In todays Giro d’Italia, 182km from Sulmona to Benevento the attack group managed to keep their distance from the bunch. While none of the top place riders in the GC were in the lead group to cause an upset – Michele Scarponi made the sprint finish look easy.
The lead group included Popovych and Zeits (Astana), Pate and Dean (Garmin), Bosisio (LPR), Scarponi and Bertolini (Diquigiovanni), Francesco Masciarelli (Acqua & Sapone), Cardenas (Barloworld), Voeckler (Bbox), Lopez Garcia (Caisse d’Epargne), Deignan (Cervelo), Visconti and Grabovskyy (ISD), Gavazzi (Lampre), Quinziato (Liquigas), Devenyns and Seeldrayers (Quick Step), Ljungblad (Silence-Lotto), L?vkvist and Siutsou (Columbia), Petrov (Katusha), McCartney and Bak (Saxo Bank), and Vorganov (Xacobeo). Which a strong lead on the bunch, the pace picked up towards the finish with 7 riders escaping and in the final stretch, with drafting or frantic tactics – Scarponi powered through with a comfortable win ahead of F?lix Cardenas and Danny Pate.
A little rain and slippery roads made riding tricky with a few falls including Deignan who also fell yesterday though managed to stay in touch with the lead group today. Zeits also some abrasions to was able to continue, "My left knee is a little banged up from a crash, but I was able to go in the break and stay there. I crashed on bad roads and it didn’t help that it was raining out. It should be ok and the doctor will take a look at it tonight."
Stage 19 tomorro is the last uphill finish though is none other than the vulcano Mt Vesuvius in the Gulf of Naples. Starting at Avellino, the riders have 164 kilometres including the 13km uphill finish with up to 12% inclines. This is a good chance for the Pink Jersey contenders to make their move.
Top Ten Results on Stage 18
1 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 4.07.41 (44.088 km/h)
2 F?lix Cardenas (Col) Barloworld
3 Danny Pate (USA) Garmin – Slipstream
4 Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Saxo Bank
5 Dmytro Grabovskyy (Ukr) ISD 0.06
6 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick Step 0.20
7 Jason McCartney (USA) Team Saxo Bank 0.24
8 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) ISD 0.37
9 Alessandro Bertolini (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 0.39
10 Gabriele Bosisio (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini 0.42
General Classification after Stage 18
1 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 76.40.02
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini 0.26
3 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 2.00
4 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 3.28
5 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 3.30
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 4.32
7 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – Highroad 7.05
8 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone – Caffe Mokambo 8.03
9 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale 9.58
10 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre – N.G.C. 10.33
