Menchov climbs up the overall

Denis Menchov of Rabobank continues to improve in the Giro d'Italia, using a seventh place finish in Sunday's Queen stage to move up to fifth overall, only 1'20 behind overall leader Alberto Contador. The top six riders are now all within 1'26 of each other on the GC. "The leaders are extremely well matched, you saw that again today," Directeur Sportif Erik Breukink said Sunday.

The five favourites were all together on the final climb. "The final three kilometres were extremely tough," said Breukink on the team's website, rabobank.nl. "Everyone who had something left tried, but everyone reached his limit at some point in a tough stage like that."

As fifth overall, Menchov starts in today's mountain time trial at 16:19 "We will see the same guys as the last couple of days," Breukink predicted. "Riccò, Simoni, Menchov, Contador. It is hard to tell what their shape in comparison to the others is. That is what is fun about this Giro. It is an open and unpredictable tour."(SW)