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:

Stage 17 Viewpoint Advantage

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:

Stage 16 Results

General Classification After Stage 16

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Giro d’Italia Stage 13 – Flat, Fast & Perfect for Team Columbia-Highroad

Mark Cavendish pulls another trick out of the hat and wins todays stage. He did it today differently than his other two wins in the Giro d’Italia so far. Mark was back in the pack something like 6-7 riders deep. Usually he’s right up front and right behind his teammates. Today however, he was not. At least not until the end when Edvald Boasson Hagen and Mark Renshaw drove the killer to the front. This happened in the last 50 seconds of the stage. Talk about playing the game on the edge!

I have located the finish of the stage over at YouTube and loaded it up here. Unless you understand Italian, go ahead and turn down you speakers. Or, leave them up and listen to the language, you just might learn something:

Todays general classification did not change so you won’t be seeing the stats for that below. I will however show todays stage results. I was informed yesterday that I spelled Denis with two N’s. Sorry about the typo, I must have been excited about something and fat fingered the keyboard. Speaking of Denis Menchov, he still thinks he can hold on to the jersey all the way into Rome. Fat chance Denis!

Levi and Danilo will have something to say about that. In my opinion, Levi’s team Astana is much stronger than Danilo Di Luca’s team LPR. If you look at the stats for each of the teams, you clearly see that Astana is well suited for the remainder of the tour. Three tough mountain stages will prove Levi is up to the task. Now the real Giro d’Italia will begin. Wouldn’t you want to have Lance Armstrong as your super domestique? I know I sure would…

That’s it for tonight! Here’s todays results:

Giro d'Italia Stage 13 Results

By the way, Lance finished the stage in 94th place in the pack. Of course, like I said Earlier, the General Classification did not change, so no stats on that today. See you tomorrow – Go Team Astana (Or whatever your name will be)!

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Giro d’Italia/Tour of Italy 2009 Stage 12 – Go Levi & Lance!

Today was the test of all test in the Giro d’Italia! A 60 km time-trial that would surely kick just about anyones ass! Todays stage was everything you could ever want in a professional bike race. I managed to get a hold of a video on Levi Leipheimer, Lance Armstrong, Dennis Menchov and even a little bit of footage on Danilo Di Luca:

Lance Armstrong really is coming into form from this race. I could only imagine how well he’d be doing right now if he hadn’t crashed and broke his collar bone a while back. Of course, I wasn’t to surprised at Dennis Menchov and his performance today. The three mountain stages coming up will tell us a little more about how well to form he really is. Danilo Di Luca Fell back a little and lost the pink jersey today which also didn’t surprise me. Over confident people like that will inevitably fall.

What did surprise me today is that Levi didn’t win the stage! I am hoping that he will kick ass on the mountain stages coming up and take the pink jersey from Dennis Menchov. It sure would be nice to see an American take both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour De France. Let’s check out the carnage after todays stage. I sure do like where Levi is now sitting in the General classification. 3rd ain’t to shabby and only 40 seconds down from the leader. Lance Armstrong moved up to 12th overall and is only 6:34 behind the race leader. Not bad for a guy who is coming out of a 3 year retirement and is 37 years old.

OVERALL STAGE RESULTS AND GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

Stage 12 Results

Lance Armstrong at 2:26 behind the stage winner is phenomenal. Good job today Lance and keep climbing that ladder to the top!

General Classification After Stage 12

One last thing to note about the video above. Lance really looked like he is riding into great form. You can start to see he’s beginning to dance on the peddles in a form that only Lance can do best. Count his revolutions and you’ll see what I mean. Up hill at approximately 95 revolutions per minute. Its hard to count when the video cuts out the way that it normally does in the trees, but I managed to catch a section that allowed me to count it out.

What did you think about todays stage? CrankyBike.Com wants to know. Leave me a comment! Until tomorrow – Keep Crankin’…

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Giro De Italia Stage 5 Results – Where’s Lance Armstrong?

Todays stage 5 left a few names behind. For starters and probably the most interesting results today comes from Lance Armstrong. Where’s Lance Armstrong? Is he not ready to get back into cycling? Is he to old to keep up with all the hot new young riders on the circuit? Many questions are being asked about his performance in yesterdays stage. What do you think is going on?

My opinion is that he is only using the Giro De Italia as a training race to prepare for the big prize of stomping them all in the Tour De France! We all know that Levi Leipheimer is in the best shape of his career. Lance sees this as an opportunity to help Team Astana take at least two of the three big tours. He’s been working hard for Levi over the last few month’s as a Domestique. If you ask me, you couldn’t ask for a better way to prepare for the Tour De France!

We have to look at the big picture Lance is currently focusing on. He came back to racing to get more coverage to Cancer. That’s exactly what he has been doing at every race he’s entered this season. Some would say that this will affect his performance in the grand tours. I beg to differ. I think this focus is a strong motivator for him and it gives him a solid purpose for racing. The better he and his teammates perform, the more exposure cancer will get. Look at what his comeback has already done for cycling!

The same is holding true for cancer on a global scale. Maybe all the professional riders should focus on more important things than just winning a race on a bicycle. Coming from me, most who know that that is a pretty intense statement. I’m a truly die hard fan of cycling. I have been this way since I was a teenager. But what Lance is doing for cancer has opened up my eyes and makes me believe that I should be focusing more on the important things in life. I can (Like Lance) focus my passion for the sport of cycling. Focus it on things that will help others through some of the toughest times they will probably ever face. Whether it is cancer, obesity, or education for so many lost young Americans.

The Giro De Italia is the perfect race to set the stage for Lance in his quest to return to cycling and take fighting cancer to the next level. So, to get back to the business of Lance and the Giro, I’m absolutely ecstatic over the results the Astana team is having right now. I also hope that Lance can take over the team! Here are the results of today’s stage 5:

Giro De Italia Stage 5 Results

I intentionally showed the top 40 results so that I could get and keep track of Lance Armstrong’s results for the stage. He’s only 2:58 down from the winner of todays stage. But as a domestique, I think thats pretty good. I’m really impressed with Chris Horner and his performance so far. Let’s look at the General Classification:

Giro De Italia Stage 5 General Results

Today’s Stage 6 should unfold and be a very interesting race. I got my money on Levi just staying close to the leaders and buying his time for the mountain stages that better suit him. Good Luck today goes out to the Astana team!

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Petacchi Takes Stage 2 – He’s Back…

Alessandro Petacchi took first in todays stage of the Giro De Italia. I guess its true that Mark Cavendish can be beaten!

Alessandro Petacchi

Below is the top 10 from todays stage race:

1 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini 3.43.07 (41.951 km/h)
2 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – Highroad
3 Ben Swift (GBr) Team Katusha
4 Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step
5 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
6 Oscar Gatto (Ita) ISD
7 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre – N.G.C.
8 Davide Vigano (Ita) Fuji-Servetto
9 Manuele Mori (Ita) Lampre – N.G.C.
10 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step

My favorites:

42 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana
97 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
37 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
53 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas
119 Christopher Horner (USA) Astana

That’s just a few of the ones I like!

General classification after stage 2

1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia – Highroad 4.04.43
2 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Team Columbia – Highroad 0.14
3 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – Highroad
4 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia – Highroad
5 Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Team Columbia – Highroad
6 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 0.16
7 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini
8 Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin – Slipstream 0.20
9 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Garmin – Slipstream
10 Lance Armstrong (USA) Astana 0.27

Levi is in 18th and 40 seconds behind the leaders jersey. Overall, I’m ecstatic over the results so far.
The fact that Lance is up there in the top 10 is incredible. It gives me the indication that he is going to absolutely fly in the Tour De France!

If you want much more information, head over to CyclingNews.Com!
Enjoy!

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