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Michele Scarponi takes the lead at Tirreno-Adriatico as Klöden gets dropped
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It was another day of epic racing at Tirreno-Adriatico, this time with Michele Scarponi (Diquigiovanni) snatching the stage victory and the leader’s jersey in Monday’s 235km climbing stage to Camerino.
Scarponi, back to the winner’s circle after serving a racing ban after being implicated in the Operación Puerto doping scandal, darted ahead of Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) to win the stage. Ivan Basso (Liquigas), riding with strength in grand tour-like conditions, crossed third.
“This is a great victory for me and my team. After all I’ve been through the past few years, I am happy to give this to everyone who supported me,” Scarponi said.
“Maybe this gave me the strength to come back stronger to fight through the (Puerto) problems. This time outside of cycling was very difficult. Fortunately, my wife and family supported me.”
Overnight leader Andreas Klöden (Astana) was dropped on the Cat. 1 Sasso Tetto climb with 42km to go and conceded the race leader’s jersey to slip to third, now 1:07 back with just one stage left to go.
Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Slipstream) enjoyed another strong performance and moved up to eighth overall at 2:33 back.
It was the third day in a row that the stage winner also claimed the leader’s jersey.
With Tuesday’s sprint-friendly stage on tap, that trend looks likely to end as Scarponi holds a 25-second lead to second-place Garzelli.
Scarponi attacks
Scarponi and Garzelli were licking their chops ahead of Monday’s long, hard stage.
The pair started within striking distance of Klöden (at 21 and 41 seconds back, respectively) and the Cat. 1 Sasso Tetto with 42km to go presented the perfect opportunity for the Italian climbers to try to outgun Klöden.
“It was a super-hard stage. We knew our chance would come on the climb,” Scarponi said. “I thought I attacked too soon because I went with 10km to go on the climb. Luckily, when I looked back, I saw that (Vicenzo) Nibali, Basso and Garzelli had the same idea.”
Kloden was in trouble, but didn’t panic.
The veteran German found some help from Astana teammate Maxim Iglinskiy and Columbia-Highroad’s Lövkvist (second overall at six seconds back), who had George Hincapie and Kanstantsin Siutsou helping to pull.
The Basso group topped out about 1:15 ahead of the Klöden-Lövkvist group, numbering about a dozen, as riders hurriedly slipped on capes to fend off the cold during the long descent. Speeds topped 80kph.
The Klöden group couldn’t organize an effective chase and Basso was digging deep to give the quartet a gap of 1:45 with about 20km to go.
With Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) still hanging alone after an early breakaway, 1:15 off the front, Nibali shot away with just under 20km to go in a daring bid to win the stage and raid the GC.
One of the most fearless descenders in the pack, Nibali blitzed the downhill, leaving it up to Scarponi to lead the chase.
Nibali closed within sight of Martínez, but died on the vine with cramps some 8km from the finish. The Scarponi group scooped him up just as they caught the Euskaltel flier. Basso looked back and waited for Nibali, but he was done.
“It was my last chance to try something,” said Nibali, who slotted into 10th overall. “Toward the end of the stage I started to feel the distance in my legs and I just couldn’t follow the rhythm.”
With the Klöden group at 2:18 back at 5km to go, Scarponi’s GC coup was secured, leaving the door open for the battle for the stage.
Basso back
If Scarponi’s double marked his return from the Puerto wilderness, Basso’s equally impressive performance serves as a reminder that he, too, is back in fighting form.
Like Scarponi, Basso served a racing ban after admitting that he was part of the Puerto blood-doping ring. Basso returned to competition last fall after serving an 18-month ban, but pulled out of the Amgen Tour of California with an injury.
Following Scarponi’s lead, Basso powered up the Sasso Tetto climb and then attacked twice in vain in the final three kilometers to try to lose Scarponi and Garzelli.
“I knew I would lose a sprint against those two, but the stage victory doesn’t really matter,” said Basso, who climbed to fifth at 1:13 back. “What’s most important is that I feel good and the legs responded under these harsh conditions.”
At 235km and with one big climb, Basso compared the stage to what he can expect at the Giro d’Italia in May.
“Today was like a Giro stage. I am very satisfied with my performance,” Basso continued. “Some journalists are questioning whether I will be strong for the Giro. Today I showed that I am on the right track. My performance over the past three days is encouraging. I know I still have to work hard, but I will be ready to try to win the Giro.”
Scarponi wins
Garzelli was tried an early sprint to gap Scarponi and grab the finish-line bonus, but Scarponi had enough in his legs to win and put himself in excellent position to claim the overall.
“I was most afraid of Garzelli today. When Nibali attacked, my sport director said not to panic because it was still far from the finish. Basso stopped pulling then and you could see the gap to Kloden was closing, so that tells you how strong he is right now,” Scarponi said. “If we stayed away today it was because of Basso.
“When Nibali attacked, Garzelli also started working less. I thought that Garzelli was getting tired, but (Gianni) Savio told me not to fall for the trap. He told me, ‘Be careful, he’s like a fox,’ and he encouraged me to be strong. Perhaps I wasn’t strongest in the group today, but I was able to pass them at the line.”
Scarponi is cautiously optimistic he will be able to stay with the pack Tuesday to San Benedetto del Tronto and win Tirreno-Adriatico, considered Italy’s most prestigious stage race behind the Giro.
Scarponi was thankful for his second chance. He admitted to Italian authorities in May 2007 that he was on the infamous list of nicknames identifying riders in the Puerto scandal and served an 18-month ban.
He returned to racing last year with Diquigiovanni, led by iconoclastic Italian sports director Gianni Savio.
The silver-haired Savio — nicknamed “The Prince” for his regal flair — was in tears at the line when Scarponi won.
“For me, the past is over. Scarponi has left all that behind him now. He is a great rider, very generous and very brave, cycling must support riders like this,” Savio said. “He was on the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people. He admitted what he did was wrong, others haven’t been so forthcoming.”
Final dash on Tuesday
The 44th Tirreno-Adriatico wraps up Tuesday with the 169km seventh stage, starting and finishing in San Benedetto del Tronto.
The stage opens with a hilly first half, including the Montalto delle Marche (53.5km) before a fast descent to the Adriatico shore. The race ends with eight laps on a dead-flat, 10km circuit
The final sprint will be all about bragging rights among the sprinters. Watch for Mark Cavendish (Columbia-Highroad) to try to take down the Italians, led by Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) and Alessandro Petacchi (LPR).
The Tirreno peloton was lightened by the departure of the entire Flaminia team of Italian champion Filippo Simeoni. Only Vladimir Duma has escaped the stomach flu that swept through the squad.
Other riders exiting early included world champion Alessandro Ballan (Lampre), who also succumbed to a stomach virus. Geraint Thomas (Barloworld) crashed out of Sunday’s time trial and Leif Hoste (Silence-Lotto) also abandoned.
Spanish rider Pablo Lastras (Caisse d’Epargne) didn’t start Monday’s stage, complaining of injuries suffered during a nasty fall in Saturday’s stage to Montelupone, won by his teammate Joaquim Rodríguez.
“It was a sad note on a good day for the team. I took a hard blow on the back and the forces I used yesterday in the time trial seemed to make it worse,” Lastras said. “What’s worse is that I am going to miss Milan-San Remo, which is one of my favorite classics. But the health is the most important thing and now I am going to fix my back and prepare for the Giro.”
Fabian Cancellara and Andy Schleck (both Saxo Bank) are also both gone, with Schleck not starting and Cancellara abandoning.
