Just when things were beginning to look really good for Slipstream-Chipotle at the Giro d'Italia, David Zabriskie crashed on Sunday when his bicycle tangled with Alberto Contador's and he was rushed away by ambulance.
An update by Slipstream's directeur sportif Jonathan Vaughters reported that the cyclist from Salt Lake City injured his back in the crash but was able to move his legs. They'll know more when the X-rays come back.
The accident happened along some railroad tracks about 40 miles from the finish, according to CyclingNews. Slipstream, who was defending the pink leader's jersey worn by Christian Vande Velde, and Contador's Astana team were at the head of the peloton chasing down an early breakaway. Contador was able to stay in the race. ... more»
I love it when the unsung, work-a-day athlete suddenly scores it big in any sport. That happened Saturday when Christian Vande Velde earned the maglia rosa at the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
Ever since I started this bicycling blog in 2005, the name Christian Vande Velde has come up repeatedly among US cyclists competing in elite competitions in Europe and the US.
But he never made the headlines. Ever since turning pro in 1998, the native of Lemont, Illinois, has been the guy delivering water bottles to Lance Armstrong, or helping pace Carlos Sastre or Frank Schleck over mountain passes.
Now, at 31, he ends up leading the surviving five cyclists in the Slipstream-Chipotle pack in the team time trial at the Giro d'Italia and wins the race. What's more, it's the first stage, so he earns the maglia rosa, the pink jersey. Further, he becomes the only US cyclist since Andy Hampsten in 1988 to do so. ... more»
The US-based Slipstream-Chipotle put Christian Vande Velde in the lead of the 2008 Giro d'Italia on Saturday by winning the opening team time trial.
It marks the first time in 20 years that an American has worn the leader's pink jersey at the Giro.
The Slipstream squad gained the lead after finishing the 14.6-mile course around Palermo on the island of Sicily in 26:32. Of the teams that followed, High Road and Team CSC each finished 6 seconds off the pace.
Slipstream members David Zabriskie (US) and David Millar (UK) set a torrid pace for the team ... more»
Once again, you'll be able to bring live action from the 2008 Giro d'Italia right to your home or office computer with video streaming or text updates.
The Versus cable network is offering a live video feed from the bike race across Italy via Cycling.tv. The $29.99 offer includes the live feed and daily highlights, as well as this year's Milan-San Remo and Tirreno Adriatico. Sign up at the Versus-Cycling.tv Giro package site.
The one catch is that the offer doesn't include any Sunday stages, as they will be televised by Versus on cable during Cyclysm Sundays. Dates and times for Giro coverage on Cyclysm Sundays: 4 p.m. May 11, May 18 and May 25 and 3 p.m. on June 1 (all times are ET.... more»
In spite of an early prohibition, Giro d'Italia organizers are allowing the Astana pro cycling team into the three-week race that begins Saturday in Palermo.
That means US cyclist Levi Leipheimer will race in the Italian classic, along with teammate Alberto Contador, who won the Tour de France last year. (No word on whether the Tour de France chiefs may change their position on Astana.)
Only three of the 22 teams are sending US cyclists to the Giro this year; most of the US riders are members of the Slipstream team. In addition to Leipheimer, other US competitors are Jason McCartney of Team CSC and Jonathan Patrick McCarty, Danny Pate, Christian VandeVelde and David Zabriskie, all of Slipstream... more»
Giro d'Italia officials took punitive measures against top-flight pro cycling teams Astana and High Road by denying them admission to three-week race that begins May 10.
It's seems unfortunate and a bit unfair that the likes of Americans Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner (Astana) and George Hincapie (High Road), as well as Spain's Alberto Contador, won't be able to compete because of lax drug oversight by those teams in previous years.
It also raises the possibility that the Tour de France may follow suit, which would prevent Contador from defending his 2007 title and Leipheimer and Hincapie from a chance at wearing the yellow jersey. more»
Time trial specialists might be looking forward to the 2008 Giro d'Italia, which rolls out of Palermo on May 10 and ends in Milan on June 1.
The 91st edition of the bike race begins with a team time trial and ends with an individual time trial, with 2 additional time trials sandwiched in between. The three individual time trials, one in the mountains, amounts to about 45 miles.
By contrast, the 2008 Tour de France omitted the prologue this year and once again has no team time trial. Considered time-trial "light," the Tour's two individual time trials actually total more miles than the Giro-- 50 .... more»
To probably no one's surprise, Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca, left, officially won the Giro d'Italia on Sunday after he and his Liquigas team dominated the race from the opening stage.
Over the 21-stage race, you can count only four days when a member of the Liquigas team was not in the leader's pink jersey; Di Luca was in the pink for a lucky 13 stages.
Meanwhile, supersprinter Alessandro "Ale-Jet" Petacchi, above right, took the final stage win in Milan. ... more»
Spanish cyclist Iban Mayo took a solo win at the Giro d'Italia on Friday after attacking the breakaway and speeding through the driving rain ahead of a chase group into the finish at Comano Terme.
The Stage 19 win for the 29-year-old Saunier Duval cyclist is one of his biggest since winning a stage of the Dauphine Libiere last year. Among his other victories is the L'Alpe d'Huez in the 2003 Tour de France.
Overall Giro leader Danilo Di Luca, unchallenged by the attack, finished in a group nearly 3 minutes behind Mayo. Interestingly, the Liquigas rider set up the action in the second half of Friday's race. more»
A recurrent theme of the 2007 Giro d'Italia is becoming Alessandro Petacchi wins the stage and Danilo Di Luca retains the lead.
It was true again on Thursday for the essentially flat, 126-mile race from Udine to Riese Pio X; Petacchi posted his fourth stage win of the three-week Giro and Di Luca accepted the overall leader's pink jersey for the 10th time.
As Di Luca holds a gap of 2-minutes-24 -- or more -- over the field, it's beginning to look very likely that he'll hold the pink jersey all the way to the finish in Milan on Thursday. ... more»
Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni beat the field Wednesday on the mountaintop finish at Monte Zoncolan, one of the steepest climbs in Europe.
Riding with two other cyclists on the final stretch of the climb, Simoni put overall leader Danilo Di Luca into difficulty but couldn't finish him off as Di Luca struggled across the line in 4th place, 31 seconds behind Simoni.
The day's highlights played out on Monte Zoncolan, merely a 6.2-mile long climb that averages an 11.9% gradient, with a maximum of 22%. The mountain came at the finish of the 88-mile Stage 17 that started in Lienz, Austria. ... more»
Stefano Garzelli has won the Giro d'Italia (in 2000) and won sprints to the finish; but he has never chalked up a solo finish, until Tuesday.
The Italian caught up with a breakaway about 23 miles from the finish, then attacked them on the Bannberg climb with 18 miles to go. Since the 33-year cyclist for Acqua & Sappone started the day 20 minutes back, race leader Danilo Di Luca didn't see a threat and let him go .... more»
The most difficult stage of this year's Giro d'Italia was marked by a 23-year-old cyclist winning the stage and the beleaguered leader gaining time on his rivals.
Riccardo Ricco of Saunier Duval won the Giro's 15th stage, crossing over three mountain passes before the mountaintop finish at Tre Cime Di Lavaredo.
Meanwhile his team leader, Gilberto Simoni, lost some of the time that he had gained on Saturday against overall leader Danilo Di Luca of the Liquigas team. Simoni dropped to 3-minutes-19 behind Di Luca, even though he climbed one place to fourth. ... more»
The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.
Stefano Garzelli won a seven-man sprint at the end of the 119-mile race from Cantu to Bergamo that included former Giro winners Gilberto Simoni and Paolo Savoldelli.
Di Luca finished at the head of a chase group racing into Bergamo in a stage that capped two mountains .... more»
It should probably be no surprise that 2006 Italian time trial champion Marzio Bruseghin won the uphill time trial at Stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia on Friday.
The effort was good enough to win, but not to unseat Danilo Di Luca from the overall lead. Di Luca finished in third place in the 7.8 mile time trial, just 8 seconds behind Bruseghin.
US cyclist Dave Zabriskie (Team CSC) finished in fourth place in the time trial, 19 seconds behind the winner. ... more»
Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca has been a major force during the first half of the Giro d'Italia, and with a win in Stage 12, he shows that he plans to have a major impact on the second half of the race as well.
Di Luca won his second stage of the Giro on Thursday, and regained the pink leader's jersey, which he will wear for the fourth time during Friday's time trial.
American cyclist George Hincapie (Discovery Channel) and Aussie Robbie McEwen (Davitamon Lotto) did not start Stage 12, presumably to rest up for the Tour de France. American David Zabriskie (Team CSC) is still in the race, making a play for the lead group on one of the climbs. ... more»
Chalk up Alessandro Petacchi's third stage victory at the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday, credited to a textbook leadout by his team and a big crash at the finish line in Pinerolo.
Among the dozen or so riders going down were race leader Andrea Noe, who quickly got back on his bike and rode across the finish.
World champion Paolo Bettini also remounted to finish after going down, although the crash spoiled another attempt at a stage win. ... more»
Italian Leonardo Piepoli powered through an elite group of climbers, including two teammates, on the steep finish at Santuario to win the 10th Stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.
Another Italian, 38-year-old Andrea Noe, finished early enough to take the overall lead in the three-week race, becoming the third Liquigas cyclist to wear the pink jersey this year.
American George Hincapie (Discovery Channel), riding in his first Giro, joined a six-man breakaway and gained enough time on the peloton for a while to be the "on the road" virtual leader. .... more»
Team Milram pretty much controlled the latter part of Monday's Giro d'Italia Stage 9 for sprinter Alessandro Petacchi.
They chased the breakaway, determined when the breakaway would get caught, perfectly led the peloton through the streets of Lido Di Camaiore, and watched as Lampre cyclist Danilo Napolitano took the win.
The Italian was one of the cyclists who set up right behind Petacchi. The other opportunists included .... more»
Norwegian cyclist Kurt-Asle Arvesen slipped past Italian Paolo Bettini in front of a 21-man breakaway to win Stage 8 of the Giro d'Italia on Sunday.
Discovery Channel's George Hincapie found himself in the break that escaped from the peloton in the Apennines early in the day. Although he and teammate Jose Luis Rubiera couldn't turn that good luck into a ... more»
Italian sprint specialist Alessandro Petacchi scored his second stage win at the Giro d'Italia bike race on Saturday, beating a crowd that included Norway's Thor Hushovd and Italy's Paolo Bettini.
That marks 21 Giro wins for the bicyclist known as "Ale-Jet" since his first in 2003 and emphasizes the fact that he's definitely recovered from a kneecap injury he suffered ... more»
Just when things were beginning to look really good for Slipstream-Chipotle at the Giro d'Italia, David Zabriskie crashed on Sunday when his bicycle tangled with Alberto Contador's and he was rushed away by ambulance.
I love it when the unsung, work-a-day athlete suddenly scores it big in any sport. That happened Saturday when Christian Vande Velde earned the maglia rosa at the 2008 Giro d'Italia.
In spite of an early prohibition, Giro d'Italia organizers are allowing the Astana pro cycling team into the three-week race that begins Saturday in Palermo.
(Feb. 16: 
To probably no one's surprise, Italian cyclist Danilo Di Luca, left, officially won the Giro d'Italia on Sunday after he and his Liquigas team dominated the race from the opening stage.
Two-time Giro d'Italia winner Gilberto Simoni beat the field Wednesday on the mountaintop finish at Monte Zoncolan, one of the steepest climbs in Europe.
The early favorites pressed Giro d'Italia leader Danilo Di Luca in Stage 14 on Saturday, as three of them gained time on the Italian cyclist.
