[Giro 2003]Stage 11 - The Weather Factor

[Giro Reporter]

Stage 11 - Faenza - San Dona di Piave 222 km

Flat, flat, flat, flat.  Today's stage has a maximum elevation of around 
20 meters.  There are no GpM points for that spot. We are on the eastern 
seaboard of upper Italy, running roughly northeast to another circuit 
finish in the town of San Dona di Piave.

Two Tenax riders have slipped away, Sergei Lelekin and Mirko Marini 
pushed their noses out into the wind at kilometer 35 and built up a long 
lead - now 11 minutes lead under threatening skies and damp camera lenses.

Magnus Backstedt rolls across the InterGiro sprint point in the town of 
  Piovi de Sacco, leading Elio Aggiano to the line and taking the third 
in that today's segment of the competition.

The riders now cover the flat miles on dampening roads, lightning arcing 
to the horizon.  The rain doesn't seem serious, but these roads will 
leech oil when they receive the moisture - this part of Italy doesn't 
get a huge amount of rain.

Davide Cassani, a former racer and now commentator with the RAI (Italian 
Television) was the man responsible for yesterday's stage. He managed to 
find every nasty climb in the region, and Simoni's attack must rank with 
the inspired efforts of Hinault or even Merkcx.  In an interview 
yesterday, he admitted that he even had a brief thought tht he may have 
gone too early.

The peleton has been unlimbering their legs, and have reduced the gap 
7:30 as they roll through the town of Dolo, as jerseys start to darken 
with spray being kicked up from the riders wheels. The two riders in the 
lead continue to relay each other while pounding out the miles.

Aitor Gonzalez continues to struggle to find form. He lost around 6 
minutes on yesterday's stage.  Perhaps he's finding that the Vuelta

The race has managed to leave the wet weather behind, finding themselves 
on dry roads but now cooler temperatures.  Chipping steadily down on the 
lead, the Fassa Bortolo riders trade efforts with Domina Vacanze as the 
gap drops down to the neighborhood of 4 minutes.

Crash in the field.
A rider lies crumpled in the ditch - Oscar Mason from Vini Caldirola 
took a nasty tumble.  He doesn't move and it looks more than scary. 
There are deep ditches on either side of the road, and he is between two 
concrete driveway entrances. His team car is stopped and they motion to 
get the EMTs up.  He's concious, and slowly beginning to move his 
appendenges. They prepare a stretcher and finally 5 men help him up out 
of the culvert, where he shakily takes his feet. It looks like they will 
  give him a ride to the finish, with suspected broken ribs.

Hideously dark skies sit on the horizon as the lead is another two 
minutes reduced.

There's a sharp chicane at 150 meters to go, and shots of the finish 
show puddles on the roadway.  Chaos is anticipated.

The two Tenax riders seem to limp along, after leading the race for 130 
km into mostly a headwind.  They sense that their time at the lead is 
doomed as they move through about 35 km to go.  Fassa Bortolo continues 
to set pace, with only a token Domina Vacanze.  The shape of the peleton 
  fattens noticeably, as the riders push toward the front, fearing the 
combination of speed and narrow roads which lies before them.

The ridrs split around some nasty sets of traffic islands and the rain 
comes down.  30 km to go in this now submarine stage.

Jordi Riera of Kelme pushes away from the bunch and gaps the group, and 
another three riders nip away, it looks Lars Back from Fakta, with 
Giuseppe Muraglia from Formaggi Pinzolo Fiave, plus another rider. They 
may be hoping that the teams of the big sprinters will decide that the 
soaking wet in-town circuit will be a bit too daffy for seriously 
risking themselves.

... Or not.

The peleton have just decided that a 160 km flyer is just enough, 
reabsorbing them with little fanfair.  Groupo Compatto.

Saeco has taken over the pacemaking, and I am reminded of the Giro of a 
few years ago when Simoni unleashed a hellish attack on a descent in a 
stage under a driving rainstorm.  He does fancy his bike-handling 
abilites, but he is closely marked by Stefano Garzelli as they push 
through the tides.

15 km to go. Rains still coming down. Nevertheless, a couple zebras 
begin to jettison their 20 dollar clear raincapes.  The cameras find 
yesterday's stage winner, Kurt Arveson.  He makes a quick face at the 
camera which in  brief effort encapsulates exactly the humor and misery 
which everyone must feel under these conditions.

Garzelli's Vini Caldirolo squad had been setting the pace, but they are 
slowly being edged out by Cipo and the zebras.  The fight for Cipo's 
wheel has begun, with Robbie McEwen and Alessandro Petacchi pushing in 
to start today's scrum.  Back in the field, Ceramiche-Panaria sprinter 
Graeme Brown cannot buy a break, as he goes down, pops back up and find 
that his chain is seriously jammed.  Up front, the squads go through the 
finish line area for the first time.  We've looked at it a few times 
from the still cameras, but as the riders go through, you get a sense of 
the scale.  The first question that comes to mind is, "What the DICKENS 
were the organizers thinking?"

It's a nasy little chicane with first a left and then a right hand turn 
all within the last 200 meters of the bike race.  It would be overly 
sketchy with dry roads, but today....  and a zebra tumbles, tangled with 
a FDJeux.com rider.  The Dominia Vacanze rider is Mario Scirea, the 
oldest rider in the race, who gets unceremoniously left behind as his 
drivetrain is scrambled. If you check your zebra scorecard, that's 
striped rider number two who has no chance as regain the head of affairs.

Fassa Bortolo has control of events at 4 km to go, but Cipo has four 
riders well positioned at the front..  Two spearheads form as Fassa 
Bortolo try to drag race the Domina Vacanze team.  The boys of Bortolo 
managed to push out the zebras for now, accellerating strongly through a 
corner.  Fasso Bortolian/Luxemburger Kim Kirchen gaps the bunch as 
adrenaline takes over, but the zebras grab their way back up to his wheel.

Petacchi follows a single teammate up to the top of affairs, but the 
dance to the finish continues as the Domina-Vacanze riders now manage to 
squeeze him back in the group.  The speed is creeping up, regardless of 
the soaked roadways.  They are now streaking under the 2 km to go mark.

The finishing bit chicane is the stuff that cycling nightmares are made 
of, and riders nervously begin pushing up the pace as if the route has 
somehow magically been straightened.

Again McEwen and Petacchi duke for the wheel of Mario, who has assembled 
his men into perfect formation despite the conditions.

A Tenax rider shoots off the front, thinking that it might just be worth 
the effort to get away before any carnage.  But, they course under the 1 
km and the zebras ease back up to him.  That stretches things out a bit 
in the peleton, though again the speed has increased, as the Tenax rider 
falls far back.

Alessio's Angelo Furlan in the mix as well as the Kelme sprinter, Isaac 
Galvez Lopez. The second to last zebra pulls off, putting Giovanni 
Lombardi at the head of events.  But a scramble occurs and a rider moves 
up against the left-hand barriers.  Crikey - there's a small dog on the 
course as well.  Lombardi peels off and attacks begin.  McEwen has moved 
hard to the front of the race, with Galvez Lopez moving up next to Mario 
as they head into the chicane.

Rider down! Galvez Lopez skids out on the inside of the corner, taking 
Mario with him.  They slide completely across the roadway and bounce 
heavily against the far barriers.  Other riders tumble and squirm to 
avoid them, while another rider hits the barriers and cascades across 
another downed rider.  At least four other riders are down. Mario and 
Galvez Lopez lie stunned against the barriers as the rade moves up the road.

Sudddenly alone at the head of events McEwen looks up to find that he 
has no other rider around him, has time to thank his BMX skills set and 
win the stage.  A few seconds behind, Petacchi somehow avoided 
everything to take second.

Stage 11 -
1 - Robbie Mcewen - 5:44:27
2 - Alessandro Petacchi - @ :02
3 - Crescenzo d'Amore - Tenax
4 - Mykhaylo Khalilov - Selle Italia
5 - Jan Svorada - Lampre

Tomorrow -
Stage 12 San Dona-Monte Zoncolan - 185 km

If today was flat, tomorrow will more than make up for it. Monte 
Zoncolan ends the stage, a brutal climb that the race has never used. 
It tops out at 1730 meters, after a few just-sub-1,000 meter peaks to 
warm the legs up.  The climbers will get their day in the sun - perhaps 
a showcase for Julio Perez, or maybe Marco Pantani has one great stage 
in his legs for this year's race.