Maybe everybody is so scared of the brutal third week in the Giro that they’re afraid to chase breakaways too hard. A week in and they’re already panicked about conserving energy. That or those new gels just aren’t working.
For the second day in a row, the guys in the jail break scored a win. Matthew Lloyd of Omega-Pharma Lotto dumped his fellow escapee Rubens Bertogliati on the final climb of the day and soloed to a victory.
Finally, something big for Lloyd to put on his wikipedia page: first place, Giro d’Italia, Fidenza-Marina di Carrara. Don’t be suprised if Lloyd names a kid or dog Carrara to comemorate his first grand tour stage win.
Mark three wins for the Belgian squads in this year’s Giro. Organizer Angelo Zomegnan likes spectacle but what he’s really getting is strange, unpredictable results. Weylandt, Pineau, Lloyd? Is there no honor or passion left in Italy? Where are the flashy latin guys like Danilo Di Luca and Riccardo Ricco. Oops, forget, that drug thing. The price you pay — no parasite, no passion.
Poor Linguine Spaghetti of the Continental squad Pasta Primavera Gelato Espresso was dropped on the first climb and barely made the time cut. He looks great sitting on the bike but it’s the pedaling fast that’s the issue.
The sprinters missed a possible opportunity today. Garmin’s director Matt White thought his ace Tyler Farrar had enough climbing ability to get over the Passo del Brattello and leave the other fast twitch guys behind. Didn’t happen.
Only Alessandro Petacchi (Lampre) made a small dig with around 15k to go. A nice idea and a bit of excited TV time but in the end, doomed. All of Italy cheered for about 2 minutes.
The solo spotlight was all for Matthew Lloyd today. Zip up, cruise in, savor it. A big win for Australia and Belgium in Italy.
He sure did not look happy or comfortable at the finish.