Giro d'Italia Stage 12: What We Learned

The Giro's long, up and down time trial is now in the books, with Denis Menchov the big winner on the day. Not only did Rabobank's Russian take the win on the stage, but he also took enough time out of Danilo Di Luca to earn his first Maglia Rosa. Menchov is riding very strong, and the only thing that may limit his ability to win the centenary Giro will be the strength of his team and their ability to support him for the remainder of the race. There were a slew of other things we learned on the day, some of which follow below.

Levi Leipheimer, like Menchov, took a lot of time out of his rivals on stage 12. He is positioned well heading into the last half of the Giro, and he'll likely be Menchov's number one rival going forward. He has a stronger team than Menchov, which could mean that the Giro may see its first American overall winner since 1988.

Michael Rogers, although a great time trialist, was simply not up to the task in stage 12 and is now riding the Giro for training. His short fall in what is usually his signature discipline will be a mental blow to him and his team, and he'll hope to regain some confidence over the remaining stages of the tour. He always comes into grand tours as a GC favorite, but now it seems as though talk of him as a grand tour winner should calm down until he is able to demonstrate that he can be consistent over the course of a three week tour.

Ivan Basso is no longer the rider he was before his suspension for "attempted doping." In fact, as the Giro continues, it seems that he may have done more than attempted to dope two seasons ago. He put in an acceptable, if pedestrian, time trial today, and now sits three minutes behind Menchov on the GC. Considering he won the 2006 Giro by nine minutes, it is a marked change for the beloved Italian, who now will be reduced to a support role after Franco Pellizotti's time trial ride, 50 seconds faster than Basso's.

Danilo Di Luca is not lacking in the "grinta" category, and he put in a brave ride in the time trial, where he forfeited just under two minutes to Menchov. Thanks to an intelligently ridden first half of the Giro though, he is only 34 seconds behind on the GC, and looks ideally positioned to battle for the pink jersey for the remainder of the race. He has been the best climber thus far in the Giro, and he seems well-positioned to try for his second overall win in his home tour.

Carlos Sastre is lurking in fifth place, and is down by 2:52 to Menchov. He probably won't be able to unseat Menchov or Leipheimer on the GC, but if he puts in one of his signature attacks on one of the upcoming mountain stages, he could put Di Luca and Pellizotti in deep trouble. A top three overall performance is still well within reach for Sastre, as he continues his build up to the Tour de France.

Stefano Garzelli, although out of the GC hunt, has been one of the most exciting riders in the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia. He has been on a long solo breakaway, and to put in such a great performance in the tough time trial hints at his class as a cyclist and competitor. His best days as a rider have surely passed him by, but he is nevertheless making his mark on this edition of the Giro d'Italia. Hopefully he'll manage to win the mountain jersey, a deserved prize for the aging Italian veteran.

Although he finished more than two and a half minutes off of Menchov's winning pace, Lance Armstrong showed that he is getting stronger as the Giro goes on. He'll ride in support of Leipheimer for the remainder of the Giro, before putting the finishing touches on his form for July's Tour de France. Alberto Contador will be the leader for Astana, but with one slip up the Texan will assume leadership duties. Adding to the drama is the potential for Astana to be under a different name come July. If Armstrong controls ownership of the team by then, expect Contador to be compelled to take a back seat to the 7-time overall Tour winner.