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RACE REPORTS: 92ND GIRO D'ITALIA STAGE 10: DI LUCA CLIMBS TO VICTORY
Road Bike Action & AFP
May 19, 2009
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(Photo: Yuzuru Sunada)
Danilo Di Luca tightened his grip on the race leader's pink jersey by winning the 262km 10th stage of the Tour of Italy from Cuneo to Pinerolo on Tuesday. Italy's 2007 champion, of the LPR team, attacked on the descent of the Pra Martino climb and left all his rivals in his wake to take his eighth Giro stage win in a little over six and a half hours. Di Luca now holds an overall lead of 1min 20sec on Russian Denis Menchov, the two-time Tour of Spain champion who rides for Rabobank. Australian Michael Rogers of Columbia is third overall while American Levi Leipheimer of Astana is fourth ahead of Italy's 2006 champion Ivan Basso, who rides for Liquigas.
Basso's teammate, Franco Pellizotti, took second on the stage 10sec back with Menchov limiting his losses to finish third ahead of reigning Tour de France champion Carlos Sastre of Spain, of the Cervélo team Basso, Leipheimer and Rogers, who along with Menchov, Sastre and Di Luca are considered the main contenders for overall victory, finished 29sec back in the company of Lance Armstrong. Sweden's Thomas Lovkvist, who began the day second overall, lost 1min 39sec to drop down the standings.
The 11th stage is a largely flat course over 214km from Turin to Arenzano, but it is Thursday's 60.6km time trial that will be preoccupying the minds of the pink jersey favorites on Wednesday. Di Luca said earlier this week he hoped to go into the crucial race against the clock with a two-minute lead on his closest rivals, to whom he expects to lose minutes rather than seconds.
After a series of attacks in the first 40km it wasn't until the Moncenisio climb halfway through the stage that anyone managed to stay away. Former Giro champion Stefano Garzelli managed to open up a lead of almost five and a half minutes on the peloton by the time he went over the top of the mammoth climb at Sestriere. In between, though, there were a number of chasers, including ISD pair Andriy Grivko and Giovanni Visconti. They caught Garzelli on the 45km descent from Sestriere while the peloton also ate into the Italian's lead. On the climb up Pra Martino Pellizotti attacked and swept past the leaders but he was caught by Di Luca on the descent.
Di Luca then sprung off on a final 1km bump in the road and pulled away to snatch his second victory of this year's Giro and, more importantly, extend his lead in the pink jersey competition. In so doing he proved to be the most in-form rider at the moment but that form will be severely tested on Thursday when he will have a hard task holding onto his lead.
92nd Giro d'Italia
Italy, May 9-31, 2009
Stage 10: Tuesday, May 19 Cuneo - Pinerolo, 262km
1. Danilo Di Luca (ITA) LPR 6hr 30min 43sec
2. Franco Pellizotti (ITA) @ 10
3. Denis Menchov (RUS) @ s.t.
4. Carlos Sastre (ESP)
5. David Arroyo (ESP) @ .26
6. Mauricio Soler (COL) @.29
7. Ivan Basso (ITA)
8. Levi Leipheimer (USA)
9. Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP)
10. Michael Rogers (AUS)
Overall Classification after stage 10
1. Danilo Di Luca (ITA) 44hr 00min 11sec,
2. Denis Menchov (RUS) @ 1.20
3. Michael Rogers (AUS) @ 1.33
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) @ 1.40
5. Franco Pellizotti (ITA) @ 1.53
6. Carlos Sastre (ESP) @ 1.54
7. Ivan Basso (ITA) @2.03
8. Thomas Lovkvist (SWE) @ 2.12
9. David Arroyo (ESP) @ 2.25
10. Gilberto Simoni (ITA) @ 2.58
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