Today the peleton gets a day off from the bike as they get a transfer from east coast of Italy to the west coast traveling to Pontedera Italy. Tomorrow’s stage features the longest time trial of this years Giro, at 50 kilometers over a very flat course (the course does offer a few rolling hills but should suit the time trial specialists well). Ivan Basso heads into the race of truth with a nice lead with more than a minute and a half over his closest competitor (José Enrique Gutierrez of Spain) and nearly a two minute gap between himself and Cunego (1.48).
All eyes will be on Basso of course but I would guess many fans including myself are quite intrested to see how Ullrich performs in his favorite discipline. Other riders to watch out for could be a couple from the CSC squad including Bobby Julich and Jens Voight who are both accomplished time trialists.
As we head into the second half of the Giro the remaining stages are really going to shake up the current Giro d’ Italia standings with five very demanding mountain stages (stages 13,16,17,19 and 20). Look for Ivan Basso to try to stretch his lead in stages 16 and or 17, other mountain climbers like Cunego or Simoni might also look toward these stages as the perfect place to make a decisive move.
Personally I think it is about over for Simoni, it hurts Tour Guy to say that after reading the in depth article about him in the May issue of procycling. Such a genuine guy (and anyone trying to win a major tour at 34 needs to be applauded) however I think his age is catching up to him now. I think if he wants to race for several more years he could be quite good in the role of a domestique such as Ekimov.
Other notables could include Tom Danielson and Savoldelli who I also think we be competitive on these difficult mountain stages. With two back to back mountain top finishes (stages 16 and 17) anyone who is not in form, felling sick (Ivan Basso Giro of 2005) or just not up to par could lose a tremendous amount of time.
~ Tour Guy
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