Italian sprinter quickest out of final corner as another crash hits the sprinters
Roberto Ferrari (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) took the biggest victory of his career to date in the eleventh stage of the Giro d’Italia between Assisi and Montecatini Terme, as another final kilometre crash brought down, or disrupted, a number of his sprint rivals. The 28-year-old, who had caused - and later apologised for - the pile up on stage three, was way ahead of the incident on the final corner with just 400 metres to go, as Sacha Modolo (Colnago-CSF Inox) slid off.
Just ahead of Ferrari, World champion Mark Cavendish (Team Sky) was coming almost to a standstill as his leadout - Geraint Thomas and Pete Kennaugh - struggled to avoid the barriers, and - as Tomas Vaitkus (Orica-GreenEdge) made his own bid for victory - the Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela came around the others to take what was an easy victory.
Behind Modolo’s crash, but otherwise unaffected by it, Francesco Chicchi (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) also managed to get around Cavendish to take second place. The world champion was unable to overcome Vaitkus before he hit the line, and had to settle for fourth.
“I wanted to do well at the Giro d’Italia,” said Ferrari at the post-stage press conference. “I want to apologise again for my move that caused the crash on the third stage. I’m sorry for what I said on television straight after the finish. Today I was on the right wheel and so it was a great chance to win that I knew I couldn’t get wrong.
“I’d like to be a sprinter like Alessandro Petacchi but I don’t think I’ve got the talent he has but of course I’ll try to do my best.
“In the last kilometre of the sprint, Cavendish looked at me and I understood what he was trying to tell me,” he added. “But I’m a sprinter and my job is to sprint and if possible to win.”
After his crash-causing move in Herning - and his initial downplaying of the incident - Ferrari came under fierce criticism from a number of places, but insists that the air has been cleared since his apology.
“After the crash in Denmark, I honestly haven’t noticed any bad feelings in the peloton,’ he said. “I’ve spoken to several other riders and nobody said I’d done the right thing but they also said that people make mistakes in sprints. I’ve got to carry on sprinting because it’s my job.
“It’s always the rider’s fault when there’s a crash,” he added. “Of course corners makes things more risky but sometimes riders crash even on straight roads.”
At 255km, stage eleven was the longest of the race and the break of the day came from Adrian Saez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Mickaël Delage (FDJ-BigMat), Olivier Kaisen (Lotto-Belisol), Manuele Boaro (Saxo Bank) and Stefan Denifl (Vacansoleil-DCM), who escaped in the opening ten kilometres. Their lead over the peloton was to peak at just 4’50” however, and would fluctuate between one and three minutes for most of the day.
Boaro attacked the others with 31km to go, and was chased by Saez for a few kilometres; the Euskaltel-Euskadi rider was caught with 21km to go however, while Boaro managed to survive until the start of the 14.4km finishing circuit.
On the Vico climb that began the local lap, there were several attacks, most notably from local rider Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM), who was caught and passed by a move from Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), with Oscar Gatto (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Amstel Gold Race winner Enrico Gasparotto (Astana) and Angel Vicioso (Katusha). 2004 Giro winner Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) briefly joined the group but, as he and Gasparotto dropped off, they were replaced by white jersey Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale).
On the fast, twisty descent, Roman Kreuziger (Astana) and defending champion Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) bridged across, but this caused Liquigas-Cannondale to close it down, and with eight kilometres to go the peloton was all together again.
Team Sky then took charge, despite the attentions of Saxo Bank, and - despite an attack from former World champion Alessandro Ballan (BMC Racing) inside the final two kilometres - appeared to be carrying Cavendish towards his third stage victory of the race.
The last, sharp corner was to have the final word however, and - while the World champion was able to stay upright this time - his team was disrupted enough to allow Ferrari and Chicchi to get by.
Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) enjoyed a relatively incident-free first day in the Maglia Rosa, and ended the day with his overall lead intact.
The break goes long on the longest day
As the Giro wound its way north towards the final week of mountain stages, the sprinters were treated to another day of their own with the longest stage of the race, as it crossed the central regions of Umbria and Tuscany. The only classified climbs in the entire 255km route, which took a predominantly north westerly path, would be the 3rd category Poggio alla Croce after 154.5km, and the 4th category climb to Vico, with just 11.1km to go.
That final climb, which came just a few kilometres from the start of a 14.4km finishing circuit, offered an chance to the opportunists of the race to escape and foil the sprinters. Like stage nine - the previous “sprinters’ stage” - the end of the stage would be less than simple for the riders, featuring three tight corners inside the final kilometre.
Despite the flat appearance of the parcours, it was to undulate gently for most of its length, and most of the stage was ridden below the slowest predicted speed.
Saez, Delage, Kaisen, Boaro and Denifl escaped after just ten kilometres. They originally had Astana’s Simone Ponzi for company, but he was dropped in the first hour and was picked up by the peloton shortly afterwards. As they passed through Perugia, after 20km, the five leaders were 4’23” ahead of the peloton. With an average speed of just 37.6kph, this gap shrank to 2’35” in the second hour of the race, but then began to rise once more.
Denifl was by far the best placed overall of the five but, since he was 41’56” behind Rodríguez at the start of the day, the Katusha team allowed the group some space. Although none of the riders were threatening any of the jersey classifications, Kaisen was close to the top of the Premio della Fuga ranking, which summed up the number of kilometres spent in breakaways.
As he led the breakaway across the Traguardo Volante sprint, in Indicatore after 103.4km, the peloton followed 4’06” behind them. With Rabobank and Team Sky controlling the peloton behind them, this lead gradually came down again; fluctuating between two and three minutes. It was 3’30” again as they approached the foot of the Poggio alla Croce, but down to two minutes as Kaisen led over the top.
It was then to fall steadily until, as the leaders passed through Vinci - the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci - with 40km to go, it was just sixteen.
Boaro attacks the break and leads the race into an attacking finishing circuit
With 31km to go, and with the peloton just ten seconds behind them, Boaro attacked the break. Saez gave chase, but could not catch the time trial specialist as he powered through the winding streets of Larciano. Kaisen, Delage and Denifl did not react, and were soon enveloped by the peloton.
Finally, with a bit of speed at the front of the race, the gap opened again and, with 25km to go Boaro was 42 seconds ahead of Saez, with the peloton at 1’05”. Team Sky handed the lead of the peloton over to Katusha and Liquigas-Cannondale, and the two teams soon caught Saez.
Across the line to start the 14.4km finishing circuit Boaro was still nine seconds clear, as Movistar led the front of the peloton behind him, but the Italian was finally caught with 13.8km to go, before he could start the final climb.
As the front of the peloton reached the early slopes Brett Lancaster (Orica-GreenEdge) broke free with local rider Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansolei-DCM), but Dennis Vanendert (Lotto-Belisol) attacked over the top. Selvaggi made his way up to the Belgian rider, before leaving him behind on the way up the climb.
Liquigas-Cannondale was leading the chase, as it passed Vanendert, but Visconti jumped with Gatto, Gasparotto and Vicioso, and passed Selvaggi before he could reach the top. Cunego chased across to them, but he had the Liquigas-Cannondale team on his tail; as he and Gasparotto sat up though, Caruso joined the lead group and they were a few seconds clear as they rode over the top.
Kreuziger managed to jump across on the descent, with Scarponi on his tail, but the peloton was never far behind them. Despite the efforts of Visconti, and the presence of Caruso, the Liquigas-Cannondale team was not keen on the presence of Kreuziger and Scarponi in the group, and pulled it back with 8km to go.
Into the final seven kilometres, Team Sky took up its usual station on the front, with Cavendish tucked in behind a line of six black, white and blue jerseys. With four to go the Saxo Bank team overtook the British line however, as several others began to move forward.
Team Sky has control again but the final corner is approaching
Inside the final three kilometres Team Sky took over again though, but a kilometre later - knowing that the run to the line would be complicated for the chasers - Ballan attacked. The former World champion was only able to get a few metres clear however, and he was was closed down with 1.4km to go; before the technical corners began.
Visconti brought stage nine winner Francisco Ventoso forward into the final kilometre but, as the penultimate, right-angled - corner approached, Team Sky took over the lead again.
Kennaugh led into the final corner with Vaikus just behind him but, as Thomas came around behind them, the two Team Sky riders almost became tangled against the barriers and came to a virtual standstill. Vaitkus - without red jersey wearing Orica-GreenEdge teammate Matt Goss, who’d been dropped on the climb - saw his own chance and opened up a long sprint.
As this was happening, Modolo came around the corner and his wheels slipped from under him; as the Colnago-CSF Inox rider slid towards the barriers a number of following riders also came down as they braked in haste.
Cavendish was baulked slightly by his teammates, and Ferrari took the chance to come around him and set off in pursuit of Vaitkus. Cavendish got going again, but was unable to find his usual speed as the Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela rider - briefly able to use Vaitkus as a lead out - pulled further away and punched the air as he crossed the line to take his maiden Giro victory. Chicchi managed to avoid the incident on the corner and managed to get his own sprint going, and overtook all-bar Ferrari on his way to the line.
Despite missing out on his third stage victory, with Goss out of the picture, Cavendish had the consolation of pulling on the Maglia Rossa that the Australian took from him on stage three.