Giro del Trentino winner breaks away on final climb and solos to victory; Hesjedal keeps pink
Dominico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) showed that his recent victory in the Giro del Trentino proves that he is a rider to be taken seriously in this Giro d’Italia, by breaking away on the final climb to win at Lago Laceno on stage eight. The climber from Policoro, on the very southern coast of Italy, jumped away from the remains of the Liquigas-Cannondale-led peloton with less than three kilometres of climbing to go, and managed to hold off a chase from Beñat Intxausti (Movistar) to take his first ever victory in the Giro d’Italia.
Intxausti, who had attacked a kilometre later than Pozzivivo, was 26 seconds behind the Italian as he crested the top of the Colle Molella with just 4.4km to go. The Spanish rider could only reduce this to 23 by the time he crossed the line, but managed to hold off the charging peloton, which was led over by Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha).
“I’m perhaps too little to think big, I’ll take things day by day and do as well as I can,” said the diminutive rider. “This year’s Giro was wrongly described as being easy compared to the past. I’d say it’s more humane compared to 2011, which was really tough. I finished ninth at the [2008] Giro d’Italia and was strong in the third week, so I’m confident about the final week in the mountains this year’s Giro d’Italia.
“I’m a pure climber and I think about music to motivate me when I’m racing,” he added. “I also try to get to the top as quickly as possible to get the climb over with.
“My favourite climbs are the Mortirolo, Passo Giau and Punto Veleno. The ones I least like are the Zoncolan, the Mortirolo and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo. I don’t like wet descents or on dirt roads like last year to Orvieto. I also don’t like the Vivione and the Gavia descents.”
Maglia Rosa Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) was visibly suffering on some of the steeper slopes of the climb, but managed to hold on to all of his rivals and crossed the line safely in the group. An eight-second bonus for Rodríguez on the line however, meant that the Catalan rider jumped to second overall and trailed the Canadian by just nine seconds at the end of the stage.
The 229km stage was dominated by a long break from Julien Berard (AG2R La Mondiale), Andrey Amador (Movistar), Miguel Mingez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) and Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM). The four riders escaped with just 15km covered and managed to build up a lead of more than eleven minutes by the mid part of the stage.
Amador and Marczynski left the other two behind in the final sixty kilometres but, as the big teams began to up the pace on the approach to the Colle Molella, they were caught with 17km to go.
Astana led the peloton onto the climb, but it was Liquigas-Cannondale that led up it; the green and blue team’s pace shed a great number of riders - and put Hesjedal into difficulty - but could not, or would not, react to the attacks of Pozzovivo and Intxausti towards the top.
With a long day ahead the breakaway goes long
At 229km, stage eight was to be the longest stage of the race so far and was the third straight day described as ‘medium mountains’. Despite several climbs throughout its route however, only the 4th category Valico di Macerone after 65.5km was acknowledged by the organisers, before the 2nd category Colle Molella just 4.4km from the finish. The stage would continue the Giro's southern course, with the finish being the most southerly point of the 2012 race.
Berard, Amador, Minguez and Marczynski escaped after 15km as the peloton scaled the unclassified Piano delle Cinque Miglia. Amador started the day just 1’16” behind Hesjedal in 26th place but, with the final climb to the finish on its collective mind, the peloton allowed the four riders to get away.
Very quickly the Costa Rican Movistar rider was the race leader on the road - as Polish champion Marczynski led the group over the Valico di Macerone - and, after 100km the quartet was 10’50” ahead, rising to more than eleven minutes before the peloton reacted.
Astana and Katusha were leading the chase, but in a very unhurried manner, and the gap closed very slowly in the mid part of the stage. With 70km to go however, they had brought it down to five minutes, as the action was about to begin.
The Polish champion led again over the Traguardo Volante sprint, in San Giorgio del Sannio with 64.7km to go; the peloton was just 4’06” behind, as Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) led over the line to take two points, and close in on Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge) in the fight for the green jersey.
With 58km to go Amador accelerated, and Marczynski was the only one of the other three to be able to go with him. With plenty more unclassified climbing before they arrived at the foot of the Colle Molella, the two riders left the others behind.
Shortly before 50km to go a demonstration from local workers threatened to disrupt the race; the protesters were cooperative however, obeying the police instructions to keep off the road, and the breakaway duo passed through them without incident. 4’35” later the peloton passed through in a similarly trouble-free manner, just as Berard was picked up.
With Amador and Marczynski still not entirely happy with one another’s company - with each one putting in occasional digs to try and drop the other - the peloton relaxed further, and their lead grew back up to five minutes with 45km to go.
The pace goes up and the sprinters drop off
Katusha decided that enough was enough at this point and began to lift the pace as the peloton tackled yet another unclassified climb. By the 40km to go point the Russian team - led by Russian champion Pavel Brutt - had cut the gap back to four minutes, and shed a number of sprinters - including Cavendish and Theo Bos (Rabobank) - in the process.
With 34km to go the duo’s lead dipped below three minutes, just as Minguez was picked up. At the point there was a change of personnel on the front of the peloton, as Garmin-Barracuda took over, with Colnago-CSF Inox tucked in behind them.
With 25km to go, the gap was down to 1’38” and, as the peloton’s pace picked up further Garmin-Barracuda’s Peter Stetina suffered a puncture. The Maglia Bianca took a wheel from South African champion teammate Robbie Hunter but, with few teammates left at the front of the race, had to take himself back up through the cars. Only when he had reached a group that had broken off the rear of the peloton, did teammate Jack Bauer start to pace him back up. With help from his teammate, and the shelter of a number of different team cars, the American made it back the the front of the peloton with 18.5km to go.
The break was now less than a half a minute clear, and Astana took over the pacemaking once more. With 17km to go, the two riders were swept up, as Astana’s pace lifted; putting more riders in trouble at the rear.
The Kazakh team’s blistering pace continued into the early slopes of the climb - with Amstel Gold Race winner Enrico Gasparotto leading the way - immediately putting mountains leader Miguel Angel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) in trouble, and the Colombian winner of stage six was dropped with 12km to go. Liquigas-Cannondale was lined up behind Astana, but lost Valerio Agnoli to a technical problem before the climb really got started.
Liquigas-Cannondale takes over from Astana but nobody can deal with Colnago-CSF Inox
Gasparotto’s pace continued until the road began to steepen with just under nine kilometres to go; finally, the former Italian champion pulled over and left his teammates to it, but BMC Racing, then Liquigas-Cannondale took control.
The already reduced peloton was shedding riders by the dozen as Sylwester Szmyd piled on the pressure for the green and blue team. All of the main contenders were still present however, with Maglia Rosa Hesjedal safely tucked in close to the front. With eight kilometres to go though, Stetina’s recent chase took its toll on the American’s legs and he was dropped.
With 6.8km to go - less than 2.5km to the top of the climb - Domenico Pozzivivo (Colnago-CSF Inox) attacked and the winner of the recent Giro del Trentino was allowed to go. Liquigas-Cannondale was still setting its metronomic pace, but the leader was getting further away.
Hesjedal was beginning to look like he was in trouble, with just under six kilometres to go, when Beñat Intxausti (Movistar) jumped away in pursuit of Pozzovivo. He had a 29 second gap to close however, and the Colnago-CSF Inox was less than a kilometre from the top.
Over the summit, with 4.4km to go, Pozzovivo was still 26 seconds clear of Intxausti, with Liquigas-Cannondale leading the peloton across several seconds further back. The Spanish rider was gaining over the gentle descent and false flat but, with 22 seconds still in hand, and just three kilometres to go, the Colnago-CSF Inox rider looked to have got it.
In the peloton, which now numbered no more than twenty, Fränk Schleck looked as though he was about to attack but, after looking at the front of the peloton, the Luxembourg champion drifted back in.
With two kilometres to go, Pozzovivo had 23 seconds over Intxausti, and 42 over the peloton. The peloton chipped a few away as it approached the final kilometre, but nobody was going to catch him now.
Into the final few hundred metres, the diminutive climber got out of the saddle to try to maintain his momentum all the way to the finish. As he hit the line however, he sat up to perform his trademark salute, and took his first ever Giro stage victory.
Intxausti came over 23 seconds later, with Rodríguez winning the sprint for third after 27, to take eight bonus seconds. Despite suffering on the climb, Hesjedal had finished safely in the group, and held on to his Maglia Rosa into a second day.
In all, Pozzovivo gained 47 seconds on the race leader, lifting himself to 13th place, just 55 seconds down, while Inxtausti jumped from 13th to fifth.