Simon Gerrans
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Aussie takes Stage 14 in the Giro D’Italia
Posted on May 25th, 2009 No comments
2009 Giro d'Italia, stage 14: Gerrans takes the second grand tour stage of his career.
Danilo Di Luca (LPR) missed a chance to jump back into the pink jersey at the Giro d’Italia in Saturday’s hilltop finish up the fiercely steep climb to the San Luca church that was tailor-made for his explosive style.
Instead of battling for a vital 20-second time bonus that might have come with a stage victory, LPR botched the chase in the 172km 14th stage and let most of a 14-man breakaway stay clear to gobble up the time bonuses.
“We pushed until the 50km mark and then I told my teammates to slow down because we couldn’t catch them,” a disappointed Di Luca said after the stage. “We spent too much energy today.”
Simon Gerrans (Cervélo TestTeam) snatched an impressive victory out of the break, 12 seconds ahead of Rubens Bertogliati (Diquigiovanni) up the steep “wall” to the San Luca church high above Bologna in only this Giro’s second successful breakaway.
The main pack hit the bottom of the climb, but Gerrans was 1:04 ahead of the GC contenders with his first major victory since winning the stage to Prato Nevoso stage in last year’s Tour de France.
“The two steep pitches really surprised me. I was there for the first one and then the second one killed me,” Gerrans said. “I was looking over my shoulder, I was exhausted and I thought someone would catch me, but it turns out everyone was exhausted.”
With the time bonuses gone, the duel up the 16 percent grades still had major implications. Di Luca flailed past cheering tifosi up the intense, 2km climb, but failed to dislodge overnight leader Denis Menchov (Rabobank).
The pair finished on the same time at 11th and 13th, respectively, at 1:04 behind Gerrans, with the stubborn Menchov retaining his 34-second lead to Di Luca.
Menchov doggedly marked Di Luca’s surges and was able to turn the stage’s unfolding action to his advantage. LPR pulled nearly the entire day at the front, allowing Menchov to conserve the strength of his under-manned Rabobank team to fight another day.
“This is a special climb, one that’s perfect for an explosive rider like Danilo,” said a relieved Menchov. “It was a perfect situation for us. We had an escape group that had a good chance of arriving.”
Although he forfeited three seconds, Levi Leipheimer (Astana) also dodged a bullet and retained his grip on third overall, now 43 seconds back.
Leipheimer ─ who raced Saturday with a clear taped bandage over scrapes on his left arm ─ was worried that he might get gapped on the explosive final climb.
“That’s the first time we’ve seen LPR make a mistake,” Leipheimer said after the stage. “Much better, much better (with the break). It was good to see a break finally make it.”
Leipheimer briefly lost the wheel under the intense pace on the steepest part of the climb with about 1km to go, but he found an ally with 2006 Giro champ Ivan Basso (Liquigas). The pair clawed back and only ceded ground in the final sprint to the line.
“I just did my best today. I was afraid I would lose a few seconds. It’s not a big deal,” Leipheimer said. “I don’t want to give up seconds. I kind of expected it, that’s just what they do best, that’s definitely my weak spot.”
Earlier in the stage, Astana teammate Lance Armstrong was playing the role of helper, even at one point late in the stage rolling back to the team car to bring up fresh water bottles for Leipheimer.
“Definitely, we have a strong team. We’re fresh relative to the other guys, that’s our strength,” Leipheimer said. “Not super, good, I’m a little sore, the last couple of days I’m definitely sore from the crash.”
Stage 14 results
1 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Cervelo Test Team 4.16.48
2 Rubens Bertaglioti (Ita) Diquigiovanni 0.12
3 Francesco Gavazzi (Ita) Lampre – N.G.C. 0.18
4 Evgeny Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha 0.24
5 Philip Deignan (Irl) Cervelo Test Team 0.27
6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Barloworld 0.36
7 Vasili Kiryienka (Blr) Caisse d’Epargne 0.41
8 Francesco Reda (Ita) Quick Step 1.01
9 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) ISD 1.04
10 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) LiquigasGeneral classification after stage 14
1 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes – Farnese Vini 0.34
3 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.43
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas 2.00
5 Carlos Sastre (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 2.52
6 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas 3.03
7 Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Columbia – Highroad 3.05
8 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) S.Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli 5.17Source: Velonews.com