Guardini quickest in Montecchio Maggiore

Andrea Guardini (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli) won the final stage of the Giro di Padania, while Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) secured overall victory in Montecchio Maggiore.

After seeing fellow Italian sprinting starlets Sacha Modolo (Colnago-CSF Inox) and Elia Viviani (Liquigas-Cannondale) divide up the spoils earlier in the week, Guardini rediscovered his winning touch in the finishing straight. The neo-professional gave another reminder of his devastating speed by distancing Viviani and Danilo Napolitano (Acqua & Sapone) to take the win, his 11th of the season.

A bunch finish was inevitable once escapees Alessandro Bertolini (Androni Giocattoli) and Robert Vrecer (Slovenia) were caught with 44km to go, and in the finale, Guardini decided to make his move early to ensure that he wasn’t boxed in.

“Preparing the sprint was difficult, so 300 metres out when I was in fourth wheel, I decided to launch the sprint to avoid getting closed in,” Guardini said afterwards.

In the battle for overall honours, Ivan Basso enjoyed a trouble-free day in the green jersey, as he successfully defended his 52 second buffer over Italian champion Giovanni Visconti (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli).

Mazzanti suffers crash

The final day of the contentious race was again marked by protests from a number of groups opposed to its political connotations. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, tacks were placed on the road by protesters on the descent of the Pian delle Fugazze. Although the road was cleared, a number of riders are reported to have suffered punctures, including Luca Mazzanti (Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli), who crashed heavily and was forced to abandon the race.

Elia Viviani explained that the protests meant that the main peloton had opted to stay together on the Pian delle Fugazze. “It was a strange stage,” he said. “We decided to take on the climb and the descent after it at a steady pace to avoid potential dangers. For this reason, the break built up a big advantage.”

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