Somewhere between most and all of us rated this Giro as a sprinter's nightmare, and by the time the peloton gets to Milan, that opinion may prove correct. In the meantime, however, the sprints which have occurred have been uncannily exciting. The courses have been chosen well, there's been decent variety (slight inclines, Thursday's S-curves, etc.), and as usual, the riders have made the race. Two more sprints coming right up, so we'll see if this trend holds.
- Robbie McEwen is having the most difficulty with the parcours so far, falling 38 points behind Petacchi for the maglia ciclamino after rolling in 13th today. Are the hills sapping his strength before the finish? No word that I've seen... but that's what Thor Hushovd attributed his own struggles to, so it stands to reason at least.
- Petacchi would like more stadium finishes like today's finale at the F1 track where Ferraris have been tested for decades. No word on whether he's contemplating a shot at Paris-Roubaix as a result.
- One story of the day was Paolo Bettini, who gave it his all to try to win in front of his family and neighbors. In the end Petacchi's aggressive positioning headed off Bettini's lunge for the win, and also paved the way for Thor Hushovd to grab second, but Bettini still hung on for third. He sent his entire Quick Step team up to chase down breakaways. No doubt Milram was relieved to share the work.
That's about all for now...