After several failed breakaway attempts earlier in the 2011 Giro d'Italia, David Millar delivered a stage victory for US-based Garmin-Cervelo by winning the individual time trial in Milan on Sunday.

The British cyclist earned the overall leader's maglia rosa in Stages 3 and 4 earlier in the three-week race.

Other than the fight for a stage victory, Italian cyclists Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Michele Scarponi (Lampre) provided the only fireworks in their battle for second place overall ....   more »

With the overall leaders of the Giro d'Italia more concerned about scoring a couple of seconds on each other, Russian cyclist Vasil Kiryienka was able to win the final summit finish of this year's bike race.

The Movistar cyclist was part of a 13-man breakaway that splintered apart on the steep slopes and 45 switchbacks of Category 1 Colle delle Finestre.

The 29-year-old survived the rest of the bike race alone, passing over Finestre and finishing at Sestriere nearly 5 minutes ahead of the nearest chasers .....   more »

Why should the stages get easier on the peloton just because the Giro d'Italia is drawing to a close?

The penultimate stage of the three-week race is marked by a summit finish, just like seven previous stages.

On the way to the Category 2 Sestriere finish, however, the peloton will first cross the Category 1 Colle delle Finestre ....   more »

A demanding attack on the final climb up to Macugnaga paid off for Paolo Tiralongo on Friday with his first-ever stage victory at the Giro d'Italia.

The Astana cyclist was caught and passed in the final fight for the finish by Alberto Contador, but Tiralongo grabbed the overall leader's slipstream then passed Contador at the finish.

The fact that Tiralongo and Contador are former Astana teammates may have had something to do with the Italian winning the race. ...   more »

With Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) firmly in command of the maglia rosa, a few questions still remain for the 2011 Giro d'Italia. Among them:

Who will share the podium with Contador, and will Stefano Garzelli hold onto the mountains jersey.

Anticipating this questions several months ago, the Giro organizers threw in mountain-top finishes for the 19th and 20th stages.

Below is a 3D tour of the first climb of the day ...   more »

Team Liquigas must have loved Stage 18, as cyclist Eros Capecchi won the team's first victory at the 2011 Giro d'Italia in San Pellegrino Terme.

The 25-year-old joined a 15 to 20 man breakaway that developed more than  halfway through the 151km (94 miles) race, then joined the three-man break that survived to the finish.

Meanwhile, overall leader Alberto Contador (Saxo Bank) relaxed in the peloton with a 4:58 lead ...   more »

Races judges decided that an Italian sprinter at the Giro d'Italia was doing more than just gesturing with his hands and relegated him to third place at the close of Stage 17 in Tirano on Wednesday.

In the final sprint, Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini) appeared to tap Diego Ulissi (Lampre) on the hip then push him aside with his forearm as he passed by along the barricades.

Ulissi slowed down a bit in the commotion as Visconti win the sprint. But the judges don't like cyclists to take their hands off the handlebars ....   more »

For the first time since last Thursday, the Giro d'Italia cyclists won't be struggling uphill to the finish line on Wednesday.

Stage 18 is a 230km (143-mile) bike race from Feltre to Tirano in the Alps. The peloton crosses a couple of passes, but finishes on a downhill run.

The first climb is the Category 2 Passo del Tonale ....   more »

The unrelenting force of Alberto Contador in the mountains continued to widen the margin over his rivals at the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.

The Spaniard won the uphill Stage 16 individual time trial by 34 seconds with five stages left, all but assuring himself the championship on Sunday.

The battle now appears to be who will share the podium with Contador ...   more »

The organizers weren't kidding when they said the 2011 Giro d'Italia would be one of the toughest in memory.

Tuesday's Stage 16 is an individual time trial -- a mere 12.7km (7.9 miles) from Belluno to Nevegal. The difficulty comes from the fact that it is all uphill, with sections at 10% to 14% gradient.

Here's a profile and 3D tour supplied by CyclingtheAlps.com ...   more »

You have to wonder how many cyclists in the 19-man breakaway that developed early on Stage 15 actually thought they had a chance to win on Sunday. The 229km (143-mile) Giro d'Italia bike race over 4 mountain passes ended in a summit finish.

Spain's Mikel Nieve (Eukaltel Euskadi) must have believed. Even after being dropped by Italy's Stephano Garzelli over the last two high passes, Nieve fought back to win the stage atop Val di Fassa.

Race leader Alberto Contador finished in third, just behind Garzelli. Contador continued to add to his margin over his rivals, posting a 4:20 gap over second-place Michele Scarponi (Lampre) at the end of the day ...   more »

Cyclists face the last of three summit finishes this weekend at the Giro d'Italia, and this one appears to be the most brutal.

Before battling to the summit of Gardeccia-Val di Fassa, the peloton has to ride 229km (143 miles) and pass over four Category 1 or 2 passes.

The third climb of the day is the Passo Giau, the highest point in this year's Giro. As such, the first cyclist over the top wins the Cima Coppi prize.

On the final climb, the cyclists face a 16% gradient in places ....   more »

Alberto Contador remained in control of the Giro d'Italia on the steep slopes of Monte Zoncolon on Saturday.

The Spanish cyclist let fellow countryman Igor Anton (Euskaltel Euskadi) escape to a Stage 14 victory, while denying help to second-place rival Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) as he marked the Italian's pace up the mountain.

The 170km (105 miles) bike race from Lienz to Monte Zoncolon was the second of three summit finishes planned for the weekend.

The route was shortened twice: once by 20km to remove the Monte Crostis descent, and another 20km to detour around fans ...   more »

Jose Rujano might have learned at the Giro d'Italia on Friday that it pays to work with Alberto Contador, instead of drafting him.

The 29-year-old cyclist was the only cyclist in the peloton to catch race leader Contador's wheel on the tough final climb up the Grosslockner, the highest peak in Austria.

The Venezuelan had tried drafting Contador last Sunday on the final attack on the Mt. Etna summit, and Contador kicked it at the end and left Rujano in his dust.

On Friday, Rujano cooperated on the climb ....   more »

Stage 13 of the Giro d'Italia bike race is the first of three major mountain stages the peloton will face this weekend.

The peloton faces four rated climbs on the 167km (103.5 miles) race that starts in Spilimbergo and heads to Friday's destination -- the 2504m Grosslockner in Austria.

The climbs are:
Passo di Monte Croce Carnico - Category 2
Gailbergsattel - Category 3...   more »