Kisses for the new race leader Marco Pinotti (T-Mobile). (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti)
Marco Pinotti ruled the final day of the 2008 Giro d'Italia in Milan, but found the closing time trial in Rome Sunday too rough to take a repeat victory.
"It was a great course for the fans and a nice way to end the centennial Giro d'Italia, but better to only have it once every hundred years. Personally, the win in Milan was better," Italy's Pinotti said.
Pinotti posted a time of 19 minutes and 11 seconds, which put him 29 seconds behind race winner Ignas Konovalovas. The road conditions were dramatically different from the time trial he won last year: cobbled roads that weaved through Rome's historic sights.
Rain made the conditions even worse for Pinotti.
"It is too bad because now the sun is coming back out. This is normal for a time trial, sometimes the conditions work in your favour and sometimes they don't."
The Giro d'Italia favoured Pinotti's Columbia-Highroad team this year. The USA team took six stage wins and spent three days in the race leader's maglia rosa.
"The team did really well, even if personally I hoped for a little bit more luck. I had teammates going very well so we all had to give a lot of ourselves for their chances."
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Michael Rogers and Thomas Lövkvist contended for the race lead in the first half of the race.
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