2010 Giro d’ Italia: Day 17 News and Notes

In today’s Giro News, Monier takes second French victory at this year’s race, Tuft fined for incorrect jersey, chance of snow for the Gavia; also, other bicycle racing news.

Luk Beines/AFP/Getty Images

• David Arroyo ( Caisse d’Epargne ) retained the leader’s pink jersey of the Giro after the 17th stage. He still leads Ivan Basso (Liquigas) and Richie Porte (Saxo Bank).
• “Today could have been dangerous, but the team did a great work today to get me through the stage. Now we are one day closer to Verona, so now we have to change the mentality and keep a positive attitude,” Arroyo said. “The time we have in our favor gives us some level of comfort. With these hard mountain stages ahead of us, seconds can turn into minutes.”
• All the GC favorites finished with the same time, except Carlos Sastre (Cervélo), when a small gap opened in the final meters and the race judges timed him at 5sec slower.
• Damien Monier’s victory at the Giro today marks just the second French stage victory at the race since 1999. Jerome Pineau won a stage this year as well.
• Monier has been silently riding for Cofidis for a good number of years. Today’s win marks his first victory in his seven years as a professional. “My first victory, it’s extraordinary!” said Monier, who turned professional six years ago. “I still don’t believe it, it’s a dream. I felt good at the start of the stage but it was really tough at the end.”
• Monier added: “I gave everything in the last climb. We played to win. After the line, I had to sit, I had nothing in my legs.”
• Monier was added to the Cofidis roster just days before the race to replace teammate Tristan Valentin, who was recovering from bronchitis.  Monier also rode the Giro in 2008.
• Today’s race started fast, with an average pace of 50.2 km/h. An early break was not able to get away, but the peloton seemed content to let 19 riders attack later in the day.
• Canadian TT Champion Svein Tuft (Garmin-Transitions) was fined 2,500 Swiss francs by UCU officials for not wearing his time trial jersey yesterday. Tuft says that he simply forgot the jersey, and that is traveled with the team’s second truck and it wasn’t available for the stage. Tuft says that he’ll be sure to wear the jersey in Sunday’s TT in Verona.
• Forecasters are calling for nasty weather this weekend which could put the Gavia summit in danger in Saturday’s penultimate stage. The Gavia tops out at 2,618m and could see significant amount of snowfall. If that’s the case, organizers are already look at alternative routes, most likely passage over the Mortirolo climb, at 1,854m, scheduled for Friday’s stage.
• David Loosli 9Lampre) wasn’t at the departure today: he quit the race because he suffered for a suprasellar problem.
• Thursday’s stage 18, 140km from Levico Terme to Brescia, should be one for the few sprinters left in the race. It’s downhill to Trento and then flat-to-rolling along the western shore of Lake Garda before a flat circuit finish in Brescia. Andre Greipel (HTC-Columbia) is reportedly looking strong and healthy and is said to be a favorite for the win.
• Ivan Basso and Vincenzo Nibali will appear at a circuit race in the Italian town of Arona just one day after the conclusion of the Giro. The GP Fontaneto Ravioli – Coppa Guffanti Formaggi is also expected to attract, among others, Valerio Agnoli, a splendid soldier for Liquigas-Doimo as well as Yaroslav Popovych, lieutenant par excellence of Lance Armstrong, just returning from the Tour of California.

Other Bicycle Racing News:

• After crashing out of the Tour of California, Lance Armstrong will return to competition at the Tour of Luxembourg, June 2nd to 6th. Armstrong, who won the race in 1998, will be joined by Sam Bewley, Daryl Impey, Andreas Klöden, Tiago Machado, Gregory Rast, Ivan Rovny &  Bjørn Selander.
• Denis Menchov (Rabobank) dropped out of the Tour of Belgium just 40 km into the race, citing growing concerns about his physical condition.
• After Andy Schleck misplaced his shoes during a transfer at the Tour of California, his teammate Fabian Cancellara suggested that perhaps the young rider needs a good woman to look after him.
• Stijn Devolder has ambitions for the Tour of Belgium. He won the event in 2008 and would like to do it again.
• Despite transfer rumors, cyclocross world champ Zdenek Stybar says that he will continue to ride for Telenet Fidea this season. “I have a contract until February 2011, and I can not just break,” he says. “So I drive in the rainbow for Telenet. What then is concerned, there are several options. But I want clarity as soon as possible.” Those options are said to include teams such as Liquigas, Quick Step and Crédit Agricole.
• The Amore & Vita team has announced the signing of Ukrainian Volodymyr Bilek, former teammate of Lance Armstrong and then of Cadel Evans. Bilek is returning to professional cycling after serving a ban for doping two years ago. He knows that his return will not be a walk in the park. He’ll make his debut in the U.S. on June 6th at the Philadelphia International Championship, then will travel to Washington DC for the Air Force Cycling Classic and to Canada for the Tour de Beauce (June 15 – 21).
• Alejandro Barrajo and Luis Amaran used their 1/2 result in last weekend’s Wilmington Grand Prix to help their Jamis-Sutter Home p/b Colavita team take over USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar men’s team overall lead.