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Visconti Rides Tarmac SL2 into Pink
posted by id* at 03:33 PM on May 15, 2008
Giovanni Visconti swapped his Italian national championship jersey for the maglia rosa today as the Quick Step rider surged into the overall lead at the 91st Giro d’Italia during the 231km sixth stage.
After joining the winning 11-man breakaway on the Giro’s longest stage, Visconti poured everything into his Specialized Tarmac SL2 and Roval wheels in the uphill finale to end Franco Pellizotti’s four-day run in pink. Visconti tied (fellow Tarmac SL2 rider) Gerolsteiner’s Matthias Russ on time, but the 25-year-old Sicilian took the jersey based on placement in the stage.
“Having the maglia rosa is a dream!” a happy Visconti said in Peschini. “Everything was planned from this morning. I felt good and was looking to get into the break. On the final climb, I felt confident that I could get six seconds, even though Russ was always on my wheels, but in the last meters, I started to go like hell. That was when I really appreciated my bike, because it really gave me the advantage.”
Russ was actually the best-placed rider in the breakaway, but Visconti saw things clearly through his Adaptalite™ Optics. The Italian champ won a six-second bonus at the “hot sprint” at Manfredonia midway through the stage and then took back an additional seven seconds on his German rival at the line.
Visconti might be tied with Russ, but he carved out a tidy lead of more than nine minutes ahead of the main GC contenders as Pellizotti fell to seventh at 9:08 back. That gives Visconti a nice head start going into Friday’s summit finish at Pescocostanzo, where he’s confident he’ll be able to defend the pink jersey.
“I would like to keep the jersey until the time trial (in stage 10) and then we’ll see,” Visconti said. I’m not so bad in time trialsLast year, I was 13th in the final time trial, so who knows. To win a stage in the maglia rosa would be the ultimate.”
Visconti promises to wear the maglia rosa with the same dignity that he’s worn the Italian national title since last June. It sounds like he doesn’t want to give either one of them up anytime soon.
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Comments (5)
04:08 PM on May 15, 2008 UTC SPROCKET wrote:
How about a pink SPECIALIZED to add to all the others in the 2008 season. Is it just me or has the bikes with the "S" on the head tube winning just about everything. I LOVE IT!
04:11 AM on May 19, 2008 UTC The Man wrote:
Check out his face on the second pic!
06:16 AM on May 19, 2008 UTC T Andrew Hatcher wrote:
Once again I feel lile Versus is killing me with the lack of coverage.
08:21 AM on May 19, 2008 UTC id* wrote:
Have you tried cycling.tv? we have been using them a bit here to watch the non-Vs. days. There is a cost for the Giro service, but the coverage is good and the two announcers are good for a few laughs as well!
09:29 AM on May 19, 2008 UTC gnat23 wrote:
I approve of the pink bike idea of Sprocket's!