd Giro d'Italia
are gone, and Team Barloworld was quick to make
one thing clear: they want to be in the action. Today,
Barloworld's riders were active in controlling the race
throughout the whole day, with only one thing in mind:
providing captain Mauricio Soler his best chance
to perform on the mountains.
Well,
be sure Mauricio did not disappoint anyone. Despite still
suffering some pain from Monday's crash, 2007 Tour de
France King of the Mountains was among the latest to give
up when Italian Ivan Basso set a frantic pace up front.
After getting back on Soler in yesterday's stage, today
it was time for Danilo Di Luca (LPR) to be overcome
by Russian Denis Menchov (Rabobank), but still
will be happy with the maglia rosa he will be wearing
tonight. Soler sprinted to the line in 12th position,
with a 45" delay, making it an excellent two-day
stint on the mountains.
"I
did my best, as I always try to do - told Mauricio
Soler - and I think I
was good today. I probably felt some fatigue after yesterday's
effort, but I have good legs, and I simply can't see the
time to face the next uphill finish and show everyone
what I can do."
"I
think Mauricio was simply strong today - said
Team Manager Claudio Corti - after
yesterday's performance everyone was expecting a lot from
him, but don't forget he suffered a bad crash no more
than two days ago, and still he was competing with the
frontrunners with 2 km to go. And the team performance
was outstanding as well: everyone gave 100% to the Team's
cause, and still we got 4 riders in the first positions
of the standing. Yesterday, we were trusting; today, we
are sure we will get back on the mountains to win, because
we have a very strong team for every route."
As
announced, today former F1 Japan driver Ukio Katayama
followed the race from a special point of view. In fact
he was the special guest inside the Team Barloworld's
car from the beginning of the stage up till the finish
in Alpe di Siusi.
Katayama
is working on a tv-report with NHK Japan Television during
the Giro d'Italia and he was very happy to be the host
of Team Barloworld. "It
was really exciting - stated Katayama after the finish
- and I enjoyed all the time thanks to the sports director
Alberto Volpi by my side. I would like to thank team manager
Claudio Corti who gave me hospitality and all the
riders for the intense emotions I felt. Soler really impressed
me on the mountains and I want to wish him all the best
for the Giro".
Tomorrow,
the peloton will cross the border to Austria for a 248
km long 7th stage, from Bressanone to Mayrhofen. It is
not as hard as the latest the riders faced, but that's
definitely not a day for the sprinters. In the finale,
a couple of climbs could give someone a good chance for
a breakaway finish. Watch out for red jerseys: they won't
stay out looking.
TEAM
FUJI SERVETTO
Great performance by Kessiakoff (10th) amongst
the best at the mountains. Long before the climb up the
Alpe di Siusi, Capecchi went apart for more than
100 kms to eventually be caught at the 10-km mark
....................................................................................................
The
Swede Fredrik Kessiakoff took another step up in
his brilliant debut season as road racer by showing his
climbing abilities in the big climbs of the 2009 Giro
d'Italia. The ex-biker from FUJI-SERVETTO placed
10th in the summit of the Alpe di Siusi, a 25-km Hors
Categorie climb where the fifth stage of the Corsa Rosa,
a 125-kilometer one from San Martino di Castrozza to the
highest Dolomitic mountains, finished after nearly three
hours of racing.
Kessiakoff fought amongst the best in the decisive
ascent, as he was able to enter the group that firstly
broke apart with the eight strongest in the main field:
Basso, Di Luca, Menchov, Sastre, Leipheimer,
Horner and the maglia rosa, countryman Thomas Lövkvist.
In the last half kilometer, Spanish-based, Russian-born
Denis Menchov (Rabobank) launched a big attack
that allowed him to beat better sprinter Di Luca(LPR),
now in the pink jersey while Kessiakoff jumps into the
24th place of the GC, after being around the 100th position
just two days before.
FUJI-SERVETTO
not only hobnobbed against the GC candidates, but also
saw their other team leader at Venezia's start, Italian
Eros Capecchi, make his move with a brave attempt
shortly after the flag went down at San Martino di Castrozza.
Capecchi
escaped along with Pietropolli (LPR), Ochoa and
Serpa (Diquigiovanni), Visconti (ISD), Gavazzi
(Lampre) and Voeckler (Bouygues), in a long attempt
that lasted more than 100 kilometers and had a 5-minute
gap before going chased down at the 10-km banner. The
Boys in Blue will keep seeking protagonism as the race
enters into another country, with the 6th stage being
a pure marathon for 248 kilometers from Bressanone to
Mayrhofen im Zillertal, with the ascent towards the Hockrimml
climb (1st. Cat.) 45 kilometers from the finish.
Giro:
Seeldraeyers keeps moving up
13/05/2009 | 22:17
Another
tough ride through the mountains for the Giropeloton during
the fifth stage. The known scenario was played again.
A group with early escapees dominated the stage, but were
caught on the final climb. Dries Devenyns then started
a new salvo of attacks, but his attempt didn`t last long.
During
the final climb the group with the favorites got smaller
and smaller, but our Kevin Seeldraeyers stayed
in the front. In the final kilometers the battle field
was complete, Seeldraeyers didn`t break and raced to a
17th place only one minute behind stagewinner Denis Menchov.
After
the fifth stage Seeldraeyers moved up to a 15th place
in the overall. Danilo di Luca will wear the pink
jersey tomorrow, which he took over from Thomas Lövkvist
who is wearing the jersey of the best youth rider. Seeldraeyers
is second in that ranking.
GIRO
D'ITALIA. QUINTA TAPPA: GIBO SALE ALL'11° POSTO
Tappa
odierna piuttosto breve ma impegnativa: 125 km che portavano
i corridori da San Martino di Castrozza ad Alpe di Susi.
Tentativo
di fuga da lontano per sette corridori, due dei quali
della Diquigiovanni - Androni che vuole controllare
la corsa fin dalle prime battute. I sudamaricani Carlos
Ochoa e Jose Serpa, con i cinque compagni
di fuga, vengono riassorbiti dal plotone, ormai decimato
dal forcing Liquigas, ai 10 km dall'arrivo.
Aumenta
l'andatura del gruppetto dei 40 di testa che, metri dopo
metri, perde unità. All'arrivo Denis Menchov
regola un gruppetto di poche unità. Di Luca,
secondo al traguardo, prende la maglia rosa di Leader.
Gilberto Simoni perde contatto dai primi ai 4 km
dall'arrivo e conclude con un ritardo di 47 secondi, salendo
in classifica generale dal 17° all' 11° posto
con un ritardo di 2'01".Domani frazione da 248 km
con partenza da Bressanone ed arrivo in Austria a Mayrhofen
Im Ziller.
