Petacchi, DiLuca romp home in Milano

It was a big sprint win by Alessandro Petacchi who stormed into Milano, launched by his team to victory. And Danilo DiLuca did everything right to take the overall Giro win. It was a fascinating contest with some memorable wins by not just these 2 riders but the Saunier Duval team as well. All up, a great Giro. But no pointer to Le Tour, really. Petacchi will have to back up after a big effort of finishing a Grand Tour, whilst Boonen (injured, but back with a win in the Tour of Belgium) and McEwen (having retired before the Giro's big mountain stages) have been taking it relatively easy in the last week or so and will inevitably be a little fresher. And the big TdeF GC guns are still hidden away...

Crash, bang, Petacchi - again

Stage 11 of the Giro saw another crash and another big, strong, fast Alessandro Petacchi victory. Balducci 2nd, McEwen 3rd. Not that I am complaining but it would be nice to see someone else win - maybe tomorrow? Definitely not a stage for the flatland sprinters. Yes, folks, it's the Col D'Izoard. Doesn't sound so much like the tour of Italy, does it? Ah, those Alps, they get around!