90th Giro d'Italia - Stage 11Photos
Photos from the dramatic finish to stage 11 in Pinerolo. Recapping the finish with a few comments from Team CSC and Saunier Duval about stage 12.

Veteran Andrea Noe of Liquigas race leader, finished well to ride another day in pink. Photo c. Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Recapping the finish: 4km to go, The Tinkoff move we were waiting for came at last. Its Mikhail Ignatiev that after a first failed attempt, managed to gain some 20-25 metres over the field. His move is going nowhere, but he would get his daily amount of TV exposure.  Much less than what the Tinkoff guys were used to, but still better than nothing.

 The Tinkoff guys was quickly swallowed by the field. and now its all about the "battle of the elbows". And notably the battle over Petacchi's wheel between Napolitano and McEwen. Robbie's fellow Aussie Lancaster will be the last leadoutman for Alejet

Robbie's fellow Aussie Lancaster will be the last leadoutman for Alejet. Dean tries to anticipate the sprint. But he can't go far. So its a bunch sprint. With three protagonists: Petacchi. McEwen and Balducci

The three guys made it to the line together, and none of them raised his hands! Photo finish needed we think! As unfortunately there was another massive pileup over the line, with some 20 guys caught up in it.

Ale Jet Petacchi wins his third victory of this years Giro. Photo c. Fotoreporter Sirotti.

OKAY ITS OFFICIAL NOW: ALESSANDRO PETACCHI WON THE STAGE

 Gabriele Balducci second, Robbie McEwen third, Thor Hushvod fourth.

And after the first 12 - 15 riders, there was a "festival" of cyclists slipping over the wet roads ... one Tinkoff rider fell first, and fell in front of Paolo Bettini, that couldn't avoid hitting the tarmac again. also Yaroslav Popovych fell, and so did one Euskaltel rider, who's the one bearing the worst consequences.

Riders fall and slide across the finish as Alessandro Petacchi celebrates his 22nd Giro Victory. Photo c. Fotoreporter Sirotti.

Yet another spectacular and dramatic massive fall in this Giro. Which Chechu Rubiera commented as follows: "I've never seen something like that before!" We can just be glad that the overwhelming majoritiy of the riders involved came out unhurt. The damage could have been much worse.

This dramatic event might have overshadowed a bit Alessandro Petacchi's 22nd Giro stage victory. But after getting an excellent leadout from Lancaster, Alejet put forth a superb sprint and took a deserved victory. Not an easy one, as he got stiff opposition from both Gabriele Balducci and Robbie McEwen. But the Italian prevailed in the end.

Andrea Noè also "slipped across the line" but retained the jersey. Liquigas adds another Maglia Rosa to this years collection at the 90th Giro as Andrea Noe accepts his second leaders jersey on the podium.

Paolo Bettini, one of the first to fall, waits to risk moving after sliding across the finish. Photo c. Fotoreporter Sirotti.

The final sprint was something in between cycling (Petacchi, McEwen, Balducci and the other top place finishers) and bobsleds (Bettini, Popovych, Noé and some other riders amongst whom Euskaltel's Gonzalez, who sustained the worst consequences and ended up into an ambulance).

Paolo Bettini thankfully avoided hitting his back again. He might well be at the start tomorrow. Robbie McEwen will not be in the saddle instead. While Alessandro Petacchi, besides thanking his teammates and confessed how glad he was that he didn't fall today (he got injured and had to drop out of the Giro on similarly wet roads the past year ...) confessed that he'll make a decision about weather to continue or not later today.

Team CSC Comments
Big Crash in the Main Peloton
Not surprisingly the 198-kilometer 11th stage from Serravalle to Pinerolo was decided in a bunch sprint after which Milram's Alessandro Pettachi was able to claim his third victory in this year's Giro. The main peloton suffered a major crash just as they were about to hit the finish line, where several riders went sliding on the rainy wet asphalt.

”Luckily none of our guys were in the crash and got through the hot and long stage fine. Tomorrow is a big mountain stage and I know that Andy is very keen to do well again. He was amazing yesterday and I have a feeling he'll be able to keep up with the very best again,” said Alain Gallopin after the stage.

Saunier Duval/Prodir
Red Birds Army Ready for Stage 12
At the very end, there was yet another spectacular massive fall involving Saunier Duval/Prodir´s Riccardo Riccò. The young gun from Modena slightly scraped his backside and sustained minor bruises, which won´t prevent him from standing on his bike at the start line tomorrow. The race was marked by French Mickaël Buffaz (Cofidis)´s day-long move, which could only be neutralized 10 kilometres before the finish line. Tomorrow, riders will be facing the mountains again in 163-kilometre-long stage 12, from Scalenghe to Briançon, featuring this Giro´s "Cima Coppi," Colle dell´Agnello (2,744 metres high, at Km. 102.4), and also the Col d´Izoard (almost 21 kilometres before the finish).

Gilberto Simoni: “Tomorrow´s stage is a very important race, and we'll try and make the headlines. We've got quite a few men who could make it: Piepoli, who's perfectly capable of clinching two stage wins, as he did last year; Riccò, who's shown he's in perfect shape; and even Mayo, whose 15th place yesterday proves he's getting stronger. As for me, I'd like to take a stage, but the Giro isn't just the first stages, and it's wise to think of the GC above all”..

Riccardo Riccò: “The race tomorrow will be a different war, one that can shake the GC as it stands. As we did two days ago, we'll struggle for victory, and maybe this time it's my turn. However, tomorrow we'll all ride for Simoni so if I attack, it'll be because my captain has given me the green light”.

Iban Mayo: “I´m getting stronger, but from now until the end of this Giro, I know my role is to help Simoni, who seemed to me to be in one of his best days yesterday. So far, this edition of the Giro hasn't revealed an absolute leader. Thus, it's teams that can make a real difference. Piepoli has been fantastic, and Riccò has done what we expected him to do. The third week will be my turn, you'll see”.

Getting ready for the mountains in the Volta a Catalunya
Australian rider Allan Davis (Discovery Channel) has finally got his first win this season in Tàrrega, after 4 hours and 29 minutes of racing in 182-kilometre stage 3 of the 87th Volta a Catalunya, besting compatriot Baden Cooke (Unibet.com) and stand-out Italian sprinter Daniele Bennati (Lampre-Fondital).

Volta Catalunya
All the members of the SAUNIER DUVAL-PRODIR´s yellow squad were part of the leading bunch. Very early in the day, at Km. 3, José Antonio López (Andalucía-Cajasur), Sylvain Chavanel (Cofidis), Paolo Bossoni (Lampre-Fondital), Julián Sánchez Pimienta (Relax-GAM), and Javier Cherro (Fuerteventura-Canarias) produced a breakaway that Anthony Geslin (Bouygues Telecom) joined 10 kilometres further down the road.
The breakaways were caught in the final kilometre.

Tomorrow´s race is the Volta´s queen stage: 203 kilometres from Tàrrega to Vallnord-Arinsal, in Andorra. Before reaching the finish line, riders will have to climb five GPM ascents: Alt Solsonés (cat. 2, at Km. 38), Coll de Jou (cat. 1, at Km. 83), Coll de Port (cat. 1, at Km. 109), Alt de la Comella (cat. 1, at Km. 183), and Alt de la Massana (cat. 2, at Km. 192).