2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 21

May 27, Stage 21: Milan (ITT) 31.5km

Ryder Hesjedal wins the Giro d'Italia

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-21/results)

Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) became the first Canadian rider to win a grand tour when he finished 47 seconds ahead of overnight leader Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) in the final time trial in Milan to claim the Giro d’Italia title by a mere 16 seconds. Hesjedal finished sixth in the 28.2km Milan test, which was won by Marco Pinotti (BMC Racing), ahead of Sky’s Geraint Thomas and RadioShack’s Jesse Sergent.
Hesjedal cleared all but two seconds of his 31-second deficit on Rodríguez by the first time check and continued to gain time on the Spaniard, who had admitted beforehand that he would need a miracle to hold on to the pink jersey. Apart from a couple of dicey moments when his bike slipped as he went through two tight corners, Hesjedal was always on course to achieve his goal, although Rodríguez finished strongly and did not lose as much team as many had expected.

Third place on the podium went to Thomas de Gendt (Vacansoleil-DCM), who built on his stunning Stelvio victory yesterday. The Belgian finished fifth on the day and relegated defending champion Michele Scarponi to fourth place. De Gendt’s elevation to third meant that there was no Italian on the final podium for the first time since 1995.

Having hugged his wife after crossing the line, Hesjedal quickly received confirmation that he regained the maglia rosa from Rodríguez.

“This is incredible, I can’t quite believe it,” said the Garmin rider. “I have to thank my team for their efforts over the past three weeks, I couldn’t have done it without them. I’ve had to dig deeper and deeper as the race has gone on. I also like to thank all the Canadian fans back home for their incredible support.

“It’s been a fantastic experience. I started to believe in it more and more when I realized that I was riding better in the mountains than I ever have in any other race. My legs felt good, I was strong in my head, and I reached the last day in good condition and managed to write an important page in history.”

Conditions were perfect for the final test of this fascinating race. There was good news initially for Rodríguez and the other non-specialists, when it was announced that the course through Milan had to be shortened by 2km, due to roadworks, leaving the riders facing a test of 28.2km.

RadioShack’s Sergent was the fastest of the early starters, until his time was bettered by Sky’s Geraint Thomas. However, just as was the case for Bradley Wiggins in 2009, the Briton would have to settle for second on the day.

The course was always likely to suit a specialist like Marco Pinotti, and he went about demonstrating that, overtaking the two riders who went off before him. He finished 39 seconds ahead of Thomas, with Sergent the only other rider within a minute of him. In the process, he bookended the Giro for his BMC team, his victory on the final day following Taylor Phinney’s prologue success.

“This was a big goal for me,”Pinotti said. “I won the last time trial here at the Giro in 2008 and I was second in 2010 and last year it was a big goal. But I crashed two days before and had to go to the hospital. So I’ve been working for this for a year. For me, it’s been a difficult Giro. I was trying to save all my energy for this in the last week.” 

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team	0:33:06
2	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:39
3	Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:53
4	Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin - Barracuda	0:01:00
5	Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:01:01
6	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda	0:01:09
7	Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:01:14
8	Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:01:15
9	Svein Tuft (Can) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:01:22
10	Julien Vermote (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quickstep	0:01:23

 

 

Final general classification

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Ryder Hesjedal (Can) Garmin - Barracuda	91:39:02
2	Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha Team	0:00:16
3	Thomas De Gendt (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:01:39
4	Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD	0:02:05
5	Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale	0:03:44
6	Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD	0:04:40
7	Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling	0:05:57
8	Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Colnago - CSF Inox	0:06:28
9	Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling	0:07:50
10	Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi	0:08:08

2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 1

May 5, Stage 1: Herning (ITT) 8.7km

Phinney wins 2012 Giro d'Italia opening stage

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/stage-1/results)

Taylor Phinney (BMC) powered his way to the first maglia rosa of the 2012 Giro d'Italia, blowing away the rest of the field in the opening time trial. He covered the 8.7km course in only 10:26. Second place went to Geraint Thomas (Sky) at 10:35, with Danish rider Alex Rasmussen of Garmin-Barracuda third at 10:39.

It was a sunny but cool day, and the wind didn't have the expected effect. Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Barracuda) set an early best time of 10:48. He stayed atop the board for a long time, but finally the times started tumbling.

Within only few minutes, Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank) and Geraint Thomas (Sky) topped his times, only to have Phinney, a former U23 time trial world champion, cruise in with his phenomenal time.

The race of truth

If the time trial is cycling's race of truth, then an 8.7km Grand Tour prologue is more of a brief physiology lab test carried out in the open air, in full view of the public and the media. Worse, on the flat, cold and windy roads around suburban Herning, all the Giro's general classification contenders could hope to do was limit their losses to each other and pray that they didn't crash.

The pre-race chatter was all about how there were no obvious favourites for the 2012 Giro, and it's safe to say that the Danish prologue hasn't provided much in the way of enlightenment.

What can you deduce from a prologue? A little but not a lot, especially in a race as hard to predict as the Giro. But, to be fair, we did learn that - barring physiological miracle or acts of God - neither Frank Schleck (RadioShack), Damiano Cunego (Lampre) or Michele Scarponi (Lampre) are going to win, which is something.

In as much as the BMC team had come to the Giro having endured a less than ground-shaking Classics season, Phinney's convincing winning ride - nine seconds clear of Thomas - was probably the best thing to have happened to the team in 2012.

In fact, scratch the "probably", it was the best thing to happen to the team this season by miles. It was, after all, BMC's first big win of 2012 (no disrespect to the Giro di Toscana win of an eager looking Alessandro Ballan, 34th at 39 seconds here).

It was a great day for Phinney. The last time an American took the leader's jersey in the Giro was back in 2008 when Christian Vande Velde claimed it for Slipstream Chipotle after the team time trial. Prior to that, of course, Andy Hampsten wore it all the way to the finish back in 1988, although Phinney isn't going to manage that, but there's no reason why he shouldn't hold on to it for a few days if the team has the desire.

So who was the "winner" among the GC riders? Who "won" the prologue among the riders looking to get on the box in Milan? Well, hands up who predicted Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin? Is it still worth saying he's an ex-mountain biker? Or Canadian? What is worth pointing out is that he rode a rear disc and a medium depth front wheel in the gusty conditions and he rode the flat course utterly committed. For a rider not noted for his Grand Tour prologue skills, it was a great effort and suggests that his form is headed the right way at the right time. If Hesjedal doesn't finish in the top 10 by the time the race reaches Milan, we'll be surprised, eh?

Another (small) surprise was provided by Roman Kreuziger (Astana). The young Czech rode perfect lines through some of the faster corners, his body language suggesting that he was on a mission. High corner speeds, using all of the road on the corner exits, he looked smooth and determined. Although he was ‘only' 28th at 36 seconds, he was a scant seven seconds behind Hesjedal. There was a strong team showing from Astana too, a bunch of stern-faced hard men who know that they are there to help young Roman.

Ivan Basso (Liquigas) didn't look comfortable or fast and was clearly giving it his all. In light of his poor early season campaign, his 35th at 39 seconds was better than many would have predicted on such a course. Maybe Basso has timed his season build-up perfectly after all?

But what was more revealing were the gaps that Hesjedal, Basso and Kreuziger put into Frank Schleck, Damiano Cunego and Michele Scarponi. Although those time gaps are small, the times reveal more about form than the slim few seconds might suggest. How do you look at a loss of 30 seconds in eight kilometers and convince everyone it doesn't mean anything?

Lampre's Scarponi, wearing the maglia rosa from 2011 that he collected late, so to speak, following Alberto Contador's disqualification, was about as impressive as fellow Lampre man Damiano Cunego, one as unconvincing as the other, which should be great for morale and team talks around the Lampre dinner table. Cunego looked as though he was riding through treacle, clogging along in low revs and low speed to finish 124th at 1-03. It was still better than the defending maglia rosa, with Scarponi 135th, a further three seconds slower than Cunego.

Perhaps Schleck, Cunego and Scarponi really will need time to ride themselves into the race. You suspect however, by the time that happens, the GC battle will be even further up the road and they'll be hunting for stage wins rather than Milanese podiums.

Results

#	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
1	Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team	0:10:26
2	Geraint Thomas (GBr) Sky Procycling	0:00:09
3	Alex Rasmussen (Den) Garmin - Barracuda	0:00:13
4	Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo Bank	0:00:15
5	Gustav Larsson (Swe) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team	0:00:22
6	Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin - Barracuda
7	Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica GreenEdge Cycling Team	0:00:23
8	Marco Pinotti (Ita) BMC Racing Team	0:00:24
9	Jesse Sergent (NZl) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:26
10	Nelson Oliveira (Por) RadioShack-Nissan	0:00:27

Rasmussen has to wait another 3 weeks...

Talk about a long wait! I guess the Danish Olympic Committee takes about as long as the American government!!!

Rasmussen waiting for November verdict

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rasmussen-waiting-for-november-verdict)

Alex Rasmussen must continue to wait until November 17 to see what sanction he will face after receiving three warnings in an eighteen-month period for missing out of competition doping controls.

The Dane received two warnings from Anti-Doping Denmark in 2010 after failing to adequately compile his whereabouts form, and he subsequently missed an out-of-competition test by the UCI in April of this year.

Rasmussen has insisted that the missed tests were due to a lack of organisation on his part rather than an attempt to cheat. Given the nature of the case, he had hoped that the Danish Olympic Committee (DIF) would be able to reach a verdict sooner than anticipated.

“The wait is a little annoying,” Rasmussen told sporten.tv2.dk. “The case is clear and I just want a decision so that I can move on. But unfortunately, DIF cannot assemble the people for consultation before then.”

Ramussen’s contract was terminated by HTC-Highroad in September after the team was informed that he had received three warnings for missed tests. With HTC-Highroad set to disband at the end of the season, Rasmussen had already agreed to ride for Garmin-Cervélo for 2012.

Garmin-Cervélo subsequently stated that it would not sign Rasmussen due to its “stringent” anti-doping policy, but the rider has since claimed that team manager Jonathan Vaughters will complete the signing if he is cleared of wrongdoing.

“They are also awaiting action, and then we’ll talk,” Rasmussen said.

So where exactly were you?

Rasmussen admits his mistakes

(http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rasmussen-admits-his-mistakes)

Alex Rasmussen has claimed that the three warnings he received for problems regarding his whereabouts for out of competition doping controls were due to sloppiness on his part and had nothing to do with cheating or doping.

Rasmussen was temporarily suspended by the Danish Cycling Union and fired by his team HTC-HIghroad earlier this week after it was disclosed that he had commited three “whereabouts” violations. He now risks up to a two-year ban and has lost his place with Garmin for 2012.

The 27-year-old explained how the three violations occured to the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet.

The first one came from Anti-Doping Denmark in February 2010, when he was not where he had stated he would be, but instead was competing at the Six Day race in Berlin.

“I had actually completed my whereabouts and had written the name of our hotel in Berlin. Unfortunately I forgot to press the 'Send' button on the computer and the update never reached doping authorities,” he said. Ironically, he underwent a UCI doping control at the Six Day race.

He then compounded his mistake by making an unfounded assumption. “I explained it to them afterwards and actually thought that the warning was cancelled. It was not.”

Eight months later he was warned again by Anti-Doping Denmark, for filing his whereabouts for the fourth quarter of 2010 too late. “There is not much to say about that. It cannot be explained away. I'm forgetful and just didn't get it done in time. I accepted the warning, but still believed that the first was annulled. At this time I had two warnings, but I thought I only had one. It was not super, but I was not worried. I knew I just had to be very careful.”

He was not careful enough, however. The third warning came from the UCI, for an event on April 28. He had said that he would be at his home in Girona, Spain, but had travel to Denmark for his sister's confirmation and not changed his whereabouts statement. Because he was gone, he missed the UCI testers who came to Spain to take an out-of-competition control.  A missed control is considered to be equal to a positive control.

“Just after the confirmation I was told that there was a failed doping test. I knew it was crazy, but I tried to explain to myself. It failed, and I knew I would get a warning. I still thought that it would be only the second warning. Only when I received a letter on the 18th August did it dawn on me that it was the third. It was a huge shock for me.”

Rasmussen hopes to convince a Danish disciplinary hearing that he did not puposely tried to avoid tests. He has received the support of several teammates and colleagues. Many confirmed his lack of organization skills, with Greg Henderson of Sky tweeting, “If u know him u will realise he couldn't organise a piss up in a brewery."