Italy’s Leonardo Bertagnolli of the Diquigiovanni team broke away to win the 15th stage of the Giro d’Italia on Sunday.
Russia’s Denis Menchov of Rabobank held onto the leader’s pink jersey after a race that took place amid soaring temperatures and featured a spirited attack from Italy’s Ivan Basso.
Belgium’s Serge Pauwels nosed ahead of a group of pursuers on the line to take second place, less than a minute behind the winner of the 161km stage.
PHOTO: AP
Bertagnolli broke clear from Pauwels with 12km to go, the 25-year-old Belgian having been the only rider from the initial breakaway to stick with the Italian during the closing stages of the arduous race.
“I was relieved to find myself out on my own, as I was worried about a sprint finish,” Bertagnolli said. “With a 30 second lead I thought I’d be OK, but when the gap closed I started asking myself questions. Happily things worked out well. I know the road well as I live in Russo, which is only 15km from here.”
With 40km to race, Basso launched an attack from the head of the peloton on the slopes of Monte Casale after his team isolated his rivals with a sudden burst of acceleration.
PHOTO: EPA
Basso’s compatriot Stefano Garzelli was the only man to follow him and the duo quickly closed the gap on a group of 16 riders who had broken away within the first hour of the race.
The gap between Basso and his direct rivals in the general classification peaked at 1 minute 10 seconds on the approach to the summit of Monte Trebbio, before being whittled away on the road down to the rolling plains of Faenza.
The pair were eventually swallowed back into the main group with 15km remaining.
PHOTO: AFP
Menchov found himself marooned without team support in the group chasing Basso, but the Russian managed to keep his main challenger Danilo Di Luca in his sights.
Lance Armstrong lost ground on the last two climbs, but limited his loss of time on the favorites to just a minute.
Bertagnolli’s victory was the 31-year-old’s first in the Giro d’Italia, having been recruited by Diquigiovanni at the beginning of the month in anticipation of the race. His most notable successes to date include a stage win at the 2005 Tour of Spain and victory in the 2007 San Sebastian classic.
■VOLTA OF CATALUNYA
AP, BARCELONA, SPAIN
Alejandro Valverde of Spain won the Volta of Catalunya on Sunday, six days after receiving a two-year suspension from competing in Italy.
Valverde maintained his 15-second advantage over Daniel Martin of Ireland to achieve his fifth victory of the season. Haimar Zubeldia of Spain finished third, 22 seconds back.
Valverde was banned from Italy after being implicated in the blood-doping case known as Operation Puerto.
The ruling by the Italian Olympic Committee’s anti-doping tribunal does not apply outside Italy, but could keep Valverde from competing in this year’s Tour de France because part of the route goes through Italy.
The Caisse d’Epargne rider led the Volta from the second stage onward.
“I had to defend the yellow jersey almost immediately and all my team has worked to control the race and achieve a victory which is very important for me because of the difficult situation everyone knows about,” Valverde was quoted as saying by news agency Europa Press. “I hope that very soon all this injustice will be over and I will be able to concentrate on riding without having to think about other matters.”
Sunday’s final 110.8km stage in Barcelona between Sant Cugat and the Formula One circuit at Montmelo was won by New Zealand’s Greg Henderson.
The Columbia rider gained the advantage in the final sprint and won in 2 hours, 26 minutes, 51 seconds. France’s Lloyd Mondory and Fabio Sabatini of Italy were next.
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