"We were off to a good start in this race. It was a tricky route for our riders, but the team stuck to the plan and the
five riders, which we'd agreed beforehand should cross the line together, did so. Well done by Andy Schleck that he managed
to keep up the way he did, even though time trials are not exactly his specialty," said CSC sports director Alain Gallopin
after the stage and continued:
"I think we showed that we're among the strongest teams in this race, and now we'll
have to wait and see if we can get JJ Haedo in position for a stage win tomorrow, " Gallopin added.
In the Giro d’Italia, the Rabo ProTeam finished in the middle bracket in the first stage, a team time trial on Sardinia.
Eight teams needed less than 35 minutes to complete the course from Caprera to La Maddalena. The numbers 9 to 17 were close
together and in the end, the Dutch team ranked sixteenth. Rabobank sports director Adri van Houwelingen thought it was a difficult
course. "Partly because of the wind but also partly because of the course itself. It was very technical with a big final climb
and a similar descent." And then he was not even mentioning the difficult turns in which several cyclists of other teams fell.
The Rabo team finished with six cyclists: Koos Moerenhout, Mauricio Ardila, Pedro Horrillo, Max van Heeswijk, Michael Rasmussen,
and William Walker. The latter, a newcomer to the Giro, was the strongest of the team. It is nice to see the Australian develop
in the ProTeam after he had proven on the Continental Team that he could become a worthy ProTour cyclist. "He has been good
all year with the exception of the hardest stage in the Tour de Romandie," judged Van Houwelingen. "He just keeps on performing.
He should be the first of us to get a moral boost after this team time trial."
The team leader had not stuffed his boys with assignments. The only agreements were that there would not be waited on people
with break downs (which the team were spared) or people who dropped off. "And we set the starting sequence. I did not tell
them much else. Who the captain was? That is hard to tell. The three Dutchmen were given an earpiece and they handled the
communication between me and the cyclists." One of those Dutchmen was no longer with the final six. That was Léon van Bon
who is probably one of the older newcomers to the Giro.
About halfway through, the pace proved to be too high for the veteran. The same was the case for Dmitriy Kozontchuk. The
two then decided to wait for Graeme Brown, who had dropped off earlier. "I was hoping for Graeme to do better today but it
is too early to draw any conclusions. The next few days will tell in what light we have to judge this," said Van Houwelingen.
He does not expect that the Australian sprinter will have to show his specialty on Sunday. "I would not bet too much on a
mass sprint. It will be hard because of the combination of a 600 meters height difference and much wind."
First leader’s jersey Gasparotto
Liquigas won the team time trial. But strangely, Danilo di Luca
is not the first one to wear the pink leader’s jersey. That is because he did not finish first. Team mate Enrico Gasparotto
disobeyed all team orders and did not care for the swearing and cursing of his leader.
Results
Stage 1
1 Liquigas
33.38 (45.668 km/h)
2 Astana
0.13
3 Team CSC
0.30
4 Lampre-Fondital
0.42
5 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
0.49
6 Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo
1.02
7 Tinkoff Credit System
1.04
8 Crédit Agricole
1.13
9 Caisse d'Epargne
1.23
10 Saunier Duval-Prodir
1.25
11 Quickstep-Innergetic
1.26
12 Predictor-Lotto
1.28
13 Gerolsteiner
1.32
14 Team Milram
1.33
15 Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone
1.38
16 Rabobank
1.47
17 T-Mobile Team
1.49
18 Ceramica Panaria-Navigare
2.01
19 Bouygues Telecom
2.07
20 AG2r Prévoyance
2.17
21 Euskaltel-Euskadi
2.38
22 Française des Jeux
2.50
General Classification after stage 1
1 Enrico Gasparotto (Ita) Liquigas
33.38
2 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
5 Andrea Noe' (Ita) Liquigas
6 Charles Wegelius (GBr) Liquigas
7 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Liquigas
0.02
8 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Astana
0.13
9 Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita) Astana
10 Andrey Mizourov (Kaz) Astana
11 Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana
12 Serguei Yakovlev (Kaz) Astana
13 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Team CSC
0.30
14 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC
15 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team CSC
16 Kurt-Asle Arvesen (Nor) Team CSC
17 Volodymir Gustov (Ukr) Team CSC
18 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
0.42
19 Francisco Javier Vila Errandonea (Spa) Lampre - Fondital
20 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
21 Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
22 Marco Marzano (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
23 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre - Fondital
24 José Luis Rubiera Vigil (Spa) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team 0.49
25 Volodymyr Bileka (Ukr)
Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
26
George Hincapie (USA) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
27 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
28 Steven Cummings (GBr) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
29 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
1.02
30 Andrei Kunitski (Blr) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
31 Dario Andriotto (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
32 Alexandr Arekeev (Rus) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
33 Massimo Codol (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
34 Giuseppe Palumbo (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
35 Branislau Samoilau (Blr) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
36 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
1.04
37 Ivan Rovny (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
38 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
39 Daniele Contrini (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System
40 Mikhail Ignatiev (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
41 Francesco Bellotti (Ita) Crédit Agricole
1.13
42 Julian Dean (NZl) Crédit Agricole
43 Laszlo Bodrogi (Hun) Crédit Agricole
44 Nicholas Roche (Irl) Crédit Agricole
45 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Crédit Agricole
46 Patrice Halgand (Fra) Crédit Agricole
47 Pablo Lastras Garcia (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.23
48 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
49 Alberto Losada Alguacil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
50 Aitor Perez Arrieta (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
51 Joan Horrach Rippoll (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
52 Angelo Furlan (Ita) Crédit Agricole
53 Riccardo Ricco (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
1.25
54 Iban Mayo Diez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
55 Leonardo Piepoli (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
56 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
57 Rubens Bertogliati (Swi) Saunier Duval - Prodir
58 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
1.26
59 Andrea Tonti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
60 Leonardo Scarselli (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
61 Jurgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quickstep - Innergetic
62 Hubert Schwab (Swi) Quickstep - Innergetic
63 Robbie McEwen (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
1.28
64 Jurgen Van Den Broeck (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
65 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Predictor - Lotto
66 Josep Jufre Pou (Spa) Predictor - Lotto
67 Matthew Lloyd (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
68 Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
69 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
70 David Canada Gracia (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
1.31
71 Robert Förster (Ger) Gerolsteiner
1.32
72 Oliver Zaugg (Swi) Gerolsteiner
73 Tim Klinger (Ger) Gerolsteiner
74 Matthias Russ (Ger) Gerolsteiner
75 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
76 Sergio Ghisalberti (Ita) Team Milram
1.33
77 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Team Milram
78 Alberto Ongarato (Ita) Team Milram
79 Christian Knees (Ger) Team Milram
80 Alessandro Cortinovis (Ita) Team Milram
81 Brett Lancaster (Aus) Team Milram
82 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Team Milram
83 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Team Milram
84 Steve Zampieri (Swi) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
1.38
85 Ivan Ramiro Parra Pinto (Col) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
86 Tristan Valentin (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
87 Amaël Moinard (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
88 Frédéric Bessy (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
89 Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
90 Mario
Aerts (Bel) Predictor - Lotto
1.43
91 Gorazd Stangelj (Slo) Lampre - Fondital
1.45
92 William Walker (Aus) Rabobank
1.47
93 Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Rabobank
94 Pedro Horrillo Munoz (Spa) Rabobank
95 Koos Moerenhout (Ned) Rabobank
96 Max Van Heeswijk (Ned) Rabobank
97 Michael Rasmussen (Den) Rabobank
98 Gregory Henderson (NZl) T-Mobile Team
1.49
99 Axel Merckx (Bel) T-Mobile Team
100 Frantisek Rabon (Cze) T-Mobile Team
101 Marco Pinotti (Ita) T-Mobile Team
102 Lorenzo Bernucci (Ita) T-Mobile Team
103 Alessandro Spezialetti (Ita) Liquigas
1.51
104 Vladimir Miholjevic (Cro) Liquigas
105 Manuele Mori (Ita) Saunier Duval - Prodir
1.52
106 Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
1.53
107 Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
2.01
108 Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Col) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
109 Luca Mazzanti (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
110 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
111 Julio Alberto Perez Cuapio (Mex) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
112 Mathieu Perget (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
2.05
113 Olivier Bonnaire (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
2.07
114 Nicolas Crosbie (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
115 Arnaud Labbe (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
116 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
117 Yoann Le Boulanger (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
118 Lloyd Mondory (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
2.17
119 Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
120 Yuriy Krivtsov (Ukr) AG2r Prévoyance
121 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2r Prévoyance
122 Julien Loubet (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
123 Carl Naibo (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
124 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
125 Martin Müller (Ger) Team Milram
2.19
126 Mickaël Buffaz (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
2.21
127 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC
2.23
128 Aitor Hernandez Gutierrez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
2.38
129 Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
130 Aketza Pena Iza (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
131 Benat Albizuri Aransolo (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
132 Anton Luengo Celaya (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
133 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
2.41
134 Matteo Bono (Ita) Lampre - Fondital
135 Andrea Pagoto (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
136 Paride Grillo (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
2.43
137 Arnaud Gérard (Fra) Française des Jeux
2.50
138 Fabien Patanchon (Fra) Française des Jeux
139 Jussi Veikkanen (Fin) Française des Jeux
140 Ian McLeod (RSA) Française des Jeux
141 Francis Mourey (Fra) Française des Jeux
142 Lilian Jégou (Fra) Française des Jeux
143 Cyrille Monnerais (Fra) Française des Jeux
144 Mauro Facci (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
3.02
145 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quickstep - Innergetic
3.03
146 Addy Engels (Ned) Quickstep - Innergetic
147 Raivis Belohvosciks (Lat) Saunier Duval - Prodir
3.09
148 Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval - Prodir
149 Timothy Gudsell (NZl) Française des Jeux
3.16
150 Joseba Zubeldia Agirre (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
3.22
151 Mathieu Heijboer (Ned) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone
3.32
152 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Gerolsteiner
3.37
153 Sven Krauss (Ger) Gerolsteiner
154 Thomas Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner
155 Gabriele Balducci (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
3.39
156 Simone Masciarelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
157 Assan Bazayev (Kaz) Astana
158 Thomas Ziegler (Ger) T-Mobile Team
3.41
159 Adam Hansen (Aus) T-Mobile Team
160 Salvatore Commesso (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System
3.43
161 Elio Aggiano (Ita) Tinkoff Credit System
162 Nikolai Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff Credit System
163 Ricardo Serrano Gonzalez (Spa) Tinkoff Credit System
164 Fortunato Baliani (Ita) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
3.44
165 Franck Renier (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
166 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
167 Alexei Markov (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne
4.01
168 Eric Berthou (Fra) Caisse d'Epargne
169 Thor Hushovd (Nor) Crédit Agricole
170 Christophe Kern (Fra) Crédit Agricole
171 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC
4.07
172 Juan José Haedo (Arg) Team CSC
173 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team CSC
174 Maxim Gourov (Kaz) Astana
4.09
175 Benoît Joachim (Lux) Astana
4.11
176 Steve Morabito (Swi) Astana
177 Nick Gates (Aus) Predictor - Lotto
4.21
178 Stefano Zanini (Ita) Predictor - Lotto
179 Matthew White (Aus) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
4.24
180 Brian Vandborg (Den) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
181 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
182 Pavel Padrnos (Cze) Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
183 Michael Barry (Can) T-Mobile Team
4.25
184 Aaron Olson (USA) T-Mobile Team
185 Alexandre Usov (Blr) AG2r Prévoyance
4.26
186 Koldo Fernandez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
4.38
187 Iban Velasco (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
188 Dionisio Galparsoro Martinez (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi
189 Pierre Drancourt (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
4.48
190 Yohann Gène (Fra) Bouygues Telecom
191 Leon Van Bon (Ned) Rabobank
4.58
192 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank
193 Dmitry Kozontchouk (Rus) Rabobank
194 Maximiliano Richeze (Arg) Ceramica Panaria - Navigare
195 Laurent Mangel (Fra) AG2r Prévoyance
5.20
196 Hervé Duclos-Lassalle (Fra) Cofidis - Le Crédit par Téléphone 5.45
197 Volker
Ordowski (Ger) Gerolsteiner
7.38
Trofeo Super Team
1 Liquigas
20 pts
2 Astana
19
3 Team CSC
18
4 Lampre-Fondital
17
5 Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team
16
6 Acqua & Sapone-Caffe Mokambo
15
7 Tinkoff Credit System
14
8 Crédit Agricole
13
9 Caisse d'Epargne
12
10 Saunier Duval-Prodir
11
11 Quickstep-Innergetic
10
12 Predictor-Lotto
9
13 Gerolsteiner
8
14 Team Milram
7
15 Cofidis-Le Crédit par Téléphone
6
16 Rabobank
5
17 T-Mobile Team
4
18 Ceramica Panaria-Navigare
3
19 Bouygues Telecom
2
20 AG2r Prévoyance
1
21 Euskaltel-Euskadi 0
22 Française des Jeux
0
