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May 07, 2005
Brett Lancaster Giro's first leader
Australia's Brett Lancaster of Panaria was the fastest kilo man in the field Saturday evening, taking the prologue of the 88th Giro d'Italia.
The unusually short prologue favored riders with track experience and sprinters, and Lancaster, who took a gold medal in Athens in the team pursuit, made the most of it, covering 1.15 kilometers in 1:20.958. Of course, the shortness also means you can throw a blanket over about the top half of the field, with the top 10 all within 2 seconds of Lancaster. The last-placed rider was Australia's Trent Wilson, 17 seconds back of Lancaster.
The prologue was run under the lights, along the coast at Reggio Calabria, with prime-time TV coverage in Italy.
Discovery's Paolo Savoldelli finished highest among those with GC aspirations, in 1:21.923, fourth on the stage. Alessandro Petacchi was 3rd on the day, just behind teammate Matteo Tosatto. T-Mobile's Olaf Pollack rounded out the top 5.
Stuart O'Grady's special rig didn't get him the maglia rosa, as he had hoped, but did place him 6th on the stage and overall.
Michael Barry led North Americans in 15th; Discovery teammate Ryder Hesjedal, also of Canada, was 18th; Dave Zabriskie was 20th; Tom Danielson 75th; Tony Cruz 98th; Jason McCartney 113th; and Christian Vande Velde was 152nd.
Defending Giro champ Damiano Cunego was 22nd, while his teammate Gilberto Simoni, the 2003 winner, was 97th on the stage.
Mario Cipollini took a parade lap, starting last in a glow-in-the-dark pink skinsuit that featured the names of all the towns where he won his 42 career Giro stages.
The full top 10:
1) Brett Lancaster, Ceramica Panaria-Navigare, 1:20.9
2) Matteo Tosatto, Fassa Bortolo, at :01
3) Alessandro Petacchi, Fassa Bortolo, at :01
4) Paolo Savoldelli, Discovery Channel, at :01
5) Olaf Pollack, T-Mobile, at :02
6) Stuart O'Grady, Cofidis, at :02
7) Jaan Kirsipuu, Credit Agricole, at :02
8) Mark Renshaw, Francaise des Jeux, at :02
9) Sergio Escobar Roure, Illes Balears, at :02
10) Sven Krauss, Gerolsteiner, at :02
Also:
Daily Peloton | Prologue Live Coverage
CyclingNews.com | Live Report | Full Results
Posted by Frank Steele on May 7, 2005 in Alessandro Petacchi, Dave Zabriskie, Giro d'Italia 2005, Mario Cipollini, Stuart O'Grady, Top Stories | Permalink
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» Cipollini Farewell Ride is the Highlight of the 2005 Giro d'Italia Prologue from Operation Gadget
I watched the Prologue of the Giro d'Italia on Outdoor Life Network earlier today. I thought that the staging of the Prologue was quite imaginative. The setting was a seaside promenade in Reggio Calabria at the southern tip of Italy.... [Read More]
Tracked on May 7, 2005 11:05:28 PM
Comments
Thanks for the usual great coverage. Those photos you post on, are they hotlinked?
Posted by: -b- at May 8, 2005 11:28:00 AM
