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McEwen relegated, Baldato takes Giro stage
Robbie McEwen’s feisty style cost him a victory in Sunday’s second stage of the Giro d’Italia.
Alessio’s Fabio Baldato was awarded the win after race judges stripped McEwen of the victory for dangerous riding in the closing 200 meters of the stage. McEwen, known for his aggressive riding style, was relegated to 70th place.
McEwen edged Baldato by a bike-length at the end of the 177km stage from Copertino to Matero in Italy’s “heel,” but replays showed the Lotto-Domo man pressing Baldato into the race fences in the frenetic charge to the line.
“McEwen told me after the race he didn’t see me coming, but what he did was clearly not correct,” said Baldato, who was quick to wag his finger in protest as McEwen came across the line.
Italian Gabriele Colombo (Domina Vacanze) and Giuliano Figueras (Panaria) moved up to second and third, respectively. Race leader Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) finished safely in the main bunch to retain a four-second overall lead over Baldato.
“The action of McEwen was clear,” Baldato continued. “I was looking for a little hole to sneak through, but he was closing me off little by little until I couldn’t pedal and he even touched me with his elbow. That’s more than enough for his disqualification.”
The win is Baldato’s first Giro victory since he won three stages in 1993. He won the Etoile de Besseges in February and is one of the few riders to have won stages in all three major tours.
The opening weekend of the Giro was supposed to be a victory parade for world champion Mario Cipollini, but instead has turned out to be a rocky start. Instead of tying and breaking the Giro 41-win record held by Alfredo Binda, Cipollini is winless and out of contention to grab the maglia rosa.
Cipollini struggled over the Category 3 ramps that hit a grade of 7 percent at Montescaglioso, some 22km from the finish, and lost contact with the leaders. Earlier in the stage, he won the InterGiro sprint and positioned himself to grab the pink jersey if he could have pulled off the win. Instead, Cipollini is licking his wounds.
The peloton was quiet throughout the opening half of the stage until approaching the first mountain points of the 2003 Giro. Colombia Fredy Gonzalez (Colombia-Selle Italia) shot ahead to score the first KOM jersey.
From there, the peloton split and riders fought hard coming into the rising finish at Matera.
Monday’s 145km third stage from Policoro to Terme Luigiane drives into the “toe” of Italy’s boot and features a rolling finale that could once again derail the hopes of the top sprinters.
The stage features a Cat. 3 climb to 516 meters at 110km and continues climbing to 700 meters over the next 15km before dropping back down coming into the finish, which climbs over the final kilometer into Terme Luigiane.
Baldato remains optimistic he can grab the pink jersey.
“With a little bit of luck I can get the maglia rosa in the next few days,” he said. “I feel I have some good form so it’s because of this I am not ignoring the possibility.”
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