New Maglia Rosa Alberto Contador: Giro Game Over?

Alberto Contador now holds the maglia rosa after having put in a good performance climbing in the Dolomites. He rode an excellent individual time trial on Sunday, and although he didn't win the 'race of truth,' he did ride well enough to ensure that the pink jersey stays in his and Astana's hands into the final week of the Giro. He'll now look to recover over the next few stages, before the final mountian showdown later this week.

The Spaniard's competition now must ponder the inevitable: Alberto Contador is not easily dropped in the mountains, and not easily defeated in the time trials. He is a cagy, tactically sound rider competing for one of the best stage race teams in the world. He'll have excellent support from teammates Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden in the high mountains, and the best equipment money can buy in the time trials. Barring a catastrophe, Contador should arrive in Milano the winner of the 2008 Giro d'Italia.

Contador's strong time trialing skills will make it hard to beat him now that he is ahead

But not so fast, say the Italians. Danilo Di Luca, Franco Pellizotti, Gilberto Simoni, and Riccardo Ricco know the Giro's roads like the back of their hand, and will be waiting for the ideal moment to attack. Also, being from the same country, the above mentioned riders also may decide to form an alliance with each other to ensure that Contador doesn't win. After all, it has been 11 long years since a non-Italian won the Giro (Pavel Tonkov, Russia, 1996), and each of the Italians in the race will do all they can to keep the foreigner from winning.

Tonkov was the last non-Italian to win the overall title, back in 1996

The next few days will provide some much needed recovery time for each rider as they plan for the final week of action. Huge tests await the field in the Giro's final week, and the overall winner will truly be the one who has ridden the most consistently throughout the three week tour. Contador will use all of his resources to outwit and outride the competition, and it will be a difficult task for any rider (or team) to unseat the new patron of the professional peloton.

Giro Time Trial Stage 10: Contador Arrives

Contador showed his superior time trialing skills again at the Giro d'Italia 2008

After the dust had settled on the 10th stage of the Giro, one name stood above all others as the biggest talking point: Alberto Contador. Last year's Tour de France champion blazed the individual time trial course, slotting the best time of the day among the GC contenders. Riding on a fractured elbow, the Spaniard showed why he is so dangerous. An amazing climber capable of quick accelerations on the steepest ramps, Contador also possesses the ability to take time out of his rivals in the time trial discipline. And he did it again at the Giro, alerting the field and the cycling public that he is a contender in this year's Giro, no matter what he or his team say.

Unlike riders like Riccardo Ricco or Gilberto Simoni, who hope to limit their losses in the time trials, Contador uses them to further increase his lead. He'll be tough adversary for the Giro field the rest of the Tour, a will his Astana team. The other two leaders of the team, Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Kloden, remain toward the top of the GC battle, as the American is about two minutes behind Contador, and teammate Kloden only a minute. As was predicted, the Astana squad will govern the tactics for the rest of the Giro, with three cards still to play.

Other surprises from stage ten? For positive, look no further than the aforementioned Simoni, who conceded only 54 seconds to Contador, and now sits comfortably in 10th place, only two minutes behind Contador. He'll have a chance if he can make Contador suffer in the high passes. For some, the time trial was decidedly negative. One such rider was Danilo Di Luca, who lost 2:03 to Contador, and now lies about a minute and a half from Contador's time. He is still well within striking distance, but he'll need to ride strong in the mountains to have a chance at the overall.

As usual, a time trial in a grand tour has shuffled the deck and revealed the true contenders of the race. Some are better off than others, but very few of the GC riders are out of the competition. All this and more should make the final week and a half at rhe Giro one of the best in recent memory.

Giro Stage 7 and 8: Di Luca Steals Seconds, Ricco Strikes Again

As he did in last year's Giro, di Luca has used the early stages to take small time increments from his rivals

Danilo di Luca did what many expected him to do in Friday's stage 7 of the Giro, attacking the field on the way to the finish and taking valuable time away from several GC riders. Levi Leipheimer, Dennis Menchov, Andreas Kloden, Franco Pellizotti, and Gilberto Simoni all lost 49 seconds to the 'Killer,' while Juan Antonio Soler, the climbing ace from Barloworld, lost one minute and 26 seconds on the day. Di Luca dragged hiself and two other GC threats with him, as Ricardo Ricco and Alberto Contador were both strong enough to follow last year's champion.

Bettini has spent much of 2008 on the ground, which has hurt his form, not to mention his body

Meanwhile today in stage 8, Riccardo Ricco had his turn and was able to win another stage with his explosive sprint, after the field was thinned by some tough climbs before the finish. Ricco bested Italian compatriot Davide Rebellin, who for the second day was close to victory, but was lacking just that extra little bit of power needed to come around the Saunier Duvall-Scott captain. Also present at the front of today's stage was the world champion Paolo Bettini. 'Il Grillo' hasn't had the best start to his season, as he has suffered multiple crashes that have affected his form negatively in 2008.

Next Saturday's stage is when the real battle for the overall begins

Looking ahead, tomorrow's stage is a flat one, custom-tailored for the fast finishers. Look for Daniele Bennati again at the front of the bunch, as well as Danilo Hondo, and Julian Dean of the Slipstream squad. Race overall leader Giovanni Visconti will have yet another day in the maglia rosa, before Tuesday's mountain time trial. There, Visconti will probably be able to put in a good enough ride against the clock to keep the jersey again. With some luck, the current Italian champion may be able to old the jersey all the way until next Saturday, where he will surely give it up to one of the race favorites.

Giro Stage Two: Cobra Strikes, Pellizotti in Pink, Zabriskie Crashes Out

Ricco has the flambouyance of an elite stage racer, but has yet to prove he has the legs

Riccardo Ricco took the second stage of the Giro yesterday, after he outsprinted Di Luca, Salvodelli and others, taking his first big win of the year. Full of confidence, Ricco played up his chances in interviews, claiming that taking the stage win ahead of defending champ Di Luca showed he is on good form and ready for a run at the overall. He may be, but judgement must be witheld until the race heads into the high mountains, as Ricco has had trouble with consistency in the past.

Pellizotti gets to ride for himself in 2008, as Di Luca is gone and Basso is still a year away, at best

Also involved in the sprint was Franco Pellizotti of the Liquigas team, who placed a strong fourth, and in doing so took the pink jersey. An excellent result for Pellizotti, who is enjoying his captainship of the lime green and blue team, after the departing of Di Luca. Like Ricco though, Pellizotti must prove himself in the high mountains before he can be considered a legit threat for the overall win.

Zabriskie got shoda-chopped by a railroad barrier in stage two

Finally, David Zabriskie crashed out of the Giro after being involved in a mass pile-up at a railroad crossing. A multitude of riders went down, but 'Don Quixote' took the worst beating, having to be taken to hospital. In what is a shame for Slipstream, Zabriskie heads back to the states to recover and prepare for other races on the schedule. Now word yet on where he'll make his comeback, but perhaps the Triple Crown of Cycling in Pennsylvania would be a good place to start.

Giro Off and Running with TTT in Palermo

Liquigas took the stage one TTT in 2007, and team leader Danilo Di Luca went on to win the overall

The Giro d'Italia, the season's first grand tour, will begin like it did last year: with a team time trial that will establish the initial GC. There are several favorites for the win, and the day should be action packed and exciting. So which teams are most likely to contend? See below for Euro Peloton's views . . .

Slipstream

The Slipstream team will not contend for the overall in the Giro d'Italia, but that doesn't mean they can't take the maglia rosa for a few stages. They bring a powerful line up to the time trial, full of big engines and experience. Two national champions (Millar, Zabriskie) will be on hand to take the time trial reins, along with two big roulers (Backstedt, Dean), an experienced top American time trialist (Vande Velde), and a former junior time trial champion (Pate). They have a very good shot at the win, providing they can perform as well mentally as they do physically. Considering the performance they put in recently at the Tour de Georgia, the 'Argyle Gang' should be considered the most dangeous team in the fight for the TTT title.

Former maglia rosa Pinotti is a respected rider recognized for his integrity and fair play

High Road

Like Slipstream, High Road probably won't be in the picture for the overall Giro title, but they have some excellent time trialists attending the Giro, and if they can send one of the top sprinters over the finish line first, they may be able to keep the jersey for a few stages. Look for Bradley Wiggins to lead the American registered team, as they attempt to put Italian veteran Marco Pinotti into the pink again, like they did in .

Astana

Why can't they? Everyone seem to want to put Astana at a disadvantage because they weren't notified ahead of time for the Giro. What's the big deal? Kloden is on great form, Levi was decent in Georgia, and Gusev is on the upswing following a broken clavicle at the Tour of California. Contado is Contador, the defending Tour de France champ. The four above mentioned riders are all excellent time trialists, and together are more than capable of putting in a great time against the clock. They'll go top five, minimum.

CSC

Bjarne Riis' Danish squad is young and inexperienced, but also very talented. The 1996 TDF winner (no matter what Prudhomme says) Riis always has his troops ready for battle, so expect CSC to put in an excellent ride in the TTT. They may not win it, but they'll knock on the door, as they do in every race they enter.

While the above four teams all have an excellent chance at victory, don't count out Danilo Di Luca and his LPR Brakes team. His teammate, "il falco," Paolo Salvodelli, is a better than average time trialist capable of long pulls at the front. Di Luca realizes the importance of the opening time trial, and will be urging his team on throughout. They may not win, but they won't lose by a ton either. The Giro d'Italia is on tap, the most beautiful stage race in the world!

Di Luca Cleared By CONI, Giro Defense Back On Track

Di Luca will get the chance to don the Maglia Rosa and pop the bubbly again in 2008

Danilo Di Luca was cleared yesterday by the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) in the "Oil for Drugs" scandal involving his low hormone levels at last year's Giro d'Italia. Di Luca, having been dropped from his former Pro Tour sponsor Liquigas, now can hope to defend his Giro d'Italia title for the continental LPR Brakes team. Di luca will have the benefit of two-time Giro winner Paolo Salvodelli, who signed with the team for 2008, in the high mountains as he tries to defend his 2007 Giro title.

Di Luca, even as a junior, showed big promise

Di Luca won't be able to defend his 2007 Liege title as his team has not been invited, but that will only give "The Killer" more time to prepare for his Giro defense. He'll be a formidable adversary for Riccardo Ricco, Gilberto Simoni, Franco Pellizotti, and Stephano Garzelli for the 91st edition of the Giro d'Italia.

The spoils of victory: Di Luca's custom-pinked Giro carbon handlebars---sah-weet

Now that Di Luca has been cleared by the governing body, how must the Liquigas company feel? They invested in Di Luca only to see his and their name tarnished by false doping allegations. Now Di Luca is viewed as "innocent," but he is no longer associated with the Liquigas team after being dropped amid threats of sanctioning. Di Luca looks to be a casualty in the war against doping, as he'll have to hope to get back onto a Pro Tour team in the next year or two. Small comfort to a man who was nearly stripped of his hard earned 2007 Giro title.