As the Giro entered its third and final week, Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) of Katusha held the lead by just 30”. Behind him was Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin-Barracuda, a relatively unknown (maybe it was just me) Canadian. By the end of the week, Hesjedal would win the Giro and become the first Canadian winner of a Grand Tour.
Hesjedal was born in Victoria, British Columbia in 1980. He is a former mountain biker, winning a silver medal at the 2001 Under-23 World Championship. In 2005, he turned professional and got involved in road racing, joining the old Discovery Channel team. Since then, well let’s be frank, he has hardly made a great impact.
PALMARES
MOUNTAIN BIKING
1998 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships (Junior) – Silver Medal
2001 U23 World Mountain Bike championships – Silver Medal
2003 UCI Mountain Bike & Trials World Championships (Cross Country) – Silver Medal
ROAD RACING
2007 National Time Trial Champion (Canada)
2007 1st Mountains classification – Tour of Georgia
2009 Stage 12 – Vuelta a Espana
As you can see it is hardly the most awe inspiring set of Palmares, most “success” consists of 4th, 5th or 6th places at various events such as a 5th place in the GC in the Tour of California (2010). His highest finish in a Grand Tour came in the 2010 Tour de France, with a 6th place. It is this background that makes Hesjedal victory in this year’s Giro d’Italia all the more remarkable.
So this is how Rydar Hesjedal clinched this victory…
STAGES 16, 17 AND 18 – ADVENTURES IN THE DOLOMITES
With the Rest Day over, the race headed north towards the Dolomites, Stage 16 took place between Limone sul Garda and Falzes/Pfalzen (174km), whilst there were no official categorised climbs, however, the race slowly climbed throughout the day.
When the day started the GC looked like this…
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (GC):
Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha 65:27:34
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Barracuda @30
Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Cannondale @1’22”
Poalo Tiralongo (ITA) Pro Team Astana @1’26”
Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Pro Team Astana @1’27”
With 80km left to go, a 10 man breakaway had managed to gain a lead of 6’07”. This is how it remained, as the riders enjoyed a bonus rest day ahead of the Dolomites.
The breakaway included…
Alessandro De Marchi (ITA) Androni Giocattoli
Jon Izaguirre (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
Lars Bak (DEN) Lotto-Belisol
Nikolas Maes (BEL) OPQS
Matthias Brandle (AUT) Team NetApp
Mathias Frank (SWI) BMC Racing
Luka Mazzanti (ITA) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
Jose Herrada (ESP) Movistar
Stef Clement (NED) Rabobank
Manuele Boaro (ITA) Team Saxo Bank
With 20km left to go, their lead had increased to 12’28”. With 4km left to go there was a climb (unclassified), this stretched the leading group still further. Mathias Frank set the pace, but it was Izaguirre that pressed forward with an attack. With 1.3km to go, he had achieved a 14” lead. Izaguirre took the win, the Peloton containing all the front runners drifted in some time later.
Stage 17, and the Peloton faced the Dolomites, the Stage between Falzes/Pfalzen and Cortina D’Ampezzo (187km) contained 2 x 2nd Cat and 2 x 1st Cat climbs. The last of these 1st Cat climbs was the final mountain of the day, the Passo Giau 2236 metres above sea level.
With 48.6km left to go, there was just one rider up ahead, Kevin Seeldraeyers (BEL) of Pro Team Astana. He was 1’49” ahead of the Peloton. Behind him was a chasing group, just 36” ahead of the Peloton. This contained Jose Serpa (COL) – Androni Giocattoli, Matteo Rabottini (ITA) of Farnese Vini-Selle Italia, Branislau Samoilau (BLR) of Movistar and Mikal Nieve (ESP) of Euskaltel-Euskadi.
As always on these days in the mountains, the Peloton slowly became smaller and smaller as more and more riders began to feel the pressure of the climbs. With 40km left to go, the Peloton was down to just 25 riders. One of the riders struggling was Roman Kreuziger (CZE) – Pro Team Astana, it was at this point that he cracked, losing the back of the Peloton.
On the final climb up the Passo Giau, Damiano Cunego (ITA) of Lampre-ISD, John Gadret (FRA) of Ag2r-La Mondiale and Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) – Pro Team Astana were all dropped. Slowly the Peloton reeled in all the riders out front, bringing the race back together. As the race reached the peak of the mountain, there were just 6 riders in the front, Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) – Katusha, Ivan Basso (ITA) of Liquigas-Cannondale, Michele Scarponi of Lampre-ISD, Domenico Possovivo (ITA) of Colnago-CSF Inox, Rigoberto Uran (COL) – Team Sky and Ryder Hesjedal.
Scarponi and Uran appeared to be in trouble, fighting to hold the wheels of the other 4 riders. They were saved by the descent, which allowed them to claw their way back onto the group. Then with 11km left to go, Scarponi started to suffer from cramp, this forced him to slow up, it wasn’t until the 2km mark that he finally managed to rejoin the group.
Basso attacked with 1.5km left to go, he was quickly caught back, and in the final sprint Rodriguez powered to a second victory. Gadret, Tiralongo and Cunego all lost valuable time (Kreuziger lost over 11 minutes), this put what chances they had of winning the Giro firmly to rest.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (GC):
Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha 74:46:46
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Barracuda @30
Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Cannondale @1’22”
Michele Scarponi (ITA) Lampre-ISD @1’36”
Rigoberto Uran (COL) Team Sky @2’56”
- Rodriguez wins another Stage
Stage 18, headed back out of the Dolomites, essentially it went downhill all the way between San Vito Cadore and Vedelago (139km). This was a crucial Stage for the sprinters, their last realistic chance to score points before the end of the Giro. Mark Cavendish (GBR) of Team Sky led the Points Competition and was clearly targeting the Maglia Rosso. He needed to win Stage 18, if he was going to be guaranteed a victory in this competition.
The first breakaway contained Angelo Pagani (ITA) of Colnago-CSF Inox, Stef Clement (NED) – Rabobank, Pierpaolo De Negri (ITA) of Farnese Vini-Selle Italia and Manuele Boaro (ITA) of Team Saxo Bank, however this was caught with 66km left to go, and a new breakaway formed containing 6 riders.
These riders included…
Emanuele Sella (ITA) Androni Giocattoli
Sandy Casar (FRA) FDJ-Big Mat
Adam Hansen (AUS) Lotto-Belisol
Marco Pinotti (ITA) BMC Racing
Maciej Bodnar (POL) Liquigas-Cannondale
Oliver Kaisen (BEL) Lotto-Belisol
Guardini wins despite Chippo’s criticisms in the Italian press
By 40km, their lead was just 40”, Team Sky was clearly keeping a tight control of the race. The catch was finally made with 14km left to go. There was one last desperate attempt to get away. Lars Bak (DEN) of Lotto Belisol and Mickael Delage (FRA) of FDJ-BigMat tried to get away with 10km left to go. They were caught by the 3km mark.
The Sky Train now took to the front of the Peloton, Geraint Thomas (GBR) acted as Mark Cavendish’s lead out man, but it was not to be. The final sprint was won by Andrea Guardini (ITA) of Farnese Vini-Selle Italia, much to Cavendish’s frustration as he lost out on those all important points.
STAGES 19 and 20 – MOUNTAIN MADNESS
Stage 19, was the hardest day so far, from Treviso to Alpe di Pampeago/Val di Fiemme. The Stage contained 3 x 1st Cat, 1 x 2nd Cat and 1 x 3rd Cat climbs. The day was not too hot, but occasional showers did affect the riders.
A breakaway of 17 riders gained a lead of 6’32” over the Peloton.
Adriano Malori (ITA) Lampre-ISD
Audrey Zeits (KAZ) Pro Team Astana
Stefano Pirazzi (ITA) Colnago-CSF Inox
Emanuele Sella (ITA) Androni Giocattoli
Ivan Santaromita (ITA) BMC Racing
Pierre Cazaux (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
Andrea Guardini (ITA) Farnese Vini-Selle Italia
Mikhail Ignatyev (RUS) Katusha
Francisco Ventoso (ESP) Movistar
Sandy Casar (FRA) FDJ-BigMat
Adam Hansen (AUS) Lotto-Belisol
Juan Antonio Flecha (ESP) Team Sky
Lucas Sebastian Haedo (ARG) Team Saxo Bank
Serge Pauwels (BEL) OPQS
Juan Manuel Garate (ESP) Rabobank
Thomas Rohregger (AUT) RNT
Cesare Benedetti (ITA) Team NetApp
On the descent of the Passo Manghen, Rohregger and Pirazzi attempted to get away from the rest of the group. It was not to be, on the first passage up the Passo Pampeago (1st Cat), this leading group began to break up. Rohregger launched the attack, and Pirazzi and Casar followed.
It is ironic that whilst Rohregger was the most determined to form a smaller breakaway, as he was the first to be dropped by this new three man breakaway. So with 44km left to go, the Stage was down to two leaders.
At the top of the climb, the two leading riders had a lead of 3’24” over the Peloton. As soon as the riders reached the bottom of the Pampeago, they faced the climb of the Passo Lavaze (2nd Cat). The Peloton started to become more active, first to launch themselves off the front was Dario Cataldo (BEL) – OPQS. With 25km left to go, he was followed by Roman Kreuziger (CZE) – Pro Team Astana (who had been struggling on the Pampeago).
As the Stage reached the final climb (a second time up the Passo Pampeago), both Sella and Rohragger had managed to catch up with the leading pair. There recovery was short lived, they were quickly dropped by Pirazzi and Casar, and then caught by Kreuziger and Cataldo with 4km left to go.
Kreuziger on the attack
The leading pair, had a lead of just 17”, Pirazzi, in particular, fought all the way, but Kreuziger inched his way up to his wheel. With 3km left to go, Kreuziger had left everyone else behind, Casar, Pirazzi and Cataldo all cracked and fell behind.
In what was left of the Peloton, Scarponi had started to look the most active, stretching his legs, slightly increasing his pace, testing the reactions of the other riders. Then Hesjedal attacked, Basso and Rodriguez appeared to have been cooked. In the final kilometre, Scarponi also cracked, unable to hold Hesjedal’s wheel. Kreuziger took the Stage, but the winner as far as the GC was concerned was Rydar Hesjedal. Rodriguez managed a slight recovery to reduce his loses, overtaking Scarponi in the last few metres.
As for Basso, whilst he still had a slim chance of winning the Giro, he was not looking competitive. Ironically, one of the main problems was a lack of support from his team (Liquigas-Cannondale). Was this because they wore themselves out chasing all down every breakaway over the past two weeks?
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (GC):
Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha 84:06:13
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Barracuda @17”
Michele Scarponi (ITA) Lampre-ISD @1’39”
Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Cannondale @1’45”
Rigoberto Uran (COL) Team Sky @3’21”
On Stage 20, the initial breakaway was somewhat smaller, just two riders had managed to work up a 3’18” lead over the Peloton (with 60.7km left to go). They were Oliver Zaugg (SWI) – RNT and Matteo Carrara (ITA) of Vacansoliel-DCM. Behind them was another small group consisting of Audrey Amador (CRC) – Movistar, Jose Serpa (COL) of Androni Giocattoli and Christian Vande Velde (USA) of Garmin-Barracuda.
Ahead of them was another tough day in the saddle, travelling between Caldo and the Passo dello Stelvio. It was another day going up and down mountains, the riders faced 2 x 3rd Cat, 1 x 2nd Cat, 1 x 1st Cat and then one final Hors Cat climb up the Stelvio, reaching 2341m above sea level, this was the highest finish in the history of the Giro.
Zaugg and Carrara were busy climbing the 1st Cat Mortirolo, behind in the Peloton. Rodriguez was already stretching his legs, testing his rivals. Rodriguez was well aware that Hesjedal was a far better time trialist, if he was going to win the Giro he was going to have to gain at least a couple of minutes off Hesjedal by the end of the day. However, it was Thomas De Gendt (BEL) of Lotto Belisol who launched the successful attack, getting away from the rest of the Peloton. Behind him, Basso was hanging onto the back of the Peloton.
Zaugg was all by himself by the time he reached the top of the Mortirolo, Carrara appeared to be completely cooked, as well being dropped by Zaugg, he was unable to hold the wheels of Serpa, Amador and Vande Velde.
On the flat run before the Stelvio a number of riders sought to form a new breakaway, catching up and working with De Gendt. As they reached the bottom of the climb, the Peloton was down to 15 men, 5’45” behind Zaugg.
By now the Stage was becoming confusing with riders all over the road (it was about to get a lot worse), the race now looked like this…
Oliver Zaugg (SWI) RNT
Christian Vande Velde (USA) Garmin-Barracuda 1’40”
Audrey Amador (CRC) Movistar
Jose Serpa (COL) Androni Giocattoli
Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Lotto-Belisol 2’50”
Damiano Cunego (ITA) Lampre-ISD
Alberto Losada (ESP) Katusha
Matteo Carrara (ITA) Vacansoleil-DCM
Gorka Izagirre (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi 3’10”
Mikel Nieve (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
Amets Txurruka (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
Peloton 5’45”
Vande Velde was called back into the Peloton to provide support for Hesjedal who was clearly starting to feel the pressure. Tanel Kangert (EST) – Pro Team Astana attacked off the front of the Peloton joining the leading groups which were starting to come together at the base of the Stelvio.
High above the snow line
At the early part of the climb Zaugg was caught by a group of 5 riders. This group consisted of Amador, De Gendt, Nieve, Cunego and Kangert, they quickly dropped Zaugg and started the climb.
With 17.3km left to go the front group exploded, Kangert cracked first, then Amador and then finally Cunego. De Gendt and Nieve now led the Stage, with a 3’36” lead over the Peloton. Cunego slowly recovered clawing his way back. Then with 12.7km left to go, De Gendt attacked dropping both Nieve and Cunego, Nieve never recovered, but once again Cunego tried to pull himself back up to De Gendt. With 10km left to go, De Gendt had increased his lead to 4’54”, Cunego was 57” behind.
Hesjedal, Scarponi and Rodriguez had now moved on ahead of the rest of the Peloton. Basso was cooked and had fallen out of the back. Scarponi finally attacked, perhaps it too little, too late, but it is clear that he did not have the strength in his legs to do any more. Rodriguez fought back, overtaking Scarponi.
De Gendt took the Stage, 2nd was Cunego @55”, 3rd Nieve @2’49”, 4th Rodriguez @3’22”, Scarponi @3’33” and then in 6th Hesjedal @3’35”. Hesjedal was now the favourite to win the Giro, all he had to do was produce his usual time trial performance. Rodriguez performance was enough for him to overtake Cavendish and clinch the Points Competition.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (GC):
Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha 91:04:16
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Barracuda @31”
Michele Scarponi (ITA) Lampre-ISD @1’51”
Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Vacansoleil-DCM @2’18”
Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Cannondale @3’18”
STAGE 21 – INDIVIDUAL TIME TRAIL IN MILAN
Hesjedal time trials to victory
The final Stage (21) was the now traditional individual time trial for 28.2km around the streets of Milan. Of the early riders, Jessie Sergent (NZL) – RNT set a fast time of 33’59”. This was eventually beaten by Geraint Thomas (GBR) of Team Sky. Ultimately, Thomas was beaten by Marco Pinotti (ITA) – BMC Racing with a time of 33’06” (winning the Stage).
The more interesting race happened afterwards, as the contenders for the GC fought it out for the final positions.
At Checkpoint (1)…
Ryder Hesjedal 13’55
Thomas De Gendt 13’56”
Michele Scarponi 14’07”
Joaquin Rodriguez 14’24”
Rodriguez had already lost 29 seconds to Hesjedal, all the Canadian needed was another 3 seconds and he would win the Giro.
At Checkpoint (2)…
Ryder Hesjedal 24’32”
Thomas De Gendt 24’32”
Michele Scarponi 25’04”
Joaquin Rodriguez 25’16”
Hesjedal had now won the Giro, there was now a real danger that Scarponi might lose his 3rd place. This would mean that there would be no Italian on the podium.
At the finish…
Thomas De Gendt 34’07”
Ryder Hesjedal 34’15”
Michele Scarponi 35’00”
Joaquin Rodriquez 35’02”
Ryder Hesjedal had won the Giro, Thomas De Gendt had climbed into 3rd place and the Tifosi had to suffer the indignity of not having a single Italian on the podium.
FINAL GENERAL CLASSIFICATION (GC):
Ryder Hesjedal (CAN) Garmin-Barracuda 91:39:02
Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha @16
Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Vacansoleil-DCM @1’39”
Michele Scarponi (ITA) Lampre-ISD @2’05”
Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas-Cannondale @3’44”
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
YOUNG RIDER: Rigoberto Uran (COL) Team Sky
MOUNTAINS: Matteo Rabottini (ITA) Farnese Vini
POINTS: Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha
STAGE VICTORIES:
STAGE 1: Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing
STAGE 2: Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Sky
STAGE 3: Matt Goss (AUS) Orica-GreenEdge
STAGE 4: Garmin-Barracuda
STAGE 5: Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Sky
STAGE 6: Miguel Angel Rubiano (COL) Androni Giocattoli
STAGE 7: Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Team Astana
STAGE 8: Domenenico Pozzovivo (ITA) Colnago-CSF Inox
STAGE 9: Francisco Ventoso (ESP) Movistar
STAGE 10: Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha
STAGE 11: Roberto Ferrari (ITA) Androni Giocattoli
STAGE 12: Lars Bak (DEN) Lotto-Belisol
STAGE 13: Mark Cavendish (GBR) Team Sky
STAGE 14: Audrey Amador (CRC) Movistar
STAGE 15: Matteo Rabottini (ITA) Farnese Vini
STAGE 16: Jon Izaguirre (ESP) Euskaltel-Euskadi
STAGE 17: Joaquin Rodriguez (ESP) Katusha
STAGE 18: Andrea Guardini (ITA) Farnese-Vini
STAGE 19: Roman Kreuziger (CZE) Pro Team Astana
STAGE 20: Thomas De Gendt (BEL) Vacansoleil-DCM
STAGE 21: Marco Pinotti (ITA) BMC Racing
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