THIS WEEK IN PRO CYCLING
Arvesen grabs stage win; Pinotti holds Giro lead
Kurt-Asle Arvesen doesn’t win very often, but when he does, he has a knack for beating some pretty big names.
The 32-year-old CSC rider scored his 15th professional win in Sunday’s 200km eighth stage ath the Giro d’Italia with style, out-sprinting reigning world champion Paolo Bettini (QuickStep) in a stinking hot stage that saw a 22-man breakaway featuring George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) take four minutes out of the main peloton.
“I’ve had some close calls the last few seasons so to beat Bettini in the rainbow jersey makes this even more important,” said Arvesen, who finished second in a Tour de France stage in 2005 and second in last year’s Paris-Tours. “I knew that I had to be on Bettini’s wheel. It wasn’t easy to come past him but it’s a great feeling to win.”
A frustrated Hincapie was boxed in during the sprint to finish sixth while Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile) saw his grip on the maglia rosa reduced to 28 seconds to Andrea Noe (Liquigas).
In 1997, the blond-haired Norwegian beat a then-unknown Oscar Freire in a sprint to claim the U-23 world title in San Sebastian, Spain. While Freire’s gone on to win three elite world titles and make millions as a pro, Arvesen has had to settle for less.
A stage victory in the 2003 Giro saved his professional career and he joined Bjarne Riis’s Team CSC in the 2004 season. That year he won the GP Aarhus, a Danish one-day semi-classic, and took the overall title at the Tour of Denmark.
Other wins came in 2006 with the overall title at the Ster Elektrotoer and the Norwegian national title, but equal doses of frustration couldn’t diminish Arvesen’s drive.
“My win in 1997 was the most important because it allowed me to become a professional,” Arvesen told VeloNews. “My win today ahead of Bettini in the rainbow jersey in the Giro was my most beautiful.”
Arvesen sniffed out a good move Sunday when he saw Bettini, Hincapie and Ricardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) among nearly two dozen riders who charged away on the opening Cat. 2 Passo della Futa.
Riccò mysteriously dropped out of the group after 20km and drifted back to the main pack. The tactic is sure to fuel the usual polemica in Monday’s editions of the Italian newspapers, because without Riccò, the break took wings.
“I can assure you, if Riccò was in that breakaway, it would not have succeeded,” said Pinotti, who led the main bunch across the line at 4:19 back to retain his lead. “I am sure teams like Liquigas would not have wanted Riccò to be in a breakaway and gain five or six minutes.”
Speculation was rampant that Bettini asked Riccò to drop back to give the breakaway a chance. Without the rising Italian star, the group collaborated over the lumpy opening 117km to open up a six-minute lead.
After racing over the Ferrari test track with 30km to go at Ferrari’s headquarters in Maranello, the Bettini-Hincapie group was in for the win.
Hincapie – racing in the firstGiro of his career – was ready to make his sprint when two riders swarmed him. The disappointed American champ could only watch Arvesen come off Bettini’s wheel for the win.
“I got boxed in on the sprint. A couple of guys came up on me with 500 meters to go and then they couldn’t even hold Bettini’s wheel. It was quite a disappointing way to end the day,” Hincapie told VeloNews. “I knew that Bettini would have to take the responsibility and I was fighting for his wheel and Arvesen got it. Once he went, the guys who boxed me in couldn’t even hold his wheel, so it was kind of disappointed.”
Hincapie on the march, Pinotti still in pink
Temperatures nudged into the high 80s as the route pushed across the rugged mountains in Tuscany in the opening 115km and then dropped onto the central plain near Bologna for the mostly flat 70km run to the finish.
The opening half of the stage hit two rated climbs along a lumpy route that was well-suited for a breakaway. Riders such as Dario Cioni (Predictor-Lotto), fourth overall in the 2004 Giro, wanted to try to sneak into a break in order to gain back some time in the GC.
“Bettini was really driving, but it the breakaway wasn’t going very fast. I decided I would try to attack and maybe get three or four riders to chase me,” Cioni told VeloNews. “It was a very hard day. There were some good and fast riders in the break. On the last climb I wasn’t feeling real good and in the sprint, I couldn’t find my space. I’m happy and I got a few minutes back in the GC. Briancon will show who is going to be in the fight. Today was a good test for me.”
Making the break were: Paolo Bettini (QuickStep), Assan Bazayev and Serguei Yakolev (both Astana), Marzio Bruseghin, Marco Marzano and Patxi Vila (all Lampre), Alexandr Arekeev (Aqua e Sapone), Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r), David Arroyo (Caisse d’Epargne), Emanuele Sella (Panaria), Kurt-Asle Arvesen (CSC), George Hincapie and José Luis Rubiera (Discovery Channel), Martin Galparsoro (Euskaltel), Andrea Noe and Alessandro Spezialietti (both Liquigas), Dario Cioni and Mario Aerts (both Predictor-Lotto), William Walker (Rabobank), Evgeni Petrov and Pavel Brutt (both Tinkoff).
After Riccò dropped out of the group, the group took wings and opened up a big gap north of six minutes after they dropped out of the mountains.
Oddly enough, it was Riccò’s Saunier Duval team that helped T-Mobile drive the chase to keep Pinotti in the pink jersey.
“Saunier Duval was forced to chase with us afterward. I think they were practicing for when they will defend the pink jersey,” joked Pinotti, who raced with Saunier Duval last year. “I see Simoni and Riccò among the hot favorites. We were chasing very strong and we only brought it down from six to four minutes.”
Several riders fell off the pace from the main bunch, including sprinters Robbie McEwen (Predictor-Lotto), JJ Haedo (CSC), Max Van Heeswijk (Rabobank) as well as Aaron Olson (T-Mobile). They came through at 24:22 and were close to missing the time cut.
Several riders in the breakaway who could figure in the overall standings gained back some important time, including Rubiera, Arroyo, Velo and Sella. “We did a good operation today,” said Caisse d’Epargne sport director José Luis Jaimerena. “Arroyo is now in seventh in the overall and this is important in face of the stages that remain with a lot of climbs, which is his preferred terrain. These are important minutes and they weren’t gifts.”
By the time the leaders came in for the sprint, Hincapie was fighting for Bettini’s wheel when he got boxed in with 450m to go. The reigning American champion still took some satisfaction on the day.
“It was super hard in the first 100km. I knew everyone was feeling pretty tired. We were away for 200km, I knew that I had a chance, but it didn’t work it out,” Hincapie said. “It wasn’t one of those breaks that was a lucky move, but it was full of guys who had the power to get away, so that’s a good sign that I am getting back in shape. Today was a good signal that I am right on track to have a good July.”
While Hincapie is looking ahead to July, the real Giro contenders are already looking ahead to the Alps and the Dolomites. Sunday was just a primi piatti for the Giro’s main course still to come.
Tomorrow’s stage - The 90th Giro d’Italia continues Monday with the 177-kilometer ninth stage from Reggio Emilia to Lido di Camaiore. The route climbs the Cat. 2 Passo del Cerreto in the opening 71km and then plunges to the Mediterranean Coast. The final 65km are largely flat as the course pushes near to the hometown of Alessandro Petacchi at La Spezia and runs along the beaches to the resort town of Lido di Camaiore for a long, straight flat sprint that’s tailor made for “Ale-Jet.”
In the Peloton - 181 riders remain in the Giro. Thomas Voeckler (Bouygues Telecom), who crashed on stage four and hurt his knee, did not start. Four riders did not finish: Cyrille Monnerais (FDJeux), Julien Loubet (Ag2r), Benat Albizuri (Euskaltel) and Michael Blaudzun (CSC)
Jury decision - Elio Aggiano (Tinkoff) and Greg Henderson (T-Mobile), fined 50 SF, 10 second time penalty for taking pull on team car.Marco Marzano (Lampre) and Danilo Napolitano (Lampre) fined 100 SF and penalized 20 seconds for getting caught twice for taking pulls.JJ Haedo (CSC) fined 150 SF and penalized 30 seconds for being caught three times taking pulls.Lampre sport director fined 200 SF for not respecting instructions of the commissaries.
Stage 8 Results
1. Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor), CSC, 200km in 4:44:59 (41.48kph)
2. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 0:00
3. Assan Bazayev (Kaz), Astana, 0:00
4. Evgeni Petrov (Rus), TCS, 0:00
5. Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Sp), Euskaltel-Euskadi, 0:00
6. George Hincapie (USA), Discovery Channel, 0:00
7. Alessandro Spezialetti (I), Liquigas, 0:00
8. Rinaldo Nocentini (I), Ag2r Prevoyance, 0:00
9. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, 0:00
10. David Arroyo Duran (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 0:00
FullResults
Overall
1. Marco Pinotti (I), T-Mobile, 34:48:34
2. Andrea Noe' (I), Liquigas, 0:28
3. Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz), Astana, 0:54
4. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Lampre, 1:06
5. Vila Errandonea Francisco J. (Sp), Lampre, 1:10
6. Rubiera Vigil José Luis (Sp), Discovery Channel, 1:36
7. David Arroyo Duran (Sp), Caisse d'Epargne, 1:43
8. Evgeni Petrov (Rus), TCS, 1:51
9. David Dario David (I), Predictor-Lotto, 2:13
10. Alexandr Arekeev (Rus), Acqua & Sapone - Adria Mobil, 2:17
To see how today's stage developed, simply CLICKHERE to open our Live Update Window.
