Giro 2008 team talk 3

The 2008 Giro d'Italia started from Palermo, southern Italy on May 10 and is held over 21 stages until June 1.

Stage 8 (Rivisondoli - Tivoli) and Stage 9 (Civitavecchia - San Vincenzo)

Stage nine saw Italy's Daniele Bennati clinch a thrilling photo-finish and on the Previous day, stage eight, Riccardo Ricco out sprinted Paulo Bettini to win.

Monday, May 19 is a rest day on the Giro and many teams will be licking their wounds after a hard, crash filled week before the first individual time trial on the ascent to Urbino (See below)

Liquigas

Stage winner Daniele Bennati said - "I am in very good condition because I have done two sprints. I was with Zabel but when he didn't attack, I went instead."

"As usual I raised my arms but then I felt a rocket had arrived at my side, it was Bettini. I feel sorry for him as this is the only stage in Tuscany but I came to win."

"In the sprints, it's a lot easier to lose than to win. It's a shame that the last stage will be a time-trial in place of a sprint. I have won them in Paris on the Tour de France and in Madrid on the Vuelta. "In Milan what I can hope for is the points classification."

Lampre

Sprinter Mircoze Lorenzetto was too tired to make an impact in the sprint - “We asked Mauro Santambrogio to help other teams to chase the breakaway: it was necessary – Fabrizio Bontempi, Lampre’s sport director, said

On the sick list had been Marco Bandiera and he is feeling better, he spoke with the team medical "saying that he’s feeling better even if he’s suffering for a strong headache”.

The expected mass sprint finish on stage nine ended with an unhappy fourth place for Erik Zabel when he ran out of space caught between the roadside barriers and eventual stage winner Daniele Bennati.

"That was a very unlucky finale,“ said Erik Zabel. "I was in a good position and had found the right rear wheel to be on. Unfortunately, the street was so narrow that I couldn't get between Daniele Bennati and the barriers.“

The Milram team is now down to six riders when Sergio Ghisalberti had to leave the Giro with torn muscle fibre in his right thigh and will have to take a break for the next 15 days.

The previous day on stage eight, Zabel also missed out in the sprint - "I tried to stay with the leading group on the final climb as long as I could. Several years ago I was second on this same course. But today the tempo on the last kilometer was too high to be able to sprint at the front.“

The Astana squad have been tryng to keep out of trouble waiting for Tuesday's Stage ten mounain time trial, but all the best laid plans...

On Saturday Alberto Contador crashed and suffered bruised tendons and muscles in the left elbow. The bandaged elbow did not seem to bother him too much and he remains riding in the peloton.

"Stage nine was a truly traditional Giro-stage where things were fairly calm to begin with until the sprinters took over at the end. All we wanted was to get through fairly easily and now we've got a much needed day of rest tomorrow, where we'll get the chance to check out the time trial route for the day after tomorrow," said Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen after the stage.

Team sprinter Graeme Brown missed in the stage nine sprint finish and claimed fourteenth.

Team manager, Erik Breukink believed that the stage revolved mostly around the question whether the Australian would still be in the pack at the start of the mass sprint. "That was difficult enough as it was. The final lap was heavy and dangerous, that is the reason. The team did everything it could to make it happen, and it deserves a compliment for that. Graeme, however, had suffered too much to be able compete for the victory."

Breukink: "There will be some opportunities for Graeme. Tuesday's time trial and on Wednesday he will have to find a way to make it through that heavy stage. If he does that, he should be able to participate in the sprints on Thursday and Friday."

Stage Eight winner, Riccardo Ricco said : "I feel fine, I´m in great shape. I didn´t think I could make it today. But Pietro Algeri told me to give it a go because the twenty-second bonus could be useful. So I tried, and he was right. The team did a wonderful job and Piepoli helped me a lot also today. Piepoli is just great. I´m extremely happy. These two stage wins make me feel secure, and I´m looking forward to the mountains. That is where my Giro starts. And then again, unlike all my rivals, I have invaluable help: Piepoli´s.”

Team Barloworld, have been working to keep Mauricio Soler from harm prior to the mountains, Soler is till recovering from his army injury caised by a crash at race start. "I still feel a lot of pain, and obviously this kind of everyday effort doesn't help the recovery". On Monday's rest day Soler will undergo a magnetic resonance test and his Giro future will be decided then.

Team mate Christian Pfannberger suffered a crash in the final kilometres, but only had some bruises on his arm and leg; it was a hard day for Francesco Bellotti too, having troubles with an arm after yesterday's fall at km 13.

On the previous day (Stage eight), Francesco Bellotti crashed suffering bruises to his right elbow.

Click on Map to enlarge

The 36 kilometre time trail from Pesaro to Urbino will be a hard day in the saddle for all.

The stage features a long, long climb to the finish, plus the climb of the Monte de Colbordolo, and the race favourites will be out to put time into each other.