If at first you don't succeed...

Try, try again. That's the motto being adopted by Fassa Bortolo, who, after several failed attempts, finally got their Silver Train in motion, sending Alessandro Petacchi to the line for his first stage victory of the 2005 Giro.

It would have been a travesty if he didn't win. With wide-open streets and generous corners, the stage was tailor-made for his team to deliver their man in fine form to the line. And that's exactly what the team managed to do on Monday, at the close of a 139km race from Firenze to Ravenna.

With his lead-out men executing their famous closing-kilometers drill to perfection, the 31-year-old speedster from La Spezia had to ride no more than 200 meters on the front, and at 70 kilometers an hour, no one was getting past him this time.

While the general classification remained largely unchanged, the sprinters' battle was well and truly back on.

Setting sail for Tirreno
Under hazy skies, all 186 riders who partook in Sunday's time trial lined up for the short transition stage from Florence to Ravenna, located on the coast of Tirreno. Leaving Ponte a Ema, the birthplace of campionissimo Gino Bartali, at 13:42 Monday afternoon, Italian riders and tifosi once again paid homage to this legendary cyclist, who died five years ago on May 5, 2000, aged 85.

Naturally, there were more than a few feeling a little worse for wear, and most were already thinking about tomorrow's first riposo (rest day). So when three escaped the bunch no more than a kilometer after the drop of the flag, the peloton let out a big 'hummpf' (the globally accepted word for 'see if we care'), and had little qualms in letting them go - leaving that till later...

Eternal escapist Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner), Mads Christensen (QuickStep) and Eric Baumann (T-Mobile) moved off the front to try their hand at a stage win, or in Krauss's case to simply add to his lead in the Intergiro competition.

Soon after the trio slipped off the front, Discovery's Tom Danielson pulled to the side at the 10km mark and withdrew from his first grand tour. Danielson - winner of this year's Tour de Georgia - has continued to feel knee pain that has bothered him for the past few weeks.

As the escapees rode toward the day's sole obstacle, the Category 2 Passo del Muraglioni. The fast start and the rising grade proved too much for the T-Mobile man and less than a hour into their escape, Baumann had to let go.

Despite the reduced firepower, Krauss and Christensen soldiered on, gaining 3:22 by the top of climb. The descent was long and a just a little tricky, causing Christensen to have a brief though not serious altercation with a parked car, with Frenchman Rony Martias (Bouygues Telecom) also kissing the tarmac.

With over 50 kilometers pedaling downhill following the GPM, the parcours did not favor the breakaway; Fassa Bortolo and Liquigas-Bianchi never really working that hard to keep the escape in check, the natural momentum of the peloton doing more damage than anything else.

Of no interest to the Dane but plenty to the German, Krauss took full points at the Forlì Intergiro sprint, and extended his lead in the competition over Paolo Bettini (Quick Step). However, one thing that couldn't be controlled was the pace of the peloton behind them, now just 1:40 and closing.

Averaging in excess of 42 kilometers an hour and riding well ahead of schedule, the junction was made with roughly 20km to go. And with the riders as one heading into the Provincia di Ravenna, the stage was set for a bello bunch sprint royale.

Unlike the previous sprint stage on Friday the 13th, the streets weren't narrow nor the corners tight. So, with four kilometers to go, the Silver Train set their wheels in motion, six carriages-a-coasting...

Two to go: four Fassas in the lead, setting a speed that defies belief. Bruseghin puts in a blinder, and swings off under the kilometer kite. Three Fassas still in front, with Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) sitting fourth...

400 to go: Tosatto peels off, leaving Velo and Petacchi.

200 to go: Velo swings out of the picture, bringing Petacchi into the fold. McEwen's a latecomer as usual, Bettini grabs his wheel...

... but Ale-Jet turns on the afterburners, and finally wins his first stage! Bellissima etappa!

Bettini (Quick Step) made a great charge to take second, Aurélien Clerc (Phonak) took third, as McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) finished out the day in fourth and Zabel slid in for fifth. The train – at least for today – was back on track.

Ahead
On Tuesday, rest is the order of the day in Ravenna. But as the saying goes, there's no rest for the wicked; those still left in this long lap of Italia will want to make sure they keep their legs ticking over, taking precaution so as to avoid their bodies going into partial shut-down, before the mountains begin on Thursday.

Results - Stage 9
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 0:00
2. Paolo Bettini (I), Quickstep, 0:00
3. Clerc Aurélien (Swi), Phonak, 0:00
4. Robbie Mcewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto, 0:00
5. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile, 0:00
6. Paride Grillo (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, 0:00
7. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Sp), Illes Balears, 0:00
8. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner, 0:00
9. Andrea Moletta (I), Gerolsteiner, 0:00
10. Simone Cadamuro (I), Domina Vacanze, 0:00

Overall, after 9 stages
1. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 0:00
2. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 0:09
3. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 0:35
4. Damiano Cunego (I), Lampre, 1:15
5. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 1:27
6. Stefano Garzelli (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 1:35
7. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 1:38
8. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, 1:39
9. Markus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 2:10
10. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre, 2:11

FULL RESULTS

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