Scarponi strikes in Chieti

Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) took advantage of some excellent teamwork at Tirreno-Adriatico to win the first of two 240km stages in the central Apennines and move closer to the overall race lead.

Scarponi won alone in the centre of Chieti, with new teammate Damiano Cunego taking second, after the two rode an intelligent race on the two-kilometre climb to the finish.

Cunego controlled rivals Danilo Di Luca (Katusha), Cadel Evans (BMC), Ivan Basso (Liquigas-Cannondale) and Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto) while Scarponi surged clear and tried to gain as much time as possible on the twisting roads in Chieti. He faded on the steep section near the finish but hung on to win, just as he did during last year’s Tirreno-Adriatico.

Cunego then completed a double for the team, pointing at Scarponi in celebration, with Evans a strong third. Basso was fourth at two seconds, while Danilo Di Luca (Katusha) showed himself for the first time this season after returning from his ban for doping.

Robert Gesink (Rabobank) finished sixth at 12 seconds. He was slightly off the pace when the attacks exploded but with the sprinters and previous race leader Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Cervelo) distanced, he pulled on the blue leader’s jersey and the white jersey as best young rider. However he has now lost most of the gap he gained when Rabobank won the opening team time trial and has shown that he could be vulnerable on Sunday’s second 240km stage.

Gesink leads Evans by 10 seconds, with Basso third at 12 seconds and Scarponi fourth at 15 seconds.

“It worked out well,” Scarponi said before climbing on the podium to hear from cheers from friends and local supporters.

“The whole of the Lampre-ISD team were strong today. We wanted to make the race hard from the start, so we rode on the front all day. I went on the attack in the finale and it all worked out.”

Long day in the saddle

The 240km stage from Narni to Chieti was a long day in the saddle, with the riders in action for over six hours.

The race caravan held a minutes silence before the start to remember the victims of the Japan earthquake and were happy to stay together for the first 25km.

The race came alive when Mickael Cherel (AG2R La Mondiale), Sebastian Lang (Omega Pharma-Lotto) and veteran Gorazd Stangelj (Astana) jumped away to form the early break of the day. The trio were allowed to quickly open a huge lead, with the gap rising to 13:30 after just 50km. It reached 15:25 after 75km, as everyone in the race seemed happy with the status quo.

The break lost some time in the hills mid-stage and then Lang was dropped after a puncture. However Cherel and Stanglj battled on as first Lampre-ISD and then Giovanni Visconti’s Farnese Vini-Neri Sottoli team looked to keep things under control.

The late climbs hurt Cherel and Stanglj and the gap fell rapidly as Visconti flexed his legs before the finale. Cherel tried to drop Stanglj with less 20km to go but did little to help himself and the Frenchman was caught by the peloton with just over 10km to go.

Chieti stands tall on the hilltop to the right of the valley leading to the Adriatic. The climb is short but steep. Before the climbing began, Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek), Visconti and Dmitriy Muravyev (RadioShack) jumped away and where joined by world champion Thor Hushovd (Garmin-Cervelo). However Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) did a long turn to pull them back and keep Di Luca in contention.

As the 12.1% climb to the finish finally kicked in, the race exploded with Gilbert, Scarponi, Cunego and Di Luca up there. Basso and Evans rode more conservatively and managed to close the gap and get across before the finish, but Scarponi was further up the road and managed to stay clear as Evans chased after him.

Scarponi did not gain enough time to stop Gesink taking the race lead but he still has Sunday’s second hilly marathon stage from Chieti to Castelraimondo and the final 9.3km time trial on Tuesday to chase the few seconds that separates him from the Dutchman. Rain is also forecast for Sunday’s stage, adding an extra factor into the battle for overall success at Tirreno-Adriatico.

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