Today's 170km stroll north to Sestri Levante was intended to be a moment of glory for Alessandro Petacchi, the race's fallen hero, and as I type they're passing through his hometown of La Spezia. Instead, it's more of a reminder of his tragic race... and an opportunity for someone else to steal the points jersey for a day. Actually, with a sharp climb less than 20 km from the finish, it's not really a classic sprinter's stage. For two weeks we've been hearing how Bettini is a stage win favorite; maybe today he'll make good before he runs completely out of chances.
I'll take a flyer on Stefan Schumacher, myself. No live blogging today, I'm off to Manhattan for the day. We'll be live all next week, every day that they're going uphill.