For the second day in a row on Thursday, the breakaway arrived first at the finish line at the Giro d'Italia and seriously shook up the overall lead.

The 11-man bunch shattered the standings after this 143-mile stage, dropping the previous leaders by 9 minutes or more down the general classification.

Italy's Matteo Priamo of CSF Group Navigare won the stage in Peschici. Another member of the breakaway, Italian cyclist Giovanni Visconti of Quick Step took the overall lead. ...   more »

A perfectly executed breakaway with four other cyclists put Slipstream's David Millar, left, in the perfect position for a Stage 5 win on Wednesday at the Giro d'Italia.

But with about a kilometer to go on a 9% climb to the finish at Contursi Terme, the Scotsman's chain broke as he strained to keep up with eventual winner Pavel Brutt (Tinkoff). Millar threw his bike over the barrier in disgust and waited for a replacement to finish the race.

The rest of the peloton finished about 30 seconds later, leaving Italian Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas in the overall lead, with Slipstream's Christian Vande Velde 1 second behind. ...   more »

Team High Road's Mark Cavendish missed a final kilometer crash to win Stage 4 at the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.

The UK sprinter passed Monday's winner, Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), in the sprint to the finish. Milram tried to deliver Erik Zabel, but the German sprinter couldn't accelerate to win.

Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) remains in first place overall, with a one-second lead over American cyclist Christian Vande Velde of Slipstream Chipotle...   more »

So I mentioned to my teen-age son this weekend that the Giro d'Italia was underway and an American was in the pink jersey for the first time in 20 years.

We agreed that was cool, but then I predicted than an Italian would probably win the race, because the Italians are crazy about the Giro and their cyclists put out their best efforts for the race..

Always searching for logic, he asked that if the Italians always win the Giro, then "Why don't the French ever win the Tour de France?" (Bernard Hinault was the last Frenchman to win the Tour -- in 1985.)

Without taking a pot shot at the French natural culture, I didn't have any good answers for him. Does anyone? Please leave a comment ...   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.

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 »

Vande Velde at TDG

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 »