2005 Giro d'Italia

The 88th Giro d'Italia was held in 2005 from May 7 to May 29, running for about 3500 kilometers. It was won by Paolo Savoldelli who had worn the "Maglia Rosa" since the 13th stage.

Overview

1st stage

At the beginning of the first road stage, a four-man breakaway formed and led by almost ten minutes at one point. Thorwald Veneberg was finally captured again about 20 kilometers before the end. However, his efforts paid by giving him the first "maglia verde" of the Giro. On the last kilometre Paolo Bettini managed to get away on a very steep gradient.

4th stage

Paolo Bettini won the sprint at the end which was fought between five cyclists. But in this process he caused Baden Cooke to fall and was declassified because of this. Luca Mazzanti, who came in second, inherited the victory. After the stage, Bettini threatened to abandon the race, but it turned out to be an empty threat.

7th stage

After a long break-away, lasting throughout most of the stage, Spaniard Koldo Gil was the first to arrive in the finish line in Pistoia. Damiano Cunego, who was second, leading a pursuing group, celebrated thinking he had won the stage, not knowing that Gil had already taken the victory. Ivan Basso, who had been forced to change his bicycle because of a puncture in the last climb of the day, lost thirty seconds to his rivals for GC.

10th stage

On the stage after the race's first rest day, Robbie McEwen took vengeance on Alessandro Petacchi, in a bunch sprint which had to be solved with the aid of the photo-finish, which determined that the Australian had beaten the Italian by a mere question of millimetres.

13th stage

Colombian Iván Parra won the stage in St. Ulrich by breaking ahead of his fellow breakaways on the previous climb. Spaniard Juanma Gárate, fourth in the 2004 Giro d'Italia, came in second. As for the GC, Ivan Basso, with gastrical problems, lost one minute and the "maglia rosa" to "Il Falco" Paolo Savoldelli.

16th stage

After the second rest-day, the peloton did not want to spend too much energies on a flat stage, so it was easy for a break-away of eighteen men to gather an advantage of 10 minutes. Amongst these breakaways, there was Crédit Agricole rider Christophe Le Mével, who outpowered his fellow breakaways to notch up his first pro victory.

19th stage

External links

* [http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2005/eng/classifiche/ Official results]
* [http://www.gazzetta.it/Speciali/Giroditalia/2005/eng/elencopartenti.html Official list of competing cyclists]