Pretty in Pink?

At the start of stage two in Italy yesterday, Paolo Bettini's maglia rosa was honoured in a special way by his team Quick.Step who painted its team car in pink. "I had already prepared for it," admitted team manager Patrick Lefévère. "I knew we had good chances to get the pink jersey on this parcours."

The other Belgian ProTeam, Davitamon-Lotto, also succeeded the double stage win and general lead as Robbie McEwen was the fastest man in the sprint finish in the Mediterranean coastal town of Santa Maria del Cedro. But team director Herman Frison denied the rumour that he, too, was going to follow the race in a pink car. "I must admit, that pink car was stunning! But we're not that flashy. Mind you, Robbie will wear a pink helmet," Frison said before the race.

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1