Wilson survives

Trent Wilson (Colombia-Sella Italia) was called upon early in stage 19 to help his team set up the stage for Rujano, and for the tired Aussie, it was nearly the end. "It was a really hard day," Willo told Cyclingnews' John Trevorrow after the finish. "Three guys were up the road early. The team made us swap off, because they were confident that Jose could win, so they didn't want anyone up the road. Me and Russ and a couple of CSC cats chopped off for about 30 or 40 km.

"When we started the climb, we got in our own little group with us two and Henk and a few others. We nearly got on down the other side. But they made a barrage in the convoy, which dropped all the cars in between and we just couldn't get on. We chased, got in the gruppetto, and I was really in trouble. I actually saw the grim reaper cross the road. Matty White is a legend. He gave me a couple of pushes when the grim reaper was around and it just saved me."

What do you think of Jose Rujano? "The bloke is sensational."

We also asked Willo's teammate and maglia nera (last rider on GC) Russell Van Hout what he thought of the stage. "Ditto," was the very tired response from Russ.