Giro d’Italia Stage 16 – Flat Tire At The Most Critical Moments!

Yaroslav Popovych rode like a true champion today. Good on you mate! Bad luck has happened though as Levi had a flat tire at the worst possible moment on the mountain.

Let’s watch the final kilometers of the race and see for ourselves how difficult todays stage was for Levi. It may just show on his face that he is hurting:

Giro d’Italia / Tour of Italy 2009 – Stage 16 – Final kilometers (climb of Monte Petrano) 10′

I do believe that the race has sure taken a toll on Levi. Lance still looked pretty good. It must have been hot as hell for the boys. Popo sure looked beaten when Carlos passed him up. He just shook his head and kept riding his own race. Good try today anyway. Ivan Basso sure looked to be at the brink of popping didn’t he? Carlos, Denis and Danilo all actually looked really good on todays climb. I was surprised at what kind of form they actually have – Especially Menchov. Let’s see how they fare in Lance’s race coming up in July!

Ivan got caught in the last kilometer – Man that’s gotta suck! Menchov sure pulled it off in the last sprint to the finish to get them bonus points! Ivan did well just to hang on to the leaders as they passed him. I think he will be in great form come the Tour De France.

I only wished that the end of the video would have shown Levi and Lance coming across the line. Don’t count Levi out yet. There are still more mountains to go. I’d like to see Lance in a break away and race like he did before he became the super human he is today! Boy, would that be a race to end all races. Think its possible to pull back over 8 minutes and take the lead. Probably not, just hopeful dreams on my part. Let’s have a look at tomorrow’s stage and make a prediction:

Check it out! This looks like another daunting task and the boys will have there work cut out for them tomorrow.

Blockhaus is another beautiful climb, one day after Monte Petrano. It will trash the classification again. It is short, but sure to lite the classification on fire. Lets hope its not as hot as it was today for the guys of Astana. Watch out for Danilo Di Luca, he won the race two years ago and will be out for blood on Blockhaus.

Tomorrows race will take the peleton all the way up to 2,000 meters tomorrow. Altitude is sure to play a key role tomorrow. Let’s hope the boys are sleeping in a altitude simulator tonight. They’re going to need it.

We saw today that Levi was being pulled up the mountain by Lance Armstrong. I sure hope they decide to release Lance and give us a better indication as to just how in shape he really is. It sure has looked as though he has been holding back this tour and is ready for the chance to show his stuff. Then again, maybe he is intentionally showing everyone that he is vulnerable as a ploy to sucker punch the peleton when they arrive in France.

I guess we will just have to wait and see what happens tomorrow. Let’s get to todays stats shall we?

Damn, I still cannot believe Levi didn’t have it in him today. I thought for sure that he was going to mop up the non-believers and take over the pink jersey. Oh well, better luck next time. Todays Stats:

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