Giro Day 9 News and Notes

It’s a rest day at the Giro, but there is, as always, plenty to talk about. The Milan stage was a bit of a fiasco, Pedro Horillo is out of his coma but still critical, doping controls yesterday, McEwen wins in France, Hushovd wins in Spain and more…

Rest Day News and Notes:

• Columbia Highroad’s Mark Cavendish won a neutralized stage that won’t count against overall standings.
• The riders stopped six laps from the finish to protest unsafe security measures. Riders were already on edge about perilous descents and tight finishing circuits in stages seven and eight when they confronted Sunday’s 25-turn circuit, laden with parked cars, tram lines, narrow corners and uneven road surfaces. Fan reaction to the protest was negative.
• Astana manager Johan Bruyneel supported the decision of the riders to protest and hoped that in the future, teams would have a stronger voice with race organizers.
• Spanish cyclist Pedro Horrillo was brought out of an artificially-induced coma on Sunday the day after he sustained serious injuries in a crash Saturday during the Tour of Italy, race organizers said.
• Five teams (Caisse d’Epargne, Team Saxo Bank, Fuji Servetto, Team Katusha and LPR Brakes) were visited by doping controllers yesterday morning.
• Lance Armstrong also had his 28th doping control yesterday.
• Levi Leipheimer has been quiet for most of the race, but he still sits comfortably in fourth place, just 51 seconds behind Danilo Di Luca.
• Today is a rest day on the race meaning Danilo Di Luca, the 2007 champion, will go into Tuesday’s 10th stage, a 262km ride in the Italian Alps from Cuneo to Pinerolo, with his 13-second lead on Sweden’s Thomas Lovkvist intact.
• The Diquigiovanni team took advantage of the rest day to announce a new sponsor: Sigma Coatings, a construction paint company. Sigma Coatings is part of America’s PPG Industries.

Other Results:

• Australian Robbie McEwen (Katusha) won Sunday’s third stage of the Tour de Picardie, 84.5 km from Coucy-le-Château Auffrique to Noyon.
• Kenny Van Hummel keeps winning. After winning Saturday’s Dutch Food Valley Classic, on Sunday he took the Tour de Rijke, taking the sprint over German Eric Baumann (Team Nutrixxion) and Belgian Jurgen Roelandts (Silence Lotto).
• World time trial champ Amber Neben and the Equipe Nürnberger team won Sunday’s team time trial at the Tour de l’Aude. Neben takes over the yellow jersey.
• Niko Eeckhout won the opening stage of the FDB Insurance Ras Sunday in Ireland. This is his third victory of the season.
• Leigh Howard of SouthAustralia team won the first stage of the Tour of Japan.
• Thor Hushovd (Cervelo) won the prologue of the Tour of Catalonia.

Other News:

• Cofidis rider Alexander Blain injured his shoulder blade in a fall in the first stage of the Tour of Picardie. He’ll have to rest for an indefinite period of time to allow the cut to heal.
• Danish cyclist Michael Rasmussen and Austrian Bernhard Kohl are in criminal investigation for trafficking in doping products. They are suspected in purchasing a centrifuge for a the purpose of blood doping and making it available to other athletes.
• Milram’s Linus Gerdemann has be reconning the Tour de France route and recently made a couple of spins up Mont Ventoux and looked at some of the mountains between France and Switzerland.
• Cofidis rider Remi Pauriol, who suffered a broken collarbone during the 2nd stage of Paris-Nice returned to competition Monday at the Tour of Catalonia.

Tags: Amber Neben, astana, Bernhard Kohl, Caisse d'Epargne, Cofidis, Columbia Highroad, danilo di luca, fuji servetto, Giro d'Italia, giro d'italia stage 8, Kenny Van Hummel, Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer, linus gerdemann, Mark Cavendish, michael rasmussen, pedro horrillo, Robbie McEwen, Team Katusha, Thor Hushovd