2002 Giro D'Italia
May 11 - June 2, 2002

Teams, Stages and results, Predictions

Previous Tours

Saturday, November 17, 2001. The 2002 Giro d'Italia route was revealed today. It will start in Holland. La Gazzetta provided a little statistical snapshot of of the coming Giro, and how it compares to the previous two races. Listed below are the teams, maps, individual stages and the climbs.

Monday, May 6. Today's La Gazzetta dello Sport had a short article about Saturday's start to the Giro. Here is a very loose translation of the first paragraphs.

"The Giro starts Saturday without any clear masters

20 stages and one prologue, 3 hilltop finishes, 2 time trials: these are the principal characteristics of a race that still remains uncertain.

Almost the same number of kilometers as last year, 3,334 versus 3,364, but 18 more in time-trials. 7 stages out of 20 total in the high and medium mountains, one less in respect to 2001 and 3 less compared to 2000, but with the same number of hill-top finishes, 3, and more meters in climbing, 18,200 meters compared to 17,223 of last season's race. 2 rest days instead of the 1 that characterized the last 2 Giros.

Here are the statistics of the 2002 Giro, running from May 11 to June 2. The departure is in Groeningen, Holland, in honor of the Unified Europe and its unified currency, with the customary arrival in Milan, the home of La Gazzetta dello Sport that has organized the Giro for 85 years. 20 stages plus a prologue time trial are designed to balance the flat and mountain stages, and offer all of the passionate fans as much emotion as possible. The whole point is to, at least on paper, for as long as possible thoughout the three weeks of the race, maintain the uncertainty and the possible upset in classification."

March 31: Here are the teams of 9 riders each entering the Giro. I will note their principal contenders as the teams make their plans known. Teams with an * are wild cards. I last updated this list on the evening of May 8:

Alessio: Gotti, Zanetti

Alexia* Savoldelli, Quaranta, Hamburger

Aqua Sapone*: Cipollini, Lombardi

Coast*: Escartin, Beltran, Guidi, Hoj (No Zulle) Some lists have Casero, but he has a bum knee.

Colpack*: Lunghi

CSC-Tiscali: Hamilton, Sastre

Fassa Bortolo: Casagrande, Belli, Bartoli, Honchar, Petacchi, Konyshev, Zanette. If Casagrande doesn't win it, it's not because he has a weak team.

Gerolsteiner*: Rebellin, Ruskys, Totschnig

Kelme: Vicioso

Lampre: Tonkov, Sciandri, Missaglia

Landbouwkrediet*: Sorensen, Popyvich

Lotto: Verbrugghe, McEwen, Van de Wouwer

Mapei: Garzelli, Bettini, Evans, Noe, Nardello, Hunter

Mercatone Uno*: Pantani

Mobilvetta-Formaggi Trentini*: Di Biase

Panaria: Perez-Cuapio. Figueras is out with a suspension.

Phonak*: Strazzer, Moos

Rabobank: Boogerd, De Jongh

Saeco*: Simoni, Sacchi.

Selle Italia*: Fredy Gonzalez, Hernan Dario Munoz

Tacconi: Frigo, Mazzoleni, Zampieri

Telekom: Hondo, Hundertmark, Kessler, Hepner

The Stages with the principle climbs noted There are 3 hill-top finishes; stages 11, 13, and 17.:

May 11 SATURDAY Prologue: GRONINGEN: (Individual time trial) Km 6.5.

Flat, but as the map shows below, highly technical. First rider departs 2:00 PM Dutch time (5:00 AM Pacific Daylight time). Last rider should finish at about 5:15 PM. The schedule shows an expected speed of between 47 kph and 51 kph. A rider riding at 47 kph will take 8min 18sec, at 51 kph: 7min 39sec.

Weather: Cool, overcast, no wind. The GC contenders rode conservatively on the tricky, slippery couse, trying not to crash (as Tyler Hamilton did) and not lose too much time. The course favored those that could sprint back up to speed rather than a big-gear crono specialist. La Gazzetta Dello Sport noted that there was a lot of bad luck in this stage. Cipollini flatted towards the end of his ride The soft tire stole precious seconds. Just as Gotti was taking off, a judge made him put on a helmet, costing him 10 seconds. Pellizzoti's tri-bars came loose just as he left the start gate, requiring a change to a non-crono bike. Stangelj crashed, breaking his collarbone. His Giro is over.

1. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Phonak) 8min 12sec

2. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 1sec

3. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 4sec

4. M. Buxhofer (Phonak) @ 8sec

5. Frank Hoj (Coast) @ 9sec

6. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) @ 10sec

7. Grischa Niermann (Rabobank) s.t.

8. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 13sec

9. Carlos Sastre (CSC Tiscali) s.t.

10 Torsten Hiekmann (Telekom) @ 14sec

11. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) s.t.

13. Mario Cipollini (Aqua Sapone) @ 15sec. Flat tire

18. Paolo Bettini (Mapei) @ 18sec

24. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) @ 19sec

27. Michele Bartoli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 20sec

28. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 20sec

31. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 21sec

53. Wladimir Belli (Fass Bortolo) @ 25sec

100. Tyler Hemilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 34sec crashed

104. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) s.t.

12 SUNDAY Stage 1: GRONINGEN - MÜNSTER Km 215

The stage is not quite dead flat, but close. Groningen is at 5 meters elevation, Munster is at 59 meters. This should be a sprinter's romp. The time bonus for winning a stage is 12 seconds. There is one Intergiro sprint that will give a 6 second bonus. The good sprinters, like McEwen and Cipollini are about 15 seconds down. I think Dominguez can hold onto the jersey for one day, but the Sprinters will be scrapping for the seconds to get the Pink before the hills. Three of the main 4 contenders (Frigo, Garzelli, Casagrande) ended up within a couple of seconds of each other. This bodes well for a good race of well-matched, very fit men

A crash in the final kilometers caused a split. Simoni and Casagrande were in the front group. In the second group Frigo, Casagrade, Hamilton, Gotti Tonkov and Pantani losing abut 25 and more seconds. Cipollini wins the Intergiro sprint as well as the final sprint, so the time bonuses put him in pink. Michele Bartoli is out of the Giro with broken leg from the crash.

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone) 5hr 37min 14sec

2. Graeme Brown (Panaria) s.t.

3. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) s.t.

4. Danilo Hondo (Telekom) s.t.

5. Sven Teutenberg (Phonak) s.t.

6. Robert Hunter (Mapei) s.t.

7. Miguel Meza (Colpack) s.t.

8. Mykhaylo Khalilov (Selle Italia)

9. Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) s.t.

10. Matteo Carrara (Colpack) s.t.

15. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) @ 4sec

18. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

22. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) s.t.

51. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 25sec

52. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) s.t.

69. Ivan Gotti (Alessio)s.t.

72. Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) s.t.

GC after stage 1:

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone)

2. Matthias Buxhofer (Phonak) @ 11sec

3. Frank Hoj (Coast) @ 12sec

4. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) @ 13sec

5. Paolo Bettini (Mapei) @ 20sec

6. Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) @ 20sec

7. Robert Hunter (Mapei) @ 21sec

8. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) @ 21sec

9. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) @ 22sec

17. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 26sec

25. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 37sec

37. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 48sec

38. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 29sec

50. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 54sec

61. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 2sec

95. Ivan Gotti (Alessio) @ 1min 14sec

120. Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) @ 1min 21sec

13 MONDAY Stage 2: KÖLN - ANS/LIEGE 209 Km

The Intergiro Sprint is at Kilometer 175.

The climbs. The Kleinhau and St. Nicolas are GPM climbs. The racers looking for the Green Climber's jersey start their hunt today.

Km 70: The Kleinhau, 401 meters elevation.

Km 205: Cote de Saint Nicolas (mt. 497) - 3.7 Kilometers of climbing - average gradient 10.57%. Pundits are split on whether this will put Cipollini out of pink with just a few kilometers to the finish, or if he can stay with the leaders. Everyone is expecting Bettini to make a move here.

Km 207:Ans sur Walthere Jamar (mt. 225) - 1.2 kilometers of climbing - average gradient 8.58%

Updated and corrected unofficial results:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 5hr 25min 12sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

3. Jens Heppner (Telekom) s.t.

4. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

5. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) s.t.

6. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) s.t.

7. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) s.t.

8. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 3sec

9. M. Khalilov (Selle Italia) s.t.

10. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Phonak) s.t.

11. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) s.t.

12. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) st.

89. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone) @ 1min 18sec

141. Ivan Gotti (Alessio) @ 3min 26sec

Corrected GC after stage 2:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 11hr 10min 45sec

2. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) @ 13sec

3. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 19sec

4. Juan Carlos Dominguez @ 21sec

5. Matthias Kessler (Telekom) @ 21sac

6. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 31

7. M. Khavilov (Phonak)@ 33sec

8. Mattthias Buxhofer (Phonak) @ 34sec

9. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 37sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 41sec

15. W. Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 47sec

19. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 52sec

21. Gilberto Simonin(Saeco) @ 52sec

30. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone) @ 1min 8sec

31. Paolo Savoldelli @ 1min 9sec

Points: 1st Cipollini (33 points), 2nd Garzelli (26 points)

Mountains: 1st Casagrande (5 points), 2nd Fredy Gonzalez (3 points), 3rd Garzelli (3 points)

On the St. Nicolas, Casagrande hits it hard and shatters the field. Over the top, the GPM is 1st Casgrande, 2nd Garzelli, 3rd Boogerd.

15 K to go. The run-in to Liege is fast, riders are getting shelled, including Ivan Gotti, who crashed earlier.

20 Kilometers to go, the two escapees are caught. All together.

About kilometer 180: Popovych makes a huge attack, Vierhouten bridges. They have 15 seconds. Mapei goes to the front.

Intergiro: 1st Fabrizio Guidi (Coast), 2nd Strazzer, 3rd Sciandri.

Km 153. The pair is caught.

Km 102 at the German-Belgian border, the stage half over. I. Berbrugge and H. Mesa Mesa lead the pack by 3min 52sec, down from 4min 30sec. The Acqua-Sapone Zebras lead the chase.

Stage 2, Km 70: Selle Italia's Vittoria-shoe wearing Fredy Gonzalez is starting right where he left off last year. He took the Giro's first GPM points on the Klienhau.

14 TUESDAY Stage 3: VERVIERS - ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE Km 213

This stage undulates a bit, but not enough to stop a pro sprinter. Quaranta will probably even be there. The stage starts at 165 meters elevation and climbs as high as 528 before ending at 296 meters. Cipo and McEwen and the other fast boys will be back at it today.

Km 22, first GPM climb, Cote de la Sauveniere, 570 meters elevation.
Km 74, race enters Luxembourg.
Km 112, second GPM climb, Um Knupp, 470 meters elevation.
Km 166, Intergiro sprint.

Weather: Torrential rains during the earlier part of the stage have stopped. Selle Italia's Contreras is sick and has retired from the race.

Unofficial results

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone) 5hr 46min 47sec

2. Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) s.t.

3. Danilo Hondo (telekom) s.t.

4. Isaac Galvez (Kelme) s.t.

5. M. Khalilov (Selle Italia) s.t.

6. Graeme Brown (Panaria) s.t.

7. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

8. Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) s.t.

9. Moreno Di Biase (Mobilvetta) s.t.

10. Sven Teutenberg (Phonak) s.t.

166. Ivan Quaranta @ 6min.

GC after Stage 3:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 16hr 57min 42sec

2. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) @ 13sec

3. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 19sec

4. Juan Carlos Dominguez @ 21sec

5. Matthias Kessler (Telekom) @ 27sec

6. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 31

7. M. Khavilov (Phonak)@ 31sec

8. Mattthias Buxhofer (Phonak) @ 34sec

9. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 37sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 41sec

14. Sergei Honchar (Fassa Bortolo) @ 47sec

19. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) @ 50sec

20. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 52sec

22. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 52sec

23. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 53sec

31. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 1min 9sec

57. Marco Pantani (Mercatone Uno) @ 1min 44sec

97. Julio Perez-Cuapio (Panaria) @ 3min 38sec

A perfectly timed sprint! No one came come around Cipollini for Giro stage win number 36.

15 km to go: Marc Streel is finally caught. His solo breakaway lasted 162 kilometers.

Km 72, near the Luxembourg border: Marc Streel (Landbouwkrediet) has an 18 minute lead on the field in a solo break and is the virtual Pink Jersey.

1st GPM: 1st Piccoli, 2nd Fredy Gonzalez, 3rd Marzoli

15 WEDNESDAY Stage 4: ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE - STRASBOURG Km 210

WEDNESDAY, May 15: Stage 4, ESCH-SUR-ALZETTE (Luxembourg) - STRASBOURG (France), 210 km. OK, this one is really flat. here's the schedule. It starts at 290 meters elevation in Luxembourg.

Km. 32: Race crosses in Germany.
Km 103: Intergiro sprint at Saarbrucken.
Km 122: Race enters France, feed zone.
Km 165: GPM climb, La Petite-Pierre, 339 meter elevation.
Km 232: Finishes at Strasbourg, 139 meters elevation.

Results:

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 5hr 37min 13sec

2. Mario Cipollini(Acqua Sapone) s.t.

3. Enrico Degano (Panaria) s.t.

4. Graeme Brown (Panaria) s.t.

5. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo)s.t.

6. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast)s.t.

7. A Vierhouten (Lotto)s.t.

8. Sven Teutenberg (Phonak) s.t.

9. M. Strazzer (Phonak) s.t.

10. Moreno Di Biase (Mobilvetta-Trentino) s.t.

GC after Stage 4:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei)

2. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) @ 9sec

3. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 19sec

4. Juan Carlos Dominguez @ 21sec

5. Matthias Kessler (Telekom) @ 27sec

6. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 31

7. M. Khavilov (Phonak)@ 31sec

8. Mattthias Buxhofer (Phonak) @ 34sec

9. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 37sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 41sec

Points leader: Mario Cipollini
Intergiro Leader: Massimo Strazzer
Mountains Leader: Francesco Casgrande

Last kilometer, Acqua and Telekom keep the speed up. McEwen is on Cipolllni's wheel. McEwen beats Cipo by inches. Garzelli takes the Pink Jersey to Italy when the Giro resumes on friday.

35 km to go, the breakaways are caught.

Km 165. Contrini takes the GPM climb, Konyshev gets 2nd. Their lead is now 1 min 30sec. From the field Marzoli (Trentini-Mobilvetta) takes the remaining GPM place.

Km 132, 100 to go: Lead grows to 2 minutes.

Km 113: Daniele Contrini (Gerolsteiner) and Dimitri Konyshev (Fassa Bortolo) broke away after the Intergiro and have a lead of 26sec.

At kilometer 103, Strazzer takes the Intergiro sprint, Guidi is 2nd, Klemencic is third. The pack is together.

16 THURSDAY:REST DAY

FRIDAY, May 17: Stage 5, FOSSANO - LIMONE PIEMONTE, 143 km. Live updates are listed under the stage maps below. The race takes place just south-south west of Torino in Northwestern Italy. The finish at Limone Piemonte is almost due north of Monaco. With a hilltop finish and the tough Colleto del Moro, as more than one writer has noted, the Giro may not be won today, but it can surely be lost today. The Intergiro Sprint will be at km 96.5, just after the Rossano climb. Here are the major climbs:

Km 84.5: Colletto di Rossana (mt. 617) - Km. 6 of climbing - average gradient 2.85%

Km 127.5: Colletto del Moro (mt. 949) - Km.3 of climbing - average gradient 11.60%. Most pundits think this is the climb that will decide the stage.

Km. 150: Limone Piemonte (mt. 1407) - Km.10 of climbing - average gradient 4%. Hill-top finish.

Unofffical Results:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 3hr 46min 45sec

2. S. Perez-Fernandez (Kelme) s.t.

3. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) s.t.

4. Franceso Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

5. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 7sec

6. Fernando Escartin (Coast) s.t.

7. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Kelme) @ 9sec

8. Ivan Gotti (Alessio) s.t.

9. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) s.t.

10. Michele Scarponi (Acqua Sapone) @ 14sec

11. Pavel Tonkov (Lampre) s.t.

14. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 17sec

GC after Stage 5:

1. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 26hr 21min 28sec

2. Francesco Casgrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 43sec

3. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 1min

4. Perez Fernandez @ 1min 3sec

5. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1min 6sec

6. J C Dominguez (Phonak) @ 1min 10sec

7. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 1min 11sec

8. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 13sec

9. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 1min 14ec

10. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) @ 1min 19sec

12. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 1min 29sec

15. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 1min 35sec

16. Paolo Savoldelli @ 1min 38sec

Here is a rough translation from a story about the stage in Thursday's La Gazzetta Dello Sport:

"The first GPM (climber's prize) comes after 84 kilometers in the middle of the race in Colletto di Rossana. It is a 3rd category climb, 2.2 kilometers long, and gains 617 meters in elevation. After 127.5 kilometers they come up against the Colletto del Moro with a 940 meter elevation gain. It is a 2nd category, but there are places where the gradient is terrible. There are 3.9 kilometers of climbing on a road that is only 2 to 3.5 meters wide (Chairman Bill's note: This road is so small it doesn't even show up on the good TCI Italian maps), with an average gradient of 8.8%, with places at 21%. The climb begins at Cerati which is 25.3 kilometers from the finish line. The gradient goes gradually to 8%, then descends at 5.3%. Then the road climbs with gradients of up to 21%.

The final climb begins 14.2 kilomteres from the finish in Vernante with a very difficult part that begins 7.8 kilometers from the summit. It arrives in Panice Soprana, 1,400 meters high. After having ridden an average gradient of 4.4% with a maximum of 10% and having gained 621 meters of elevation, the first 7.6 kilometers of the final climbs have a gradient of between 0.4% and 4.1%. Then the road goes up decisively going to 8.3% for 300 meters between kilometers 8.85 and 9.15 of the final climb, then 7.9% between kilometers 13.61 and 14.2. The finish is 7.7%. The finish is not extremely difficult because of the good condition of the road. It is likely that the race will be decided on the Colletto del Moro.

Garzelli wins the stage!

Garzelli leads the chase, and his form is awsome as he blows by.

Within 2 km to go, Garate (Lampre) goes after Pelizotti

Less than 3 km to go. Pelizotti (Alessio) goes. Cadel Evans leads the pack in chase

De Los Angeles (Kelme) goes and passes Laverde. Hamilton takes a pull. Together again.

Laverde (Mobilvetta-Trentini) has attacked and is gone. No reaction at 5 km to go

6 km to go, a bunch of Mapei riders lead Garzelli. Bettini sits up on the climb. He's done and will roll on in and save his strenth for another day.

Lead group is about 40 riders now.

10 km to go: Savoldelli, Gotti, Savoldelli, Rebellin, Frigo, Tonkov have closed the gap. The lead group is big with all the contenders. Hamilton is riding Sastre's bike. He look beat up but OK.

The chasers with Frigo is 25sec behind the Pink jersey lead group of about 12

Bettini hammering away at the front of the lead group. Fernandez of Kelme has joined the lead group.. Hamilton, who is 100% courage, has joined the leaders

After the descent, a group of 6 with Bettini, Garzelli, Belli, Simoni, Hiekmann Casgrande, Simoni. A chase Group with Hamilton, Evans who has crashed hard and some Gerolsteiners with Rebellin are chasing hard at 30sec

Chase goup of Gerolsteiner

1st over the Moro: 1st Bettini, 2nd Hiekmann, 3rd Garzelli. The break is gone. Casagrande, Simoni and Hamilton are right there. The field is shattered

Leading the pack: Evans, Garzelli, Casagrande, Simoni, Hamilton.

25 km to go: Gap is 38sec. Casagrande and Garzelli are at the front of the pack at the serious climbing starts. Garzelli is setting tempo the front of the pack. Simoni is up at the front. Bettini is blasting off the front of the break. This is really steep.

30 km to go, 4 km to the climb, break advantage 2min. Pack looks strung out now, break less organized.

35 to go, break still has 2min 30sec advantage. Bettini would love to be way up the road for Garzelli for the crucial climbs. Lampre is pulling the pack

43 to go, advantage of the breakaway, 2min 30sec.

50 km to go: 13 riders off the front, including Bettini, Sacchi, Piccoli (no GC contenders) have a 42sec lead.

Intergiro: It looks like it came back together. 1st Strazzer, 2nd Guidi, 3rd Graeme Brown. 42.5 km/hr average for the first 2 hours

Km 85, first GPM: 1st Mesa Mesa, 2nd Nardello, 3rd Faresin. Group of 8 @ 16sec, Pink jersey group at 33sec.

Kilometer 70: It's starting to go up a bit now. 1st hours average speed was 42,1 km/hr. Lotto's Van Lancker has abandoned. Rabo's Veneberg has an 18 second advantage as constant attempts to breakaway are quickly snuffed out. Oops, now he's caught.

Stage 5, Kilometer 40: All together. There was a crash at km 28, but all regained the pack. There are 4 non-starters today; Danilo Honod, whose mother died, Secchiari and Clavero who crashed in stage 4, and Romano who has pain in his wrist.

Saturday, May 18: Stage 6, Cuneo - Varazze, 191 kilometers.

Km 48: Intergiro Sprint
Km 113: Feed Zone
Km 151: GPM climb, the Bric Berton, 773 773 meters elevation.

Unofficlal Results:

1. Giovanni Lombardy (Acqua Sapone) 4hr 56min 43sec

2. Ruggero Marzoli (Mobilvetta-Trentini) s.t.

3. Bert Grabsch (Phonak) s.t.

4. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) s.t.

5. Angel Vicioso (Kelme) s.t.

6. Yaroslav Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) s.t.

7. Jens Heppner (Telekom) s.t.

8. Mario Piccoli (Lampre) s.t.

9. Francisco Leon Mane (Kelme) @ 18sec

10. Thorwarld Veneberg (Rabobank) s.t.

13. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 21sec

14. Myhaylo Khalilov (selle Italia) @ 5min 5sec

GC after Stage 6:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 31hr 19min 45sec

2. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 3min 33sec

3. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 43sec

4. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 3min 45sec

5. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 3min 57sec

7. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 16sec

8. Paolo SAvoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 27sec

9. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 4min 33sec

11. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 39sec

14. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 4min 46sec

15. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 4min 47sec

17. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) @ 4min 52sec

18. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 5min 2sec

20. Michael Boogerd Rabobank) @ 5min 8sec

Lombardi (Acqua Sapone) wins. Jens Heppner is almost certainly the new Pink Jersey. Pack comes in at 5min 5sec

Km 151: The GPM climb, Bric Berton: 1st Marzoli, 2nd Popovych, 3rd Piccoli. The 12 man break is holding at about 6 minutes. I think they're gone for the day. It's still raining.

Km 125: 12 riders have a 7min 27sec lead on the field. The group includes Popovych, Mazzoleni, Lombardi, Piccoli and Jens Heppner, who is the virtual Pink Jersey on the road.

It's raining. Strazzer took the Intergiro followed by Guidi and Streel.

19 SUNDAY Stage 7:CIRCUITO DELLA VERSILIA Km 159

Sunday, May 19: Stage 7, CIRCUIT of VERSILIA, 159 Km. Three times around the big loop on the map below. Viareggio is just north of Pisa on the west coast of Italy. Camaiore (not Lido di Camaiore which is on the coast) is just at the western edge of the Apuan Alps, the mountains that sit just north of Lucca.

Kilometer 59: Intergiro Sprint at the start of the 2nd lap.

Kilometer 88: GPM climb the 2nd time up the Colli di Pedona (mt. 315) - Km.5.8 of climbing - average gradient 4.91%

Kilometer 106: feed zone.

Unofficial Results:

1. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) 4hr 3min 59sec

2. Raphael Schweda (Coast) @ 59sec

3. Cristian Moreni (Alessio)s.t.

3. Max Sciandri (Lampre) @ 1min 2sec

5. Gianni Faresin (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

6. Oscar Periero (Phonak) s.t.

7. Denis Lunghi (Colpack) s.t.

8. Dario Cioni (Mapei) @ 1min 8sec

9. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) S 1min 46sec

10. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) s.t.

GC after Stage 7:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 35hr 25min 30sec

2. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 3min 33sec

3. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 43sec

4. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 3min 45sec

5. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 3min 57sec

6. Angel Vicioso (Kelme) @ 4min 9sec

7. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 16sec

8. Paolo SAvoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 27sec

9. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 4min 33sec

11. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 39sec

14. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 4min 46sec

15. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 4min 47sec

17. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) @ 4min 52sec

18. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 5min 2sec

20. Michael Boogerd Rabobank) @ 5min 8sec
Mountains leader: Stefano Garzelli (Mapei)
Points Leader: Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone)

Verbrugghe (Lotto) holds on to the end for a solo win.

Final time up the hill. The break blows up. Verbrugghe gets away and screams down the hill.

Km 120: 10 riders got off the front when the pack went through Viareggio. The break is working well together and they have increased their lead to about 1min 30sec. In the break are some good tough guys; Verbrugghe, Lunghi, Faresin, Sciandri and Tosatto.

Km 88: GPM climb: 1st Jose Castelblance of Selle Italia, 2nd Dario Cioni, 3rd Francesco Casagrande. Astonishingly, Paolo Bettini is in trouble and has come off.

Km 59: Intergiro sprint. 1st Ivan Quaranter, 2nd Strazzer, 3rd Di Biase.

Saturday, May 18: News. Stefano Garzelli, the current leader in the Giro failed the dope test after stage 2 into Liege. He has been found to be "non-negative" for Probenicid, a banned diuretic that can be used to mask other drugs. He will be allowed to continue in the Giro until a second counter-analysis is performed. This does have my "Baloney Radar" screaming. This drug is old and has been easily detectable for over a decade. It would be the height of stupidity to take it. The amounts found in Garzelli's system are said to be minute. The drugs it is intended to mask (steroids) are no longer the choice of cheats. A diuretic can also raise the hematocrit reading, and that is one of the things the testers are really watching. There will be more to this story.

Another positive (let's drop the Orwellian Newspeak): Roberto Sgambelluri (Mercatone Uno) for a new version of EPO called NESP. Three Panaria riders didn't start as part of that ongoing nightmare; Zakirov, Chesini, and Perfetto. To add to Panaria's woes, Graeme Brown had to withdraw from the Giro with a bad tendon.

20 MONDAY Stage 8:CAPANNORI - ORVIETO Km 224

Monday, May 20: Stage 8, CAPANNORI - ORVIETO, 237 Km. This is a long haul of a ride, the longest stage of the Giro. Capannori is just east of Lucca in Tuscany. The southeast route they take will cut right through the Chianti country by Siena. They will be riding down normal, primary roads until the GPM climb at Radicofani, where they take a detour off Route #2. Parts of the climb are in the 7%-12% range. After the descent, the rejoin Route #2. Just before Lake Bolsena, now in Umbria, just short of the finish at Orvieto they cut east for a gentler approach to Orvieto. This avoids the tough ride from the city of Bolsena. But, lovely Orvieto sits up on a hill. The climb from the lower part of the city to the city proper is a short, tough one. The elevation change is 156 meters in 4 kilometers.

Km 114: Feed zone.
Km 127: Intergiro sprint at Buonconvento (Changed, see below).
Km 170: GPM climb at Radicofani (716 meters elevation).
Km. 191.1 Intergiro Sprint. La Gazzetta says that the Intergiro has ben moved to a spot a bit after the GPM climb .

Unofficial Results:

1. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) 5hr 47min 54sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4sec

3. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) s.t.

4. Juan Garate (Lampre)s.t.

5. Cristian Moreni (Alessio) s.t.

6. Roggero Marzoli (Mobilvetta-Trentini) s.t.

7. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi)s.t.

8. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

9. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) s.t.

10. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) s.t.

GC after Stage 8. Things changed a bit from yesterday:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 41hr 13min 28sec

2. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 3min 33sec

3. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 43sec

4. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 3min 57sec

5. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 8sec

6. Angel Vicioso (Kelme) @ 4min 9sec

7. Paolo SAvoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 27sec

8. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 4min 33sec

9. Wladimir Bell (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 39sec

10. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 4min 41sec

3km to go. Guidi sits up. He's caught. The field is just screamingly fast.

6K. Gap is 1min 11sec

15 km to go. Strazzer and Petacchi have been caught. Guidi has 2min 20sec.

22Km to go: Guidi has left his two breakaway companions. He is alone with 3min 20 seconds on the pack. Strazzer and Petacchi are in the middle, 1 min 30 seconds away from the group. Gerolsteiner and Saeco are leading and the speed is increasing.

Km 191: Strazzer takes the Intergiro without any fight from his breakaway companions. Guidi is 2nd, Petcchi is 3rd. The pack passes through at 4min 3sec. None of the the 3 are GC threats. Guidi is the highest placed at almost 8 minutes down.

Km 170: Petacchi take the GPM, Guidi is 2nd and Strazzer is 3rd. The trio is still 5 minutes ahead of a pack being lead by Telekom.

Km 127: Going through Buonconvento, Guidi, Strazzer and Guidi have a lead on the pack of 4min 55sec. The break, whoich started at km 67 was at one time almost 6min.

21 TUESDAY Stage 9: TIVOLI - CASERTA Km 208

TUESDAY, May 21: Stage 9, TIVOLI - CASERTA, 208 km. The race does a transfer from Orvieto in Umbria to Tivoli in Lazio, just a few kilometers east of Rome. Tivoli has been a holiday playground since Roman times. The race will head southeast through Lazio and then into Campania for the finish at Caserta. they will pass between various Apennine hills on either side, keeping to the flat valley. They'll get the slightest taste of climbing when they hit Palestina at km 21. They'll go to 418 meters elevation.

Km 73: Intergiro Sprint at Frosinone.
Km 109: Feed Zone
There is no GPM climb on this stgae.

Unofficial Results:

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua sapone), #37. 4hr 38min 56sec

2. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) s.t.

3. Cristian Moreni s.t.

4. Guidi s.t.

5. Ivan Quaranta s.t.

6. Furlan s.t.

7. Di Biase s.t.

8. Khalilov s.t.

9. Sven Teutenberg s.t.

GC after stage 9. No change.

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 45hr 52min 24sec

2. Stefano Garzelli (Mapei) 3min 33sec

3. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 43sec

4. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 3min 57sec

5. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 8sec

6. Angel Vicioso (Kelme) @ 4min 9sec

7. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 27sec

8. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 4min 33sec

24k to go: All together.

30 km to go. Gualdi took off from his two companions. They have been caught by the field and Gualdi has a shrinking 30sec lead on the pack.

70 km to go: 3 riders Mariano Piccoli, Domenico Gualdi and Ruben Maruin broke away at the 16km mark. They are still away, but their lead is shrinking and it is now under 3 minutes. They took the first 3 Intergiro places: 1st Piccoli, 2nd Marin, 3rd Gualdi.

22 WEDNESDAY Stage 10: MADDALONI - BENEVENTO Km 151

Tuesday, May 21. Stefano Garzelli's second sample confirmed the presence of of an infintesimal amount of Probenicid in his system, a banned diuretic used to mask other drugs. The Giro will start Wednesday without him.

WEDNESDAY, May 22: Stage 10, MADDALONI - BENEVENTO, 118 km. Maddaloni is just a few kilometers southeast of yesterday's finishing city, Caseta. We're sitting just north Of Naples. This is really hilly terrain,but most of the tough possiblities are being avoided. That's for tomorrow.

Km 0: Race starts at Maddaloni, elevation 58 meters.
Km 39: GPM climb, Monteforte Irpino, 519 meters elevation.
Km 48: Intergiro Sproint at Avellino, elevation 348 meters.
Km 106: Start of the first of three 5.7 km circuits in Benevento, elevation, 135 meters.

Weather for Wednesday's stage, windless and hot (30c).

Unofficial Results:

1. Robbie McEwen (Lotto) 2hr 57min 24sec

2. Fabrizio Guidi (Coast) s.t.

3. Giovanni Lombardi (Acqua Sapone) s.t.

4. M. Khalilov (Selle Italia) s.t.

5. Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) s.t.

6. Cristian Moreni (Alessio) s.t.

7. Mariano Piccoli (Lampre)s.t.

8. Uros Murn (Mobilvetta-Trentino) s.t.

9. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) s.t.

10. Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

GC after Stage 10:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 48hr 49min 48sec

2. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 50sec

3. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 3min 57sec

4. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 8sec

5. Angel Vicioso (Kelme) @ 4min 9sec

6. Paolo Saoldelli (Alexia) @ 4min 27sec

7. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 4min 29sec

8. Wladimir Belli (fassa Bortolo) @ 4min 39sec

9. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 4min 41sec

10. Juan Carlos Dominguez (Phonak) @ 4min 43sec

New Mountains Leader: Ruggero Marzoli
Points Leader: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)

18 Km to go: They race is together at the start of the the three circuits of Benevento.

60 Km to go: The race started without Stefano Garzelli. It's all together.

GPM climb: 1st Castelblanco (Selle Italia), 2nd Ruggero Marzoli (Mobilvetta-Trentino), 3rd Denis Lunghi (Colpack).

Intergiro Sprint: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak), 2nd Fabrizio Guidi (Coast), Conte (Saeco) 3rd.

23 THURSDAY Stage 11: BENEVENTO - CAMPITELLO MATESE Km 136

Wednesday, May 22: Gilberto Simoni was found "non-negative" for Cocaine at the Giro del Trentino. Cocaine is a banned stimulant. Simoni says that he went to the dentist the day before the test. Speculation is that perhaps the anesthetic contained traces of cocaine. If confirmed, he will still be allowed to complete the Giro, because the testing was before, not during the Giro. And, La Gazzetta Dello Sport reports that the substances labeled "hemassist" found in Dario Frigo's luggage during last year's Giro Blitz were not drugs, but salt water.

Thursday, May 23: Stage 11, Benevento - Campitello Matese, 140 km. I look at the map of the area and see so many towns have names that start with "Monte": Montecalo, Montefalcone, Montecorvino, Monteverde. That should be the first clue about the area in which this stage will be contested. We are in the mountains. Starting at Benevento (elevation 155 meters), the race heads north. It looks like the 1st 56 kilometers follows the crestline rather than the valley floor. This whole part is just a long grind uphill. Then, things ease up a bit as the route circles to the west through Campobasso and downhill a bit to Bojano (km 120, Intergiro sprint). We are now in the Matese Mountains. Then, the climb. From Bojano, elevation 482 meters, the final 19.5 km rises 948 meters to 1,430 meters. The final 13.5 kms are the real climb. The average gradient is 6%. This will sort things out. With Garzelli gone, Heppner has a bigger cushion. Can he keep the pink another day?

Unofficial Results:

1. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) 4hr 3min 37sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

3. Franco Pellizotti (Alessio) @ 4sec

4. Fernando Escartin (Coast) s.t.

5. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) s.t.

6. Andrea Noe (Mapei) s.t.

7. Joaquim Castelblanco (Selle Italia) s.t.

8. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) s.t.

9. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) s.t.

10. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) s.t.

GC after Stage 11:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 52hr 54min 27sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 2min 58sec

3. Gilberto Simoni (Saeco) @ 3min 15sec

4. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 3min 43sec

5. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 3min 43sec

6. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 3min 46sec

7. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 50sec

8. Wladimir belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 3min 55sec

9. Aitor Gonzalez-Jimenez (Kelme) @ 3min 58sec

10. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 4min 4sec

11. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 4min 4sec

14. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 4min 26sec

Weather for stage 11: here's what La Gazzetta Dello Sport says: "The heat is heavy, with a lot of humidity, but the sky is cloudy."

4K to go: Verbrugghe back in the pack. the two Latinos are battling off the front. Simoni takes a hard pull, can see the two off the front and has reduced the field to the best. I think Hepnner is still there. Ausgezeichnet!

6k to go: Breakaways caught. Perez-Cuapio, Castelblanco and Verbrugghe are a little off the front of a hugely reduced pack on the final kms of the climb.

20 km to go: Through Bojano, the lead has dropped to under 4 minutes.

Km 98: The two breakaways have increased thier lead to 8 minutes. Fassa has come to the front of the pack. Is Casagradne trying to set things up for a stage win and a Pink Jersey?

Km 70: Renzo Mazzolei (Colpack) and Steve Zampieri (Tacconi) broke away at km 19 and have a 6min 50sec lead on the pack Neither is a GC threat to Heppner. Telekom is leading the chase.

Friday, May 24: Stage 12, Campobasso - Chieti, 200 km. Oh, this is a leg-buster of a stage. Take a look at the profile It is a very long stage with a constant up and down. It starts at Campbasso (elevation 700 meters) at 11:35 AM. We're still just a bit south of Rome. The race circles to the west through Bojano, which was the entrance to the final climb on yesterday's stage. Then, the race heads north hitting the first GPM climb at Km 55, Valico del Macerone. This road just snakes and winds around. Then, at km 67, the second of the 2 GPM climbs, the Valico di Rionero Sannitico (1,057 meters). The hits keep coming. After that, it is a delightful romp through the Maiella Mountains to wind up near the Adriatic Coast in Chieti, with 2 tough circuits.

Unofficial Results:

1. Denis Lunghi (Colpack)

2. Bert Grabsch (Phonak) @ 36sec

3. Lorenzo Bernucci (Landbouwkrediet) @ 38sec

4. Alessandro Bertolini (Alessio) @ 54sec

5. Matthias Buxhofer (Phonak) s.t.

6. Peter Wrolich (Gerolsteiner) @ 3min 43sec

7. Mykhaylo Khalilov (Selle Italia) @ 7min 47sec

8. Mariano Piccoli (Lampre) s.t.

9. Alexandre Moos (Phonak) s.t.

10. J. Freddy Garcia (Selle Italia) s.t.

GC after Stage 12:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 58hr 40min 30sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 2min 58sec

3. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 3min 43sec

4. Pietro Caucchioli @ 3min43sec

5. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 3min 46sec

6. Y. Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 3min 50sec

7. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 3min 55sec

8. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) @ 3min 58sec

9. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 4min

10. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 4min 3sec

13. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 4min 26sec

Mountains leader: Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo)
Points leader: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)
Intergiro leader: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) Cmbativity leader: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)
Team leader in GC: Alessio

The gap between Lunghi and the pack is approaching 5 minutes.

On the first of two wet finishing circuits of Chieti: Denis lunghi alone, @ 40 sec Bertolini, Bernucci, Buxhofer, Grabsch. A very reduced field follows at about a minute.

60 km to go. It's raining and 60F. 6 riders are off the front: Bertolini, Buxhofer, Grabsch, Bernucci, Wrolich and Denis Lunghi with a lead of about 4 minutes.

Stage 12, Km 95: Intergiro sprint: 1st Michael Boogerd, 2nd Dario Frigo, 3rd Khalilov.

2nd GPM climb: Castelblbanco, 2nd Munoz, 3rd Ramirez Calderon.

1st GPM climb: Marzoli,2nd Castelblanco, 3rd Perales.

A lot of racers have quit the race today. There is Simoni's withdrawal, of course. Also Mercatone Uno pulled Sgambelluri after his test showed NESD (the new EPO). Ivan Quaranta called it quits as did Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) and Van Dijk (Lotto).

Valico il Macerone (mt. 787) - Km. 5.7 of climbing - average gradient 6.38%

Roccaraso (mt. 1236) - Km. 8.8 of climbing - average gradient 5.1%

Saturday, May 25: Stage 13, Chieti - San Giacomo (Monti della Laga), 190 km. This stage and Suinday's individual time trial should really shake up the standings. Stage 13 deaprts at noon from Chieti, elevation 39 meters. They head towards the coast and ride north up the Adriatic seasise until Giulianova. then, they head east, inland. It's at this point that the road tilts upward. After heading on this nice straight road, they turn off to the north and start discovering the beauty of the Gran Sasso National Park and the Laga Mountains. I suspect there will be very few nature lovers in the pack for this tough, tough stage The hill-top finish at San Giacomo will really let us know who has the climbing suds. Will Hamilton and Frigo be there with Casagrande?

Km 100: Intergio sprint at Toricella Sicura, elevation 450.
Km 121: Pagliaroli (mt. 980) - Km. 14.2 of climbing - average gradient 4.8%
Km 151: 1st GPM clim, Ceppo, 1,334 meters elevation, 7.3 km of climbing - average gradient 4.44%.
Km 178, the race drops to 443 meters elevation.
Km 190: GPM climb and hill top finish at San Giacomo, 7.3 km of climbing - average gradient 4.44%

Results.

1. Julio Perez Cuapio (Panraia) 5hr 4min 2sec

2. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 13sec

3. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 17sec

4. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 19sec

5. Fernando Escartin (Coast) s.t.

6. Franco Pellizzotti (Alesio) s.t.

7. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 22sec

8. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) s.t.

9. Ivan Gotti (Alessio) @ 22sec

10. Aitor Gonzalez-Jimenez (Kelme) s.t.

11. Juan Garate (Lampre) s.t.

12. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 31sec

13. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) s.t.

14. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) s.t.

15. Pavel Tonkov (Lampre)@ 41sec

16. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) s.t.

GC after stage 13:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 63hr 46min 1sec

2. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1min 48sec

3. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 2min 36sec

4. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 2min 37sec

5. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 2min 39sec

6. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 2min 44sec

7. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 2min 45sec

8. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez @ 2min 51sec

9. Wladimir Belli (Fassa Bortolo) @ 3min 7sec

10. Franco Pellizotti (Alessio) @ 3min 38sec

11. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 3min 38sec

Mountains Leader: Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo)
Points Leader:Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)
Team GC leader: Alessio

9Km to go, on the fnal climb: Lotz i sstill alone with something like 3 minutes and shrinking. Behind him are Kessler, Piccoli, Peiero strung out and slightly in front of the field. Rasmussen had been chasing Lotz but actually got off his bike with what looks like leg cramps.

36 Km to go. Lotz took the GPM climb at Ceppo, Castelblanco 2nd at 2min 20sec, 3rd Casagrande.

50 Km to go: Lotz is still away and on the climb to Ceppo. At 6min 45sec behind him are seven riders: De Paoli, Cioni, De Los Angeles, Munoz, Mazzoleni, La Verde, Moreni. A fast moving, motivated pack. Did Frigo send Eddy Mazzoleni up ahead for a big move? CSC-Tiscali riders have been leading the pack's chase. Tyler Hamilton must be feeling good today.

Stage 13, Km 100: Mark Lotz has passed the Intergiro point with a lead of about 9min 35sec. 160 riders started today. Giro management has recalculated the Mountains jersey points and awarded it to Casagrande. After Friday's stage, they had given it to Castelblanco of Selle Italia.

Friday, May 24: Saeco has decided to withdraw Gilberto Simoni from the Giro. Although he can continue racing under UCI rules after his "non-negative" for cocaine, Saeco management has pulled the winner of last year's Giro from the race.

Sunday, May 26: Stage 14, Numana 303.3 km Individual Time Trial. The race has moved north a bit. We're in the area of Italy known as "The Marches", or Le Marche, on the Adriatic Coast. The latitude is about the same as Arezzo. This is not a "put it in the 150 inch gear and go" time trial. It's a real bike rider's test. There is 539 meters of elevation gain. One small section is 16%. A look at the map below wil also show that there will be some bike handling involved as well. The first rider will be off at 1:00 PM Italian time, and the last rider should finish at about 5:15 PM. I think Hamilton and Frigo will move up a lot in GC given their proven TT skills. They may both surpass Casagrande. And let's not forget Cadel Evans. He got 5th in the fnal time trial at Romandie. Did Casagrande peak 2 weeks too soon for a 3 week tour? He was commanding at the Giro del Trentino while the others were riding into shape. Is he a bit stale now or is it the bronchitis that he says he has? We might be seeing 2000 all over again.

Results for Stage 14:

1. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) 41min 21sec

2. Sergei Honchar (Fassa Bortolo) @ 31sec

3. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 41sec

4. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 53sec

5. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Kelme) @ 56sec

6. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) s.t.

7. Dario Cioni (Mapei) @ 1min 2sec

8. J. M. Garate (lampre) @ 1min 8sec

9. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

10. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 1min 16sec

14. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) ! 1min 36sec

15. Fernando Escartin (Coast) s.t.

18. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1min 51sec

GC After Stage 14:

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom) 64hr 29min 54sec

2. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 48sec

3. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 6sec

4. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1min 7sec

5. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 1min 11sec

6. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Kelme) @ 1min 15sec

7. Pietro Caucchioli (Alesso) @ 1min 26sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 1min 40sec

9. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 1min 49sec

10. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 2min 13sec

27 MONDAY :REST DAY

Tuesday, May 28: NEWS! Francesco Casagrande has been tossed from the Giro. On Today's GPM climb, Casagrande was ruled to have forced John Freddy Garcia (Selle Italia) into the barriers, causing a bad crash. Garcia required 30 stitches and is out of the race. The race jury's decision was unanimous.

Tuesday, May 28: Celestino Vercelli, 5-time Giro and 2-time Tour finisher and owner of Vittoria Shoes sent me his thoughts about the Giro:

"We are now in the last week of the Giro, the decisive stage for determining the victor. We await two very hard consecutive stages on the big Dolomite slopes followed by the truth of the individual time trial.

If the old continent has been the cradle of cycling, with its legendary champions, now the USA can boast another great champion in addition to Armstrong.. Hamilton, in fact, is proving to be a great rider, strong in both the chrono and the climbs. Perhaps victory in the Giro will go to him along with an equal chance to Dario Frigo.

Frigo, if we think of his disqualifiacation and all that he suffered during the eight months without racing, is showing all of his character and determination. We don't wish to take anything away from the other favorites, Casagrande and Evans. Evans is a big surprise. His recent passage from ATM to road, considering that he is not accustomed to stage races, is runnning very well.

A great future awaits him.

We wait for the best.

Saluti,

Celstino."

Tuesday, May 28: Stage 15, Terme Euganee - Conigliano, 156 km.

Results:

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone)

2. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Kelme) s.t.

3. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

4. Steven De Jongh (Rabobank) s.t.

5. Zoran Klemencik (Tacconi) s.t.

GC after Stage 15

1. Jens Heppner (Telekom)

2. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 48sec

3. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 6sec

4. Francesco Casagrande (Fassa Bortolo) @ 1min 7sec

5. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 1min 11sec

6. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Kelme) @ 1min 15sec

7. Pietro Caucchioli (Alesso) @ 1min 26sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 1min 40sec

9. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 1min 49sec

10. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 2min 13sec

60 km to go: It's raining. Thierry Marichal (Lotto) is alone and away by 1min 42sec. Joaquim Castelblanco took the GPM climb at km 20, followed by Casagrande and Hernan Dario Munoz.

This should be a sprinter's romp. Starting just west of Padua (a few kilometers west of Venice), the race will stay mostly on the flat lands of the alluvial plains of the Po and Piave rivers in the region of Italy known as Veneto. An Italian friend once explained the passion the people of Veneto have for bikes by holding out his bare arm and saying "bikes are in their blood". They'll do three circuits in the beautiful city of Conigliano (home of Modolo bars and stems). Another one for Supermario?

But, what is on everyone's mind are Wednesday's and Thursday's stages in the high mountains. With about a minute seperating the real GC men (Cadel Evans is 2nd in GC and is only 1min 1sec ahead of Paolo Savoldelli, 9th in GC), this is anybody's race. With a 40 km ITT coming on Saturday, Tyler Hamilton is in a very fine position. Casagrande, Escartin and the other contenders for GC that do not have good TT abilites will have to take real time out of him in the mountains. Casagrande will need at least a couple of minutes in hand for the final TT since that's about what he lost Sunday. This sounds hard to me. Frigo is a big question mark. He hurt his already tender knee before Sunday's TT. Will he be ready to the booming attacks that are to come. Will he be able to dish it out? I can't remember a Grand Tour with this many contenders so close to each other, riding so well, this close to the end of the race.

Wednesday, May 29: Stage 16, Conegliano - Corvara in Badia, 163 really tough kilometers.

Results:

1. Julio Perez Cuapio (Panaria) 4hr 54min 54sec

2. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 53sec

3. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 55sec

4. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) s.t.

5. Aitor Gonzalez Jeminez (Kelme) s.t.

6. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 58sec

7. Cadel Evans (Mapei) s.t.

8. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) s.t.

9. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 2min 9sec

10. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 2min 10sec

GC after Stage 16:

1. Cadel Evans (Mapei) 73hr 9min 16sec

2. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 16sec

3. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 18sec

4. Aitor Gonzalez Jimenez (Kelme) @ 24sec

5. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 32sec

6. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 48sec

7. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 1min 26sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 2min 9sec

9. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 2min 21sec

10. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 4min 26sec

12. Jens Heppner (Telekom) @ 5min 6sec

Over the Pordoi: Perez-Cuapio, Caucchioli trying to steal the Pink at about a minute+. Then a small group with Frigo leading including Savoldelli and Evans. Hamilton is just a bit back.

Over the Fedaia: 1st was lone breakaway Daniele De Paoli, followed by a screamingly fast Perez-Caupio, then Christian Moreni. Frigo leads thre GC contenders a bit back; Evans (who tried to match Perez-Cuapio's attack but went back to the group), Savoldelli, Caucchioli, Tonkov. Hamilton is probably a minute back.

Wladimir Belli did not start the stage because of bronchitis. The sky is cloudy. It is 14C.

Here it is in a nutshell:

Forcella Staulanza (mt. 1773) - 12.9 Km of climbing - average gradient 6.50%

Passo di Fedaia (mt. 2057) - 13.7 Km of climbing - average gradient 7.7%

Passo di Pordoi (mt. 2239) - 12.1 Km of climbing - average gradient 6.4%

Passo di Campolongo (mt. 1875) - 4 Km of climbing - average gradient 4 %

This is what we've been waiting for, the great meeting of near equals in the high Dolomites. No more handicapping or guessing abut the rider's abilties. This is the race.

The race is shceduled to depart Conegliano (elevation 66 meters) at 12:15 PM. they depart from the path of the Piave River at Longarone (Km 48), already at 473 meters, and head northeast towards the first real challange, Km 83, Forcella Staulanza, the 1st GPM climb.

The feed zone is at km 93.

From here, they head east and pass over the legendary Fedaia (km 117) with the Marmolada Glacier on their left. These mountains are the Gruppo Marmolada, the very highest Dolomites. There is an intergiro Sprint at km 130 at Canazei (elevation 1465 m.). Then, the assault on the Passo Pordoi (km 142), the Cima Coppi, the highest pont of the Giro at 2,239 meters. Then, back down to 1,602 mteres for the final climb, the Passo di Campolongo (km 156), elevation 1,875.

They are scheduled to finish in Corvara between 5:00 PM and 5:30 PM.

THURSDAY, May 30: Stage 17, CORVARA IN BADIA - FOLGARIA, 222 Km. Hill top finish. Here are the major climbs:

Passo Gardena (mt. 2121) - 9.5 Km of climbing - average gradient 5.96%

Passo Sella (mt. 2213) - 5.3 Km of climbing - average gradient 8.17%

Santa Barbara (mt. 1165) - 13 Km of climbing - average gradient 8.29%

Passo Bordala (mt. 1253)

Folgaria (mt. 1340) - 14.8 Km of climbing - average gradient 7.79%

Unofficial Results:

1. Pavel Tonkov (Lampre) 7hr 24min 57sec

2. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 2min 10sec

3. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 3min 8sec

4. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 3min 14sec

5. Denis Lunghi (Colpack) s.t.

6. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) s.t.

7. Hernan Dario Munoz (Selle Italia) @ 3min 21sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 4min 1sec

9. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) s.t.

10. Addy Engels (Rabobank) @ 4min 14sec

33. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 12min 16sec

41. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 17min 11sec

GC after Stage 17:

1. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) 80hr 37min 11sec

2. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 55sec

3. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 28sec

4. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 1min 39sec

5. Pavel Tonkov (Lampre) @ 3min 8sec

6. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 3min 19sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 5min 32s

8.Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 7min 54sec

9. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) @ 8min 12sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @9min 41sec

15. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 14min 20sec

They start at Wednesday's finish, Corvara. They came in from the south but they out head due west for the Passo Gardena (Km 9), then south for another hit, the Passo Sella at km 20.

From there, they head southeast, eventually joining the Avisio River down to Trento for the Intergiro sprint (Km 126). We are now in the Brenner pass, the famous trade route that goes from Verona directly north to Innsbruck. They cross the River Adige to the west side for a loop that takes in the Santa Barbara (km175) and the Passo Bordala (Km 181).

They cross back over to the east side of the Adige and head up Route 350 to Folgaria. 350 looks like a really tough, hard switchback. They ought to sort a few things out here.

Upper Folagaria climb: Cadel Evans hesitates a bit on Noe's wheel, Hamilton attacks. Evans has now cracked. A group of 5 or 6 has formed and Savoldelli has taken off. Hamilton cannot respond and rides with a Totschnig led group, minimizing his losses.

On the climb to Folgaria: Frigo has been dropped. Mazzoleni has gone back to help him. Tonkov has dropped PErez Cuapio by 20 seconds.

Km 181, over the top of the Bordala: Perez-Cuapio takes the GPM with Tonkov right with him. The pack follows at 1min 57sec. It's all going to happen on the climb to the finish at Folgaria.

Over the top of the Santa Barbara: Tonkov and Perez-Cuapio are riding together with a lead of about 1min 23sec. Perez-Cuapio takes the summit without a contest from Tonkov. The three GC leaders are comfortably riding at the front of what remains of the peloton with Mapei's Dario Cioni doing the pacemaking.

Stage 17: On the Santa Barbara climb: They rolled up to it with speed. Frigo's Tacconi boys did some work at the front. The GC contenders know they have to put some real time between Hamilton and themselves before the last Time Trial. The sparks are flying with Perez-Cuapio and some Colombians doing some testing and getting reeled in.

Friday, May 31: Stage 18, Rovereto - Brescia, 143 km. Rovereto is a few kilometers south of Trento, on the Brenner Pass. They travel to the west side of Lake Garda and head for Brescia which is just east of Milan. There, in Brescia, they will do three 6 km circuits. This should be another day for the sprinters as the GC men recover from the extraordinary efforts of the last two days in the mountains and try to conserve energy for the crucial individual time trial on Saturday.

Results:

1. Mario Cipollini, #5 for this Giro. 4hr 12min 44sec

2. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

3. Rene Hasselbacher (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

4. Lars Michaelsen (Coast) s.t.

5. Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) s.t.

6. Mariano Piccoli (Lampre) s.t.

7. Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) s.t.

GC after Stage 18:

1. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) 84hr 49min 55sec

2. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 55sec

3. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 28sec

4. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 1min 39sec

5. Pavel Tonkov (Lampre) @ 3min 8sec

6. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 3min 19sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 5min 32sec

8. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 7min 54sec

9. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) @ 8min 12sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @9min 41sec

Sprinter's Jersey: Mario Cipollini, but it's very close between SuperMario and Strazzer.

Climber's Jersey: Julio Perez Cuapio. He has this sewn up. There are not enough points available in the last 2 stages to take it from him.

The man who wore the Pink Jersey for so long, Jens Heppner of Telekom did not start today's stage.

Saturday, June 1: Stage 19, Cambiago - Monticello Brianza, 44.3 km Individual Time Trial.

Results:

1. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) 55min 56sec

2. Serhiy Honchar @ 44sec

3. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) @ 1min 17sec

4. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 31sec

5. Bert Grabsch (Phonak) @ 2min 22sec

6. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 2min 35sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 2min 47sec

8. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 2min 48sec

9. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 2min 53sec

10. Daniele Nardello (Mapei) @ 3min 14sec

11. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 3min 23sec

GC after Stage 19:

1. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia) 85hr 47min 9sec

2. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 41sec

3. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 2min 12sec

4. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 3min 14sec

5. Pavel Tonkov (LAmpre) @ 5min 34sec

6. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) @ 6min 54sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 7min 2sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 7min 7sec

9. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 9min 24sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 11min 50sec

Mountains leader: Julio Perez-Cuapio (Panaria)
Points leader: Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone) 159 points. 2nd is Massimo Strazzer (Phonak) @ 158 points.
Intergiro: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)
Team: Alessio

3rd time check, Intergiro poin 31 km: Savoldelli up on Hamilton by 10 seconds.

2nd time check, km 20: Hamilton is 9 seconds behind Savoldelli. In order to win, Hamilton should have been ahead by 40 seconds at this point.

1st time check, km 10: Savoldelli went through 12 seconds faster than Hamilton!

It's come down to this, the final time trial. Tons of ink have been written about the slightly better time-trialing ability of Tyler Hamilton over the Pink Jersey holder, Paolo Savoldelli. Hamilton has to gain about 2 seconds per kilometer to make up the minute and a half difference between them. I think it will come down to who's reserves are in the best shape after 3 weeks of hard, relentless racing. And might Caucchioli, in 2nd place, turn in a surprise? This has been a race of surprises.

Here's how "La Gazzetta Dello Sport" described the course: "The 42 kilometres and 900 metres after the start in Cambiago are flat almost until Missaglia, at 35 km, then the road begins to rise and the last 5 km boast two bits measuring an incline of 5% to 6% and a series of curves concentrated most of all in the residential centre of Monticello Brianza, which could be good for Savoldelli, who knows how to get the right trajectory and make his move".

If you were to look at a map of the big urban spider of Milan, the course starts at about the 2:00 position. If you look at the course map below, just slightly to the west of the start is the little town of Concorezzo, home of Mondonico. The finish, Monticello Brianza, sits almost due north of the Monza Speedway.

Sunday, June 2: 20th and Final stage, Cantu - Milano, 141 km.

Results:

1. Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone), Stage win #6 for this Giro and #40 for his career, 1 short of the great Binda. 3hr 35min 29sec

2. Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) s.t.

4. Rene Hasselbacher (Gerolsteiner) s.t.

4. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Kelme) s.t.

5. Fabio Sacchi (Saeco) s.t.

GC after Stage 20:

1. Paolo Savoldelli (Alexia)

2. Tyler Hamilton (CSC Tiscali) @ 1min 41sec

3. Pietro Caucchioli (Alessio) @ 2min 12sec

4. Juan Manuel Garate (Lampre) @ 3min 14sec

5. Pavel Tonkov (LAmpre) @ 5min 34sec

6. Aitor Gonzalez (Kelme) @ 6min 54sec

7. Georg Totschnig (Gerolsteiner) @ 7min 2sec

8. Fernando Escartin (Coast) @ 7min 7sec

9. Rik Verbrugghe (Lotto) @ 9min 24sec

10. Dario Frigo (Tacconi) @ 11min 50sec

11. Oscar Pereiro (Phonak) @ 12min 49sec

12. Yaroslav Popovych (Landbouwkrediet) @ 14min 50sec

13. Ivan Gotti (Alessio) @ 15min 17sec

14. Cadel Evans (Mapei) @ 16min 25sec

15. Eddy Mazzoleni (Tacconi) @ 17min 23sec

16. Franco Pellizotti (Alessio) @ 17min 32sec

17. Michael Boogerd (Rabobank) @ 19min 28sec

18. Michele Scarponi (Acqua Sapone) @ 22min 4sec

19. Julio Perez Cuapio (Panaria) @ 22min 15sec

20. Andrea Noe (Mapei) 23min 54sec

Mountains: Julio Perez-Cuapio (Panaria)
Points: Mario Cipollini (Acqua Sapone)
Intergiro: Massimo Strazzer (Phonak)
Team: Alessio
140 finishers.

The course:
They start at Cantu, circle up and around Como and then blast into Milan for a ripping circuit race. They'll do twelve 6.2 km laps around the city park (Parco Sempione) and the old Sforza Castle.

There is a 3rd cateory GPM climb up the return to Cantu at km 22, but Perez-Cuapio hs that prize sewn up.

The Intergiro is at the entrance to Milan at km 59.

The GC contest is over. Now, the surviving few sprinters will fight for the honor of winning the final stage. I see zebras. But since Strazzer is only 1 point behind in the Points competition, the Phonak boys won't give up without a fight.

OLN showed the amateur video of Casagrande's foul that got him tossed from the Giro. It was pretty flagrant with Casagrande putting an elbow into Garcia's head as Casagrande rode across the road and into Garcia. I think justice was well served.

After the Intergiro, Strazzer now holds the Points leadership.

Intergiro: 1st Massimo Strazzer, 2nd Biagio Conte, 3rd Furlan.

GPM sprint: Mauro Gerosa, 2nd Radaelli, 3rd Marin.

Stage 20: All 140 riders that finished Saturday's stage started the final stage. It is warm and the skies are clear over the entire course at the start of the race.

News, Saturday, June 1: Gilberto Simoni has tested non-negative for Cocaine after the Giro stage 9. He was earlier tested non-negative for Cocaine after the Trentino race. Saeco has suspended Simoni and frozen his salary. On Monday the 3rd the TDF Society will announce whether or not Saeco will participate in the Tour.

Predictions. I've asked some of my knowledgable friends to give me their predictions for the Giro.

Felice Gimondi, Tour de France and Giro D'Italia winner:

Pink Jersey: 1st Simoni, 2nd Frigo, 3rd Garzelli, 4th Casagrade

Sprinter's Jersey: 1st Cipollini, 2nd Lombardi, 3rd Hondo, 4th Fagnini

Climber's Jersey: 1st Perez-Cuapio, 2nd Fredy Gonzalez, 3rd Escartin

Franco Bitossi, one of the very greatest Italian racers from the 60's and 70's:

Pink Jersey: 1st Dario Frigo, 2nd Garzelli, 3rd Casagrande. Signor Bitossi leaves a question mark by Marco Pantani. The Pirate may do something.

Sprinter's Jersey: Cipollini

Climber's Jersey: 1st Fredy Gonzalez, 2nd Perez-Cuapio

Celestino Vercelli, 5-time finsher of the Giro, 2-time finisher of the Tour and owner of Vittoria Shoes

We are now at the 85th Giro! It is the most important cycling race after the Tour. It is so important that the winners become popular and famous.

This year, as a symbol of the United Europe, the Giro will arrive in Italy after having been in Holland, Germany, Luxembourg and France. All Europeans are involved in the passion for cycling and the Giro.

In my opinion there are 4 racers who start rating high in the predictions: Casagrande, Simoni, Garzelli and Frigo.

Personally, I think the course is more suited to Frigo, one of the best in the time-trials. Let us not forget, by the way, Tyler Hamilton, who is a good climber and time trialist.

And the pirate Pantani is a question mark. There are too many pressures from the judging public. Will he be able to react and have a good Giro? I'll wish it to him.

The war on doping seems to have borne good fruit, but this topic is much too complicated. In any case, it is right that the winner will be the strongest and not the most cunning. I am bitter about how some situations have turned out. Those who have paid, became the bad guys. The rest have remained "clean" (we do not know how much in reality). Justice is not of this world.

In any case, I wish the winner will be a great rider and the strongest of this moment.

Paolo Guerciotti, former Champion of Italy and owner of Guercioti Bicycles (and all-around good-guy):

Pink Jersey: 1st Dario Frigo. He is very motivated and has great form. 2nd Garzelli. He has shown great strength since Liege-Bastogne-Liege. 3rd Casagrande.

Sprinter's Jersey: 1st Cipollini, 2nd Hondo, 3rd Quaranta

Climber's Jersey: 1st Fredy Gonzalez, 2nd Perez-Cuapio, 3rd Simoni

Antonio Mondonico:
Pink jersey: Casagrande
2nd Simoni
3rd Garzelli
Green climber's jersey: Perez Cuapio
Ciclamino Sprinters jersey: Cipollini

Gordon McCauley, New Zealand Pro Road Champion, rides for RDM-Flanders. Gordon had a chance to size up most of the Giro contenders while racing the Giro del Trentino. His predictions:

Pink Jersey: Francesco Casagrande
Climber: Julio-Perez-Cuapio
Sprinter: Robbie McEwen

Owen Mulholland, Racing Expert Extrodinaire:
1 - Francesco Casagrande: He has th