Alessandro Petacchi catapulted to his second stage win of the 88th Giro d’Italia in what turned out to be a slow 178km roll between giants.

Following the sparks in Thursday’s stage to Zoldo Alto and the epic climbs lying in wait in the Dolomites this weekend, the peloton seemed content to enjoy Friday’s sunny passeggiata from Alleghe to Rovereto.

“These sprints after the mountains are always difficult, but the team was motivated to win. I could still feel yesterday’s stage in my legs,” said Petacchi, who won easily ahead of Paride Grillo (Panaria). “This year it’s been harder to win stages, but we showed today that the team is still motivated.”

Ivan Basso (CSC) easily retained the maglia rosa and his 18-second lead over fellow Italian Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery Channel) after finishing safely in the bunch behind Petacchi’s dominant victory.

Friday’s rolling respite featured just one difficult climb - the Category 1 Passo di San Pellegrino at 26.8km – and from there it was nearly all downhill to the finish. The pace was moderate up the climb, with Crédit Agricole's Patrice Halgand slipping away briefly with Selle Italia-Colombia's José Rujano Guillen, Raffaele Illiano and Ivan Parra in tow.

The day’s lone attack came at about 60km into the stage when Swiss rider Philippe Schnyder (Colombia-Selle Italia) snuck away looking for a bit of glory. At 176th in the GC at more than one and a half hours back, the main bunch could almost stop for a coffee and still keep the jersey.

Which is just about what Simoni did with about 75km to go when he shot off the front, not in an attack but rather to get some time to stop and say hello to his family waiting alongside the road.

Schnyder roared through the day’s InterGiro sprint nursing a 2:20 lead on the main bunch led by Stefano Zanini (Quick Step) took second. But with 30 kilometers remaining, Schnyder’s fate seemed clear and he soft-pedaled until the peloton meandered up to him.

CSC and Discovery Channel massed at the front to keep their GC men out of harm’s way and, with five kilometers remaining, the silver train of Fassa Bortolo took command of the field and drove it home to set up Petacchi.

McEwen taken by authorities, leaves Giro
Often successful at taking advantage of a Fassa charge to the line, Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto) was caught out of position and couldn’t challenge his Italian rival. Instead, it was Grillo who tried to disrupt the fully-functioning Fassa Bortolo train and actually delivered the perfect launch for Petacchi.

“I took advantage of Grillo’s move,” Petacchi said. “We showed today the train still functions properly.”

Reuters later reported that McEwen was taken by Italian authorities for questioning over the use of a hypobaric chamber which boosts red blood cell counts, his Davitamon team director Allan Peiper told told the wire service on Friday.

On Wednesday, Italian police had searched the hotels and vehicles used by the Davitamon and Saunier Duval teams during the Giro d'Italia, seizing hyperbaric equipment and a quantity of intravenous drips.

With three stage victories, looming mountain stages and the addition of police harassment, McEwen said his 2005 Giro was finished.

“I’m going home,” he told the Italian wires. “I still am racing the Tour and the world’s this year, so that’s a lot for one year.”

Fight just beginning
While Basso and Savoldelli were the big winners of the opening salvo to Zoldo Alto on Thursday, this Giro d’Italia is far from over.

This weekend’s menu includes two monstrous stages that will surely determine the fate of the 88th Giro.

Saturday’s 217km epic in the making is the longest stage of this year’s corsa rosa and features six climbs with a summit finish to Ortisei that could prove fertile ground for aggressive riders.

Sunday’s three-climb 210km 14th stage from Egna to Livigno hits this year’s Cima Coppi with the storied 2758m Stelvio climb midway through the stage. After a long descent, the course then climbs again to the 2291m Passo del Foscagno before descending to the finishing line in Livigno, an ideal script for descending-specialist Savoldelli.

Race leader Basso reminded everyone the Giro is not over, instead, it’s just beginning.

“There are three or four races who are still very dangerous, above all Savoldelli,” said Basso, who shot into the maglia rosa Thursday thanks to his aggressive attacks that blew apart the peloton on Passo Duran.

“Savoldelli knows what it’s like to win the Giro,” Basso continued. “He’s obviously in good form and he’s going to be even more motivated. Simoni, Di Luca and others are still a threat. If I have the legs like I did on Passo Duran, I will attack again.”

While Basso delivered on his promised attacks, what was happening in his wake Thursday was full of surprises. Liquigas-Bianchi’s Danilo Di Luca did a wonderful job defending the leader’s jersey and finished just 1:01 down while pre-Giro favorite Stefano Garzelli struggled in the Cunego group at more than six minutes down.

Damiano Cunego’s troubles also were a shock, but the 2004 Giro champion admitted mounting pressure had finally gotten to him. Now 7:20 down, the team admits their young star is out of the hunt for the overall crown.

“Damiano said he wasn’t feeling good already on the Cereda climb, so we told him to take it easy and not to panic,” said team manager Giuseppe Martinelli. “We’ll see how Cunego reacts now, but the sign of a champion is if he can come back and do something special. Now we’ll try to get a stage victory with Damiano.”

The team’s hopes now rest with Gilberto Simoni, a two-time champion who promises to “win the Giro or blow up trying.”

Fine form for the Falcon
The biggest surprise was Savoldelli, who’s been troubled with injury and poor form every since winning the 2002 Giro. He momentarily struggled to stay even with Basso coming up the Duran, but recovered nicely and raced smart up the final climb to claim the stage victory Thursday.

“It was great to win the stage. My goal coming to this Giro was return to be among the best and to win the first mountain stage is fantastic,” Savoldelli said before Friday’s start. “The maglia rosa remains a dream, but I am in good position now. We have to be patient because Basso looks very strong.”

Tom Danielson, who left the Giro in stage nine with a sore knee, said Savoldelli’s strong ride will bolster the spirits of the remainder of the Discovery Channel team.

“I think with his good form the whole team will step up and be there for him in the mountains. They all are capable of it,” Danielson told VeloNews via an e-mail. “Basso is really using his team so this will also take some pressure off Discovery. But if he needs them, they will be there.”

Danielson said the team had noticed early on that Savoldelli was feeling strong.

“I really noticed his good form on the day of the big crash he got stuck behind. He and I chased after the crash and I was amazed how strong his pulls were. We were with a big group chasing, but after a few turns it was just him and me,” Danielson continued. “I came back and looked at (sports director Sean) Yates and said, ‘the Falcon is f'---in’ flying!’”

Results - Stage 12
1. Alessandro Petacchi (I), Fassa Bortolo, 0:00
2. Paride Grillo (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, 0:00
3. Isaac Galvez Lopez (Sp), Illes Balears, 178km in 4:50:00
4. Robert Forster (G), Gerolsteiner
5. Jaan Kirsipuu (Est), Credit Agricole
6. Robbie Mcewen (Aus), Davitamon-Lotto
7. Stuart O'Grady (Aus), Cofidis
8. Clerc Aurélien (Swi), Phonak
9. Simone Cadamuro (I), Domina Vacanze
10. Baden Cooke (Aus), Francaise des Jeux
11. Erik Zabel (G), T-Mobile
12. Mirco Lorenzetto (I), Domina Vacanze
13. Paolo Bettini (I), Quickstep
14. Andrea Moletta (I), Gerolsteiner
15. Carlos Dacruz (F), Francaise des Jeux
16. Sergio Escobar Roure (Sp), Illes Balears
17. Rony Martias (F), Bouygues Telecom
18. Manuele Mori (I), Saunier Duval
19. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi
20. Moreno Di Biase (I), Colombia - Selle Italia, all s.t.
FullResults

Overall after Stage 12
1. Ivan Basso (I), CSC, 0:00
2. Paolo Savoldelli (I), Discovery Channel, 0:18
3. Danilo Di Luca (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 1:04
4. Gilberto Simoni (I), Lampre, 2:27
5. Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Domina Vacanze, 3:45
6. Marzio Bruseghin (I), Fassa Bortolo, 4:34
7. Michele Scarponi (I), Liberty Seguros, 4:48
8. Dario David Cioni (I), Liquigas-Bianchi, 5:25
9. Emanuele Sella (I), Ceramica Panaria - Navigare, 5:58
10. Markus Fothen (G), Gerolsteiner, 6:10
FullResults

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