On the first rest day of the three week Giro d’Italia, we take a look back at the first nine stages while getting caught up ourselves.The Giro d’Italia Centoanni, or 100th edition, began on Saturday, May 9th with what is arguably the sport's greatest spectacle, the Team Time Trial.
Much was made of the purported rivalry between the two American based Pro Tour teams, Garmin-Slipstream and Columbia-Highroad, and the “disrespect” Columbia’s Mark Cavendish felt Garmin was showing toward the overall race by placing so much emphasis on the Stage 1 TTT, and surprisingly the actual battle lived up to its hype.
Cavendish and his Columbia-Highroad teammates bested the well-practiced Garmin-Slipstream team by 6 seconds; with Lance Armstrong’s Astana bunch finishing third, 13 seconds back. For his effort and candidness, the team awarded Cavendish with the race’s first Maglia Rosa; his first leader’s jersey.
Rivalries, whether real or media manufactured, are good for any sport because it heightens the level of play. In cycling, there have been some classic rivalries, like Anquetil versus Poulidor, Coppi versus Bartali, and Lemond versus Hinault (which technically didn’t have the longevity of a true rivalry, but deserves mention for its intensity over a three week period), despite the continuous fluidity of rosters. And while it remains difficult to envision the ultra laidback David Zabriskie (Garmin-Chipotle) and the mild mannered George Hincapie (Columbia-Highroad) “going to the mattresses” against each other, the fodder provided us with something we have never before seen in the sport, two American teams legitimately battling for the top spot.
Results
1. Team Columbia - Highroad
2. Garmin - Slipstream 0.06
3. Astana 0.13
4. LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini
5. ISD
6. Team Katusha
7. Rabobank
8. Liquigas
9. Lampre - NGC
10. Team Milram
Next: Stage 2 - Jesolo - Trieste, 156km
An relatively flat profile set up perfectly for a sprinters' showdown.
It's All About The BikeSCOTT Bicycles launched its brand new Time Trial (TT) creation for Stage 1, the Plasma TT. Though it probably didn't receive the bounce that Trek received with Lance Armstrong's successes, its hard to envision a more perfect debut.
SCOTT dubbed the Plasma TT project as the most advanced R&D project in the bicycle industry to produce the fastest bike the world has yet seen. Judging from the photos below and Columbia-Highroad's victory, its hard to argue their point.
For more information on the making of SCOTT Plasma TT, click on the image below to be taken to a video about the project.
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