Road Racing

Alberto Contador (Astana) might be wishing he was back at the beach after fending off relentless attacks from Danilo Di Luca (LPR) and Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) in Friday’s wild 19th stage that saw him save his maglia rosa by the narrowest of margins. Contador saw his grip on the pink jersey trimmed to four seconds to Riccò and 21 seconds to Di Luca and looks vulnerable going into Saturday’s epic stage over the Gavia and the Mortirolo.

Toyota-United's Dominique Rollin won this week's Ricola Twilight Grand Prix in Basking Ridge, New Jersey Jeff Hopkins (Team Inferno) was a close second to Rollin at the Wednesday night race, now in its third year, held in downtown Basking Ridge. Photographer Kurt Jambretz of Action Images was there to capture the action.

It was a world championship-style victory for Jens Voigt (CSC) in Thursday’s 147km 17th stage that traced the routes of the 2008 and 2009 worlds courses. Voigt attacked an all-star group that included two-time world champ Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and the national champions of Italy and Spain with 35km to go at the start of two finishing circuits on the Varese worlds course the peloton will see in October. Chasers left it too late and never saw Voigt again as the German diesel hammered home to one of his most impressive victories of his head-banging career.

Levi Leipheimer came to the Giro d’Italia as part of the last-minute invitation for Astana that included Alberto Contador and Andreas Klöden as co-leaders. Leipheimer was at home in California when he got the call and he quickly made arrangements to fly to Sicily. No one knew what to expect. The team wanted nothing more than to make the most of the unexpected situation. Flash forward three weeks and Contador is poised to become just the second Spanish rider to win the Giro.

Is Mark Cavendish so good that he’s already gifting sprints? In the manner that High Road teammate André Greipel sprinted to victory ahead of Cavendish and Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) ? when Cavendish looked back to Bennati at least three times to check that the Italian wasn’t pulling through ? it would seem so. No way, says Greipel. The burly 26-year-old bristled at the suggestion that the biggest victory of his professional career was handed to him by his younger teammate.

The Colavita Sutter Home team took three of the six podium spots at the Tour of Somerville on Monday. Lucas Sebastian Haedo and Kyle Wamsley took the first two spots in the men's race, while Jonathan Page was third. Wamsley was second at Saturday's Kelly Cup NRC race in Baltimore. National crit champ Tina Pic won the women's race, outsprinting Cheerwine's Kelly Benjamin and Aaron's Erica Allar.

A pair of gravity veterans took home the USA Cycling 4X Pro National Championship in Angel Fire, New Mexico on Sunday. Rich Houseman (Temecula, California) claimed the stars-and-stripes jersey for the pro men, while Melissa Buhl (Chandler, Arizona) won the title for pro women.

At least there were two riders who were in high spirits after Monday’s grueling 12.9km climbing time trial up the spectacular summit at Plan de Corones. While nearly the entire peloton was a chorus of complaints over the difficulty of the controversial 16th stage up slippery gravel roads with grades as steep as 24 percent, Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) and Alberto Contador (Astana) both had plenty of reason to celebrate.

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Starting under darkening skies with scattered rain showers, the 4th annual Priority Health Tour de Leelanau was fortunate to end in bright sunshine after some very aggressive racing. Organizers said the Tour de Leelanau drew the deepest fields of racers to ever compete in Michigan. Starting in the fishing village of Leland and ending in Peshawbestown on the edge of Traverse Bay, the race course for the Tour de Leelanau traveled from corner to corner of this scenic Michigan county.

Spain's Gustavo Cesar (Karpin Galicia) claimed the overall victory in the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya on Sunday. Jose Leon Carrasco (Andalucia-Cajasur) took the sixth and final stage, a 122.1km run from Palleja to Barcelona. France's Remi Pauriol (Crédit Agricole) took an eight-second overall lead into the finale, but finished outside the top 10 and slipped to third overall behind Cesar and Rigoberto Uran (Caisse d’Epargne).

Susanne Ljungskog (Menikini-Selle Italia) won the Tour de l'Aude on Sunday. The ninth and final stage, a 71km leg around Limoux, went to Germany's Judith Arndt (Team High Road), who outsprinted Ljungskog and Nicole Cooke of the British national team.

Under normal conditions, Alberto Contador (Astana) claiming the maglia rosa might bring some certainty to the 91st Giro d’Italia. But there’s nothing predictable about this explosive and unpredictable race with a week still to go. The defending Tour de France champ faltered in Sunday’s six-climb, 154km 15th stage, but had just enough spin in his legs to slink into the overall lead by 33 seconds — a lead that by his own admission might be only temporary.

David Veilleux (Kelly Benefit Strategies) won Saturday's Kelly Cup criterium in Baltimore's Patterson Park. The 20-year-old Canadian outsprinted Colavita's Kyle Wamsley and compatriot Dominque Rollin (Toyota-United). Mid way through the race a seven-man breakaway formed that included Jonny Sundt and Veilluex from Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast. But with less than ten laps to go the break split and Sundt returned to the field and Veilleux was left in a four-man break. Veilleux went into the last 100 meters on Rollin's wheel then came around Rollin and held off Wamsley for the win.

High Road speedster Ina Yoko Teutenberg won her second stage of the Tour de l'Aude on Saturday. Teutenberg was the fastest in a group of some 30 riders that broke away on the hilly eighth stage, starting and finishing in the town of Bram. “I was a bit lucky because I was really tired after getting into the break and it was windy, too.” Teutenberg said. “Another rider went for it on the other side of the road at the finish and I thought it would be close but I finally won by about a bike length.”

Emanuele Sella (CSF-Navigare) swapped tears of frustration for tears of joy Saturday after winning a blockbuster stage as the overall favorites squared off up the grueling 7.7km climb to the Alpe di Pampeago summit in the 91st Giro’s first clash in the Dolomites. The 195km, two-climb stage lived up to expectations to deliver big surprises as Sella pulled away early as part of a 13-man breakaway at 13km that also included Christian Vande Velde (Slipstream-Chipotle).

Alberto Contador (Astana) is poised to become the first Spanish rider to wear the pink jersey since Juan Carlos Dominguez won the opening prologue in 2002. The only question now seems to be which day it will happen as the defending Tour de France champ enters a trio of tortuous climbing stages across the heart of the Dolomites positioned perfectly for a maglia rosa assault.

It’s unlikely that Mark Cavendish will become the peloton’s new gentleman sprinter, but he was gracious enough Friday to say thanks to Daniele Bennati for not closing down the sprint 100 meters shy of his second win in the 91st Giro d’Italia. The High Road sprinter didn’t elaborate on whether or not he also said arrivederci as he burst past his Liquigas rival in what’s fast becoming recognized as the most lethal last-second punch in the peloton.

Liquigas's Daniele Bennati won Thursday's 12th stage of the Giro d’Italia, winning a furious sprint by the narrowest of margins over Mark Cavendish (High Road) at the end of a 172-kilometer race from Forli to Carpi. Quick Step's Giovanni Visconti finished in the main field and kept the the maglia rosa of the overall race leader.

Italian Alessandro Bertolini (Diquigiovanni) won Wednesday's wild ride into Cesena in the 11th stage at the Giro d'Italia that saw a cascade of crashes in yet another wild day of racing at the corsa rosa. Overnight leader Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) defended his pink jersey, but only after being dropped twice and overcoming a crash with 30km to go in the 199km, mountainous stage over what were once the training routes of Marco Pantani.

Tuesday offered another time trial at the Giro, this time from Pesaro to Urbino. The first half was flat, and its second half climbed about 400 meters, including a 10 percent stretch at midway and a 12 percent section three-quarters of the way through. Riders had to decide if they wanted a full-on TT bike, which would be great for the first half and not so great on the second half, or a road bike with a clip-on that would be sub-par for the first half and shine on the second half?

Marzio Bruseghin (Lampre) might raise Italian donkeys, but he rode like a thoroughbred in Tuesday’s rainy and very difficult 39.4-kilometer to upset the favored Andreas Klöden (Astana). The 33-year-old Bruseghin, who has more than a dozen donkeys and grows wine grapes on his farm in Vittorio Veneto, surged to just his third career victory in impressive fashion. The veteran Italian relegated the heavily favored Klöden to third by 40 seconds, but the real surprise was the second-place ride at just eight seconds off the pace by the injured Alberto Contador (Astana).

After a week of avoiding crashes and keeping a low profile, Andreas Klöden (Astana) will reluctantly step into the spotlight in Tuesday’s 39.4km individual time trial that will be the 91st Giro d’Italia’s first major litmus test. The media-shy Klöden will be favorite for the decisive 10th stage as the main contenders for the maglia rosa step up to show their cards after nine nervous and exciting days of racing.

Reigning Tour de France champion Alberto Contador (Astana) has promised to continue riding in the Giro d’Italia, despite learning that he suffered a minor elbow fracture in a crash last Saturday. "Contador's visit to the radiologist today (Monday) revealed a fissure in the radius head of his left elbow," his Astana team said in a statement on Monday. "The fracture without dislocation stems from his Stage 8 crash from Rivisondoli to Tivoli (on Saturday)."

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Colavita's national crit champ Tina Pic won her second Mt. Hood Cycling Classic stage on Sunday while 19-year-old Julie Beveridge (Aaron's) locked up the overall title despite a nasty crash in the last corner of the race. Jeanie Longo-Ciprelli (River City Bicycles) grabbed third place in the sprint and took a four-second time bonus that moved her from third to second on GC, passing three-time Mt. Hood winner Leah Goldstein (ValueAct Capital)

Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) wants nothing more than to win a stage in the Giro d’Italia wearing the rainbow jersey. “The Cricket” came close but fell short in 2007, and when he successfully defended the world championship last fall in Stuttgart, one of the first things he said he wanted to do was win in Italy wearing the rainbow stripes. Bettini, 34, still has some unfinished business after losing in a photo-finish to Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) in a hotly contested sprint in Sunday’s 218km ninth stage from Civitavecchia to San Vicenzo.

Health Net-Maxxis reeled in a dangerous breakaway on Saturday to preserve Rory Sutherland's overall lead in the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic. The break went away at mile 35 of the 101-mile stage and contained Bissell's Edward King, who was just 1:41 behind Sutherland on GC. The break also contained dangerous climbers Andrew Bajadali (Kelly Benefits), Michael Grabinger (Successful Living) and James Mattis (California Giant Berry), each of whom brought along a teammate. Bissell's King had two teammates.

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After two brushes with the top of the podium, Health Net-Maxxis rider Rory Sutherland got the stage win he was looking for Friday in the critical time trial stage of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic in Oregon. Sutherland won by about 25 seconds over Bissell's Ben Jacques-Maynes and more than 30 seconds over Thursday's stage winner, Darren Lill of BMC. Besides the stage win Sutherland moved into the race lead ahead of Jacques-Maynes and Lill. Sutherland was third in the stage 1 criterium and second in the stage 2 circuit race.

Time differences taken at the finish line in Thursday’s sixth stage at the Giro d’Italia stand for now. Members of the race jury ruled Friday after analyzing photos that a crash involving a police motorcycle just under 1km to go “did not cause a time gap” in the rising finish into the fishing village at Peschici. Astana team officials said they would meet Saturday morning with the president of the race jury to further discuss the issue. Other teams have also protested the decision to let the time gaps stand.

Australian Katie Mactier won the prologue of the 24th Tour de l'Aude on Friday in the streets of Gruissan. The flat course clearly suited the Australian, despite a swirling wind at the seaside resort. Ellen Van Dijk was second in the 3.9km time trial with American Alison Powers third. Saturday brings the 106 racers a 113km road stage.

German veteran Sebastian Siedler (Skil-Shimano) survived a finish-line crash to snag the maillot jaune after sprinting to victory in the opening stage of the Tour de Picardie on Friday in France. The 30-year-old Siedler stabbed his bike across the line ahead of Belgian Kenny de Haes (Topsport) and French rider Sébastien Chavanel (FDJeux) in the 179km circuit course from Crécy-en-Ponthieu to Guise.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) ripped to another dramatic victory in Saturday’s 208km eighth stage to prove he’s top dog in the first week of racing in the 91st Giro d’Italia. Riccò, 24, snagged his second stage in a week by out-kicking world champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) at the end of another hilltop finale into Tivoli with Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) taking third.

It was a battle on three fronts in the first mountain stage of the 91st Giro d’Italia, and a preview of the suffering to come. Up front, Gabriele Bosisio (Team LPR) was the last man standing from a huge mob that peeled away early in the four-climb, 180km romp from Vasto to Pescocostanzo to claim his team’s first Giro stage. In the middle, Danilo Di Luca (LPR), Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) and Alberto Contador (Astana) revealed they’ll be contenders after they attacked a lead group of favorites to carry home a 50-second prize over their GC rivals.

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BMC's South African, Darren Lill, won Thursday's second stage of the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic by peeling away from the remnants of the peloton on the final climb a bit less than a kilometer to go. Lill, who won the fifth stage at Mt. Hood last year, barely held off a late charge by Health Net's Rory Sutherland and Symmetric's Christian Meier. Lill took over the leader's jersey from Toyota-United's Hilton Clarke, who was dropped by the lead group about 8km from the finish of the hilly circuit race.

Bike fit is no joking matter for a professional racer. Fit is the single most important aspect of the bike. If the bike doesn’t fit, it really doesn’t matter how light or technologically advanced it is — it’s not going to be very fast. Take the case of Liquigas rider Daniele Bennati. He has short legs, long arms and a long torso. So the team’s bike sponsor, Cannondale, built him a custom SuperSix carbon bike, which he has been racing for two and a half months.

For the second day in a row, a breakaway stayed clear of the peloton, with another unsung hero from a smaller team in the form of Matteo Priamo (CSF-Panaria) taking center stage. Unlike yesterday, the attackers had enough rope to end Franco Pellizotti’s four-day run in the pink jersey. Italian national champion Giovanni Visconti (Quick Step) and German Matthias Russ (Gerolsteiner) ended the day tied on time, but Visconti took the maglia rosa based on differences taken in the team time trial.

The Mt. Hood Cycling Classic ventured into new territory Wednesday with a new venue for the sixth year of the event: a hilly criterium held in a verdant city park wrapping around a long-extinct volcano. The new event delivered large crowds and down-to-the-wire racing action that saw the mens and womens overall leads switch hands in the final meters of the crits. The fact that Portland was enjoying some of the nicest weather of the spring only helped improve the festive atmosphere in Mt. Tabor Park.

Riders are at their wits’ end with the seemingly endless string of transfers, delays and hassles associated with the opening days of the 91st Giro d’Italia. In the first three stages of racing on Sicily, there were no less than 500km of transfers, nearly as much as the peloton has raced. Tensions came to a head following the botched ferry transfer across the Straits of Messina from Sicily to Italy on Monday evening, when what should have been a 20-minute ferry ride turned into a four-hour odyssey.

Tinkoff’s Pavel Brutt feinted and feigned his way to victory in the final kilometers of a five-man breakaway that held off the chasing peloton by 30 seconds in Wednesday’s fifth stage at the 91st Giro d’Italia.

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A pair of New Zealander track riders — in the States for some summer road racing to tune up before the Olympics — took the first two spots in the Mt. Hood Cycling Classic women's prologue on Tuesday. Joanne Kiesanowski of the Tibco team, a four-time national points race champion who has moved her focus to the road recently, finished less than a second ahead of Alison Shanks of Jazz Apple, a New Zealand-based team. Shanks is a pursuit rider on the track.

High Road's Mark Cavendish survived another chaotic dash to the line to win stage 4 of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday. Gerolsteiner's Robert Forster crossed second and Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) third. Franco Pellozotti (Liquigas) retained the overall lead. "This is my finest victory," said Cavendish, whose teammates escorted him back to the front after a climb split the bunch with 20km to go. "It was the result of my team's work which kept me surrounded over the last 20km. The wind was blowing hard and Bennati went off at a good time, but I was able to follow him and overtake him.

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Nichole Wangsgard and Lucas Sebastian Haedo — both of Colavita-Sutter Home — scored criterium wins in the final stage of Arkansas’ May stage race. Health Net's Rory Sutherland and Cheerwine's Robin Farina took the overall. Action Images photographer Kurt Jambretz was there to capture all the action.

Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) survived to win a crash-laden 222km third stage at the Giro d’Italia on Monday that saw scores of riders hit the deck in a nervous, technical race around the flanks of Mt. Etna. While Europe’s most active volcano remained quiet, there was plenty of action on the road as wind and light rain thrashed the peloton in what was one of the few chances for sprinters in this climb-heavy edition of the Giro.

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Tiny Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, can finally say it owns the best collegiate road cycling team in the United States. After a series of near misses at collegiate cycling’s biggest race, the Bobcats finally grabbed the coveted Division I team omnium, squeaking by Fort Lewis College, 473-424. The Bobcats’ Andrew Talansky and Carla Swart also took home the Division I individual omnium titles — another first for the school of 900 students.

Christian Vande Velde stepped off the Slipstream-Chipotle team bus Sunday morning along the beach at Cerfalù with a big smile on his face. Proudly decked out in the maglia rosa, Vande Velde was clearly enjoying his moment as the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to wear the Giro’s leader’s jersey. “We hope today goes just like yesterday, but we know it’s a complicated stage,” Vande Velde said. “To win yesterday’s stage was our big goal, everything else is just icing on the cake at this point.”

VeloNews staff and wire reports David Zabriskie’s 2008 Giro d’Italia ended Sunday when he was caught at a pileup with about 55km to go in the 207km second stage from Cerfalù to Agrigento. Zabriskie, 29, went down with several other riders as the peloton approached a railroad crossing. Zabriskie, who started the day second overall, was knocked off his bike and was unable to rejoin the pack. Doctors immediately attended to the reigning U.S. time trial champion and transported him to a local hospital.

Phil Zajicek (Health Net-Maxxis) and Mara Abbott (Team High Road) won the kickoff to the 2008 Tour of Colorado race series on Saturday in Boulder. The 9.14-mile Excel Sports Sunshine Hill Climb up Sunshine Canyon served up 3226 feet in elevation gain with a maximum grade of 23 percent. Conditions didn’t make the climb any easier, with temperatures in the low 40s under cloudy skies at the start and mid-30s with snow at the finish.

Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France claimed overall victory in the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race on Sunday. Norwegian Thor Hushovd, riding for the Credit Agricole team, won Sunday's sixth and final 128.4km stage between Coudekerque and Dunkirk in a sprint finish. Please check back soon for results.

Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval-Scott) uncorked a tremendous sprint in the final 100 meters to win Sunday’s exciting 207km second stage, but Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) snuck into fourth to short circuit Christian Vande Velde’s run in the maglia rosa by just one second.

Carla Swart clung to the back of the elite seven-woman breakaway in the waning minutes of the 2008 Division I women’s road championship, held Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado. Outnumbered and without teammates, the Lees-McRae sophomore didn’t appear to have the numbers or legs to win. Looks, however, can be deceiving.

Lucas Sebastian Haedo (Colavita-Sutter Home) took the stage 2 sprint win at the Joe Martin Stage Race in Arkansas. Action Images photographer Kurt Jambretz was there to catch all the action.

I have been in Sicily since Wednesday and have been watching the buildup in excitement and preparation among the teams, both riders and staff members. The atmosphere has been light and was getting less so as the race draws closer. And here also is the first of many cool Giro bikes you will see here in the coming days and weeks.

Ivan Basso should not be held up as a model for young riders, Scottish rider David Millar said on Saturday. Millar said that despite 30-year-old Basso — who is allowed to ride competitively again from October 24, 2008, and has agreed a two-year deal with Liquigas — serving a two-year ban for his involvement in the Operation Puerto scandal he was in no way a role model for those aspiring to become professional cyclists.

France's Cyril Dessel, of the AG2R-La Mondiale team, won Saturday's 179.4km fifth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk cycling race between Calais and Cap Blanc-Nez. Cofidis rider Stephane Auge of France, who won Tuesday's first stage, retained the leader's pink jersey and looks set fair to win the race following Sunday's sixth and final stage, a 128.4km stretch around Dunkirk. Dessel clocked 4:23:48 to finish ahead of Gerald Ciolek of Germany and France's Samuel Dumoulin during this relatively short but tense stage.

Christian Vande Velde might have the pink jersey, but it was a team victory in every sense of the word Saturday for Slipstream-Chipotle in the 23.6km team time trial to open the 91st Giro d’Italia. Vande Velde, 31, becomes the first American since Andy Hampsten won the 1988 Giro to don the prized maglia rosa, but he’d love nothing more than to have eight more to pass among his teammates.

Levi Leipheimer was at home in California when he woke up a week ago with a surprise message. Instead of racing the Volta a Catalunya and the Dauphiné Libéré as planned, he was going to the Giro d’Italia. Leipheimer’s Giro debut in Saturday’s team time trial might have come as a surprise, but the American promises to make the most of the unexpected opportunity. Along with Astana teammates Andreas Klöden and Alberto Contador, the team starts with three options for the podium.

In Palermo, Italy Alberto Contador was sipping a beer on the beach in Spain last week when he received a phone call from Astana team boss Johan Bruyneel. The news caught the defending Tour de France champion by surprise: Pack your bags, you’re heading to the Giro d’Italia. “I was sitting at a chiringuito on the beach with my girlfriend, now here I am at the Giro!” Contador told VeloNews on Friday. “I wasn’t expecting to be at this Giro, so we’ll see how it goes.”

The USA Cycling Collegiate Road National Championships started Friday with the team time trial in northern Colorado. Photographer Casey Gibson was there. With traditional powerhouses shining in Division I and some impressive underdog performances in the Division II race, the University of California-Davis and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology took the lead in the overall team standings.

Health Net - Maxxis' Rory Sutherland won his second prologue of the 2008 National Racing Calendar on Thursday, setting a course record at the Joe Martin Stage Race's opening Devil's Den Time Trial. The Australian storming through uphill 2 1/2-mile race in 8:14, ten seconds ahead of Anthony Colby (Colavita-Sutter Home). Sutherland also won the prologue at the Redlands Bicycle Classic earlier this spring.

Frenchman Pierrick Fedrigo, riding for the Bouygues Telecom team, claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Four Days of Dunkirk race on Friday. Fedrigo beat home Australian Allan Davis and Spaniard Jose Joaquin Gil Rojas in a sprint finish. Frenchman Stephane Auge, of Cofidis, retained the race leader's jersey after the 193km stage between Wasquehal and Calais.

With a world champion, winners of all three of last year’s grand tours and a top-notch field of sprinters, does the Giro d’Italia boast the best lineup of the season? If you ask the riders ahead of Saturday’s start of the 91st Giro, they seem to agree. “Without any shadow of a doubt, this year’s Giro has the best field of any race,” said defending champion Danilo Di Luca (LPR). “We have a deep field in the Giro this year. Whoever wins this Giro can be proud of what they achieve.”

Argentinian Ariel Maximiliano Richeze, who rides for CSF, tested positive for doping last month and has been withdrawn from the Giro d'Italia, his team announced Friday. Richeze tested positive for an anabolic steroid during his victory in the fourth stage of the Circuit de la Sarthe on April 11 in the French city of Le Mans. He went on to win the seventh stage of the Tour of Turkey on April 20. His withdrawal on the eve of the Giro means CSF will join the peloton with just eight riders.

The principal climbs in the 2008 edition of the Giro d'Italia: Stage 7: Vasto - Pescocostanzo, 180 km Rionero Sannitico: 10 km climb at 6.3 average gradient climb to Pescocostanzo: 2.8 km at 6 Stage 11: Urbania - Cesena, 199 km Monte Carpegna: 6 km at 9.9 Stage 14: Verona - Alpe di Pampeago, 195 km Passo Manghen: 23.4 km at 7.1 climb to summit finish at Alpe di Pampeago: 7.7 km at 9.6 Stage 15: Arabbo - Passo Fedaia, 153 km Passo Pordoi: 9.2 km at 6.9 Passo di San Pellegrino: 11.8 km at 6.4 Passo Giau: 15.7 km at 7.9

Climbers who can keep their time trial losses to a minimum will be among the top contenders for the pink jersey in the Giro d'Italia which clicks into gear Saturday. The 91st edition of the Giro begins with a team time trial, and includes three other, individual, races against the clock as it snakes its way up from Sicily towards the crucial mountains stages in the Dolomites. With five mountain-top finishes in total, including one uphill time trial, the race's top prize is more than likely to be claimed by a master climber.

Editor’s note: Watch for John Wilcockson’s Friday morning column on a regular basis, taking you inside the world of cycling. This week he introduces one of the young, unsung heroes of the European peloton. Matt Lloyd loves racing in Italy. So when he lines up Saturday with his Silence-Lotto team at the Giro d’Italia he’ll feel right at home.