2005 Giro d'Italia, Prologue to Stage 10

The 2005 Giro d'Italia began on May 7, 2005, with the tenth stage occurring on May 10.

Prologue

The prologue was a 1.15 kilometer time race. It was won by the Australian Brett Lancaster with a 0.289 second advantage over Matteo Tosatto, who scored second. After the last rider, Mario Cipollini received the homage of the Italian cycling world, doing the 1.15 kilometer race out of competition. He had announced his retirement just ten days before.

Prologue Result # Rider Country Team Time 1 Brett Lancaster Ceramica Panaria–Navigare 1'20" 2 Matteo Tosatto Fassa Bortolo + 1" 3 Alessandro Petacchi Fassa Bortolo + 1" 4 Paolo Savoldelli Discovery Channel + 1" 5 Olaf Pollack T-Mobile Team + 2"

General Classification after Prologue # Rider Country Team Time 1 Brett Lancaster Ceramica Panaria–Navigare 1'20" 2 Matteo Tosatto Fassa Bortolo + 1" 3 Alessandro Petacchi Fassa Bortolo s.t. 4 Paolo Savoldelli Discovery Channel s.t. 5 Olaf Pollack T-Mobile Team + 2"

1st stage

At the beginning of the first stage, a four-man breakaway formed and led by almost ten minutes at one point. Thorwald Veneberg was finally captured again about 20 kilometers before the end. However, his efforts paid by giving him the first maglia Verde of the Giro. On the last kilometer Paolo Bettini managed to get away on a very steep gradient.

Stage 1 Result # Rider Country Team Time 1 Paolo Bettini Quick-Step–Innergetic 5:09'32" 2 Robbie McEwen Davitamon–Lotto + 3" 3 Alessandro Petacchi Fassa Bortolo + 4" 4 Baden Cooke Française des Jeux s.t. 5 Manuele Mori Saunier Duval–Prodir s.t.

General Classification after Stage 1 # Rider Country Team Time 1 Paolo Bettini Quick-Step–Innergetic 5:10'35" 2 Robbie McEwen Davitamon–Lotto + 12" 3 Alessandro Petacchi Fassa Bortolo + 14" 4 Paolo Savoldelli Discovery Channel + 22" 5 Marco Velo Fassa Bortolo + 25"

2nd stage

Having been defeated by Paolo Bettini and Robbie McEwen on the previous stage, Italian favorite Alessandro Petacchi failed yet again in the bunch sprint in Santa Maria Del Cedro. This time, he claimed, he had been forced to change his direction because of Estonian Jaan Kirsipuu.

Standings after the 2nd stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Robbie McEwen (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	4:34:47		1	Robbie McEwen (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	9:45'14"
2	Isaac Gálvez (Esp)	Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne	0"		2	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	8"
3	Robert Förster (Ger)	Gerolsteiner	0"		3	Alessandro Petacchi (It)	Fassa Bortolo	14"
4	Alessandro Petacchi (It)	Fassa Bortolo	0"		4	Isaac Gálvez (ESP)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	27"
5	Baden Cooke (Aus)	Française des Jeux	0"		5	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	30"

3rd stage

Just as in the first stage, the sprinter's teams were not able to stop a breakaway in the last kilometers of the race. This time, it was a group of fifty riders which included all the GC important riders. Danilo DI Luca, in a great form in season 2005, beat fellow Italian Damiano Cunego in the sprint for the stage victory.

Standings after the 3rd stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Danilo DI Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	5:24'17"		1	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	15:09'35"
2	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	0"		2	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	9"
3	Stefano Garzelli (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	0"		3	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	17"
4	Mirko Celestino (It)	Domina Vacanze	0"		4	Stefano Garzelli (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	23"
5	Francisco Ventoso (ESP)	Saunier Duval–Prodir	0"		5	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	26"

4th stage

Paolo Bettini won the sprint at the end which was fought between five cyclists. But in this process he caused Baden Cooke to fall and was declassified because of this. Luca Mazzanti, who came in second, inherited the victory. After the stage, Bettini threatened to abandon the race, but it turned out to be an empty threat.

Standings after the 4th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Luca Mazzanti (It)	Ceramica Panaria–Navigare	5:10'09"		1	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	20:19'44"
2	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	0"		2	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	13"
3	Michele Scarponi (It)	Liberty Seguros–Würth	0"		3	Luca Mazzanti (It)	Ceramica Panaria–Navigare	16"
4	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	0"		4	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	19"
5	Mirko Celestino (It)	Domina Vacanze	0"		5	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	21"

5th stage

Danilo DI Luca got his second stage victory in 2005 Giro d'Italia, notching this win ahead of Fassa Bortolo's Marzio Bruseghin. Otherwise, this stage had no important influence on the fight for General Classification.

Standings after the 5th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	6:01'18"		1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	26:20'55"
2	Marzio Bruseghin (It)	Fassa Bortolo	0"		2	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	3"
3	Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col)	Davitamon–Lotto	2"		3	Luca Mazzanti (It)	Ceramica Panaria–Navigare	25"
4	Bjoern Leukemans (Bel)	Davitamon–Lotto	2"		4	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	28"
5	Ivan Basso (It)	Team CSC	2"		5	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	30"

6th stage

Just as Danilo DI Luca had done the previous day, Australian Robbie McEwen took his second win in this year's Giro. This time, he did not have to beat Alessandro Petacchi, since the Italian's Torino biancoblù de-railed, causing the fall of some of the Fassa Bortolo riders, and forcing "Ale-Jet" to halt to a stop. McEwen's teammate Henk Vogels attacked in the last kilometer, but was surpassed just at the finish line by up to four other cyclists.

Standings after the 6th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Robbie McEwen (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	3:37'17"		1	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	29:58'09"
2	Jaan Kirsipuu (Est)	Crédit Agricole	0"		2	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	3"
3	Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr)	Discovery Channel	0"		3	Luca Mazzanti (It)	Ceramica Panaria–Navigare	28"
4	Isaac Gálvez (Esp)	Illes Balears–Caisse d'Epargne	0"		4	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	31"
5	Henk Vogels (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	0"		5	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	33"

7th stage

After a long breakaway, lasting throughout most of the stage, Spaniard Koldo Gil was the first to arrive at the finish line in Pistoia. Damiano Cunego, who was second, leading a pursuing group, celebrated thinking he had won the stage, not knowing that Gil had already taken the victory. Ivan Basso, who had been forced to change his bicycle because of a puncture in the last climb of the day, lost thirty seconds to his rivals for GC.

Standings after the 7th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Koldo Gil Perez (Esp)	Liberty Seguros–Würth	5:08'17"		1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	35:06'41"
2	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	20"		2	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	26"
3	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	20"		3	Mirko Celestino (It)	Domina Vacanze	54"
4	Mirko Celestino (It)	Domina Vacanze	20"		4	Gilberto Simoni (It)	Lampre–Caffita	54"
5	Patrice Halgand (Fra)	Crédit Agricole	20"		5	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	1'06"

8th stage

The eighth stage was a time trial. Danilo DI Luca came in tenth and was able to keep the Maglia Rosa. Otherwise, this stage meant the victory for American David Zabriskie, and the revival of his teammate Ivan Basso, second in the time trial, and who made up for all the time he had lost the day before and even more. On the other hand, this was a very bad day for both Lampre riders Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni.

Standings after the 8th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	David Zabriskie (USA)	Team CSC	58'31"		1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	36:06'47"
2	Ivan Basso (It)	Team CSC	17"		2	Ivan Basso (It)	Team CSC	9"
3	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	44"		3	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	35"
4	Marzio Bruseghin (It)	Fassa Bortolo	48"		4	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	1'15"
5	Serhiy Honchar (Ukr)	Domina Vacanze	51"		5	Dario Cioni	Liquigas–Bianchi	1'27"

9th stage

Alessandro Petacchi got his first victory in the 2005 Giro. Paolo Bettini and Swiss Aurélien Clerc had a great performance at this stage, surpassing pure sprinters such as Robbie McEwen or Erik Zabel.

Standings after the 9th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Alessandro Petacchi (It)	Fassa Bortolo	3:15'32"		1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	39:22'19"
2	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	0"		2	Ivan Basso (It)	Team CSC	9"
3	Aurélien Clerc (Sui)	Phonak	0"		3	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	35"
4	Robbie McEwen (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	0"		4	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	1'15"
5	Erik Zabel (Ger)	T-Mobile Team	0"		5	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	1'27"

10th stage

On the stage after the race's first rest day, Robbie McEwen took vengeance on Alessandro Petacchi in a bunch sprint. The bunch spring had to be solved with the aid of the photo-finish, which determined that the Australian had beaten the Italian by a mere question of millimeters.

Standings after the 10th stage

Stage					Tour (Maglia Rosa)
#	Name	Team	Time		#	Name	Team	Time
1	Robbie McEwen (Aus)	Davitamon–Lotto	5:29'21"		1	Danilo Di Luca (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	44:51'40"
2	Alessandro Petacchi (It)	Fassa Bortolo	0"		2	Ivan Basso (It)	Team CSC	9"
3	Stuart O'Grady (Aus)	Cofidis	0"		3	Paolo Savoldelli (It)	Discovery Channel	35"
4	Erik Zabel (Ger)	T-Mobile Team	0"		4	Damiano Cunego (It)	Lampre–Caffita	1'15"
5	Paolo Bettini (It)	Quick-Step–Innergetic	0"		5	Dario Cioni (It)	Liquigas–Bianchi	1'27"

References