2010 Giro d’ Italia: Day 10 News and Notes

In today’s Giro News, a sunny day, Cunego changes goal from stages to overall, Vino hoping for better weather, Farrar nearly gave stage to leadout man Dean and more.

Luk Beines/AFP/Getty Images

• Matthew Goss was slated to help Greipel for the sprint during Monday’s stage, but as has been the norm lately, Greipel missed the sprint train.
  For his part, Tyler Farrar was to aid David Millar at the line yesterday, but he started too early as well.
• Ivan Basso, knowing that the hardest days of the race were still ahead of him, bemoaned the weather but expressed his confidence to do well in the race.
• Pedro Horillo (Rabobank) suffered his horrific fall at the Giro one year ago today. He’s riding in the Tour of California this year, and I’m sure he’s hoping to keep the rubber on the road this time around.
• Alexandre Vinokourov is hoping for better weather and easier stages in advance of next week’s difficult closing stages.
• Damiano Cunego has changed his goals from stage wins to overall victory at the Giro. He currently ranks ninth in the overall standings, 3’08″ behind Vinokourov. Cunego denied any connection to the Mantua doping scandal and added that riders that dope “must disappear for ever”. [If he gets nabbed, we expect him to reject the two year suspension and announce his retirement. - Ed.]
• WADA has announced that they will work cooperatively with pharmaceutical companies to have access to potentially performance-enhancing drugs while they are still under development in order to anticipate misuse and to create tests in advance of their being released to the public.
• In stark contrast to Monday’s stage, the sun shone overhead as the riders traversed from coast to coast and Hubert Dupont (AG2R), Dario Cataldo (Quick-Step) and British rider Charlie Wegelius (Omega Pharma-Lotto) broke clear soon after they exited Avellino.
• Tyler Farrar sprinted to his second victory in the Giro today, adding to his points total. After a quite easy-going day, the finish was anything but, with a sharp right-hander with just over 1km to go, and then a series of left-handers, before the final 250-meter straight.
• Farrar’s leadout man Julian Dean brought him into the final corner and Tyler took it from there, Fabio Sabatini (Liquigas) took second and Dean came across third.
• “I think I have the best team to start the sprint,” said Farrar. “It’s a little easier in these conditions because I have every confidence in my teammates. In the last mile it was really crazy and even a little dangerous because of the bends, narrow streets. I was in good position and I stayed in the wheels to the last moments. It’s not me but Julian Dean who did something extraordinary.”
• Farrar said that he was planning to let Dean win, but he looked back and saw Sabatini coming, so he went himself to try and close the door on him.
• Vino enjoyed the first “really quiet … day since the start.” He added, “Tomorrow (Wednesday), the course is hard, like a classic. The final is difficult. Attacking? is more to the other riders (to) for the pink jersey. We will see how the legs. The team will control. I can not say I will win.”
• Robbie McEwen was planning something today, but says that the tricky finish squashed his attempt. He congratulated Farrar and Garmin for their win and thanked his teammates for getting him to the final kilometer.
• Wednesday’s stage is the longest of the race at 262km.