2007 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11

Cycling race stages thumb|400px|right|alt=A map of Italy, with the course of the 2007 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 The 2007 Giro d'Italia began on 12 May, with Stage 11 occurring on 23 May. The route began in Caprera in Sardinia, with the first three stages being held on the island. These were followed by an unusually early rest day to transfer to Italy's mainland. The first stage was a team time trial, a stage where each member of the team raced together against the clock. The Italian LIQ 2007 team won this stage, but it was sprinter Enrico Gasparotto and not team leader Danilo Di Luca who was the first across the line and thus the first wearer of the pink jersey. Gasparotto and Di Luca traded the jersey back and forth over the next few days' flat stages. Stage 6 featured a winning breakaway, and it accounted for the only time in the 2007 Giro when the Liquigas team did not hold the race leadership. Marco Pinotti and Luis Felipe Laverde were the last riders remaining from that day's morning escape, claiming the pink jersey and the stage win, respectively. Pinotti held the race leadership through the flat stages that followed, before yielding it to the Giro's oldest rider, Di Luca's Liquigas teammate Andrea Noè. Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi of MRM 2007 won three of the first eleven stages of this Giro, but his subsequent disqualification for a non-negative salbutamol test after stage 11 nullified these victories. LegendJerseys appearing in the table on the left of the page indicate those worn by the cyclist during the particular stage, while those appearing in the table on the right of the page indicate those awarded to the cyclist after the stage.   20px|alt=A pink jersey   Denotes the leader of the General classification   20px|alt=A green jersey   Denotes the leader of the Mountains classification   20px|alt=A violet jersey   Denotes the leader of the Points classification   20px|alt=A white jersey   Denotes the leader of the Young rider classification   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 12 May 2007 — Caprera to La Maddalena, 25.6 km on (team time trial) This was the Giro's first visit to Sardinia since 1991. The course for the team time trial was technical, with many twists and turns in the road. It took the squads from Caprera on the island of Sardinia across a bridge to the tiny Maddalena island to the northwest. Favorites for the stage included SAX 2007, DSC 2007, and QST 2007.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro071 Stage 1 – Saturday, May 12: Caprera – La Maddalena (Team TT), 24 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 The early time to beat was set by OLO 2007, the second team to take the course. They stopped the clock in 35'06". EUS 2007 was well on pace to knock them off, but a crash 750 m on from the finish line dashed any hopes of theirs for a stage win. Their fifth rider didn't cross the line until a minute after their first four had, and they finished 21st, better than only FDJ 2007. SAX 2007 was the first team under 35 minutes, clocking in at 34'08", which would eventually be good for third on the day. Paolo Savoldelli's AST 2007 team finished with only the minimum of five riders together, but their 33'51" was nearly good enough for the stage win. The winning team was LIQ 2007, coming home with six riders in 33'38". The big surprise of the day was that the first Liquigas rider across the line was not their team leader Danilo Di Luca, but rather sprinter Enrico Gasparotto. Di Luca was visibly upset to have not been granted first position as the squad approached the finish line. Though Gasparotto at first claimed it was the team's plan for him and not Di Luca to cross first, he later admitted that he had momentarily forgotten that the team's time was taken for the fifth rider across the line and not the first, explaining that he was simply excited to finish as quickly as possible once the finish line was in view. Along with the pink jersey, Gasparotto was awarded the white jersey for leading the youth classification; his teammate Vincenzo Nibali wore that jersey in stage 2.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney Jean-François Quénet http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro071 Gasparotto Surprises 2007-05-12 Cycling News 2010-03-14Laura Weislo Jean-François Quénet http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/news.php?id=/news/2007/may07/may13news2 Pink jersey apologises for "mistake" 2007-05-13 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 1 result TeamTime1LIQ 2007 33' 38" 2 AST 2007 + 13"3 SAX 2007 + 30"4 LAM 2007 + 42"5DSC 2007 + 49"6ASA 2007 +1' 02"7TCS 2007 +1' 04"8 C.A 2007 +1' 13"9GCE 2007 +1' 23"10FOT 2007 +1' 25"General classification after stage 1 RiderTeamTime 1 Enrico Gasparotto ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 33' 38" 2 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 3 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 4 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 5 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 6 Charly Wegelius GBR LIQ 2007 s.t. 7 Alessandro Vanotti ITA LIQ 2007 + 2" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 + 13" 9 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA AST 2007 + 13" 10 Andrey Mizurov KAZ AST 2007 + 13" Stage 2 13 May 2007 — Tempio Pausania to Bosa, 205 km on Back on Sardinia, the first road race stage of the Giro was flat, heading west from Tempio Pausania along the Gulf of Asinara before going to the south and over the second-category Villanova Monteleone climb, which awarded the first green jersey. A sprint finish was the expectation.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro072 Stage 2 – Sunday, May 13: Tempio Pausania – Bosa, 203 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 thumb|left|alt=Cyclists clad in green and blue jerseys lead a large group of others in open-road racing. Spectators watch them from the roadside. A motorcycle rides in front of the cyclists.|The LIQ 2007 team pacing the main field Five riders broke free of the peloton after 25 km on of racing. These were Frédéric Bessy, Mauro Facci, Simone Masciarelli, Pavel Brutt and Arnaud Labbe. They worked well together, attaining a six-minute advantage by pounding out a 43.2 km/h 1 on pace after two hours. LIQ 2007 set to making the chase, being joined briefly by EUS 2007. The time gap fell precipitously, despite Brutt's best effort to pace the breakaway. Brutt was the first over the Villanova Monteleone climb, and took the first green jersey on the podium after the stage. As the stage neared its conclusion, the teams of the primary sprinters joined in the chase. Brutt was the last rider left off the front. His solo attempt lasted until the 8 km on to go mark, when the peloton was all together. MRM 2007, LAM 2007 and LIQ 2007 came to the front in the final 3 km on to try to set up the sprint for Alessandro Petacchi, Damiano Cunego and race leader Enrico Gasparotto, but with 1300 m on to go, QST 2007's Andrea Tonti crashed and brought down much of the main field with him. Gasparotto was among the riders to crash. Since the crash took place inside 3 km on to the finish line, all riders who fell were given the same time as the stage winner. OLO 2007's fast man Robbie McEwen was 15 or 20 riders deep in the bunch during the descent from the small bump in the road that preceded the finish. He managed to find Petacchi's wheel, and held it while his team Milram executed a leadout in the stage's final kilometer. The veteran Aussie came around Petacchi for the stage win, holding off Paolo Bettini, who had done the same. As Gasparotto finished 43rd on the stage and his team leader Danilo Di Luca 12th, Di Luca took the pink jersey for stage 3, though all the Liquigas riders who finished together in the team time trial were still tied in the overall standings at this point.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney Shane Stokes http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro072 Rockin' Robbie McEwen sprints ahead of greats 2007-05-13 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 2 result RiderTeamTime 1 Robbie McEwen AUS OLO 2007 5h 07' 13" 2 Paolo Bettini ITA QST 2007 s.t. 3 Alessandro Petacchi ITAAll of Petacchi's results from the 2007 Giro have been officially stripped from the record MRM 2007 s.t. 4 Assan Bazayev KAZ AST 2007 s.t. 5 Maximiliano Richeze ARG CSF 2007 s.t. 6 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 s.t. 7 José Joaquín Rojas ESP GCE 2007 s.t. 8 Stefano Garzelli ITA ASA 2007 s.t. 9 Lorenzo Bernucci ITA THR 2007a s.t. 10 George Hincapie USA DSC 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 2 RiderTeamTime 1 Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2007 5h 40' 41" 2 Enrico Gasparotto ITA 20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 s.t. 3 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 4 Charly Wegelius GBR LIQ 2007 s.t. 5 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 6 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 7 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 + 13" 8 Andrey Mizurov KAZ AST 2007 + 13" 9 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA AST 2007 + 13" 10 Serguei Yakovlev KAZ AST 2007 + 13" Stage 3 14 May 2007 — Barumini to Cagliari, 181 km on The third stage was also flat, starting in the south-central of Sardinia. It did not have any categorized climbs. It ended in Cagliari, with the last 400 m on on rough, uneven terrain. After this stage, the Giro took an uncommonly early rest day to transfer to Italy's mainland.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro073 Stage 3 – Monday, May 14: Barumini – Cagliari, 181 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Right away, a five-man breakaway formed, instigated by Mikhail Ignatiev and Elio Aggiano. Their eventual mates were Mickaël Buffaz, Alexandre Pichot, and Giovanni Visconti. Their maximum advantage was 7'40", as the leading team LIQ 2007 did not mount a strong chase for much of the stage. Ignatiev and Visconti attacked at the 70 km on to go mark, and the other three were left behind, quickly reabsorbed by the peloton. When the peloton realized that the breakaway had split, the teams of the sprinters, namely MRM 2007 and OLO 2007, set to making the chase in earnest in order to be able to ensure a mass finish. Ignatiev and Visconti were caught with 4 km on remaining after bravely fighting on as long as possible. Other inconsequential breakaway attempts took place in the next few minutes, but the group was all one for a mass finish, won by Alessandro Petacchi, though this was one of his many 2007 wins that was later stripped due to his irregular salbutamol test later in the race. Since Enrico Gasparotto contested the sprint and finished 74 places ahead of teammate and overnight race leader Danilo Di Luca, Gasparotto reclaimed the pink jersey while still holding the white. Nibali again wore the white jersey in his stead in the following stage.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro073 Finalmente Petacchi – Ale-Jet strikes back 2007-05-14 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 3 result RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA MRM 2007 4h 22' 57" 2 Robert Förster GER GST 2007 s.t. 3 Maximiliano Richeze ITA CSF 2007 s.t. 4 Robbie McEwen AUS 20px|Violet jersey OLO 2007 s.t. 5 Danilo Napolitano ITA LAM 2007 s.t. 6 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 s.t. 7 Lloyd Mondory FRA ALM 2007 s.t. 8 Enrico Gasparotto ITA 20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 s.t. 9 José Joaquín Rojas ESP GCE 2007 s.t. 10 Volodymyr Bileka UKR DSC 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 3 RiderTeamTime 1 Enrico Gasparotto ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 10h 03' 48" 2 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 3 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 4 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 5 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 6 Charly Wegelius GBR LIQ 2007 s.t. 7 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 + 13" 8 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA AST 2007 + 13" 9 Andrey Mizurov KAZ AST 2007 + 13" 10 Dmitriy Muravyev KAZ AST 2007 + 13" Stage 4 16 May 2007 — Salerno to Montevergine di Mercogliano, 153 km on After the transfer to the Italian mainland, the peloton faced a medium mountain stage that concluded with the first-category climb to Montevergine di Mercogliano. The finish was highly technical, with over a dozen switchbacks.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro074 Stage 4 – Wednesday, May 16: Salerno – Montevergine Di Mercogliano, 153 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 thumb|right|alt=Various cyclists, clad in jerseys of different colors, speed down an open road. Spectators watch from the roadside, and cheer them on|Riders on the way to Montevergine With 33 km on covered, ALM 2007's Yuriy Krivtsov instigated the day's breakaway, being joined by mountains classification leader Pavel Brutt, who was looking to add to his lead in that standing. EUS 2007's Markel Irizar joined them 5 km on later. While Brutt did get maximum points on the third-category Picco San Angelo climb, the route prior to the Montevergine di Mercogliano climb was mostly flat, and the FOT 2007-paced main field caught the trio shortly after the climb began. Julio Alberto Pérez attacked for the stage win with 9 km on left, and nearly held on to the finish line. With 800 m on left, a group of nine passed up Pérez and contested the stage finish among themselves. Danilo Di Luca took off for the line with 200 m on remaining to race. He had Riccardo Riccò and Damiano Cunego on his wheel, but neither came around him in the sprint, affording the LIQ 2007 leader the stage win and, for the second time, the pink jersey. Di Luca had previously won a stage that ended on this climb in the 2001 Giro d'Italia. Being first on the category-one climb also gave Di Luca the green jersey; second-place man Riccò wore that jersey in the next two stages.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro074 The Killer returns to Montevergine 2007-05-16 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 4 result RiderTeamTime 1 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 4h 22' 42" 2 Riccardo Riccò ITA FOT 2007 s.t. 3 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 s.t. 4 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 + 3" 5 Stefano Garzelli ITA ASA 2007 + 3" 6 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 + 6" 7 Luca Mazzanti ITA CSF 2007 + 6" 8 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 + 6" 9 Emanuele Sella ITA CSF 2007 + 13" 10 David Zabriskie USA SAX 2007 + 13"General classification after stage 4 RiderTeamTime 1 Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey LIQ 2007 14h 26' 10" 2 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 + 26" 3 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 + 35" 4 Vincenzo Nibali ITA 20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 + 35" 5 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 + 53" 6 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 + 54" 7 David Zabriskie USA SAX 2007 +1' 03" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 +1' 07" 9 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA AST 2007 +1' 07" 10 Andrey Mizurov KAZ AST 2007 +1' 07" Stage 5 17 May 2007 — Teano to Frascati, 173 km on Stage five was mostly flat, but a third-category climb 15 km on from the finish line had the potential to break up the field. The descent into the wine country town of Frascati was technical, covering twisting, turning roads to the finish line.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro075 Stage 5 – Thursday, May 17: Teano – Frascati, 173 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 TCS 2007 rider Mikhail Ignatiev was the day's first escapee. Mickaël Buffaz joined him after 15 km on, and the two quickly attained a five-minute advantage. LIQ 2007 paced the main field for race leader Danilo Di Luca, and in the third hour of racing they tapped out a 45.1 km/h on pace, cutting significantly into the breakaway's time gap. When Ignatiev realized that the main field was closing in on them, he attacked and came free of Buffaz, trying to solo to the finish line, but he was caught 18 km on from the finish line. František Raboň, Matt White, Salvatore Commesso, and Elia Aggiano tried their luck within the final 10 km on, but none stayed away for more than a few minutes, and the widely expected mass sprint took place. C.A 2007's Angelo Furlan tried to execute a leadout for Thor Hushovd, but Alessandro Petacchi's train from MRM 2007 overran him. A chaotic sprint followed, with several riders having victory in their view. GST's Robert Förster was the first over the line for the win.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney Jean-François Quénet Shane Stokes http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro075 Förster nails the tricky sprint 2007-05-17 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 5 result RiderTeamTime 1 Robert Förster GER GST 2007 4h 17' 02" 2 Thor Hushovd NOR C.A 2007 s.t. 3 Alessandro Petacchi ITA MRM 2007 s.t. 4 Danilo Napolitano ITA LAM 2007 s.t. 5 Robbie McEwen AUS20px|Violet jersey OLO 2007 s.t. 6 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 s.t. 7 Maximiliano Richeze ARG CSF 2007 s.t. 8 Alexandre Pichot FRA BTL 2007 s.t. 9 Juan José Haedo ARG SAX 2007 s.t. 10 Oscar Gatto ITA GST 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 5 RiderTeamTime 1 Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey LIQ 2007 18h 43' 12" 2 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 + 26" 3 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 + 35" 4 Vincenzo Nibali ITA 20px|White jersey LIQ 2007 + 35" 5 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 + 53" 6 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 + 54" 7 David Zabriskie USA SAX 2007 +1' 03" 8 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 +1' 07" 9 Eddy Mazzoleni ITA AST 2007 +1' 07" 10 Andrey Mizurov KAZ AST 2007 +1' 07" Stage 6 18 May 2007 — Tivoli to Spoleto, 177 km on This medium mountain stage had three climbs, one in each category. The first-category Monte Terminillo crested a little after the halfway point of the stage, and with two climbs in the next 65 km on afterward, pre-race analysis found this to be a stage conducive to a winning breakaway.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro076 Stage 6 – Friday, May 18: Tivoli – Spoleto, 177 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Wildcard teams TCS 2007 and CSF 2007 were active in early breakaway attempts, but no riders got clear until over an hour spent racing and 45 km on were covered. Daniele Contrini instigated the day's breakaway at that point, and Marco Pinotti, Christophe Kern, Hubert Schwab, and Luis Felipe Laverde joined him. The breakaway was riding cohesively through the Monte Terminillo climb, and the LIQ 2007-led main field did not chase very hard to bring them back. Pinotti was the best-placed man in the break, 3'11" back of race leader Danilo Di Luca on the day. The group's advantage quickly exceeded three minutes, meaning Pinotti stood to become race leader if they stayed away. Laverde took the mountains points at the top of the Terminillo, and took the green jersey on the podium at day's end. The group's advantage on the descent of the Terminillo was almost eight minutes, and it continued to rise for a time after that. Kern and Contrini had trouble keeping the pace with the leading group as the stage went on, with time trial specialist Pinotti setting a very fast pace. On the day's last climb, the second-category Forca d'Acero, Pinotti and Laverde distinguished themselves as the last remnants of the break, still seven minutes clear of the main field. Kern and Schwab were 90 seconds off the pace at the finish, with Contrini 3 minutes back. As the two leaders approached the finish line, Pinotti abided by an unwritten rule in cycling as he allowed Laverde to take the stage win, knowing that he (Pinotti) was going to take the overall race leadership. Alessandro Petacchi led the peloton home 7'09" behind Laverde.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro076 Double success: Laverde Stage and Pinotti Rosa 2007-05-18 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 6 result RiderTeamTime 1 Luis Felipe Laverde COL CSF 2007 4h 58' 23" 2 Marco Pinotti ITA THR 2007a s.t. 3 Christophe Kern FRA C.A 2007 +1' 30" 4 Hubert Schwab SUI QST 2007 +1' 34" 5 Daniele Contrini ITA TCS 2007 +3' 45" 6 Fortunato Baliani ITA CSF 2007 +6' 55" 7 Alessandro Petacchi ITA20px|Violet jersey MRM 2007 +7' 09" 8 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 +7' 09" 9 Giuseppe Palumbo ITA ASA 2007 +7' 09" 10 Yuriy Krivtsov UKR ALM 2007 +7' 09"General classification after stage 6 RiderTeamTime 1 Marco Pinotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey THR 2007a 23h 44' 32" 2 Hubert Schwab SUI 20px|White jersey QST 2007 +3' 30" 3 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 12" 4 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 38" 5 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 47" 6 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 47" 7 Luis Felipe Laverde COL 20px|Green jersey CSF 2007 +4' 49" 8 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 +5' 05" 9 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 +5' 06" 10 David Zabriskie USA SAX 2007 +5' 15" Stage 7 19 May 2007 — Spoleto to Scarperia, 254 km on This was a long, flat stage, winding through the regions of Umbria and Tuscany. It included the third-category Valico Croce a Mori, but this climb was a good 55 km on from the finish line, meaning it was unlikely to prevent a mass sprint from happening.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro077 Stage 7 – Saturday, May 19: Spoleto – Scarperia, 254 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 At the 9 km on mark, a four-rider break formed, instigated again by a member of TCS 2007. This was Elio Aggiano, and he drew with him Swiss time trial specialist Rubens Bertogliati, Beñat Albizuri, and Fabien Patanchon. After 124 km on, they had 11 minutes on the main field. It was at this point that the teams of the sprinters set to making the chase. The time gap fell precipitously, and when Bertogliati topped Valico Croce a Mori in first position, the peloton was only one minute behind. QST 2007 and in particular their leader, reigning world champion Paolo Bettini, had made an aggressive chase on the ascent to try to soften the field. With 39 km on left to race, the break was brought back into the main field. Matt White, Salvatore Commesso, and Fabian Cancellara tried to break away and solo to the finish line, but all were brought back. The MRM 2007 leadout train again delivered Alessandro Petacchi to the line first, though this was one of his many 2007 wins that was later stripped due to his irregular salbutamol test later in the race.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro077 Petacchi revs to success on Mugello 2007-05-19 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 7 result RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA20px|Violet jersey MRM 2007 6h 14' 44" 2 Thor Hushovd NOR C.A 2007 s.t. 3 Paolo Bettini ITA QST 2007 s.t. 4 Danilo Napolitano ITA LAM 2007 s.t. 5 José Joaquín Rojas ESP GCE 2007 s.t. 6 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 s.t. 7 Maximiliano Richeze ARG CSF 2007 s.t. 8 Enrico Gasparotto ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 9 Assan Bazayev KAZ AST 2007 s.t. 10 Koldo Fernández ESP EUS 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 7 RiderTeamTime 1 Marco Pinotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey THR 2007a 29h 59' 16" 2 Hubert Schwab SUI 20px|White jersey QST 2007 +3' 30" 3 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 12" 4 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 38" 5 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 47" 6 Vincenzo Nibali ITA LIQ 2007 +4' 47" 7 Luis Felipe Laverde COL 20px|Green jersey CSF 2007 +4' 49" 8 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 +5' 05" 9 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 +5' 06" 10 David Zabriskie USA SAX 2007 +5' 15" Stage 8 20 May 2007 — Barberino di Mugello to Fiorano Modenese, 200 km on This stage had two distinct halves. The first was hilly, with two categorized climbs and several uncategorized rises in elevation. After descending from the third-category Sestola climb, the peloton took in a flat second half of the stage en route to Fiorano Modenese. Once there, the stage concluded with a lap on the Fiorano Circuit, the private test track for Ferrari sports cars. The stage commemorated 60 years since the introduction of the first Ferrari.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro078 Stage 8 – Sunday, May 20: Barberino Di Mugello – Fiorano Modenese, 200 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14Antonio J. Salmerón http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/giro-ditalia-to-celebrate-60-years-of-ferrari Giro d'Italia to celebrate 60 years of Ferrari 2006-11-30 Cycling News 2010-03-14 At the 27 km on mark, OLO 2007 rider Dario Cioni broke away, and instigated a big chase pack to come after him. Twenty-seven riders formed the day's principal break. The best-placed man in the group was LIQ 2007' Andrea Noè, who was 4' 47" back at the beginning of the day, meaning his position threatened that of race leader Marco Pinotti. The presence of Riccardo Riccò in the group meant that the peloton was likely to chase it down, as Riccò was an outside favorite for overall victory in the Giro. The other riders in the group repeatedly attacked to try to shed Riccò, and when his sporting director instructed him to drop back, Riccò rejoined the peloton. Five other riders also dropped back, leaving 21 out front. They worked cohesively to gain an advantage of seven minutes on the main field, keeping it at that gap for most of the stage. Pinotti's THR 2007a set to making the chase, but no other team helped, as they were the only team who had a vested interest in limiting the escape group's time gap. One team pulling the peloton was no match for 21 riders working together, and it quickly became clear that the breakaway would not be caught. They managed to pull back three minutes by the time the riders reached the Ferrari race track, meaning Pinotti was narrowly able to retain the pink jersey. Various members of the 21-strong leading group tried to attack for the stage win, with TCS 2007' Pavel Brutt away within the final kilometer, only to be overhauled by Emanuele Sella. Sella was in turn passed by world champion Paolo Bettini, but SAX 2007's Kurt Asle Arvesen had ably held Bettini's wheel in the final kilometer and started his sprint at just the right time to win the stage. Pinotti's lead was reduced to under 30 seconds; he thanked teammates Lorenzo Bernucci, Axel Merckx and Aaron Olson for their hard pace-setting at the front of the peloton, but also noted that the team would need to ride better on subsequent days if they were to continue to keep the jersey.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro078 Arvesen victorious among many breakaway companions 2007-05-20 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 8 result RiderTeamTime 1 Kurt Asle Arvesen NOR SAX 2007 4h 44' 59" 2 Paolo Bettini ITA QST 2007 s.t. 3 Assan Bazayev KAZ AST 2007 s.t. 4 Evgeni Petrov RUS TCS 2007 s.t. 5 Dionisio Galparsoro ESP EUS 2007 s.t. 6 George Hincapie USA DSC 2007 s.t. 7 Alessandro Spezialetti ITA LIQ 2007 s.t. 8 Rinaldo Nocentini ITA ALM 2007 s.t. 9 Emanuele Sella ITA CSF 2007 s.t. 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 8 RiderTeamTime 1 Marco Pinotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey THR 2007a 34h 38' 34" 2 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 + 28" 3 Serguei Yakovlev KAZ AST 2007 + 54" 4 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2007 +1' 06" 5 Patxi Vila ESP LAM 2007 +1' 10" 6 José Luis Rubiera ESP DSC 2007 +1' 36" 7 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 +1' 43" 8 Evgeni Petrov RUS TCS 2007 +1' 51" 9 Dario Cioni ITA OLO 2007 +2' 13" 10 Alexandr Arekeev RUS 20px|White jersey ASA 2007 +2' 17" Stage 9 21 May 2007 — Reggio Emilia to Lido di Camaiore, 177 km on After the second-category Passo del Cerreto, the course descended almost all the way to sea level and was flat to the finish. The finish was in Camaiore on the Ligurian coast, in the Italian Riviera.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro079 Stage 9 – Monday, May 21: Reggio nell'Emilia – Lido Di Camaiore, 177 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 The peloton took it easy for most of this stage. Their pace through two hours of racing was a paltry 27 km/h on. There was no significant breakaway in this time. Only the Passo del Cerreto climb spurred any combativity in the riders, as six, including mountains classification leader Luis Felipe Laverde broke away on the ascent. Four of them tried to soldier on for the stage win, but the teams of the sprinters, and the race leader's THR 2007a, worked well to keep the main field together. MRM 2007 tapped out a furious pace in the final 5 km on, reaching 61 km/h on and forcing the peloton to ride single file. They continued their leadout in the last kilometer, for Alessandro Petacchi, but it was Danilo Napolitano who took the stage win. The overall standings were unchanged by the day's results.Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro079 Napolitano nails first 2007-05-21 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 9 result RiderTeamTime 1 Danilo Napolitano ITA LAM 2007 4h 57' 08" 2 Robbie McEwen AUS OLO 2007 s.t. 3 Alessandro Petacchi ITA20px|Violet jersey MRM 2007 s.t. 4 Paolo Bettini ITA QST 2007 s.t. 5 Koldo Fernández ESP EUS 2007 s.t. 6 Thor Hushovd NOR C.A 2007 s.t. 7 Maximiliano Richeze ARG CSF 2007 s.t. 8 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle FRA COF 2007 s.t. 9 Robert Förster GER GST s.t. 10 Juan José Haedo ARG SAX 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 9 RiderTeamTime 1 Marco Pinotti ITA 20px|Pink jersey THR 2007a 39h 45' 42" 2 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 + 28" 3 Serguei Yakovlev KAZ AST 2007 + 54" 4 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2007 +1' 06" 5 Patxi Vila ESP LAM 2007 +1' 10" 6 José Luis Rubiera ESP DSC 2007 +1' 36" 7 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 +1' 43" 8 Evgeni Petrov RUS TCS 2007 +1' 51" 9 Dario Cioni ITA OLO 2007 +2' 13" 10 Alexandr Arekeev RUS 20px|White jersey ASA 2007 +2' 17" Stage 10 22 May 2007 — Camiaore to Santuario Nostra Signora della Guardia, 250 km on This was a difficult stage, long and with a lot of climbing. Two categorized climbs on course preceded the first-category summit stage finish at Santuario Nostra Signora Della Guardia. The course headed northwest from Camaiore through the Cinque Terre on the Ligurian coast, finishing with a 8.8 km on climb with a steady 8% grade, and stretches reaching 14%.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro0710 Stage 10 – Tuesday, May 22: Lido Di Camaiore – Santuario Nostra Signora Della Guardia, 250 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 In sharp contrast to the previous stage, the peloton rode very aggressively from the outset on this stage. Numerous breakaway attempts in the first two hours got free briefly, only to be brought back minutes later. The right move at the right time turned out to be Iván Parra, George Hincapie, Alberto Losada, Mauricio Ardila, Fortunato Baliani, and Hubert Dupont forming a six-rider break at the 70 km on mark. Their lead exceeded 4 minutes at times, and at those points Hincapie was the virtual race leader, having entered the day 3' 04" behind Marco Pinotti. This advantage did not last for very long, being whittled down by the pink jersey group. The day's hot weather also took its toll on Ardila and Dupont, as they fell from the leading group and into one of the various trailing groups on the road. The leaders had one minute on the Pinotti group as the ascent of the day's penultimate climb began. Hincapie flatted and was gapped between the two groups as the time gap was so small that team cars were not allowed between them. He managed to bridge back up to the remaining leaders Baliani, Parra, and Losada. Pinotti was dropped from the main chase group on this climb, finishing 36th on the stage and losing the pink jersey. The LIQ 2007 had been pacing this group when their leader Danilo Di Luca attacked, which caused all group dynamics to be abandoned. Leonardo Piepoli responded to Di Luca's move and drew Andy Schleck with him. Piepoli stayed away for the stage win after shedding Schleck moments later. Di Luca passed Schleck for second on the stage, and with that result he regained the leadership of the mountains classification. His teammate Andrea Noè, the oldest rider in the Giro, was the new race leader.Gregor Brown Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro0710 Piepoli takes Santuario win – Noè new Rosa 2007-05-22 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 10 result RiderTeamTime 1 Leonardo Piepoli ITA FOT 2007 6h 19' 07" 2 Danilo Di Luca ITA LIQ 2007 + 18" 3 Andy Schleck LUX SAX 2007 + 27" 4 Gilberto Simoni ITA FOT 2007 + 32" 5 Riccardo Riccò ITA FOT 2007 + 41" 6 Paolo Savoldelli ITA AST 2007 + 41" 7 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2007 + 43" 8 Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2007 + 45" 9 Yaroslav Popovych UKR DSC 2007 + 52" 10 Andrea Noè ITA LIQ 2007 + 52"General classification after stage 10 RiderTeamTime 1 Andrea Noè ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2007 46h 06' 09" 2 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2007 +1' 09" 3 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 +1' 15" 4 Patxi Vila ESP LAM 2007 +1' 38" 5 Evgeni Petrov RUS TCS 2007 +1' 48" 6 Emanuele Sella ITA CSF 2007 +2' 04" 7 Serguei Yakovlev KAZ AST 2007 +2' 06" 8 Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Green jersey LIQ 2007 +2' 58" 9 Marco Pinotti ITA THR 2007a +3' 11" 10 José Luis Rubiera ESP DSC 2007 +3' 22" Stage 11 23 May 2007 — Serravalle Scrivia to Pinerolo, 198 km on This was a transitional stage, leaving the Ligurian coast, traveling through Langhe to end at the ancient crossroads city of Pinerolo.Tim Maloney http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=stages/giro0711 Stage 11 – Wednesday, May 23: Serravalle Scrivia – Pinerolo, 198 km 2007-05-11 Cycling News 2010-03-14 The peloton stayed together through the first hour of racing. Mickaël Buffaz formed the day's breakaway at the 38 km on mark. His maximum advantage over the main field was more than nine minutes, but he was easily caught. With 11 km on left to race, MRM 2007 and LAM 2007 were drilling out a hard pace at the front of the main field, and absorbed Buffaz back into the peloton. The finish was contested in a classic bunched sprint, won by Alessandro Petacchi, though this was one of his many 2007 wins that was later stripped due to his irregular salbutamol levels in a test given after this stage. Wet pavement in the final meters caused Nikolay Trusov to skid out and crash, taking many other riders down with him. Among them was race leader Andrea Noè, who tumbled across the finish line on his backside, but retained the pink jersey.Gregor Brown http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2007/giro07/?id=results/giro0711 Petacchi triples – Peloton slides in 2007-05-23 Cycling News 2010-03-14 Stage 11 result RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA 20px|Violet jersey MRM 2007 5h 46' 59" 2 Gabriele Balducci ITA ASA 2007 s.t. 3 Robbie McEwen AUS OLO 2007 s.t. 4 Thor Hushovd NOR C.A 2007 s.t. 5 Danilo Napolitano ITA LAM 2007 s.t. 6 Angelo Furlan ITA C.A 2007 s.t. 7 Koldo Fernández ESP EUS 2007 s.t. 8 Alexandre Usov BLR ALM 2007 s.t. 9 Robert Förster GER GST 2007 s.t. 10 Enrico Gasparotto ITA LIQ 2007 s.t.General classification after stage 11 RiderTeamTime 1 Andrea Noè ITA 20px|Pink jersey LIQ 2007 51h 53' 08" 2 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2007 +1' 08" 3 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2007 +1' 15" 4 Patxi Vila ESP LAM 2007 +1' 38" 5 Evgeni Petrov RUS TCS 2007 +1' 48" 6 Emanuele Sella ITA CSF 2007 +2' 04" 7 Serguei Yakovlev KAZ AST 2007 +2' 06" 8 Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Green jersey LIQ 2007 +2' 58" 9 Marco Pinotti ITA THR 2007a +3' 11" 10 José Luis Rubiera ESP DSC 2007 +3' 22" References 2007 Giro d'Italia 1 11 12 21 Category:2007 Giro d'Italia Category:Giro d'Italia stages