Centenary Giro d’Italia Preview

I’m a little excited for this race. Even more than my normal grand tour excitement.

Why?

Here’s a list:

1. The biggest thing, of course, is I’m going to be at the final time trial in Rome. It’s my first grand tour experience, in person, and the backdrop of Rome as the setting for the final, potentially decisive time trial makes it completely epic. I’m a little excited.

   Plus, Rome? Greatest city in the world.

   I’m still trying to figure out where to watch the race.

   Part of me wants to hear the wall of sound and be surrounded by the rabid tifosi lining the long straightaway of the Via del Corso, but being closer to the start/finish will give me a better chance of seeing the final podium, so I’m leaning towards something near the Forum or Colosseum.

   Heck a few pictures of cycling’s greatest whipping around the Colosseum won’t be too bad, right?

2. Ivan Basso returns to his home tour as the great Italian hope. Whatever he might have done in his past, he’s still a talented rider and I’m fascinated to see what kind of form he really has in a 3 week tour after two years of suspension. He’s still very popular in Italy, so if he’s wearing La Maglia Rosa at the end of the Centenary Giro it’ll be quite a spectacle.

   For what it’s worth, I’m still a fan of Basso’s, so I’d be happy to see him do the retribution thing and win the race.

   Not as happy as I would be if the next guy wins, but happy nonetheless.

3. Levi Leipheimer, easily my favorite rider right now, is the other hot favorite. Riding with one of the two best teams in the race (the other being Basso’s Liquigas squad) and possessing the top grand tour time trialing engine at the moment, Leipheimer is the one rider who I feel could really crush the competition over the epic Cinque Terre time trial. If he does, and stays with the other favorites over the big climbs (as he’s proven over the past couple of years) he could become the first American with podium finishes in all three grand tours (he’s already got two Vuelta top 3s and one in the Tour.) I like his chances.

   While the Italians might not be happy about it, I will be losing my mind if Levi manages to be draped in pink that day in Rome. Even if he’s just on the podium I’ll be overjoyed.

4. The Killer. Danilo di Luca is one of the most exciting riders in the pro peloton on a regular day. In this race he’s riding in honor of the victims of the recent L’Aquila earthquake. He’s going to be a beast in this race. He won’t win, but he’ll make it interesting every chance he gets. That’s a guarantee.
5. The EPIC, 61km Cinque Terre time trial is going to be both postcard beautiful and seriously decisive. At that length, the gaps will be enormous. The strong time trialists will crush weaker rivals by minutes. Of the big favorites, I’m looking for Leiheimer and maybe Denis Menchov to bank some serious time against the climbing specialists. As far as I’m concerned, Basso’s race really depends on this day. If he rides well and stays withing shouting distance of Leipheimer, he’s a lot closer to his comeback dream.
6. The “Plan Bs.” Amazing to think of him as a plan B, but Astana is bringing Lance Armstrong. Lance is planning on riding as a super-super-super domestique for Levi, but he’s also hoping to win a stage. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used by Astana and how his stage hunting goes. Block Haus maybe?

   And where does he finish? Top 10? Top 20? Fascinating stuff.

   More of a real “plan B” is last year’s #4 finisher, Franco Pellizotti. Liquigas (and maybe the rest of Italy) is going to be working for Basso to win the race. But if something goes wrong with that plan, Pellizotti is a fine second option. Really, minus the CERA fueled antics of Ricardo Ricco and/or Pelizotti tucking his flowing locks into his time trial helmet, he would have finished on the podium. So if something goes awry with the Basso comeback special keep your eyes on this guy. He’ll be in the mix, regardless.

7. Mark Cavendish gets to destroy people in the sprint again. Always fun, that.

   

8. A mountaintop finish on… VESUVIUS!
   
9. Defending Tour champ Carlos Sastre says he’s making a podium run. He’s obviously dangerous and has the confidence of a Tour victory empowering him. His team isn’t quite the CSC/Saxo Bank powerhouse he had last year, but he’s still one to watch.
10. This is exactly the kind of course where quiet man Denis Menchov can excel. There are no super-difficult mountain stages where the Carlos Sastre’s of the world can grind two minutes out of him (see last year’s Tour) and the centerpiece time trial should lend him an opportunity to put some time in the bank. As long as he can continue to grind it out and stay in contact with the race leaders during the big mountain stages I expect him to do really well in this race. He rode a quiet 5th last year. Can he ride to a quiet podium?

Enough? I could go on you know 🙂 There are a lot of stories to follow in this race.

In fact, I will. I’ll be commenting on the race throughout, both here and on Twitter. Fun times.

My podium picks:

1. Levi Leipheimer
2. Ivan Basso
3. Denis Menchov