Thwarted by LPR's Alessandro Petacchi during Stage 2, Mark Cavendish (Team Columbia - Highroad) finally got it right and claimed Stage 9 of the 100th Giro d'Italia.Manxman bested Allan Davis (Quick Step) and Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Slipstream) in what proved to be one of the most controversial endings to grand tour stage ever. His victory gave Team Columbia - Highroad its fourth win overall, one more than DiLuca's LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini team to close out the first week of the three week race.
Results
1. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Team Columbia - Highroad
2. Allan Davis (Aus) Quick Step
3. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin - Slipstream
General Classification After Stage 9
1. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini
2. Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad
3. Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia - Highroad
4. Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
5. Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
6. Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas
7. Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team
8. Christopher Horner (USA) Astana
9. Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
10. David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
Is It Safe To Dance
We can dance if we want to
We can leave your friends behind
'Cause your friends don't dance and if they don't dance
Well they're no friends of mine
The stage billed as the Milano Show was to be one of the more memorable of the 100th Giro d'Italia. And while it proved to be newsworthy, it wasn't exactly what the organizers had hoped.
Riders, en masse, predetermined that it wasn't safe to "dance" on the streets of downtown Milano and effectively neutralized the race, saddling up at top speed for only the final kilometers, unbeknownst to race organizers and the rabid onlooking tifosi.
The reported ring leader of the protest was Lance Armstrong, who was already at odds with the race's organizers and warranted no further favors for his actions.
Whether this was simply a power play by Armstrong, signaling that the patron of the peloton has indeed returned, or riders finally exercising their collective muscle as some de facto union, it is difficult to say. But the infuriated organizers had to know this type of action was a possibility.
Cycling history is littered with stories of riders crashing horrifically on Italian streets, in some of their biggest races (Milano-San Remo comes to mind), because of unsafe conditions that at times have included choosing incredibly tight cornered parcours and not clearing the roads of parked cars.
Next: Rest Day, Monday, May 18th; Stage 10 - Cuneo - Pinerolo, 262Km; Tuesday, May 19th
Designated at the Queen stage of the 100th Giro d'Italia, the stage includes climbs up the venerable Sestrière and the Colle del Monginevro. Although the finish comes well after the final day's climb, look for a possible shake up in the General Classification order.
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