Friday, July 22, 2005

Italian Takes Stage 19


giuseppeguerini
Originally uploaded by terpkristin.

Italian Giuseppe Guerini took his second-ever stage win in the Tour de France today, by making a superb break going into the final kilometer of the stage and dropping the other 3 riders who were in his breakaway group. This is the second stage he's ever won in the Tour de France, his last stage win coming in 1999. I believe it is also his first win in any race since 2002 or 2003. Because he rides for T-Mobile, his win should keep T-Mobile on the top of the team standings, while the top 5 in the general classification will remain unchanged.

All that's left for this year's TdF is tomorrow's individual time trial and then the final stage, the ride into Paris and under the Champs-Elysee. As a side note, I'll also post yesterday's top 3 finishers, since I neglected to report on it yesterday...

Stage 18 Top 3 Finishers
1. Marcos Serrano (ESP), Liberty-Seguros, 4:37:36
2. Cedric Vasseur (FRA), Cofidis, +00:27
3. Axel Merckx (BEL), Davitamon-Lotto, +00:27

Stage 19 Top 3 Finishers
1. Giuseppe Guerini (ITA), T-Mobile, 3:33:04
2. Sandy Casar (FRA), Francaise de Jeux, +00:10
3. Franco Pellizotti (ITA), Liquigas-Bianchi, +00:10

Top 5 General Classification After Stage 19
1. Lance Armstrong (USA), Discovery Channel, 81:22:19
2. Ivan Basso (ITA), CSC, +02:46
3. Mickael Rasmussen (DEN), Rabobank, +03:46
4. Jan Ullrich (GER), T-Mobile, +05:58
5. Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Illes Balears

(Image from http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/photo_galleries/3913751.stm)

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