[Giro 2003]Stage 6 - Last of the Flats

[Giro Reporter]

Stage 6 - Aversa - Avezzano 210 km

Midway up the ankle of the Italian boot, the riders move north on flat
roads under grey overcast skies.  Ahead of them rotate a paceline of
three riders - Christian Moreni of Alessio, Constantino Zaballo of
Kelme, and the massive Swede Magnus Backstedt of Fakta who took off at
about 30 km. Though they held a strong pace for a few hours, the
sprinters' teams have decided that the finish suits the fast men, and
Vini Caldirola, Fassa Bortolo and Domina Vacanze balance time and
efforts to effect a retrival.

The three leaders continue to share the efforts, but visibly feel their
strength and lead slowly eek away as the gap edges down to about 1:35
with 25 km.

  From the continuing story of the Coastal "erosion": USPS signed Manuel
Beltran to their squad from the financially crumbling Team COAST. He's
probably the last of the Spanish climbers who might be able to cause
Armstrong fits comes July.

The leaders run under the 20 km to go banner, as they all take short
smart pulls on the pointed end of the race.  This break would end up
with a 180 km breakaway if they could hold out until the end. However,
given that the peloton seems to be streaking up to the same 20 km
banner, it's not likely.

A quick 10 km later, the lead three just hangs on under the 10 km to go
banner, the bunch flies along under a mere 25 seconds behind, the
average speed on the day hovering around 42.275 km/hr.  Garzelli's squad
- Vini calidora -  punches it at the front to finalize the catch.

But, it might not be so easy! Magnus "Maximus" Backstedt attacks from
the back of the lead group and turns a massive gear, quickly distancing
his breakaway rivals.  The remaining pair begin to realize that
soft-pedaling is their only friend, while the massive Swede Backsted
falls into a pace that may be his only chance to stay away on the mildly
undulating roadways.

But, it is not to be - within three or four km, Backstedt cracks
massively while the cameras watch, eyes visibly crossing and foaming
mouth hanging agape.  As Paul observes, "Boom, Boom, out go the
lights..."  He is swept up with little fanfare.

Lotto and Alessio power down the straightening roads while the zebras
edge into the tip of the peloton.  A group of FDJeux.com riders decide
to show what they are made of, stretching up next to the Domina-Vacanze
squad.  What they learn however, is that driving a pace at that speed
requires just a bit more effort than they have in the engine, and they
crumble, falling back into the ever-stretching group.

Cipo nudges his way up to the front as six zebras hammer the pace with a
single lost FDJeux.com rider in second.  Petachhi sits rght on Cipos
rear wheel, watching and marking his adversary.  The lead zebra peels
off and the lead is shared by three zebras, Cipo behind them.  Today
they look like the well-drilled leadout team that they can be.

Under the 1 km to go and there is clearly a split to the main field -
whether from the insanely fast leadout speeds or a minor bobble in the
group is unclear, and at this point, elementary. Alessandro Petacchi and
Galvez Lopez the Kelme sprinter sit in with a dwindling passenger list,
but they've sawn off the peloton.

The 2nd to last zebra fires around a hard left turn and gallops toward
the line.  Cipo looks over and sees Petacchi behind him. Also in the mix
is the Ceramiche-Panaria sprinter Aussie sprinter, Graeme Brown.
Most-dependable-zebra Giovanni Lombardi is now driving the final pace.

  From three riders back, Petacchi swings out to the left of Cipo while
Galvaez Lopez fires away on the other side and has to briefly negotiate
around the slowing Giovanni Lombardi. Cipo's leadout has been executed
to near perfection, but the rainbow-stripe wearing man from Lucca sits
up and...stops pedaling! This is perhaps the strangest and saddest image
in the race so far!  Lopez finds his cadence and accellerates toward the
line.  Off his left shoulder, Petacchi continues to find speed and
becomes a pink blur - he takes the stage with half a bike to spare.  Jan
Svorada rumbles over the line in third as Lombardi and Cipo drift over
the line. The sadness on Lombardi's face is evident - a superb leadout
and Cipo fires a squib...

Stage 6
1 - Alessandro Petacchi - Fassa Bortolo
2 - Isaac Galvez Lopez - Kelme
3 - Jan Svorada - Lampre

Classifica Generale
MR - Petacchi - 27:43:16
2 - Garzelli - @ 1:09
3 - Casagrande - @ 1:27
4 - Pellizotti @ 1:32
5 - Simoni @ 1:32
6 - Velo @ 1:36
7 - Lunghi @ 1:39
8 - Hamburger @ 1:39


Tomorrow:
Stage 7 - Avezzano to  Terminillo 146 km
Though a deceptively short stage, this is generally regarded as when the
2003 Giro D'Italia will begin in earnest. A relatively flat route until
it spikes up to 1625 meters in the last 16 km. From here, we will begin
to see a flurry of climbs and higher finishes. Time for the bird-boned
to shine for a bit.