The hectic, demanding finish of the 8th stage in the 2011 Giro d'Italia has ruined the sprinters' expectations at Tropea, where Fran Ventoso came in 7th place after Gatto (FAR) put a strong attack into the final slope near the finish and took it to the day's victory.
The rush from the Italian was responded by Alberto Contador, who came in 2nd place across the finish line with five seconds over the selected peloton, where Movistar Team put, apart from Ventoso himself, Lastras, Arroyo and Kiryienka -Pardilla lost a handful of seconds- after the punctures from Oyarzun and Pasamontes in the finale. “The stage was going calm, but the final 30k were crazy,” analyzed Ventoso after the finish. “Halfway into the course, Joaquín Rodríguez told me that the finish was the same where Bettini had won in 2005, and I remembered perfectly well how the road became narrower with 3km to go. I have to thank the team once again because, despite not having super legs and telling them to stay with ‘Arroyito’ so he did not lose time, they left me in perfect position for the final slope. At the climb, Gatto made a good attack, and when I saw Contador jumping I knew that the stage was lost.“
The first decisive ride of the 2011 Giro will be coming tomorrow after yesterday’s apettizer in Montevergine. The Corsa Rosa is embarking for Sicilia to made the awaited ascent to the Etna volcano, a 1st cat climb where the finish line will be set after making a first approach in mid-stage by another versante. Movistar Team is still on top of the teams’ overall classification, with Lastras in 7th place in the GC and Arroyo in 12th, 40 seconds from the maglia rosa still worn by Pieter Weening (RAB).