CYCLING Live

Giro d'Italia - Rome (ITT)

Live Comments

16:35 - The stage goes to Ignatas Konovalovas. Thanks for joining me! For all the reaction to the Giro d'Italia why not check out the Eurosport-Yahoo! cycling page
16:35 - HIGH DRAMA AS MENCHOV FALLS!!!! But he gets back up and finishes in 19:06 to seal victory in the 100th Giro d'Italia!!!
16:30 - Di Luca laps in 19:27. So Menchov needs 19:47 or better to secure victory. It looks fairly safe, but you never know.
16:25 - Menchov has responded with a mighty effort. The Russian is now 14 seconds ahead of Di Luca according to the most recent checkpoint. That puts him 34 seconds ahead overall.
16:20 - Di Luca is gaining. This could be very very close. The rain has started to come down again.
16:15 - Denis Menchov and Danilo Di Luca begin their laps in Rome. Menchov is 20 seconds ahead going into the time trial. Di Luca is absolutely hammering it. Can he do it?
16:05 - Astana rider Marzio Bruseghin comes home in 18:58 to move into fifth position.
16:00 - Armstrong finishes with a time of 20:01. He approached with caution, but you can hardly blame him with the Tour de France looming large on the horizon.
15:45 - Kevin Seeldrayers looks certain to take the best young rider jersey after putting in a strong lap.
15:40 - Armstrong is away, but he's well off the pace at the first checkpoint.
15:30 - Lance Armstrong twittered earlier today, saying he would not be taking any big risks in the wet. But the roads have dried considerably since and he could well have a go at it. The current leader is Konovalovas, with his time of 18:48.
15:30 - Quickstep's Kevin Seeldrayers begins his lap. He's 14th overall in the general classification.
15:20 - Chris Froome has put in a good ride. The Kenyan born Brit posts a time of 19:42 to stand at 17th overall.
15:10 - Bradley Wiggins travelled at an average speed of just over 46kmph by the way.
15:00 - Jens Voigt of Germany is out on the course, as is Dario David Cioni of Italy.
14:50 - Light rain is falling in Rome as Jason McCartney comes home to complete his lap. The American posts an uncompetitive time of 21:06.
14:40 - Matthieu Sprick has come a cropper and will not be posting a very quick time. Meanwhile, Wiggins comes home just ONE SECOND behind NEW LEADER Ignatas Konovalovas!!
14:35 - Wiggins won Olympic gold in the pursuit at the 2004 and 2008 Games. He also has seven World Championship golds and a stage win at the Dauphiné Libéré on his rather impressive resume.
14:30 - Bradley Wiggins is out on his lap, wearing a rather fetching blue outfit. We'll keep you posted on the British Olympic hero.
14:18 - We have a new leader! His name? Dries Devenyns! The Belgian rider raced round in 19:02 and currently sits atop the times...
14:05 - Rabobank's Tom Stamsnijder has set the early pace, clocking 19:28.
14:00 - Finally, after what seem like an age, the first riders have set off into the streets of the Eternal City!
- - News just in... the 2010 Giro d'Italia will start from Amsterdam! The world's second biggest stage race after the Tour de France will stay in the Netherlands from May 6 to 10 next year. It will be the ninth time the Giro has started outside Italy with the last occasion being in 2006 when it opened in Seraing, Belgium.
- - The population of Rome seem to be in fine fettle today and are out in force to cheer their heroes on. It looks like a real carnival atmosphere, with huge vats of pasta being cooked on most street corners - even some of the riders are getting involved with a rather tasty-looking aribiata!
- - Yesterday's stage 20 was won by Philippe Gilbert of Silence-Lotto with a decisive attack in the closing stages towards Anagni. Read the report here.
- - The setting for today's stage, Rome, is Italy's largest and most populous city, one of the birthplaces of Western civilisation, no less! Over 2000 years ago, it was the centre of the Roman Empire and remains one of the most beautiful cities in the world to this day.
- - It's a warm day in Rome today... the sun is out and conditions of the riders are good. Check out the full weather forecast here.
- - Hello and a very warm welcome to live coverage of the final stage of this year's Giro d'Italia, a 14km time trial in Rome!