Giro d'Italia: Today's individual time trial should suit Cadel Evans. A leisurely climb over twelve kilometers from the start, then an equally long descent and really pushing until the finish line of 20 kilometers.
Actually, everyone had assumed that Evans would extend his lead in the overall classification again today. Who should be dangerous to him? Sure, Diego Ulissi (Lamp-Merida) was one of the favorites to win the day and was able to sit comfortably in the leader's chair for a while. He only got nervous when the top ten drivers came up with the first intermediate times. Domenico Pozzovivo set a fantastic first split, shocking fans as Cadel Evans was 53 seconds back at the same spot and just ninth.
While Pozzovivo stopped his personal mountain time trial on the descent and let it roll a little too leisurely towards the finish, second-placed Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and also the best young pro, Pole Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo), turned up the heat. The two kept getting closer to Ulissi while Evans lost second by second. Suddenly a change in pink was possible, which really nobody expected today.
While Majka was a good 20 seconds behind Ulissi at the end, Uran's performance suddenly made him the big favorite for overall victory. With a lead of 1:17 minutes, he literally smashed the previous best time.
Evans managed to keep the gap within bounds in the end, but 1:34 behind in third place now means 37 seconds behind Uran, who is the first Colombian in pink at the Giro. Majka is third overall and Pozzovivo fourth, 2:32 back.
Some big names are among the big losers of the day. Ivan Basso was not able to place in the top 20 and has to bury his claims to a top position - he fell four kilometers before the finish on the downhill. Unfortunately, there were a few falls due to rain-soaked roads, which at least from afar did not look harmless. We currently know of at least two drivers who had to be taken away by ambulance.
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