2009 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1 to Stage 11

Stage 1 to Stage 11 of the 2009 Giro d'Italia thumb|400px|right|alt=A map of Italy, with the course of the 2009 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 2009 Giro d'Italia began on 9 May, with Stage 11 occurring on 20 May. The first stage, like it had been since 2007, was a team time trial, a stage where each member of the team raced together against the clock. Like most cycling Grand Tours do, the beginning of the 2009 Giro included a string of flat stages that were contested by sprinters. These stages were contested by Alessandro Petacchi and Mark Cavendish, among others, with Petacchi in victory becoming one of the only riders to defeat Cavendish in a sprint in the 2009 season. At the end of the race's first week and beginning of its second were three hilly medium-mountain stages. These stages took the Giro through Austria and Switzerland before returning to Italy. Each of these stages took more than five hours to complete, and the rain that fell each day combined with the difficulties presented by the numerous ascents and descents made the courses potentially unsafe in the riders' opinion. This opinion was perhaps validated by the life-threatening injuries sustained by Pedro Horrillo in the eighth stage after he crashed while descending a mountain. While the ninth stage was meant to be a showy criterium in celebration of this being the 100th anniversary of the Giro d'Italia, the riders collectively protested the safety conditions of that stage and the ones before it. This meant it would be neutralized, with every rider receiving the same finishing time as the stage winner regardless of when they finished. The tenth stage was the longest of this year's Giro, and one of its most mountainous. It, along with a stage later in the race, were both called the race's queen stage, its most difficult stage. Danilo Di Luca won this stage to pad his overall lead going into the second half of the Giro. 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 thumb|alt=A group of nine cyclists, each wearing identical yellow and white jerseys with black trim, sit crouched over their bicycles in preparation to start a race. Spectators watch on either side of them.|THR 2009a in the starthouse in Lido 9 May 2009 — Lido (Venice), 20.5 km on (team time trial) The 2009 Giro began, as it had since 2007, with a team time trial (TTT). The 20.5 km on ride over a perfectly flat course in Venice decided who would wear the first pink jersey.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro091 Stage 1 – Saturday, May 09: Lido di Venezia (TTT), 20.5km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 THR 2009a was the first team to ride the course, and wound up being the stage winners. They all finished together, which is relatively uncommon (especially for a winning team: only GCE 2009, which took the course nearly a minute slower, managed to also have all nine riders cross the finish line together). GRM 2009, who had said previously it was their goal to replicate their TTT victory from the 2008 Giro d'Italia, finished officially 6 seconds back of THR 2009a yes, but they had only the minimum of 5 riders finishing together (the team's time is taken for the fifth rider to cross the line). As the first THR 2009a yes rider to cross the line, Mark Cavendish was awarded the first pink jersey as general classification (GC) leader; he was also awarded the white jersey as youth classification leader.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro091 A tale of two teams, as Columbia puts Cavendish in pink 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090621002900/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro091 21 June 2009 live Stage 1 result TeamTime1THR 2009a 21' 50" 2 GRM 2009 + 6"3 AST 2009 + 13"4 LPR 2009 + 22"5ISD 2009a + 27"6KAT 2009 + 35"7RAB 2009 + 38"8 LIQ 2009 + 40"9LAM 2009 + 42"10MRM 2009 + 49"General classification after stage 1 RiderTeamTime 1 Mark Cavendish GBR 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey THR 2009a 21' 50" 2 Marco Pinotti ITA THR 2009a + 0" 3 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a + 0" 4 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 0" 5 Thomas Lövkvist SWE THR 2009a + 0" 6 Mark Renshaw AUS THR 2009a + 0" 7 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2009a + 0" 8 Morris Possoni ITA THR 2009a + 0" 9 Michael Barry CAN THR 2009a + 0" 10 David Zabriskie USA GRM 2009 + 6" Stage 2 10 May 2009 — Jesolo to Trieste, 156 km on This stage was very flat. It had only one categorized climb, at low elevation, near the end. This climb award the first points in the mountains classification and thus, the first green jersey awarded to its leader. The riders took three laps of an 11 km on finishing circuit in Trieste, with the points for the climb taken on their second time over the hill at Montebello.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro092 Stage 2 – Sunday, May 10: Jesolo – Trieste, 156km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 Leonardo Scarselli was free of the main field for most of the stage after escaping early in the morning. The bunch caught him with 31 km on to race, though. David García won the climb in Trieste to become the first wearer of the green jersey, and Alessandro Petacchi won the group sprint to the line, narrowly edging out race leader Mark Cavendish.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009//giro09/?id=results/giro092 "Lazy" Cavendish learns the hard way, but keeps maglia rosa 2009-05-10 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618003206/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro092 18 June 2009 live A crash on the third pass over the Montebello hill meant the field was broken, with only 51 riders together for the sprint finish. The rest of the peloton finished 13 seconds back, and since this crash occurred outside 3 km on from the finish line, all time lost stood as lost. Notables among those who lost 13 seconds were Levi Leipheimer and Ivan Basso.Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/results/91865 Petacchi clips Cav's wings 2009-05-10 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-15 https://web.archive.org/web/20090621144301/http://www.velonews.com/results/91865 2009-06-21 dead Stage 2 result RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA LPR 2009 3h 43' 07" 2 Mark Cavendish GBR 20px|Pink jersey THR 2009a s.t. 3 Ben Swift GBR KAT 2009 s.t. 4 Allan Davis AUS QST 2009 s.t. 5 Tyler Farrar USA GRM 2009 s.t. 6 Oscar Gatto ITA ISD 2009a s.t. 7 Francesco Gavazzi ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 8 Davide Viganò ITA FUJ 2009 s.t. 9 Manuele Mori ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 10 Dries Devenyns BEL QST 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 2 RiderTeamTime 1 Mark Cavendish GBR 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey THR 2009a 4h 04' 43" 2 Mark Renshaw AUS THR 2009a + 14" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 14" 4 Thomas Lövkvist SWE THR 2009a + 14" 5 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a + 14" 6 Tyler Farrar USA GRM 2009 + 16" 7 Alessandro Petacchi ITA 20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 + 16" 8 Christian Vande Velde USA GRM 2009 + 20" 9 Bradley Wiggins GBR GRM 2009 + 20" 10 Lance Armstrong USA AST 2009 + 27" Stage 3 11 May 2009 — Grado to Valdobbiadene, 198 km on This stage was also flat, and ended in a mass sprint.http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro093 Stage 3 – Monday, May 11: Grado – Valdobbiadene, 198km (preview) 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090505004708/http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages%2Fgiro093 5 May 2009 live A five rider breakaway, which had a maximum advantage of seven minutes, took the points at the one intermediate sprint and the one categorised climb of the day, but were caught with some 38 km on remaining. A number of crashes occurred starting at the 50 km on remaining mark, and a series of attempted breaks meant that the peloton was fragmented, and Alessandro Petacchi took a second successive stage from a depleted group sprint.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro093 Silenzio! Oh Ale-Jet, how good can you get? 2009-05-11 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-08-26 https://web.archive.org/web/20091001062109/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro093 1 October 2009 live The biggest victim of the repeated crashes was GRM 2009 leader Christian Vande Velde, who had to retire from the Giro with a broken rib and a hairline fracture of his pelvis.Juliet Macur https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/sports/cycling/17giro.html Spanish Cyclist in Serious Condition After Crash 2009-05-16 New York Times 2009-10-15 The crashes also made it so Mark Cavendish was not with the main peloton as it approached the finish line; he came to within 15 seconds of the group before abandoning the attempt to reach them, and essentially conceding the pink jersey. Petacchi's second straight stage win gave him the race leadership.Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/article/91897 Petacchi wins stage and jersey as Cavendish gets gapped by a crash. 2009-05-11 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-15 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090517234343/http://velonews.com/article/91897/ May 17, 2009 Stage 3 result RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA 20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 4h 45' 27" 2 Tyler Farrar USA GRM 2009 s.t. 3 Francesco Gavazzi ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 4 Dario Cataldo ITA QST 2009 s.t. 5 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 6 Philippe Gilbert BEL SIL 2009 s.t. 7 Oscar Gatto ITA ISD 2009a s.t. 8 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a s.t. 9 Anders Lund DEN SAX 2009 s.t. 10 Stefano Garzelli ITA ASA 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 3 RiderTeamTime 1 Alessandro Petacchi ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 8h 50' 06" 2 Tyler Farrar USA 20px|White jersey GRM 2009 + 8" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 18" 4 Thomas Lövkvist SWE THR 2009a + 18" 5 Lance Armstrong USA AST 2009 + 31" DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA LPR 2009 + 40" 7 Yaroslav Popovych UKR AST 2009 + 44" 8 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 44" 9 Andriy Hryvko UKR ISD 2009a + 45" 10 Francesco Gavazzi ITA LAM 2009 + 52" Stage 4 12 May 2009 — Padova to San Martino di Castrozza, 162 km on This was the first mountain stage of the Giro, with a high climb coming at 123 km on and a mountain finish at San Martino di Castrozza.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro094 Stage 4 – Tuesday, May 12: Padova – San Martino di Castrozza, 162km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 A group of 6 riders escaped after just 5 km on. This group comprised Serafín Martínez, Francesco Bellotti, Davide Viganò, Ian Stannard, Francesco De Bonis, and Jens Voigt. They attained a maximum advantage of six and a half minutes, and with a healthy pace of 45 km/h on through the stage's first three hours, it appeared possible that one of them would be the stage winner. The pace caught up with the group as they reached the foot of the day's final climb, and only Voigt and Bellotti remained together as the climb began. Two kilometers into the climb, Voigt attacked again and tried to solo to victory over the last 8 km on. The top GC men in the peloton and the specialist climbers formed a chase group that overhauled Voigt in the final 3 km on. The attacks of Colombian climber Mauricio Soler had been responsible for driving this group to catch the remnants of the breakaway, and he attacked again in the final 2 km on, quickly getting a gap over the competition and appearing poised for the stage win. As Soler had been the one who caused the crash that kept Mark Cavendish from potentially defending the pink jersey the day before, his combativeness on this stage was described as his "redemption".Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/article/91946 Di Luca wins Giro stage 4 2009-05-12 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-15 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090518003052/http://velonews.com/article/91946/ May 18, 2009 2007 Giro d'Italia winner Danilo Di Luca timed his sprint to the line just right and overtook Soler for the victory. Sixteen riders finished with the same time as Di Luca, ten more were six seconds back, and a further 26 were inside a minute of his winning time. Thomas Lövkvist, who finished in the same group as Di Luca, took a narrow lead in the overall classification after the stage.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro094 Di Luca still the cold-blooded killer 2009-05-12 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-08-26 However, Di Luca later tested positive for EPO and was stripped of his victory. The stage win was subsequently awarded to Stefano Garzelli, the runner-up. Stage 4 result RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITADi Luca tested positive for EPO during the Giro. Subsequently, all his results were declared void. LPR 2009 1 Stefano Garzelli ITA ASA 2009 4h 15' 04" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 s.t. 4 Mauricio Soler COL BAR 2009 s.t. 5 Gilberto Simoni ITA SDA 2009 s.t. 6 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 s.t. 7 Thomas Lövkvist SWE THR 2009a s.t. 8 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 s.t. 9 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 s.t. 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 4 RiderTeamTime 1 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|Pink jersey20px|White jersey THR 2009a 13h 05' 28" DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Green jersey LPR 2009 + 2" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 6" 4 Yaroslav Popovych UKR AST 2009 + 26" 5 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 26" 6 Lance Armstrong USA AST 2009 + 28" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 32" 8 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2009 + 42" 9 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2009 + 42" 10 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 49" Stage 5 13 May 2009 — San Martino di Castrozza to Alpe di Siusi, 125 km on This was one of the shortest road race stages in the 2009 Giro, but its profile was quite unusual. It saw the riders start where they ended the previous day, on the mountaintop at San Martino di Castrozza, climb some 400 m on for a categorized climb at Passo Rolle, and then descend over 1700 m on before climbing most of that distance right back for another mountaintop finish at Alpe di Siusi.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro095 Stage 5 – Wednesday, May 13: San Martino di Castrozza – Alpe di Siusi, 125km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 A seven-man breakaway was clear over the Passo Rolle climb and took a maximum lead of four and a half minutes in the valley between peaks. Giovanni Visconti was briefly race leader on the road, as he began the stage just under three minutes behind pink jersey wearer Thomas Lövkvist in the General Classification. The peloton, paced by Liquigas, caught them without about 15 km on left to race, leading the way for Sylwester Szmyd and then Ivan Basso to try to fracture the field before the finish. Six riders were able to keep his pace to the finish, with Denis Menchov the first to Alpe di Suisi for the stage win. The other six in the leading group kept close to the stage winner, with only Carlos Sastre losing more than ten seconds. Danilo Di Luca became the new race leader after his second place on the stage. Damiano Cunego, Lance Armstrong and Stefano Garzelli, all of whom had been considered as possible favorites for overall victory in the Giro, all lost more than two minutes on this stage, being unable to take Liquigas' pace on the way up to Alpe di Suisi. As they, along with Michael Rogers, had shown weakness on the climb, one report named as the only remaining possibilities for Giro champion Menchov, Di Luca, Lövkvist, Basso, Levi Leipheimer, and Sastre.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro095 Six firm favourites 2009-05-13 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090629015052/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro095 29 June 2009 live The victory gave Menchov stage wins in all three Grand Tours for his career, and his team RAB 2009 its first ever Giro d'Italia stage win.Andrew Hood http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/05/news/menchov-wins-stage-5-di-luca-in-pink_92030 Menchov wins stage 5; Di Luca in pink 2009-05-13 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-15 2016-03-03 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303221742/http://velonews.competitor.com/2009/05/news/menchov-wins-stage-5-di-luca-in-pink_92030 dead Stage 5 result RiderTeamTime 1 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 3h 15' 24" DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Green jersey LPR 2009 + 2" 3 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|Pink jersey THR 2009a + 5" 4 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 s.t. 5 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 9" 6 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 s.t. 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 19" 8 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 22" 9 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a s.t. 10 Fredrik Kessiakoff SWE FUJ 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 5 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey LPR 2009 16h 20' 44" 2 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 5" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 36" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 43" 5 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 50" 6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 06" 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 16" 8 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 + 1' 17" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 27" 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 1' 41" Stage 6 14 May 2009 — Brixen to Mayrhofen (Austria), 248 km on This stage was one of the longest in the 2009 Giro. The first half of the stage was undulating, without a categorized climb. The second half featured two short climbs with a flat 22 km on valley in between them. The descent from the second climb, Gerlospass, left a flat 11 km on to race before the finish in Austria.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro096 Stage 6 – Thursday, May 14: Bressanone/Brixen – Mayrhofen (Aut), 248km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618010300/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages%2Fgiro096 18 June 2009 live The day's breakaway comprised five riders, and it formed after 55 km on in the saddle. Their maximum advantage was just under eight minutes. Michele Scarponi and Vasil Kiryienka shed their mates on the second climb of the day, about 60 km on from the finish. Scarponi dropped Kiryienka 50 km on later and went it alone for the stage win. The pink jersey group absorbed all the other members of the morning breakaway and finished half a minute behind Scarponi, with six from that group gaining four seconds on race leader Danilo Di Luca at the finish. Lance Armstrong lost even more time, finishing 43 seconds behind second place man Edvald Boasson Hagen.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro096 Confession leads to absolution: Scarponi repays the faith 2009-05-14 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090624130221/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro096 24 June 2009 live Stage 6 result RiderTeamTime 1 Michele Scarponi ITA SDA 2009 5h 49' 55" 2 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a + 32" 3 Allan Davis AUS QST 2009 s.t. 4 Filippo Pozzato ITA KAT 2009 s.t. 5 Matthew Goss AUS SAX 2009 s.t. 6 Philippe Gilbert BEL SIL 2009 s.t. 7 Enrico Gasparotto ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 8 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 36" DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey LPR 2009 s.t. DSQ Tadej Valjavec SLO ALM 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 6 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 22h 11' 15" 2 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 5" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 36" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 43" 5 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 50" 6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 06" 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 16" 8 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 + 1' 17" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 27" 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 1' 41" Stage 7 15 May 2009 — Innsbruck (Austria) to Chiavenna, 244 km on The race returned to Italy, after also passing through Switzerland, in another long stage. The one climb of the day occurred a little over 200 km on into the stage, the Passo Maloja. The entire stage to that point was on a slight increase in elevation, while the finish was on a long and drastic descent into Chiavenna. Its profile made it seem an inviting stage for breakaway attempts.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro097 Stage 7 – Friday, May 15: Innsbruck (Aut) – Chiavenna, 244km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618002818/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages%2Fgiro097 18 June 2009 live This stage saw numerous breakaways get away and stay away for a time. The first of them comprised four riders, coming clear after 24 km on. This group attained a maximum advantage of over nine minutes, but the peloton was able to catch them before the Passo Maloja. Right at the summit, Alessandro Bertolini attacked and came free for a time. He was able to lengthen his escape somewhat by descending the Passo Maloja in an extremely aerodynamic position, out of the saddle with all his weight over the handlebars. A crucial four-man break took place 12 km on from the finish line, with Bertolini able to stay with them as they caught him, making it a five-man leading group. Andriy Hryvko tried to make his way up to them after they were well away, but could not make it. Despite the presence of more experienced riders and riders noted as sprinters in the break, it was young Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen who made it to the line first.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro097 Boasson Hagen the big boss of Chiavenna And set to move out of Hushovd's shadow 2009-05-15 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618005624/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro097 18 June 2009 live Controversy had arisen before the Giro when it was revealed that many of AST 2009's sponsors in Kazakhstan had not paid their full obligations to the team, and that the riders had therefore not been paid their full salaries to that point in the season.Andrew Dampf Lance Armstrong's Astana cycling team in financial crisis https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=capress-cycle_astana_finances-063662627&prov=capress&type=lgns Associated Press via Yahoo! Sports 2009-05-06 2009-07-07 September 2016 medicmedic In protest, the team wore new jerseys beginning with this stage, that had the names of those underpaying sponsors faded out to the point of being unreadable.http://www.velonews.com/article/92087/ Astana changes jersey over money row 2009-05-15 Andrew Hood VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-07-06 https://web.archive.org/web/20090519192833/http://www.velonews.com/article/92087/ 2009-05-19 dead Stage 7 result RiderTeamTime 1 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a 5h 56' 53" 2 Robert Hunter RSA BAR 2009 s.t. 3 Pavel Brutt RUS KAT 2009 s.t. 4 Davide Viganò ITA FUJ 2009 s.t. 5 Alessandro Bertolini ITA SDA 2009 s.t. 6 Andriy Hryvko UKR ISD 2009a + 31" 7 Matthew Goss AUS SAX 2009 + 40" 8 Allan Davis AUS QST 2009 s.t. 9 Robert Förster GER MRM 2009 s.t. 10 Ben Swift GBR KAT 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 7 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 28h 08' 48" 2 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 5" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 36" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 43" 5 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 50" 6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 06" 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 16" 8 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 + 1' 17" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 27" 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 1' 41" Stage 8 16 May 2009 — Morbegno to Bergamo, 209 km on There were two categorized climbs on this course, including a fairly tall and steep one at Culmine di San Pietro after 64 km on. However, the amount of flat racing after the descent suggested that the type of finish this stage would see was far from certain.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro098 Stage 8 – Saturday, May 16: Morbegno – Bergamo, 209km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 Between the 30 km on and 40 km on marks in this stage, a ten-man breakaway slowly formed. Their maximum advantage was just over four minutes as they neared the day's second climb, the Colle del Gallo. A group of GC favorites and domestiques from their teams were first over this climb, with race leader Danilo Di Luca not among them at first, almost a minute back. As the leading group seemed unwilling to work together, Di Luca was able to bridge the gap and make it to them. Kanstantsin Sivtsov made the decisive attack of the day, coming clear some 15 km on from the line, and though he never held even half a minute's advantage, he managed to stay away for the stage win. This stage also saw a dramatic and life-threatening crash from Pedro Horrillo, on the Culmine di San Pietro. His bike skidded on wet leaves during the descent, causing him to lose control of his machine, slide into a guardrail, and tumble head over heels down the mountainside. Horrillo fell 60 m on and sustained fractures to his thighbones, kneecaps, and T12 and C3 vertebrae, as well as a punctured lung and internal bleeding. He was airlifted off the mountain and was then taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. Horrillo woke up in the ambulance, but was put in a chemically induced coma to aid his treatment.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro098 Do what we may: Columbia has another gem in Siutsou 2009-05-16 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090620015825/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro098 20 June 2009 live He was taken out of the coma the next day, with scans revealing no brain damage.http://www.velonews.com/article/92165/rabobank-s-pedro-horrillo-is-brought-out-of-his-coma-no Rabobank's Pedro Horrillo is brought out of his coma, no brain injury evident. 2009-05-17 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-07-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20090621063251/http://www.velonews.com/article/92165/rabobank-s-pedro-horrillo-is-brought-out-of-his-coma-no 21 June 2009 dead The peloton's protest of Stage 9 the next day was largely in reaction to Horrillo's serious injury. After spending some five weeks in hospitals both in Italy and his native Spain, Horrillo eventually recovered.Susan Westemeyer http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/horrillo-set-to-leave-hospital Horrillo set to leave hospital 2009-06-22 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-10-10 https://web.archive.org/web/20090930043703/http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/horrillo-set-to-leave-hospital 30 September 2009 live Stage 8 result RiderTeamTime 1 Kanstantsin Sivtsov BLR THR 2009a 5h 04' 34" 2 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a + 21" DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey LPR 2009 s.t. 4 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a s.t. DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 s.t. 6 Stefano Garzelli ITA ASA 2009 s.t. 7 Damiano Cunego ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 8 Jackson Rodríguez VEN SDA 2009 s.t. 9 Marzio Bruseghin ITA LAM 2009 s.t. 10 Thomas Rohregger AUT MRM 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 8 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 33h 13' 35" 2 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 13" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 44" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 51" 5 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 58" 6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 14" 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 24" 8 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 + 1' 25" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 35" 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 1' 49" Stage 9 17 May 2009 — Milan, 165 km on (Milano Show 100) thumb|alt=A large group of cyclists makes a right turn around a street corner in a major city. Prominent among them is a cyclist wearing an all-pink jersey, which represents being the overall leader in the race. A crowd of spectators watches the group of cyclists from the roadside.|Danilo Di Luca in the pink jersey during the Milan city stage. This stage was a circuit race. The field took 10 laps of a 16 km on course in Milan (there was a 5 km on run-in before the circuits began). The course was flat, and the stage figured to be a major sprinters' battle.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro099 Stage 9 – Sunday, May 17: Milano Show 100, 165km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 The character of this stage changed drastically after the dramatic injury sustained by Pedro Horrillo the day before brought attention to safety conditions on this and other courses in the Giro. With the course passing over numerous different surfaces, including tram tracks and cobblestones, the peloton collectively protested racing this course, and as such it was neutralized, with everyone receiving the same time as the stage winner and no points were awarded for the points classification as had been planned. There were also parked cars at the side of the road in many places, forcing the riders into narrow tunnels to get through them.Nigel Wynn and Stephen Farrand http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/344983/riders-stage-go-slow-protest-during-giro-stage-in-milan.html Riders stage go-slow protest during Giro stage in Milan 2009-05-17 Cycling Weekly 2009-08-28 Originally, the result of the riders' protest was only that the stage times would not count.Stephen Farrand http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/344978/milan-riders-protest-justified-or-a-farce.html Milan riders' protest: Justified or a farce? 2009-05-17 Cycling Weekly 2009-10-10 The peloton rode the first four laps very slowly, about 20 km/h on slower than previous stages, and at the end of the fourth lap, the race stopped altogether as race leader Danilo Di Luca took a microphone to address the crowd and explain why they were riding so slowly.Eurosport http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17052009/58/giro-d-italia-cavendish-wins-farcical-stage.html Giro d'Italia – Cavendish wins farcical stage 2009-05-17 Yahoo! 2009-10-10 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090523220527/http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/17052009/58/giro-d-italia-cavendish-wins-farcical-stage.html May 23, 2009 Lance Armstrong, who along with Di Luca had been considered the voice of the peloton in the protest,Associated Press https://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=4172813 Armstrong, leader Di Luca spark protest 2009-05-17 ESPN 2009-10-10 apologized to the fans for the effect it had on what was supposed to be a grand spectacle,Juliet Macur https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/sports/cycling/20lance.html Armstrong Apologizes to Fans for Cyclists' Protest at Giro d'Italia 2009-05-19 New York Times 2009-10-10 but also contended that it was the correct decision for the peloton to make.Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/article/92207/armstrong-defends-rider-protest Armstrong defends rider protest 2009-05-19 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-10 The pace did eventually pick up, on the last lap, and the finish was contested in a bunched sprint, won by Mark Cavendish.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro099 Cavendish wins a stage left wanting 2009-05-17 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090621001914/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro099 21 June 2009 live Stage 9 result RiderTeamTime 1 Mark Cavendish GBR THR 2009a 4h 16' 13" 2 Allan Davis AUS QST 2009 s.t. 3 Tyler Farrar USA GRM 2009 s.t. 4 Matthew Goss AUS SAX 2009 s.t. 5 Alessandro Petacchi ITA LPR 2009 s.t. 6 Robert Förster GER MRM 2009 s.t. 7 Robert Hunter RSA BAR 2009 s.t. 8 Davide Viganò ITA FUJ 2009 s.t. 9 Saïd Haddou FRA BBO 2009 s.t. 10 Markus Fothen GER MRM 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 9 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Green jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 37h 29' 48" 2 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 13" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 44" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 51" 5 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 58" 6 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 14" 7 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 24" 8 Chris Horner USA AST 2009 + 1' 25" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 35" 10 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 1' 49" Stage 10 19 May 2009 — Cuneo to Pinerolo, 262 km on After the rest day, the riders were faced with the Giro's longest stage, with numerous high mountain climbs along the course and the distinction of being the race's queen stage.Andrew Hood http://www.velonews.com/article/92211/race-leader-danilo-di-luca-stomps-wins-the-giro-s--queen Race leader Danilo Di Luca stomps, wins the Giro's 'Queen Stage' with a solo attack. 2009-05-19 VeloNews Competitor Group, Inc 2009-10-15 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090621144040/http://www.velonews.com/article/92211/race-leader-danilo-di-luca-stomps-wins-the-giro-s--queen June 21, 2009 It was originally scheduled to include the Col d'Izoard, which has been featured numerous times in the Tour de France as an hors catégorie climb. Race officials later decided to alter the course, staying on the Italian side of the Alps, believing the stretches that were to take place in France were too remote and that radio communication in the area could not be assured.2009-04-08 Giro d'Italia – Organisers re-arrange Giro stage http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/08042009/58/giro-d-italia-organisers-re-arrange-giro-stage.html 2009-04-09 Yahoo! Sport Reuters September 2010 H3llBot yes The course as it originally was designed mimicked exactly a course used in the 1949 Giro d'Italia.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=/features/2009/giro09_coppi_bartali The greatest Italian duo ever? 2009-05-21 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-09-15 The resulting alterations caused the course to be even longer than first planned, 262 km on rather than 250 km on, with a small categorized climb just under 10 km on from the finish. This came after a 50 km on long descent from what became the course's principal climb, Sestrière. The race's overall contenders were expected to distinguish themselves on this stage.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro0910 Stage 10 – Tuesday, May 19: Cuneo – Pinerolo, 262km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 A surprisingly fast beginning to the stage, with a first hour that covered over 50 km on, managed to keep any breakaways from going clear for over two hours. Twelve eventually came ahead of the peloton, with seven in the lead and five chasing between the leaders and the peloton. The third group on the road eventually dwindled to a select contingent of overall favorites, which included race leader Danilo Di Luca. Former Giro champion Stefano Garzelli attacked from this group on the day's first climb and got to the leading group of five before the summit, claiming maximum points on it and on Sestrière to gain leadership of the mountains classification at the end of the day. Garzelli's maximum advantage, at the summit of Sestrière, was just over six minutes. A group of most of the top riders in the GC, paced by the race leader himself, caught every one of the twelve initial leaders, and subsequently Garzelli just before the day's last climb, Prà Martino. Di Luca's aggressive descent of Prà Martino gave him a gap over the elite group of riders who had been able to hold his wheel to that point, and the stage win. The day saw a big winner in time gains and a big loser: Lance Armstrong finished 29 seconds behind Di Luca in the same group as the man finishing sixth on the stage, gaining seven places in the GC, while Thomas Lövkvist lost over a minute and fell from second to eighth in the GC.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro0910 Leave no stone unturned: Di Luca più forte (the strongest) in Pinerolo 2009-05-19 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-29 https://web.archive.org/web/20090625183912/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro0910 25 June 2009 live Stage 10 result RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey LPR 2009 6h 30' 43" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 6h 30' 53" 1 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 6h 30' 53" 4 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 s.t. 5 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 16" 6 Mauricio Soler COL BAR 2009 + 19" 7 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 s.t. 8 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 s.t. 9 Joaquim Rodríguez ESP GCE 2009 s.t. 10 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a s.t.General classification after stage 10 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 44h 00' 11" 2 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 1' 20" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 1' 33" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 1' 40" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 53" 6 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 54" 7 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 2' 03" 8 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 2' 12" 9 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 2' 35" 10 Gilberto Simoni ITA SDA 2009 + 2' 58" Stage 11 right|thumb|alt=A cyclist in a yellow and white jersey with black trim popping a champagne bottle on a podium, flanked by two beautiful women holding flowers and wine.|Mark Cavendish popping a champagne bottle on the podium in Arenzano after his victory. 20 May 2009 — Turin to Arenzano, 214 km on The Passo del Turchino, famous for its use every year in the classic one-day race Milan–San Remo, was visited 19 km on from the end of this stage. The climb is not difficult enough to be at all selective, so pre-stage analysis led to expectations that either a mass sprint would occur or a breakaway of riders deep down in the GC would finish first on this stage.http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages/giro0911 Stage 11 – Wednesday, May 20: Torino – Arenzano (Genova), 214km 2009-05-09 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-09 https://web.archive.org/web/20090620015316/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=stages%2Fgiro0911 20 June 2009 live Astana rider Chris Horner did not start the stage due to a leg injury sustained in a fall in Stage 10, leaving Levi Leipheimer and Lance Armstrong without their usual support rider. At the 56 km on mark, Caisse d'Epargne rider Joaquim Rodríguez dropped out after a 9th-place finish in the previous stage. A break formed after 65 km on, including Gustavo César, Cameron Meyer, Dmytro Grabovskyy and Alessandro Donati. Soon after, Levi Leipheimer crashed, but was unhurt. The break was caught, and a solo break was formed by Vladimir Isaichev. Astana drove the peloton up the Turchino, the day's lone climb, with Armstrong leading the descent and race leader Danilo Di Luca somewhat surprisingly coming forward to hold Armstrong's wheel. Some riders tried to escape for victory on the way into Arenzano, but the sprinters' teams worked to keep the field together, and Mark Cavendish took another bunched sprint win over Tyler Farrar and Alessandro Petacchi.Anthony Tan http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results/giro0911 Cavendish "floats" to second sprint win 2009-05-20 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-05-20 https://web.archive.org/web/20090618005618/http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2009/giro09/?id=results%2Fgiro0911 18 June 2009 live It was after this stage, on the eve of the Cinque Terre time trial, that Danilo Di Luca gave his first of two positive tests for continuous erythropoiesis receptor activator (CERA),Cyclingnews http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/di-luca-positive-for-cera-in-giro Di Luca positive for CERA in Giro 2009-07-22 Cycling News Future Publishing Limited 2009-07-22 the results of which became public after the Giro was over. Stage 11 result RiderTeamTime 1 Mark Cavendish GBR THR 2009a 4h 51' 17" 2 Tyler Farrar USA GRM 2009 s.t. 3 Alessandro Petacchi ITA LPR 2009 s.t. 4 Allan Davis AUS QST 2009 s.t. 5 Sébastien Hinault FRA ALM 2009 s.t. 6 Davide Viganò ITA FUJ 2009 s.t. 7 Edvald Boasson Hagen NOR THR 2009a s.t. 8 Alexander Serov RUS KAT 2009 s.t. 9 Oscar Gatto ITA ISD 2009a s.t. 10 Robert Förster GER MRM 2009 s.t.General classification after stage 11 RiderTeamTime DSQ Danilo Di Luca ITA 20px|Pink jersey20px|Violet jersey LPR 2009 48h 51' 28" 2 Denis Menchov RUS RAB 2009 + 1' 20" 3 Michael Rogers AUS THR 2009a + 1' 33" 4 Levi Leipheimer USA AST 2009 + 1' 40" DSQ Franco Pellizotti ITA LIQ 2009 + 1' 53" 6 Carlos Sastre ESP CTT 2009 + 1' 54" 7 Ivan Basso ITA LIQ 2009 + 2' 03" 8 Thomas Lövkvist SWE 20px|White jersey THR 2009a + 2' 12" 9 David Arroyo ESP GCE 2009 + 2' 35" 10 Gilberto Simoni ITA SDA 2009 + 2' 58" See also References 2009 Giro d'Italia 1 11 12 21 Category:2009 Giro d'Italia Category:Giro d'Italia stages