Franco Pellizotti is the new king of the Dolomites. It’s not like having the 'Maglia Rosa' though... "We are showing how much we want to win this Giro. I’m fine. For the past two days Liquigas has at least been trying to test the strong riders. Sunday, on the Giau they [the other overall favourites, editor] didn’t help us to break away from Contador, but we’ll certainly try again. He’s strong, but he’s not what he was during the 2007 Tour. He takes cover, he manages his energy, he has a good team and he defends himself."

Overall leader Alberto Contador (Astana) is gaining a lot of confidence from a completely new experience. The Giro, the 'Maglia Rosa', the roller coaster-like slopes of Plan de Corones. "I had checked the course this morning at 8 by car and then by bike," said Contador in the press conference. "I used a 34x30 gear! Riding on this (surface) was a new experience. Sometimes I lost grip (traction)." He continued, "You need those small gears because you cannot always stand up on the pedals." Contador said he was surprised about the support of the crowds."It was an unusual day. People supported me in an incredible way. It’s something that really surprised me," said the rider from Pinto. "I am optimistic about the rest of the Giro," said Contador post-race. "I think we have had the hardest part. But we have to remain careful. Especially dangerous are Simoni and Riccò. I’m glad I could put some distance into Di Luca, Menchov and Bruseghin," he concluded.

Riccardo Riccò lost a few seconds yesterday and might create an allience with other riders to beat Contador. "I really feel happy; I believe my performance was very good today. Pity I couldn´t do better, for my rear wheel slipped a bit when I decided to give it, out-of-the-saddle, a go. I felt strong enough, but that affected all climbers alike. We all had a good stage today, as you can see all of us finished 30" or less behind Pellizotti. Congratulations to Pellizotti and Contador, who were great today. The Giro isn´t over yet -I´ll fight all the way to Milan." Riccò explained "A gap like that can be closed," specified Riccò, who is 41 seconds behind the winner of the 2007 Tour de France. "There are still some really difficult stages left, and Contador is not untouchable. I’m going to try. You have to think of something in the mountains. On the Presolana you can really stage an attack, but Gavia and Mortirolo are far from the finish line," continued the Italian young gun, who concluded with a joke that possibly veils his hope. "I could join forces with Simoni or somebody else, maybe someone from CSF, seeing that Reverberi is from Emilia like me..."

After two days of battling in the general classification, Rabobank's Denis Menchov could not keep up with the best and had to bury his dream of winning this years Giro. The Rabobank captain dropped two places in the overall to number seventh due to his tenth place, at 1.49 from stage winner Franco Pellizotti. "We had expected a little bit more," admitted Rabobank sports director Erik Breukink openly. "We had hoped for the time loss to be thirty seconds less, but he did not have such a great day."

The Russian rider had explored the route in the morning, but not the final - for one's feeling a very long - kilometer. "Denis knew what would be in store for him," said Breukink."It is a very steep climb, which is not made for Denis." Breukink was not allowed to ride behind his captain during the climb. But, according to him that did not really matter. "It is the rider who must use up every ounce of his energy, not me. When he experiences a disappointing start, you know that he could potentially lose a lot at the end."

Gilberto Simoni (Diquigiovann ) is now third overall. His chances to win the overall might not be very big but 'Gibo' is not giving up yet. "Of course I won't give up. I never did and I will never do." Simoni admitted that Contador has an advantage because of Sundays time trial :"I realise that its going to be difficult. There is one more individual time trial on the programme where Alberto Contador has an advantage, although I think that the differences there will be small. Many people say that the Italians should form a block but that is pretty difficult."

Jens Voigt surprised with a very strong performance. The CSC rider took a great 11th place in the stage. "It was a spectacular stage and luckily there were no major complications. Something, which would not have been possible had it been raining. Gustav got through fine and again Jens was in a league of his very own. The perfect scenario for us right now would be a stage win before the end of the Giro and the way things are looking at the moment Jens is our guy," said Team CSC sports director Kim Andersen after the stage.

Canadian rider Ryder Hesjedal (Slipstream/Chipotle H30) felt at home on the challenging course. "Today was spectacular! Easily one of the coolest time trials I have ever done," said Ryder, who covered the 12.9 km course in 44′42.“ Ryder had the best time for the team with Christian Vande Velde not far behind at 45′03″. Hesjedal finished 48^th. "The top was amazing with the crowds. It was a epic ascent for the last 5 km with the gravel and steep grades," Hesjedal continued. "I felt comfortable and was feeling better as the day went on. Now a little rest and we hit the home stretch!"