CYCLING Live

Giro d'Italia - Avellino - Vesuvio

Live Comments

  1. - - Basso finished fifth on the stage. 35 seconds behind Sastre. Levi Leipheimer (0:53), Tadej Valjavec (1:14), Serge Pauwels, Jose Serpa and Garzelli (all 1:15) completed the top ten.

  2. - - On GC Pellizotti remains third at 1:39 with Sastre 2:40 back in fourth and Basso dropping to fifth at 3:33.

  3. 0km - SASTRE WINS THE STAGE!! His second victory following his triumph on Monday at Monte Petrano. PELLIZOTTI SECOND only 20 seconds behind with DI LUCA pipping MENCHOV to third to claim eight bonus seconds and cut his deficit on GC to just 18 seconds.

  4. 1km - Pellizotti is fearing for his podium place and Basso waits for him to help him up the climb. Menchov is shadowing Di Luca behind. The gap for Sastre is 45 seconds as he goes under the Flamme Rouge.

  5. 2km - A third dig from Pellizotti but he just cannot shake off the Russian in the pink jersey. Sastre looking strong and leads by 58 seconds. Remember there is a 20 second time bonus for the stage winner so Sastre is 'virtually' just two seconds behind Pellizotti on GC.

  6. 3km - Pellizotti attacks again. The leading three on GC go under the 3km to go kite with seven or eight others including Lance Armstrong.

  7. 4km - Sastre drops Basso!! Behind Pellizotti attacks and only Di Luca and Menchov can follow. But the pace slackens and there is some re-grouping, they trail the Tour de France champion by 40 seconds.

  8. 5km - Basso-Sastre lead David Arroyo and Simoni by 35 seconds. Yaroslav Popovych is on the front of the main bunch, just a few metres behind.

  9. 6km - Serge Pauwels is doing a policing job at the front of the bunch but Garzelli has gone off in pursuit of Sastre and Basso who need to gain 90 seconds to leap over Franco Pellizotti for a podium place.

  10. 7km - Sastre has recovered well and rejoined the Menchov-Di Luca group before going straight through the other side to join up with Basso at the head of the race!

  11. 8km - Carlos Sastre has been dropped as Gilberto Simoni goes off the front.

  12. 9km - Ivan Basso and Stefano Garzelli now attack.

  13. 10km - There are about 40 riders in the lead group led by Gabriele Bosisio, they trail the lead duo by around eight seconds.

  14. 11km - Paolo Tiralongo has followed him and caught his fellow Italian.

  15. 12km - Valerio Agnoli (Liquigas) is the first to attack.

  16. 13km - Krivtsov and Grivko are caught at the foot of the climb.

  17. 15km - The first kilometer of the climb is between 4% and 5% then it steepens with the maximum gradient of 12% coming at kilometer five which lasts about 250m. The rest of the climb is between 8% and 9% with it climbing to nearly 11% just before the Flamme Rouge. The final kilometer is around a 9% gradient. The road is very tight so team and service cars are not allowed up there and all the main contenders are moving to the front as our two leaders see their gap cut to just 25 seconds.

  18. 20km - 1:15 is the gap as LPR step on the gas.

  19. 25km - The riders can now see the silhouette of Vesuvio. It is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years, although thankfully for the peloton it is currently dorment. The volcano has been quiescent since 18 March 1944 and the area around Vesuvius was officially declared a national park in 1995. The stage finishes 1000 meters above sea level.

  20. 30km - The gap is coming down quickly now, just two minutes. LPR have controlled the race all day.

  21. 35km - Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner, according to Italian television suffered bruising to his left shoulder in that fall.

  22. 40km - A small climb as the race passes through Vico Equense but the terrain is mainly flat and the gap constant. The fireworks are just around the corner.

  23. 45km - Grivko has given up on his bid to reach the leading pair. He is absorbed by a peloton that is 3:55 behind the duo.

  24. 50km - It is now a rapid descent into Sorrento but no time for a limoncello, the lemon-flavored liquore synonymous with the province of Napoli.

  25. 55km - Grivko is second in the king of the moutains classification, 21 points behind Stefano Garzelli.

  26. 63km - Grivko reaches the top of the climb 3:15 behind with the main bunch just 18 seconds behind.

  27. 65km - So Facci crosses the summit first, just ahead of Krivtsov. Grivko is just over 1km behind.

  28. 70km - ISD's Andriy Grivko has jumped out of the peloton on a counter-attack.

  29. 75km - The leaders have commenced the Picco Sant Angelo. The cat-3 climb is 13.3 kilometers and gains 403 meters at a gentle gradient of 3%. However there is a section of 8% to test the riders.

  30. 80km - The advantage of our two escapees has dropped to 4:30 as the LPR team continue to set the pace with the Emerald Green sea offering an aesthetic backdrop.

  31. 85km - Lance Armstrong has hit the deck as the peloton go around a tight corner as they negotiate a winding road along the Amalfi coast. But the Texan is back on his bike and looks ok.

  32. 90km - The speed dropped to 38.2km in the second hour and Menchov is safely back in the peloton.

  33. 95km - The Giro d'Italia is LIVE at 3.10pm on British Eurosport 2 (Sky 411 / Virgin Media 525) BUT is also available on your PC right now (commentary free) via the Eurosport Player. Click here to subscribe

  34. 100km - Menchov has just had a puncture and two Rabobank team-mates are working him back into the peloton led by Di Luca's LPR squad.

  35. 105km - An incredible 49.8km was covered in the first hour. The gap for the leaders has dropped from a peak of seven minutes to 6:38.

  36. 110km - Wanted to know more about the guys with the horns who runs alongside Lance Armstrong? Video: Meet the Giro's wackiest fans

  37. 115km - The riders have just climbed 400 meters to Valico Costapiana and now are on a quick descent to Vetri sul Mare.

  38. 120km - The advantage for our two escapees is now five minutes. Only six teams have won a stage in the race, Facci's Quick Step squad and the AG2R team of Ukraine's Krivtsov are not amongst that sextet.

  39. 125km - Look out for Sastre. Team director Jean Paul Van Poppel said: "We're going to play it hard and hope that Carlos has his legs again. I think he can do it, which is why we are planning to go for it. We know it is going to be very difficult, but we won't give up until the climb is finished."

  40. 130km - Vesuvio is a 13km climb which rises 967m - the average graident being 7.4% and the maximum 12%. Expect fireworks.

  41. 135km - Ted King has summed up the mood in the peloton. "Three days to go. My legs are hurting and mind is going a bit numb, but at this point, I'm super excited to be as far as I am and Rome is just around the corner."

  42. 140km - The peloton is currently riding through rolling terrain en-route to the Amalfi coast and Yuriy Krivtsov and Mauro Facci, who attacked 10km ago, have opened up a 3:30 lead.

  43. 145km - Danilo Di Luca needs to gain at least 45 seconds on race leader Denis Menchov to give himself a chance of holding on in Sunday's short time trial. Franco Pellizotti (2:00), Ivan Basso (3:28), Carlos Sastre (3:30) and Levi Leipheimer (4:32) are contesting a podium slot. General Classification

  44. 150km - Yesterday's stage was won by Michele Scarponi (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli), after a day-long break. Hear his thoughts. Video: Interview

  45. 155km - The peloton together in the early stages on a warm but not sweltering day. Check out the conditions for today's stage. Weather report

  46. 160km - Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy is situated in a plain surrounded by mountains 42km north-east of Naples and is an important hub on the road from Salerno to Benevento. Avellino has suffered from seismic activity throughout its history and was struck hard by the earthquakes of 23 November 1980 and 14 February 1981. It is the fictional home of Tony Soprano's grandfather.

  47. 164km - It is THE stage of the Giro d'Italia. The remaining 171 riders set off at 13:05 local time on a 164km trek from Avellino to one of the world's most infamous volcanoes, Vesuvius!! It will be pivotal to the outcome of the pink jersey with little to worry the GC contenders tomorrow before the race finishes with a time trial in Rome on Sunday.