Giro d’Italia Day 19 News and Notes

Welcome back to Bike World News for the latest in Giro d’Italia news and much more. I’m a little late on reporting today thanks to the generosity of the young adult group at my church. They provided an evening of free babysitting, so Mrs. BWN and I took advantage of the opportunity and went for a date.

First, can we look at Victoria Pendelton again? Yes. Carlos Sastre is realistic about chances for victory, Floyd Landis charged with cyber crime, Lance Armstrong falls, gets up again, Robbie McEwen‘s injuries not as bad as first suspected.

Giro d’Italia Day 19 News and Notes:

• Carlos Sastre is happy about his victory today, but seems realistic about his chances to end up on the podium. He knows that Pellizotti will likely best him in the time trial.
• Danilo Di Luca also seems consigned to not stand at the top of the podium. He says that the race will be a “fight to the end”.
• There are no French riders in the top 60 of the general classification of the race. French riders have been involved in breakaways, Thomas Voeckler most recently, but no one has ridden to victory.
• Stefano Garzelli is comfortably in possession of the mountains jersey. He has a 16 point lead over Danilo Di Luca with very little climbing left in the race.
• Kevin Seeldraeyers of Quick Step hopes to close out the race in the white jersey for best young rider. He finished 14th today, 1’38″ behind Carlos Sastre.
• Lance Armstrong fell midway through today’s stage but appeared to escape serious injury. The seven-time Tour de France winner apparently touched the wheel of the rider in front of him as the main pack went around a hairpin curve on the scenic Amalfi coast.
• The President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, will host the caravan of the Giro’s centenary at the end of the race, Sunday afternoon in Rome and will present the winner’s trophy
• Saturday’s stage goes 203 km from Naples to Anagni and is relatively flat, barring a Cat 3 climb at km 184.

Other Results:

• Slovenian Borut Bozic (Vancansoleil) won Friday’s third stage of the Tour of Belgiumin a sprint over Danilo Napolitano (Katyusha) and Kristof Goddaert (Topsport Vlaanderen). He also won yesterday. He added to his overall race lead and sits 14 seconds in front of Katusha’s Sergei Ivanov.
• Team Columbia’s sprinter André Greipel took his second victory at the 30th Edition of the Tour of Bavaria. He outsprinted Cervelo’s Heinrich Haussler for the win. Greipel gave much of the credit for his victory to his team, saying, “with such a team, you can only win.”

Other News:

• Updated information has come in about Robbie McEwen’s injury at the Tour of Belgium. There was only a fracture to his tibia, not a sliced ligament as previously thought. He’ll have 3 or 4 weeks off of the bike and will miss the Tour de France, but he will ride again.
• France has banned the use of race radios and rider earphones for their National Championships.The decision is not permanent but the results will be evaluated.
• Alberto Contador continued his Tour de France recon in the Alps, and took a rest run of the Bourg Saint Maurice – Le Grand Bornand stage.
• In a show of unbridled optimism, Caisse d’Epargne has included Alejandro Valverde in their list of riders for the Tour de France. With the race dipping into Italy for a day, he can’t race unless some change to his suspension their comes through from the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
• Seems that Astana is not the only team with cash flow problems. The UCI has suspended the Air Force-Amica Chips team due to failure to pay their riders.
• Ivan Basso will pass on the Tour de France and run the Vuelta instead. He is planning to race in June’s Dauphine Libere.
• Still trying to figure this one out.. Floyd Landis has been named in an international arrest warrant for hacking into the computer at France’s Chatenay-Malabry anti-doping lab. His coach Arnie Baker is named in the warrant as well.
• Frenchman Kevin Sireau beat the 200m flying sprint record previously held by Rabobank’s Theo Bos.
• Italian cyclist Marta Bastianelli received a two-year ban for a doping violation before the Beijing Olympics. The Court of Arbitration for Sport on Friday ruled in favor of an appeal by the International Cycling Union to double the former world road race championís one-year suspension. Her ban runs through July 4, 2010. Bastianelli was a strong medal contender for Beijing but was dropped from the Italian team days before the games last August. She tested positive for the banned stimulant flenfluramine twice in July last year: at the under-23 European championships in Verbania, Italy, and after the eighth stage of the womenís Giro díItalia.
• If Tom Boonen does not get to ride in the Tour de France, the organizers of July’s Tour of Austria are more than happy to have him back. He rode the race last year and won a stage.

Tags: alberto contador, Alejandro Valverde, astana, Beijing Olympics, Caisse d'Epargne, Carlos Sastre, cervelo, columbia, Court of Arbitration for Sport, cycling, danilo di luca, Danilo Napolitano, Dauphine Libere, floyd landis, Giro d'Italia, Heinrich Haussler, International Cycling Union, Ivan Basso, katusha, Lance, Lance Armstrong, marta bastianelli, Quick Step, Rabobank, Robbie McEwen, Stefano Garzelli, Team Columbia, Thomas Voeckler, Tom Boonen