Breakaway success! I hadn't pegged this in my original preview, but this stage had excellent breakaway potential, so no big shocker. The climbs weren't selective enough to interest the GC guys, but they were selective enough to weaken the commitment of the sprinter teams. Plus that much tempo climbing and descending will favor a strong breakaway since the chase loses much of its chasing advantage. No cannonball charging down the highway after the lone break, or not for much of the business end of the race. So yeah, breakaway stage. Kudos to Matt Lloyd and Rubens Bertogliati for recognizing it. Results:
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Matt Lloyd, Omega Pharma
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Rubens Bertogliati, Androni, at 1.04
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Danilo Hondo, Lampre, at 1.15
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Manuel Belletti, Colnago, s.t.
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Filippo Pozzato, Katusha, s.t.
No change to the overall. Farrar grabs the points jersey. Lovely scenery today as the Giro passes through Tuscany. Today's highlight was Carrara, center of the marble industry, though for some reason the thought popped into my head that every time a law firm relocates its offices, that mountain gets six inches shorter.
