Cycling Live

Giro d'Italia - Lido Di Camaiore - Santuario Nostra Signora Della

Live Comments

  1. ----- - Thanks for following our LIVE coverage and join us tomorrow in the mountains!

  2. ----- - The replay of that crash makes that finish-line crash look like an old-school slip-and-slide, with riders literally flying on their bums over the line and continuing to glide for a good 10 metres! That has to be embarrassing for organisers, and hopefully nobody is hurt. Andrea Noe finishes the stage on his backside, but holds onto the pink jersey.

  3. 0KM** - Julian Dean attacks from 500m, but his man Hushovd is nowhere to be seen.... With 200m to go Petacchi launches the attack, but McEwen overtakes him...... PETACCHI WINS IT at the last second, followed by Balducci and McEwen!! There was a terrible crash at the line.... Riders skidding across the line everywhere.... The pink jersey Noe and the rainbow jersey Bettini have both hit the deck, along with several other riders!! Popovych went head-over-heels, hitting the ground hard! Nasty finish to this sprint.... Petacchi claims his third stage win though.

  4. 1KM** - Two riders still left in the Milram train with one kilometre to go.....

  5. 2KM** - The Milram train getting up front, setting up Petacchi for that downhill finish. Robbie McEwen, Danilo Napolitano and Robert Forster all still there.

  6. 3KM** - Two stunted attacks by a Tinkoff rider Mikhail Ignatiev, but he has no chance of getting away as the Milram team stamp out both escape tries easily.

  7. 4KM** - Milram and Gerolsteiner packing the front right now, and Paolo Bettini is right up there along with Thor Hushovd and all of the usual suspects.

  8. 6KM** - Alessandro Petacchi will be looking for a third victory today. The Italian is the only man to have already claimed two stage wins since the start in Sardinia.

  9. 8KM** - George Hincapie has moved up toward the front, on an uphill run toward the finish line the American could be nervous.

  10. 10KM* - Under the 10-KM to go banner, and in these humid, wet conditions the riders have to be very careful during a sprint.

  11. 12KM* - It's all over for our solo escape artist Mickael Buffaz. A nice-little 150-km long escape for the Frenchman.

  12. 14KM* - The gap down to 23 seconds as the rain starts to fall in Italy. The peloton goes under the 15-KM to go banner.

  13. 15KM* - DID YOU KNOW? The last Giro stage finish at Pinerolo was in 1982. It was won by Italy's Giuseppe Saronni the same year when France's Bernard Hinault won the pink jersey in Milan.

  14. 18KM* - Gap nears one minute..... If it comes down to a sprint, Petacchi, McEwen, Förster, and Napolitano have all already won stages and could all play a part again.

  15. 21KM* - Mickael Buffaz still smiling. He's not giving up, but still does not seem to be under any illusions.

  16. 24KM* - Last split 2'30". The peloton taking er' easy....

  17. 32KM* - The pace dropping steadily to 3'04". Lampre still doing a lot of work up front, and Predictor-Lotto and Milram are also eying a sprint.

  18. 34KM* - Under the 35-km to go banner the lead is down to 3'40". Buffaz cannot keep this up for much longer.... The finish will be interesting, with a non-categorised ascent separating the men from the boys.

  19. 38KM* - Saluzzo Sprint - 1. Buffaz 2. Crosbie 3. Masciarelli

  20. 39KM* - At this stage the peloton needs to make up four seconds for every kilometre left in the race, a pace that seems very doable.

  21. 40KM* - Last gap: 5'55".

  22. 43KM* - Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) still had 6'40" at the last check-point.

  23. 45KM* - Finally, has picked up the pace with a push worthy of the Tour of Italy! Predictor-Lotto, Milram, and Lampre at the front to try to reel in Mickael Buffaz.

  24. 52KM* - Average speed in the fourth hour of racing: 31 km/h.

  25. 57KM* - Aside from Andrea Noe's in the pink jersey, there is good news for Liquigas in that Danilo Di Luca is wearing the green jersey for the best climber.

  26. 59KM* - Mickael Buffaz calmly changed his back-wheel. He's dying of laughter at this situation.

  27. 60KM* - Schleck's CSC team-mate Fabian Cancellara on the fabulous steep mountain stage rolling up and down Italy's Mediterranean Coast. "It was like a Tour de France stage today. The speed was fast from the beginning. Even with the breakaway, the speed never came down at all. I can see that the guys are getting tired."

  28. 62KM* - Andy Schleck secured the young rider's jersey in yesterday's stage, after Frank's little brother had a great day finishing third in the mountains. "I knew I was good today. I didn’t know I was that good. Maybe there is still a stage I can win. I am really happy. I have the white jersey. My Giro is safe. Everything else that comes now is a bonus. It’s a really nice feeling to be on the podium."

  29. 65KM* - Bizarre goings on, as the peloton steps off of the accelerator allowing Buffaz to reclaim a nine-minute lead!

  30. 68KM* - STAT-SHOT: Did you know that out of 89 editions of the Giro D'Italia, Italian riders have failed to make the podium in only four races?

  31. 70KM* - You can now listen to David Harmon and Sean Kelly report on the race in our LIVE AUDIO feed, which you can find on the video section in the homepage.

  32. 75KM* - Mickael Buffaz is wearing a big smile. The Frenchman is enjoying a situation that puts him at the front of the race with 80 kilometres left to ride, a situation he wasn't really seeking. He clearly has no illusions about this thing going all the way.

  33. 80KM* - Mickael Buffaz is recovering a little bit, the lead is back up to four minutes.

  34. 85KM* - Average speed in the third hour : 31,100 km/h

  35. 90KM* - Mickaël Buffaz is beginning to struggle. He even wanted to quit, but his sporting director persuaded him otherwise! The peloton has brought it down to four minutes. In a few kilometres the Frenchman has lost half of his lead.

  36. 95KM* - The peloton is beginning to reach, under the pressure of Liquigas.

  37. 100KM - Mickael Buffaz should remain in the lead for a little bit more time. The Frenchman has an 8'15" advantage over the peloton.

  38. 110KM - Average speed after two hours of riding: 32.5 km/h. The peloton must be tired, because on average they are riding slower than in yesterday's mountain stage.

  39. 115KM - Cycling is celebrating a sad anniversary today, as it has been exactly one year since the Operation Puerto scandal broke. It was the 23 of May 2006 when the biggest doping scandal in the history of cycling began with the arrest of Eufemiano Fuentes, the doctor at the centre of a vast blood-doping ring.

  40. 120KM - Danilo Di Luca was one of the biggest benifiaries of yesterday's stage. At 2'58" behind race leader and Liquigas teammate Andrea Noè, he is the best placed of the pre-race favourites - Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Fondital) is 1'31" behind Di Luca, Paolo Savoldelli (Astana) 1'42", Gilberto Simoni (Saunier Duval-Prodir) 2'26", Yaroslav Popovych (Discovery Channel) 2'29" and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua & Sapone-Caffè Mokambo) 3'26".

  41. 125KM - Last gap: 5'25".

  42. 128KM - NEWS FLASH: Germany's T-Mobile are organising a press conference at their base in Bonn on Thursday after accusations of systematic doping against former riders. Team boss American Bob Stapleton, general manager Rolf Aldag and communications director Christian Frommert will be present.

  43. 133KM - Latest gap: 3'55". The solo leader continues to build his advantage from a peloton that isn't much bothered.

  44. 137KM - Marco Pinotti's time at the top came to an end yesterday. The Italian T-Mobile rider had to surrender his pink jersey on the final ascent. "It was really a very difficult stage without a single flat metre," Pinotti said. "In the last climb, it was gone right away, as if there was only one kilometre left to go, not nine!" Pinotti spent four days with pink over magenta "People cheered me on and encouraged me a lot, and that made me happy."

  45. 140KM - The peloton lets him go. Mickael Buffaz takes advantage of the freedom to take a three-minute lead...

  46. 145KM - New lead group: Carl Naibo is dropped, Mickael Buffaz is all alone at the front. With 145 kilometres left to go, he stands little chance of doing it alone.

  47. 150KM - RACE SITUATION: After about 40 kilometres in the saddle, there are two riders in the lead. Two Frenchman to be exact, Mickael Buffaz (Cofidis) and Carl Naibo (AG2R Prévoyance). They have a 50 second lead over the peloton.

  48. 12:22 - 171 riders took the start from Serravalle Scrivia at 12h02. Italy's Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner), the UCI ProTour leader, did not start today's race.

  49. 09:49 - Welcome to LIVE coverage of this 198-km 11th stage as the 2007 Giro D'Italia reaches the midway point.