2008 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11

Cycling race stages thumb|400px|right|alt=A map of Italy, with the course of the 2008 Giro d'Italia drawn over it in red and green lines|Overview of the stages; red lines represent distances covered in the individual stages, while green lines are the distances between the stages, covered by bus, car, and plane. The 2008 Giro d'Italia began on 10 May, with Stage 11 occurring on 21 May. The first stage, like it had been in 2007, was a team time trial, a stage where each member of the team raced together against the clock. This stage was won by the American team GRM 2008a, who had viewed it as their primary goal in the Giro. It allowed their leader Christian Vande Velde to wear the first pink jersey as race leader. Unlike in most cycling Grand Tours, the first road race stage 2008 Giro was not a flat stage decided by sprinters, but rather one over a hilly course that would be won by a breakaway or a strong climber. Though Stages 3 and 4 were both flat and conquered by sprinters, this meant that it was unlikely that a sprinter would get to wear the pink jersey at any point in the race. The first half of the 2008 Giro contained six stages classified as medium-mountain, though many of them contained difficult, selective climbs that broke up the racing peloton. The sixth stage was shortened from its planned length of 265 km 0 on. This was due to riders speaking with race officials and asking that the 34 km 0 on finishing circuit be eliminated, as the long transfers between stage finish towns and start towns the next day had afforded them little rest to prepare for such a long stage. In that same stage, a 12-rider breakaway finished sufficiently ahead of the peloton that one of its members, Giovanni Visconti, became the new overall race leader, a lead that he would maintain for more than a week. s.t. indicates that the rider crossed the finish line in the same group as the one receiving the time above him, and was therefore credited with the same finishing time. Stage 1 10 May 2008 — Palermo, 23.6 km 1 on (team time trial) The Giro began, like it had the previous year, with a team time trial (TTT) on one of Italy's islands, this year in Sicily. The course was flat.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro081 Stage 1 – Saturday, May 10: Palermo (Team Time Trial), 23.6km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-08 There was speculation that this stage would result in a second American cyclist to wear the pink jersey (the first having been Andrew Hampsten in 1988), as AST 2008, SAX 2008a, and GRM 2008a were all considered favorites to win the stage and all had strong American time trialists on their squads. GRM 2008a yes, one of the first Professional Continental teams announced for the race, held a special training camp in Spain a week before the race specifically to work on their TTT skills.Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/article/75948/91st-giro-d-italia-another-american-in-pink 91st Giro d'Italia: Another American in pink? 2008-05-08 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-11-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20080908071809/http://velonews.com/article/75948/91st-giro-d-italia-another-american-in-pink 2008-09-08 dead The early time to beat was set by the second team to take the course, TCS 2008, clocking in at 27' 05". After three other teams came GRM 2008a, who finished with only the minimum of five riders together (the team's time is taken for the fifth rider to cross the finish line, with any riders who are dropped given their own times) after David Millar was dropped in the final kilometer. Christian Vande Velde was the first to cross the line for GRM 2008a yes, after 26' 32". That Vande Velde had been the first over the line rather than time trial specialist David Zabriskie had not been specifically the plan. The next team on course was AST 2008, who were nine seconds slower than GRM 2008a yes at the first time check and finished in 27' 01". SAX 2008a and BAR 2008 were both ahead of GRM 2008a yes at the first intermediate time check, but faded toward the finish and clocked in second and fifth, respectively. GRM 2008a yes's time held up to the end of the stage, affording Vande Velde the first pink jersey.Shane Stokes and Bjorn Haake http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro081 Slipstream shows speed in Sicily 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-08 Stage 1 result TeamTime1GRM 2008a 26' 32" 2SAX 2008a + 6"3THR 2008a + 7"4LIQ 2008 + 9"5BAR 2008 + 14"6LPR 2008 + 28"7AST 2008 + 29"8TCS 2008 + 33"9QST 2008 + 42"10LAM 2008 + 45"General classification after stage 1 RiderTeamTime 1 Christian Vande Velde USA 20px|Pink jersey GRM 2008a 26' 32" 2 David Zabriskie USA GRM 2008a + 0" 3 Ryder Hesjedal CAN GRM 2008a + 0" 4 Julian Dean NZL GRM 2008a + 0" 5 Magnus Bäckstedt SWE GRM 2008a + 0" 6 Michael Blaudzun DEN SAX 2008a + 6" 7 Nicki Sørensen DEN SAX 2008a + 6" 8 Bradley McGee AUS SAX 2008a + 6" 9 Stuart O'Grady AUS SAX 2008a + 6" 10 Jason McCartney USA SAX 2008a + 6" Stage 2 11 May 2008 — Cefalù to Agrigento, 207 km 0 on This was a hilly course, in contrast to most Grand Tours, which begin with flat road stages. It contained two categorized climbs, and favored an attacking rider.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro082 Stage 2 – Sunday, May 11: Cefalù – Agrigento, 207km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-08 The significant breakaway of the day comprised David Loosli and Jérémy Roy, after Dionisio Galparsoro had been brought back into the peloton after an earlier attack. Loosli and Roy attained a maximum advantage of over ten minutes. With 65 km 0 on remaining in the stage for the peloton, a significant crash occurred as they went over a railroad crossing. David Zabriskie was the most seriously hurt, needing to be taken away from the race in an ambulance. Loosli and Roy were caught with 50 km 0 on left to race, as the finishing circuit in Agrigento began. GRM 2008a had been at the head of the peloton, protecting race leader Christian Vande Velde, for as long as they could, and during the circuit LPR 2008 took over the pace-making. The hilly and difficult circuit made it so many riders lost contact with the leading group, until only a small number of climbers and overall favorites were with the leaders. Joaquim Rodríguez was the first of this group to attack for the stage win, but he was caught in the final few hundred meters by a quintet of Italians, Riccardo Riccò, Danilo Di Luca, Davide Rebellin, Franco Pellizotti, and Paolo Savoldelli. Riccò was the first across the line for the stage win, while Pellizotti's ten second time gap over Vande Velde in 19th gave him the pink jersey.Shane Stokes and Susan Westemeyer http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro082 Riccò strikes to win, Pellizotti pips Vande Velde in maglia rosa fight 2008-05-11 Cycling News 2009-11-08 Stage 2 result RiderTeamTime1Riccardo Riccò ITAFUJ 2008a 5h 48' 35" 2Danilo Di Luca ITALPR 2008 s.t.3Davide Rebellin ITAGST 2008 s.t.4Franco Pellizotti ITALIQ 2008 s.t.5Paolo Savoldelli ITALPR 2008 s.t.6Joaquim Rodríguez ESPGCE 2008 s.t.7Jussi Veikkanen FINFDJ 2008 + 4"8Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2008 + 8"9Leonardo Piepoli ITAFUJ 2008a + 8"10Andreas Klöden GERAST 2008 + 10"General classification after stage 2 RiderTeamTime 1 Franco Pellizotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2008 6h 15' 16" 2 Christian Vande Velde USA GRM 2008a + 1" 3 Chris Anker Sørensen DEN 20px|White jersey SAX 2008a + 7" 4 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7" 5 Morris Possoni ITA THR 2008a + 8" 6 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8" 7 Nicki Sørensen DEN SAX 2008a + 17" 8 Bradley McGee AUS SAX 2008a + 17" 9 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2008a + 18" 10 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 19" Stage 3 12 May 2008 — Catania to Milazzo, 221 km 0 on This was the first flat stage of the 2008 Giro. The course began by riding around the perimeter of Mount Etna for a categorized climb, but the final 120 km 0 on on the seaside of Milazzo were all on elevations of less than 100 m 0 on, and a sprint finish was the result.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro083 Stage 3 – Monday, May 12: Catania – Milazzo, 221km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-08 The first attempt at a breakaway in this stage did not occur until the 70 km 0 on mark, as the Mount Etna climb kept the peloton together. At that point, Riccardo Chiarini, Mickaël Buffaz, Jérémy Roy, Kevin Seeldraeyers, Matej Jurčo, and Pavel Brutt broke free and attained a maximum advantage of four minutes. The peloton was careful not to let the time gap get out of hand, and for much of the stage it was only two minutes. A massive crash occurred at the 70 km 0 on to go mark, when a rider struck a manhole cover and lost control of his bike, colliding with other riders and sending riders and bikes flying. Rain began to fall shortly thereafter, with further crashes claiming victims including Mark Cavendish, Kanstantsin Sivtsov, and the previous day's stage winner Riccardo Riccò. The breakaway was caught with 30 km 0 on left to race, after which even more crashes occurred. Bradley McGee was taken from the race in an ambulance with a broken collarbone, and though his SAX 2008a teammate Stuart O'Grady finished the stage after crashing, it was later learned that he too had broken his collarbone. The succession of crashes did not stop a mass sprint finish, through what was ironically thought the most dangerous part of the course before the stage began. LIQ 2008' Daniele Bennati outmaneuvered Erik Zabel and Danilo Hondo at the finish to claim the stage win and the points jersey. Liquigas also retained the overall race lead with Franco Pellizotti, as well as first in the teams classification. It was Bennati's first career Giro stage win after having previously won stages in the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España.Shane Stokes and Susan Westemeyer http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro083 Bennati completes good day for Liquigas, Pellizotti holds on 2008-05-12 Cycling News 2009-11-08 Stage 3 result RiderTeamTime1Daniele Bennati ITALIQ 2008 5h 37' 01"2Erik Zabel GERMRM 2008 s.t.3Danilo Hondo GERSDA 2008 s.t.4Thomas Fothen GERGST 2008 s.t.5Alberto Loddo ITATCS 2008 s.t.6Koldo Fernández ESPEUS 2008 s.t.7Tiziano Dall'Antonia ITACSF 2008 s.t.8Marlon Pérez Arango COLGCE 2008 s.t.9Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2008a s.t.10Oscar Gatto ITAGST 2008 s.t.General classification after stage 3 RiderTeamTime 1 Franco Pellizotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2008 11h 52' 17" 2 Christian Vande Velde USA GRM 2008a + 1" 3 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7" 4 Morris Possoni ITA 20px|White jersey THR 2008a + 8" 5 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8" 6 Nicki Sørensen DEN SAX 2008a + 17" 7 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2008a + 18" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 19" 9 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2008 + 22" 10 Enrico Gasparotto ITA BAR 2008 + 25" Stage 4 13 May 2008 — Pizzo Calabro to Catanzaro-Lungomare, 183 km 0 on thumb|alt=Overhead view of a road with words in Italian written on it in blue chalk. A red vehicle is partly visible on the right side of the street, as is a black fence and one section of a steel guardrail, with red and white rope on it.|Street writing commemorating the passage of the Giro d'Italia. In this stage, the Giro left Sicily for Italy's mainland. The course for this stage was similar in profile to the one previous, with a high climb coming in the first third of the course before sufficient flat racing to ensure a mass sprint finish.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro084 Stage 4 – Tuesday, May 13: Pizzo Calabro – Catanzaro-Lungomare, 183km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-08 This stage was marked by a long one-man breakaway by COF 2008 rider Rik Verbrugghe. He attained an advantage of eleven minutes over the peloton at one point, but he stood little chance of staying away on a course well-suited for a bunch finish. He was caught with 19 km 0 on left to race, as MRM 2008, THR 2008a, and LIQ 2008 worked to get the field together, in preparation for a finish for their strong sprinters. Milram led Erik Zabel out early, but the veteran German was unable to hold on all the way to the finish line. Points classification leader Daniele Bennati was next to try, but he too went too soon and was passed for the win by High Road's Mark Cavendish, who picked up his first career Grand Tour stage win. A crash in the final kilometer, as the sprint was just beginning, brought down Nick Nuyens and two CSF 2008 riders, with Nuyens breaking his collarbone and leaving the race in an ambulance.Shane Stokes and Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro084 'Manx Express' Cavendish takes first Grand Tour win 2008-05-13 Cycling News 2009-11-13 Stage 4 result RiderTeamTime1Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2008a 4h 49' 09"2Robert Förster GERGST 2008 s.t.3Daniele Bennati ITA 20px|Violet jerseyLIQ 2008 s.t.4Assan Bazayev KAZAST 2008 s.t.5Mirco Lorenzetto ITALAM 2008 s.t.6Erik Zabel GERMRM 2008 s.t.7Robbie McEwen AUSSIL 2008 s.t.8Tony Martin GERTHR 2008a s.t.9Paolo Bettini ITAQST 2008 s.t.10Koldo Fernández ESPEUS 2008 s.t.General classification after stage 4 RiderTeamTime 1 Franco Pellizotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2008 16h 41' 26" 2 Christian Vande Velde USA GRM 2008a + 1" 3 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7" 4 Morris Possoni ITA 20px|White jersey THR 2008a + 8" 5 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8" 6 Nicki Sørensen DEN SAX 2008a + 17" 7 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2008a + 18" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 19" 9 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2008 + 22" 10 Daniele Bennati ITA20px|Violet jersey LIQ 2008 + 24" Stage 5 14 May 2008 — Belvedere Marittimo to Contursi Terme, 203 km on This was the first of four medium-mountain stages. One pre-race analysis suggested that the course's rolling profile suited a breakaway surviving to the finish line.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro085 Stage 5 – Wednesday, May 14: Belvedere Marittimo – Contursi Terme, 203km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-13 It took several attempts for a successful breakaway to come clear, but by the 20 km on mark, Luis Felipe Laverde, Johannes Fröhlinger, David Millar, Pavel Brutt, and Francisco Pérez were away. Pérez had begun the stage 1'57" behind race leader Franco Pellizotti, and as such he was the virtual race leader for much of the stage, as the breakaway held a maximum advantage over the peloton of 7'20" with 63 km 0 on left to race. The time gap to the leaders steadily fell from that point, such that Pellizotti's lead did not prove to be in any real danger. With a final 3 km on long, uncategorized hill remaining in the stage, the fast-closing pink jersey group, 64 riders strong and containing the race's overall favorites, trailed the five leaders by 1'42". This would prove to be just enough time for the breakaway to be able to decide the stage among themselves. Just as they passed under the red kite indicating 1 km on to the finish line, and just as Brutt seemed to start his attack for the stage win, the chain on Millar's bicycle snapped, halting the Scot and destroying any chance at a victory for him. An enraged Millar threw his bike over the barricade and, needing to wait for his team car for another, finished 119th on the stage, though he would be credited with the same finishing time as Pérez in fourth. Brutt's attack, which had started just as disaster struck Millar, gave him the stage win. His remaining breakaway mates finished scattered behind him, with the pink jersey group, led home by Paolo Bettini, 31 seconds back.Shane Stokes and Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro085 Brutt shows his force, Pellizotti retains Maglia Rosa 2008-05-14 Cycling News 2009-11-13 Stage 5 result RiderTeamTime1Pavel Brutt RUSTCS 2008 5h 04' 52"2Johannes Fröhlinger GERGST 2008 + 4"3Luis Felipe Laverde COLCSF 2008 + 10"4Francisco Pérez ESPGCE 2008 + 25"5Paolo Bettini ITAQST 2008 + 31"6Daniele Pietropolli ITALPR 2008 + 31"7Riccardo Riccò ITAFUJ 2008a + 31"8Franco Pellizotti ITA 20px|Pink jerseyLIQ 2008 + 31"9Jussi Veikkanen FINFDJ 2008 + 31"10Alberto Contador ESPAST 2008 + 31"General classification after stage 5 RiderTeamTime 1 Franco Pellizotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2008 21h 46' 49" 2 Christian Vande Velde USA GRM 2008a + 1" 3 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7" 4 Morris Possoni ITA 20px|White jersey THR 2008a + 8" 5 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8" 6 Nicki Sørensen DEN SAX 2008a + 17" 7 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2008a + 18" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 19" 9 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2008 + 22" 10 Enrico Gasparotto ITA BAR 2008 + 25" Stage 6 15 May 2008 — Potenza to Peschici, 231.6 km 1 on This stage was originally scheduled to be 265 km on in length. After representatives from the peloton spoke to race officials, voicing concerns over the long transfers from one day's finish town to the next day's start town affording them little time to rest to prepare for such a demanding stage, the 34 km on Circuito del Gargano was eliminated.Sue George Giro stage six shortened http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2008/may08/may15news Cycling News 2008-05-15 2009-11-07 The resultant course was still quite long, with a bumpy profile that suggested a climber or a sprinter who could climb better than his peers would be the day's winner.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro086 Stage 6 – Thursday, May 15: Potenza – Peschici (Circuito del Gargano), 231.6km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 For the first hour, the peloton stayed together, with no breakaway attempts succeeding. On the ascent to and descent from the day's one categorized climb, at the 47 km on mark, a twelve-rider breakaway formed, from which would come the riders who contested the stage victory. This group comprised Rene Mandri, Alan Pérez, Paul Martens, Nikolay Trusov, Jason McCartney, Magnus Bäckstedt, Daniele Nardello, Giovanni Visconti, Francesco Gavazzi, Matthias Russ, Maxim Iglinsky, and Matteo Priamo. Before the finish, Mandri was felled by a crash, and had to leave the race. The peloton let this group get a lead of 16 minutes with 45 km on left to race, before BAR 2008 set to making the chase, but it was much too late to bring them back. The race lead was assured to transfer to one in the breakaway. Russ was the best-placed rider in the General Classification at the beginning of the day, but Visconti was only 13 seconds behind him, meaning their respective finishing positions would likely determine which of them got the next pink jersey. Priamo and Pérez attacked their breakaway mates in the stage's final kilometer, quickly getting an appreciable gap over them. Bäckstedt tried to follow, but much like his teammate David Millar had had the previous day, mechanical trouble kept him from following. Priamo opened the sprint first and Pérez had no answer, giving the stage win to the Italian. Visconti finished the stage 7 seconds ahead of Russ, but he had also won the day's intermediate sprint, which afforded 6 bonus seconds. This gave him the pink jersey over Russ by a margin of less than one second. He was also awarded the white jersey after the stage, as he was a few days under the age limit for that classification. Visconti went à bloc in the stage's final few hundred meters, and had to be held upright by team staff after dismounting his bicycle. The peloton, led home by Daniele Bennati, finished 11'34" behind the stage winner.Shane Stokes and Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro086 Priamo nets first Giro win while Visconti lands big catch 2008-05-15 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Priamo's teammate Emanuele Sella, after later testing positive for methoxy polyethylene glycol-epoetin beta (better known as Mircera, an erythropoietin derivative) at an out-of-competition control run by the UCIJeff Jones and Gregor Brown http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/emmanuele-sella-positive-for-epo-17903 Emmanuele Sella positive for EPO 2008-08-05 BikeRadar.com 2009-11-15 2012-04-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20120429015835/http://www.bikeradar.com/news/article/emmanuele-sella-positive-for-epo-17903/ dead and confessing to his doping,Agence France-Presse http://www.velonews.com/article/81475/sella-tells-coni-he-used-epo Sella tells CONI he used EPO 2008-08-08 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-11-15 named Priamo as his supplier, resulting in a four-year ban for Priamo a year laterVeloNation Press http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/2208/CAS-gives-Priamo-a-four-year-ban.aspx CAS gives Priamo a four-year ban 2009-11-12 Velo Nation 2009-11-15 and casting considerable doubt on the legitimacy of this performance. Stage 6 result RiderTeamTime1Matteo Priamo ITACSF 2008 5h 24' 49"2Alan Pérez ESPEUS 2008 + 8"3Nikolay Trusov RUSTCS 2008 + 27"4Paul Martens GERGST 2008 + 31"5Maxim Iglinsky KAZAST 2008 + 32"6Daniele Nardello ITASDA 2008 + 36"7Francesco Gavazzi ITALAM 2008 + 40"8Giovanni Visconti ITAQST 2008 + 40"9Magnus Bäckstedt SWEGRM 2008a + 43"10Matthias Russ GERGST 2008 + 47"General classification after stage 6 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 27h 14' 04" 2 Matthias Russ GER GST 2008 + 0" 3 Daniele Nardello ITA SDA 2008 + 1' 22" 4 Alan Pérez ESP EUS 2008 + 4' 42" 5 Francesco Gavazzi ITA LAM 2008 + 5' 33" 6 Matteo Priamo ITA CSF 2008 + 9' 07" 7 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2008 + 9' 08" 8 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 9' 15" 9 Morris Possoni ITA THR 2008a + 9' 16" 10 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 9' 16" Stage 7 16 May 2008 — Vasto to Pescocostanzo, 180 km 0 on This was the first time the Giro ever visited Pescocostanzo, in the region of Abruzzo. The course favored a strong climber, as it featured numerous uncategorized rises in elevation in the first 100 km 0 on and then two categorized climbs later, as well as an uphill finish.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro087 Stage 7 – Friday, May 16: Vasto – Pescocostanzo, 180km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 It took 55 km on for the significant breakaway of this stage to form, after several attempts proved unsuccessful and a second selection took place among two large groups that briefly got away. The seven riders out front for the bulk of the stage were Emanuele Sella, Joan Horrach, Fortunato Baliani, Simon Špilak, Félix Cárdenas, Gabriele Bosisio and Vasil Kiryienka, who had been the original instigator of the breakaway. Numerous splits occurred among this group and the 32-strong group between them and the pink jersey's peloton, with time gaps and exact makeups of each group varying wildly as the stage went on. The stage win went to Bosisio, reaching the finish line 46 seconds ahead of Kiryienka and over a minute ahead of his fellow breakaway mates. His team LPR 2008 had wanted to try to have their leader Danilo Di Luca take the stage win, as Di Luca is from the area where the stage ended. But when Bosisio seemed to be in a winning breakaway and informed his teammates that he had the legs to try for the stage win, the team changed their plans. The race's overall contenders, who had been in the second group on the road, closed the gap to the breakaway as the stage ended, and finished just over two minutes behind Bosisio. Another large group was led home by Davide Rebellin 2'55" back, with most of the other riders finishing alone or in pairs between that group and two large gruppetto 24 and 28 minutes back. Race leader Giovanni Visconti finished 29th, 3'52" behind the stage winners and conceding nearly two minutes to the top GC riders, but he had more than enough time in hand to retain the pink jersey.Shane Stokes and Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro087 Good day for LPR as Bosisio triumphs and Di Luca shows form 2008-05-16 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Stage 7 result RiderTeamTime1Gabriele Bosisio ITALPR 2008 4h 45' 05"2Vasil Kiryienka BLRTCS 2008 + 46"3Emanuele Sella ITA 20px|Green jerseyCSF 2008 + 1' 02"4Félix Cárdenas COLBAR 2008 + 1' 33"5Danilo Di Luca ITALPR 2008 + 2' 04"6Riccardo Riccò ITAFUJ 2008a + 2' 04"7Leonardo Piepoli ITAFUJ 2008a + 2' 07"8Alberto Contador ESPAST 2008 + 2' 10"9Davide Rebellin ITAGST 2008 + 2' 55"10Franco Pellizotti ITALIQ 2008 + 2' 55"General classification after stage 7 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 32h 03' 01" 2 Matthias Russ GER GST 2008 + 9" 3 Gabriele Bosisio ITA LPR 2008 + 5' 43" 4 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7' 27" 5 Emanuele Sella ITA 20px|Green jersey CSF 2008 + 7' 36" 6 Félix Cárdenas COL BAR 2008 + 7' 46" 7 Riccardo Riccò ITA FUJ 2008a + 7' 53" 8 Daniele Nardello ITA SDA 2008 + 7' 53" 9 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2008 + 7' 56" 10 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 11" Stage 8 17 May 2008 — Rivisondoli to Tivoli, 208 km 0 on This was a difficult stage, featuring the second-category Forca d'Acero climb at the 57 km on mark, and numerous uncategorized climbs later in the stage. Analysis of the course expected it to favor a puncheur, a rider who is not necessarily a pure climber, but one who can put in repeated attacks on courses with such a jagged profile. Speculations for stage winner included Davide Rebellin, Paolo Bettini, and Riccardo Riccò, who went on to contest the finish in a sprint.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro088 Stage 8 – Saturday, May 17: Rivisondoli – Tivoli, 208km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 thumb|alt=A group of cyclists, in a single-file line, on a road that is descending in elevation. The cyclist in the front of the group wears a white rain jacket, and his shorts bear rainbow stripes.|World champion Paolo Bettini leading the peloton on the descent from Forca d'Acero. It was at the 42 km on mark, on the ascent of the Forca d'Acero, that Alessandro Spezialetti, Mathieu Perget, Fortunato Baliani, and Adam Hansen broke free of the peloton. Their maximum advantage hovered between five and six minutes for most of the time they were away. At the 86 km on mark, a crash brought down pre-race favorite Alberto Contador, his teammate Steve Morabito, Nicolas Hartmann, and Lander Aperribay. Initially all continued, but Morabito later retired from the Giro, as he had already sustained injuries from a crash earlier in the race. After the intermediate sprint at the 151 km on mark, the Quick-Step-led peloton set to making the chase in earnest. This was both to protect race leader Giovanni Visconti and to try to get Paolo Bettini in position for a stage win, as the stage's uphill finish favored him. With 15 km on left, the gap from the leaders to the pink jersey peloton was below one minute, prompting Hansen to try a solo escape for the stage victory. He attained thirty seconds advantage quickly, as the other four were caught by the peloton, but Hansen too was caught with some 3 km on left. A 39-rider group contested a final sprint finish, won by Riccardo Riccò. The win was Riccò's second stage victory of this Giro, and gave him leadership in the points classification after the stage. Visconti finished with the leaders and retained the pink jersey.Gregor Brown Bjorn Haake http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro088 Riccò doubles up with blast in Tivoli 2008-05-17 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Stage 8 result RiderTeamTime1Riccardo Riccò ITAFUJ 2008a 4h 41' 05"2Paolo Bettini ITAQST 2008 s.t.3Davide Rebellin ITAGST 2008 s.t.4Franco Pellizotti ITALIQ 2008 s.t.5Daniele Pietropolli ITALPR 2008 s.t.6Danilo Di Luca ITALPR 2008 s.t.7Emanuele Sella ITA 20px|Green jerseyCSF 2008 s.t.8Domenico Pozzovivo ITACSF 2008 s.t.9Paolo Savoldelli ITALPR 2008 s.t.10Félix Cárdenas COLBAR 2008 s.t.General classification after stage 8 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 36h 44' 06" 2 Matthias Russ GER GST 2008 + 34" 3 Gabriele Bosisio ITA LPR 2008 + 5' 53" 4 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7' 27" 5 Riccardo Riccò ITA 20px|Violet jersey FUJ 2008a + 7' 33" 6 Emanuele Sella ITA 20px|Green jersey CSF 2008 + 7' 36" 7 Félix Cárdenas COL BAR 2008 + 7' 46" 8 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2008 + 7' 56" 9 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 11" 10 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 19" Stage 9 18 May 2008 — Civitavecchia to San Vincenzo, 218 km 0 on This was a fairly straightforward stage that would almost assuredly end in a mass sprint. The course featured one small categorized climb, but it was no hindrance to the fast men being together at the finish.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro089 Stage 9 – Sunday, May 18: Civitavecchia – San Vincenzo, 218km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Two riders broke free of the peloton almost immediately after the stage began; these were Mickaël Buffaz and Yuriy Krivtsov. They attained a maximum advantage of over 11 minutes, but the peloton had no trouble catching them, as they did with some 20 km on left to race. At that point, Paolo Bettini, Emanuele Sella, and Riccardo Riccò broke away. Though those three did attain a small gap, it was clear that the peloton, paced by THR 2008a in the stage's final kilometers, would not allow any finish but a group sprint, so they dropped back. After Oscar Gatto opened the sprint 300 m on from the finish line, Daniele Bennati, Bettini, Robbie McEwen, and Erik Zabel came around him to finish the stage in that order. Bennati regained the lead in the points classification from Riccò with the victory.Bjorn Haake and Susan Westemeyer http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro089 Bennati makes it two 2008-05-18 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Stage 9 result RiderTeamTime1Daniele Bennati ITALIQ 2008 5h 30' 06"2Paolo Bettini ITAQST 2008 s.t.3Robbie McEwen AUSSIL 2008 s.t.4Erik Zabel GERMRM 2008 s.t.5Koldo Fernández ESPEUS 2008 s.t.6Robert Förster GERGST 2008 s.t.7Mark Cavendish GBRTHR 2008a s.t.8Tiziano Dall'Antonia ITACSF 2008 s.t.9Julian Dean NZLGRM 2008a s.t.10Alexandre Usov BLRALM 2008 s.t.General classification after stage 9 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 42h 14' 16" 2 Matthias Russ GER GST 2008 + 34" 3 Gabriele Bosisio ITA LPR 2008 + 5' 53" 4 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 7' 27" 5 Emanuele Sella ITA 20px|Green jersey CSF 2008 + 7' 32" 6 Riccardo Riccò ITA FUJ 2008a + 7' 33" 7 Félix Cárdenas COL BAR 2008 + 7' 46" 8 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2008 + 7' 56" 9 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 11" 10 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 15" Stage 10 20 May 2008 — Pesaro to Urbino, 39.4 km 1 on (individual time trial) The Giro's first individual time trial (ITT), which took place after the Giro's first rest day, featured a course that favored specialists in the discipline. Its first half was flat. The second half included the Monte di Colbordolo, which featured a maximum gradient of 12%, but was otherwise not imposing.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro0810 Stage 10 – Tuesday, May 20: Pesaro – Urbino (Individual Time Trial), 39.4km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 The early time to beat was set by THR 2008a's Tony Martin, who clocked in at 58'54", one of the first to stop the clock in under an hour. TCS 2008 rider Vasil Kiryienka, who had featured in several breakaways in past stages, passed many riders who started minutes before him, but faded toward the finish and ended up 10 seconds slower than Martin. The first rider to best Martin's time was from AST 2008, who were expected to excel in the ITT as they had several strong time trialists on their squad. This was Vladimir Gusev, who posted a time of 58'46". Italian national time trial champion Marco Pinotti of Team High Road quickly knocked off Gusev, finishing the course in 57'17". Shortly after Pinotti finished, Astana's Andreas Klöden and LAM 2008's Marzio Bruseghin were setting new best times at the intermediate time checks, with Bruseghin stopping the clock at 56'41", which held up for the stage win by a margin of 20 seconds over Klöden and 8 over Klöden's teammate and team leader Alberto Contador. Contador's performance moved him from eighth to fourth in the overall classification after the stage. The last two men on course were Matthias Russ and race leader Giovanni Visconti, still in high positions because of their Stage 6 breakaway. Visconti passed Russ on the road at one point, and gained nearly three minutes over him to extend his overall lead.Gregor Brown and Susan Westemeyer http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro0810 Wet Urbino run sorts out classification 2008-05-20 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Stage 10 result RiderTeamTime1Marzio Bruseghin ITALAM 2008 56' 41"2Alberto Contador ESPAST 2008 + 8"3Andreas Klöden GERAST 2008 + 20"4Marco Pinotti ITATHR 2008a + 36"5Paolo Savoldelli ITALPR 2008 + 44"6Denis Menchov RUSRAB 2008 + 46"7Vincenzo Nibali ITALIQ 2008 + 54"8Gustav Larsson SWESAX 2008a + 59"9Levi Leipheimer USAAST 2008 + 1' 01"10Gilberto Simoni ITASDA 2008 + 1' 02"General classification after stage 10 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 43h 12' 02" 2 Matthias Russ GER GST 2008 + 3' 31" 3 Gabriele Bosisio ITA LPR 2008 + 5' 50" 4 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2008 + 6' 59" 5 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2008 + 7' 52" 6 Andreas Klöden GER AST 2008 + 7' 54" 7 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 04" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 8' 09" 9 Riccardo Riccò ITA FUJ 2008a + 8' 32" 10 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 8' 33" Stage 11 21 May 2008 — Urbania to Cesena, 199 km 0 on This was a tough, hilly stage, containing four categorized climbs, including the first-category Monte Carpegna at the 107 km on mark. This mountainous stage concluded with an 11.5 km 1 on finishing circuit in the hometown of Italian cycling legend Marco Pantani.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=stages/giro0811 Stage 11 – Wednesday, May 21: Urbania – Cesena, 199km 2008-05-10 Cycling News 2009-11-15 This day of racing was marked by a consistent downpour of rain, making the course treacherous. At the 42 km on mark, a break formed, comprising Laurent Mangel, Pablo Lastras, Tiziano Dall'Antonia, Jussi Veikkanen, and Alessandro Bertolini. Their maximum advantage was over nine minutes, though for the second hour of racing their speed was only 36.4 km/h 1 on, as the rain and the hilly terrain made for slow going. The breakaway's lead fell more precipitously on the ascent to Monte Carpegna, as an attempted breakaway from Danilo Di Luca and other overall favorites increased the speed of the chase group for a time. At the top of Monte Carpegna, the leaders had five minutes on the main chase group of overall favorites, and seven and a half minutes on race leader Giovanni Visconti. The rainy descent proved dangerous, as Bertolini and Dall'Antonia both crashed at the 121 km on mark, but were able to make it back to the leading group. Further crashes elsewhere resulted in Mauricio Ardila, Christian Pfannberger, Leonardo Piepoli, Levi Leipheimer, Visconti, and Emanuele Sella all taking a tumble. Gabriele Bosisio was almost able to make the bridge from the chase to the leaders, and as such was the "virtual" race leader for a short while, but after crashing he was forced to rejoin the chase pack. Fortunato Baliani, who had been with Bosisio in the bridge attempt, made it to the leaders after a further solo effort. Lastras tried four or five different times to attack the leading group and get free, but he was never able to do so. Veikkanen and Mangel were dropped by the other four leaders on the last climb of the day, and Bertolini, Lastras, Dall'Antonia, and Baliani were poised to contest a stage finish among themselves. Dall'Antonia ended up crashing in the final few kilometers, and was unable to bridge back to the other three. Baliani lost his balance on the course's last left-hand turn, momentarily disturbing Lastras behind him. This allowed Bertolini, who had been leading out the sprint (ordinarily the least advantageous position in a sprint finish), to claim the first Giro stage win of his sixteen-year career. As the Visconti group was able to finish with the Di Luca group after being two to three minutes behind them for most of the day, the young Italian retained the race lead for another day.Gregor Brown and Bjorn Haake http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/giro08/?id=results/giro0811 Bertolini takes first Giro stage after 16 years 2008-05-21 Cycling News 2009-11-15 Stage 11 result RiderTeamTime1Alessandro Bertolini ITASDA 2008 5h 44' 22"2Pablo Lastras ESPGCE 2008 + 5"3Fortunato Baliani ITACSF 2008 + 5"4Tiziano Dall'Antonia ITACSF 2008 + 41"5Laurent Mangel FRAALM 2008 + 1' 33"6Jussi Veikkanen FINFDJ 2008 + 1' 33"7Daniele Bennati ITA 20px|Violet jerseyLIQ 2008 + 3' 53"8Erik Zabel GERMRM 2008 + 3' 53"9Mirco Lorenzetto ITALAM 2008 + 3' 53"10Davide Rebellin ITAGST 2008 + 3' 53"General classification after stage 11 RiderTeamTime 1 Giovanni Visconti ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey QST 2008 49h 00' 17" 2 Gabriele Bosisio ITA LPR 2008 + 5' 50" 3 Alberto Contador ESP AST 2008 + 6' 59" 4 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2008 + 7' 52" 5 Andreas Klöden GER AST 2008 + 7' 54" 6 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2008 + 8' 04" 7 Paolo Savoldelli ITA LPR 2008 + 8' 09" 8 Riccardo Riccò ITA FUJ 2008a + 8' 32" 9 Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2008 + 8' 33" 10 Gustav Larsson SWE SAX 2008a + 8' 33" References 2008 Giro d'Italia 1 11 12 21 Category:2008 Giro d'Italia Category:Giro d'Italia stages