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RACE REPORTS: 92ND GIRO D'ITALIA STAGE 8: SIUTSOU SOLOS TO VICTORY, DI LUCA INCREASES LEAD
Road Bike Action & AFP
May 16, 2009
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Kanstantsin Siutsou on the podium after his stage 8 victory
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
Belarussian Kanstantsin Siutsou handed Columbia their third victory of the centenary Tour of Italy when he won the 209km eighth stage from Morbegno to Bergamo on Saturday. Race leader Danilo Di Luca retained the race leader's pink jersey, taking his advantage over Swede Thomas Lovkvist to 13sec after sprinting to third place ahead Lokvist’s Columbian teammate Michael Rogers. Siutsou said he benefited from local knowledge. "I live just 25 kilometers from Bergamo, parts of the course pass by there. I know the roads by heart and I know when the best moment is to attack," he said. "This is my finest win and at the finish line, my wife, who is expecting a baby, was waiting."
 Di Luca took third in the sprint to increase his overall lead
(Photo: Roberto Bettini)
The efforts of Di Luca, the Giro champion in 2007, prevented a podium sweep for on-form Columbia and gave him eight bonus seconds to add to his five-second overnight lead on Lovkvist.
Siutsou broke clear with 15km to race and held off the fast finishing remnants of the peloton to win in 5hr 04min 34sec. Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen took second behind his team-mate 21 seconds back just a day after winning his maiden stage on the race. Columbia also won the race's opening stage, a team time trial that put
the pink jersey on the shoulders of their main sprinter, Manxman Mark
Cavendish.
 Armstrong and Basso ride together during stage 8 (Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
The day was made for a long breakaway and around the 40km mark a group of 10 riders managed to start putting some daylight between themselves and the field. They opened up a maximum lead of 4min 30sec but on the penultimate climb of the day they were swallowed up by the peloton.
The 6.3km long Colle del Gallo, just over 30km from home, saw an interesting move from some of the top GC contenders with Astana's Levi Leipheimer, 2004 champion Damiano Cunego of Lampre, Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas, Rogers and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone) amongst them. They had opened up a 54sec gap on the bunch by the top of the climb, which had seen the peloton disintegrate to around 30 riders.
At that point Rogers, who began the day in third place at 36sec from Di Luca, was the virtual leader on the road but Di Luca's LPR team led a determined chase on the descent ahead of the final short Bergamo Alta climb. Di Luca said: "There was no panic when Leipheimer attacked, I knew we were still a long way from the finish. The other teams with an interest in the pink jersey, Rabobank, Cervélo, Diquigiovanni, came up to the front and helped us bring the escape back. Maybe they (attackers) wanted to see if I could be put into difficulty, but I'm calm - that's my nature. And I have a pretty good team behind me." The chase was successful and reeled in the escapees but almost immediately Siutsou jumped clear. He pulled out a gap of 40sec before holding on all the way to the line on the final 3.5km descent.
Sunday's ninth stage, a pancake flat 165k of racing on 10 laps of a Milan city circuit, could finish in a bunch sprint, with Cavendish among those tipped for the stage win.
92nd Giro d'Italia
Italy, May 9-31, 2009
Stage 8 - Saturday, May 16: Morbegno - Bergamo, 209km
1. Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR/THR) 5h04:34.
2. Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR/THR) @ 0:21.
3. Danilo Di Luca (ITA/LPR) @ s.t.
4. Michael Rogers (AUS/THR)
5. Franco Pellizotti (ITA/LIQ)
6. Stefano Garzelli (ITA/ASA)
7. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM)
8. Jackson Rodriguez (VEN/SDA)
9. Marzio Bruseghin (ITA/LAM)
10. Thomas Rohregger (AUT/MRM)
Selected
21. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) @ 0:21
26. Levi Leipheimer (USA/AST) @ s.t.
30. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT)
31. Lance Armstrong (USA/AST)
34. Gilberto Simoni (ITA/SDA)
156. Mark Cavendish (GBR/THR) @ 19:04
General classification after stage 8
1. Danilo Di Luca (ITA/LPR) @ 33h13:35
2. Thomas Lövkvist (SWE/THR) @ 0:13
3. Michael Rogers (AUS/THR) @ 0:44
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA/AST) @ 0:51
5. Denis Menchov (RUS/RAB) @ 0:58
6. Ivan Basso (ITA/LIQ) @ 1:14
7. Carlos Sastre (ESP/CTT) @ 1:24
8. Chris Horner (USA/AST) @ 1:25
9. Franco Pellizotti (ITA/LIQ) @ 1:35
10. David Arroyo (ESP/GCE) @ 1:49
Selected
21. Damiano Cunego (ITA/LAM) @ 3:37
25. Lance Armstrong (USA/AST) @ 4:39
151. Mark Cavendish (GBR/THR) @ 1h12:27
156. Fabian Cancellara (SUI/SAX) @1h14:30
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