I debated not running this at all, but instead let's just call it a twitrumor, take it with a grain of salt, and have some fun. The website Cyclingtime.it is reporting (or at least "reporting") that Alberto Contador will rejoin his most recent team Saxo Bank for the Vuelta a Espana, then split from Bjarne Riis's long-standing team in search of another team, possibly one built just for him with support from a Spanish bank.

The report contains no confirmation of a split from any reliable sources. Still, it's a good reminder about what a fluid transfer season we have coming up. Contador's original contract was slated to run through this season anyway, and though it was canceled under UCI rules following his suspension, Contador told Marca earlier this spring that he was planning to return to Saxo Bank. If this is untrue or limited to the half-season of eligibility that would have been on his original Saxo deal, then things start happening. Saxo Bank return to the brink of desperation, with little hope of a World Tour license for 2013. A new team built around the dominant stage racer would either go after an open World Tour spot or seek invites -- a more hectic but solid prospect when you have a guy like Contador on your startlist. The linked article also claims Paolo Tiralongo would jump ship from Astana to rejoin his old mate.

Stay tuned to see if this story reverberates and generates anything in the way of confirmation.

Garmin-Barracuda's Ryder Hesjedal time trialled his way past overall leader Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha today to become the first Canadian to win the Giro d'Italia. Facing a 31 second deficit overnight, Hesjedal rode a risky but ultimately proficient time trial through the streets of Milan, slipping his back wheel a couple times but staying upright and thundering to sixth on the stage. Rodriguez became the world's top-ranked cyclist by several measures and defied the desperately low expectations for his crono effort, but nonetheless went home the hard-luck loser of the second-closest Giro in history.

Hesjedal's victory is notable for several reasons. It is the first grand tour triumph for his team in its five year run among the top ranking of the sport, which appeared as Slipstream-Chipotle in the 2008 Giro. Hesjedal becomes not merely the first Canadian grand tour winner but the first of his countrymen to appear on a grand tour podium. With Thomas De Gendt of Vacansoleil overcoming Lampre's Michele Scarponi for third, today's finish represents the first all-foreign podium at the Giro d'Italia since 1995.

The Victoria, British Columbia native was not a favorite to win coming into the Giro, regarded as a solid all-round climber and someone who had been surprising the experts but nonetheless unproven as a potential winner in the highest mountain passes, of which this Giro featured several. But Hesjedal said all along that this year's course suited him better than in past years, and his team, now a seasoned grand tour machine, functioned almost flawlessly to deliver him to the win.

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You know the facts: Joaquim Rodriguez leads Ryder Hesjedal by 31 seconds, with Michele Scarponi and Thomas De Gendt lurking in the background at 1.51 and 2.18. The closest Giro d'Italia finish in history is 11 seconds. So...

Thomas De Gendt stunned the Giro d'Italia favorites with a ride for the ages, and possibly a grand tour-winning move, as he accelerated away from the race over the fearsome Mortirolo Pass and to the summit of the Stelvio. De Gendt pushed his lead out to five and a half minutes, nearly his entire deficit to the maglia rosa, before tiring a bit at the end and holding on for a one-minute win over Damiano Cunego and 3.22 over race leader Joaquim Rodriguez and 3.36 over challenger Ryder Hesjedal. De Gendt has an outside chance to use his time-trialling prowess to overtake the leaders, but we are probably looking at a two-man race for pink in tomorrow's final race against the watch.

The favorites stayed together, minus De Gendt, over the Mortirolo, and Hesjedal had teammate Christian VandeVelde up the road with the day's escape. VandeVelde descended the Mortirolo, then slowed to wait for his teammate, who he (and Peter Stetina) then paced brilliantly all the way to the 7km mark. From there Hesjedal took the front, the other favorites daring him to leave De Gendt in position to steal the Giro, cynically forcing the Canadian to take the front. Rodriguez did his usual escape in the final km, after sitting in all day, but these tactics didn't work for him, as he gained a mere 14 seconds on Hesjedal and holds a shaky 31" lead heading into his worst discipline.

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Astana's Roman Kreuziger rebounded from a disastrous, cramp-filled day Wednesday to solo home for the stage victory at Alpe di Pampeago, while Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal inched closer to the overall lead in the Giro d'Italia with a fnatastic display of climbing prowess. While Kreuziger was allowed to escape at the start of the penultimate climb, Hesjedal attacked his rivals with 2.5km to go, drawing only Lampre's Michele Scarponi for company before leaving him and coming within 19 seconds of the stage win. Maglia Rosa Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha hung on to his jersey, losing 13" form his 30-second lead, but Hesjedal's hopes of victory took a great leap forward today, turning the tables on Purito on what was expected to be the Spaniard's comfort zone.

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Andrea Guardini served notice to the sprinting world by doing something few have done: beating Mark Cavendish straight up in a sprint. The Farnese Vini fastman started his sprint two places behind Cav, with Roberto Ferrari in between, and simply cranked up more speed than anyone else, even the world champion. There were no flying bodies, no closed doors, no tactical excuses. Guardini had the speed and Cav did not.

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Current maglia rosa Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha outsprinted an elite six-man gruppetto of overall favorites in Cortina d'Ampezzo for the victory in the second major mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia. The group contained Ivan Basso of Liquigas, Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin, Sky's Rigoberto Uran, little Domenico Pozzovivo of Colnago, and the embattled Michele Scarponi of Lampre, all rolling in together with Basso and Hesjedal trailing behind Purito in the sprint.

The group formed almost as soon as the Passo Giau, last of the four major climbs, began. Prior to that a peloton of climbers had stayed mostly intact, minus Roman Kreuziger of Astana. The six stayed intact until Scarponi lost the thread just before the summit of the Giau, then cramped on the descent and fell 25" behind before regaining his composure and the leaders. Rigoberto Uran also lost contact late in the Giau before rejoining the front group with 5km to go, while a group of secondary favorites led by Damiano Cunego chased going up and down the beastly Dolomite pass a minute or so back. Entering Cortina, Basso attempted to get away, but otherwise it was left to a sprint from 250 meters, which Rodriguez won handily over his two closest rivals.

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The secret to success in the FSA DS competition really isn't much of a secret: get as much value as possible for every point you spend. Since you have 6 points to spend on average per rider, value comes in a few forms: getting big returns on your high-dollar guys, hitting the jackpot on some middle-value dudes, and garnering as many unexpected points as possible from your low-cost roster fillers. The former two places, you're not likely to be alone. Joaquim Rodriguez is on 98 teams; Tom Boonen is on 380. So to win you need to not have missed those boats.

Where you get separation is in the lower point scores. This week the Giro d'Italia hands out one of the three Cat-1 point jackpots of the season, and at least compared to its big brother in France, the points getting doled out this week are far less predictable... and present one of the two biggest opportunities of the year (with the Vuelta) to make your mark.

What are your chances? On the flip...

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Euskaltel's Jon Izagirre accelerated as soon as the road turned up, leaving a struggling break for a solo win today in Stage 16 of the Giro d'Italia. The Giro's return to racing was marked by a fast-moving peloton but little in the way of action on the road to Falzes in the northeastern corner of the Alto Adige/Sud Tirol region. Izagirre and nine others held a lead of ten minutes coming to the day's only challenge, a 3km ascent to the line, while the peloton cooled its heels behind. Movistar's Jose Herrada was the first to pick up the pace, but Izagirre laid down the winning attack, and only Androni's Alessandro De Marchi could try to respond. De Marchi was eventually joined by Herrada, Rabobank's Staf Clement and BMC's Matti Frank, but the race was for second by then. Results:

1. Jon Izagirre, Euskaltel
2. Alessandro De Marchi, Androni, at 0.16
3. Staf Clement, Rabobank, s.t.
4. Matti Frank, BMC, at 0.19
5. Jose Herrada, Movistar, at 0.21

Photo © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Things have taken enough shape now that we can start ranking the action in the Giro, though without the benefit of any truly testing stages, or not on the level of what we're heading into. The weekend was full of action, but from the contenders' side of things it was more the last-5km-attack kind of stuff. The bigger pieces will fall into place starting tomorrow... or maybe not til Wednesday. Definitely by Friday. So let's start sorting it out. Remember, I called Robert Gesink, so like the broken watch...

1. Liquigas

Top Contender: Ivan Basso, 3rd at 1.22.

Team Strength: A true Giro squad, with hammerheads like Sabatini and Capecchi, along with elite climber domestiques in Agnoli and Szmyd. In fact, the impending Szmackdown is one of my favorite Giro traditions. If De Gaas were Basso, Szmyd and six sprinters, I would still like their chances.

Uphill Outlook: On both the team and individual (Basso) level, it's strong. The Captain is looking like a guy who, in veteran fashion, has his form on the upswing after a quiet beginning. Granted, his experience with the Stelvio is something he'd rather forget (ice water?), but beyond that and into his post-suspension self Basso has shown repeatedly that he can climb well over any pass in Italy, and over three weeks.

Crono Disaster Potential: Low. Just last summer at the Tour Basso finished 3.47 down on a longer course in Grenoble, a mere 47" behind noted cronoman Christian VandeVelde. Two years ago he was just fine in the Verona ITT, nailing down his win by running 15th on the day.

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Matteo Rabottini of Farnese VIni stoked the hearts of Giro fans today with a heroic victory at the Piani dei Resinelli, riding alone from 18km to the finish, surrendering his lead to Joaquim Rodriguez in the final kilometer, then grabbing the Katusha climber's wheel for a quick recovery and winning the sprint to the delight of the crowd. Rodriguez had to content himself with retaking the the maglia rosa heading into the final rest day of the Giro, with Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin surrendering 43 seconds.

Today's stage was a modest high-mountain stage from the suburbs of Milan to the hills around Lake Como, topping out at 1280 meters and only 169km in length. Rabottini, who rode alone for much of the stage, summited the day's major climbs in the lead, picked himself off the deck at one point after sliding out in a corner, and managed to survive to the final KM of the race, despite looking exhausted and gritting his teeth grimly for the camera. All day he was chased by a group of well-known (but not too well-placed) riders made a day of it, getting a good four minutes on the pack. They included Damiano Cunego of Lampre, BMC's Marco Pinotti, Movistar's Marzio Bruseghin, Stefano Pirazzi of Colnago, Gustav Larsson of Vacansoleil, yesterday's winner Andrey Amador, Amets Txurruka of Euskaltel, and Emanuele Sella of Androni. Cunego attacked on the descent of the Cumine di Dan Pietro, splitting the chase group, while Liquigas gave the peloton tempo-setting duties over to Astana. As they began the day's final climb, Cunego sat halfway in the 5' gap from the peloton to Rabotiini, with Stefano Pirazzi, Amador, Txurruka and Alberto Losada.

On the final climb, with his lead dropping steadily, Rabottini saw the glory finally slip away as the pack came alive with 2km to go. Michele Scarponi started the action, but couldn't finish it when Joaquim Rodriguez, looking increasingly like a potential Giro winner, launched a counterattack that reeled in the tiring leaders and dropped his rivals. But Rabottini didn't give up when the elite Spaniard came up on him, and while it's possible Rodriguez allowed the win to get away (in exchange for the overall lead and possibly for the sake of his own safety), the fact remains that Rabottini dug deep to latch on to Rodriguez in a burst of truly inspired riding. His victory is a tribute to everyone who goes long in a stage race. With enough grinta, dreams come true. Results:

1. Matteo Rabottini, Farnese Vini
2. Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, s.t.
3. Alberto Losada, Katusha, at 0.23
4. Sergio Henao, Sky, at 0.25
5. Michele Scarponi, Lampre, s.t.
6. Ivan Basso, Liquigas, s.t.
7. Stefano Pirazzi, Colnago, at 0.29
8. Roman Kreuziger, Astana, s.t.

Andrey Amador of Movistar became the first Costa Rican to win a stage of the Giro d'Italia by outsprinting his break-mates Jan Barta of NetApp and Alessandro De Marchi of Androni Gioccatolli, while an attack in the final 3km by Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal regained the Canadian the maglia rosa, by nine seconds over Katusha's Joaquim Rodriguez.

Amador earned the victory with a long-range, 130-km attack, along with seven others, including Barta and DeMarchi. On the final climb of the day to Cervinia near the Swiss and French borders, Amador was alone until caught first by De Marchi and finally by Barta with 5km remaining. The trio stayed together to the line. Behind them the peloton was paced by Liquigas, staying together on the comparatively gentle gradients but steadily reeling in the attackers and keeping the pace high enough to discourage too much action. With 3km to go Jose Rujano tried a move which was tracked down, but Hesjedal countered with a powerful blast and was never seen again. Rodriguez reacted and a gruppetto of favorites formed to chase Hesjedal, to no avail. The 26-second advantage gained by the Canadian was nine more than he needed. Great day for America's neighbors.

Stage:

1. Andrey Amador Bikkazakova, Movistar
2. Jan Barta, NetApp, s.t.
3. Alessandro De Marchi, Androni, s.t.
4. Ryder Hesjedal, Garmin, at 0.20
5. Paolo Tiralongo, Astana, at 0.46
6. Rigoberto Uran, Sky, s.t.
7. Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, s.t.
8. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil, s.t.
9. Michele Scarponi, Lampre, s.t.
10. John Gadret, AG2R, s.t.

Yesterday we got a good look at who among the conventionally identified contenders actually arrived in the Golden State to win. We also got a very good look at the human missile that is Dave Zabriskie. The only way he could be faster is if he cut some spiral grooves into his body and managed to get his torso and head spinning like a bullet. That would be faster. Until then,... respect.

Unfortunately Zabriskie isn't expected to survive tomorrow's epic climb to Mt. Baldy. Assuming he's still ahead of his rivals after today's meh-ntaintop finish at Big Bear, he should nonetheless have surrendered the virtual lead by the time the race approaches the point of the Baldy climb where Jimbo's pride is buried. Apart from Zabriskie, however, this race is being very tightly contested by a bunch of climbers who can time trial, and all that stands between here and LA is one huge beast of a climb.

Let's run through the contenders... on the flip.

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Every day of the Giro offers at least an hour of joy, much more if you catch both ends of the RAI broadcast, and that's not counting the race. There is so much to love about the Processo alla Tappa, mostly having to do with the fun, wacky and charming nature of Italian TV. Cycling itself brings out its share of stars and characters, and with a good chunk of time to work with, the result is magic.

Why can't we have our own Processo at the Amgen Tour of California? Yes, American sports TV has its positive attributes, especially if you like the facts, but it's California, forgodsakes! If you can't have fun in the west coast sun, where can you? A real Processo would have so many possibilities. So many possibilities...

<dream sequence, alla flippa>

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I know, Peter Sagan has it in the bag. So let's just go through the paces. Here are ten guys to think about when the Amgen Tour of California heats up, on the off-chance that Sagan loses interest in winning every day.

1. Chris Horner, Radio Shack-Nissan-Trek

Interest? No doubt. As the defending champ and with the Schlecks blocking his July ambitions (as far as they know), Horner has plenty of reasons to go for it here.

Current Form: Probably solid. He hasn't raced since taking a DNF at Liege, but he was out of the game for five weeks before the Tour of Cali last year, hitting the slopes. He's had his usual share of issues -- knee tendinitis, etc. -- but honestly I think he's past caring about pain.

So...? Pick to win. Anywhere but California and maybe he'd have Tiago Machado to look at over his shoulder.

2. Levi Leipheimer, Omega Pharma-Quick Step

Interest? Ah, the race is practically named after him.

To the flip!

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There was an odd moment today in the Giro d'Italia as the peloton approached traguardo volante, the intermediate sprint point, in Ceprano, 24km from the finish in Frosinone. World Champion Mark Cavendish bolted out of the peloton and took six points, with little resistance from Thomas De Gendt, the nearest competition. The move gave Cav second in the sprint and brought him to within four of current points leader Matt Goss. This made for a pretty interesting battle for the lead in that secondarily important competition... but the battle didn't materialize when Pippo Pozzato couldn't hold his line and Goss went over his bars, taking Cavendish down in the process.

And with that, the hope of a sprint battle all the way to Milan was officially extinguished. Cav and his six points... who cares?

I am not willing to go so far as to say that Cavendish and the other high-priced sprinters should go home, but I wouldn't blame them one bit if they did. What's left to contest? A couple more stages, if you can survive the climbs, and the shaky, season-threatening run-ins to the line. The Giro has tried to kinda-maybe bring the sprinters back into the points comp, but this effort is doomed, and let me just take a moment to say that it didn't have to be. While the Giro is plenty good at a lot of things, creating a good sprint comp has ceased to be one of them.

For a lot of fans, the bunch sprints don't mean much in the way of viewing excitement. But they do carry significance in the FSA DS. And they do tend to bring in big names, besides the current world champion. And, well, some of us actually like a good group gallop. Let's delve deeper into this dusty old element of the Giro... alla flippa!

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In an odd way races seem to have their symbolic riders, don't they? Ronde van Vlaanderen... Briek Schotte. Paris-Roubaix... Jean Stablinski. Not sure who you could pick for any of the grand tours (TdF... Hinault?), but it's pretty easy to figure out who the face of the Amgen Tour of California is. He's the most decorated winner. Local guy. Headliner at press conferences, even when he might not be riding. Hell, this year, they even included a chunk of Levi's Gran Fondo in stage 1. In these still somewhat formative years of the ATOC, there is no separating out Levi Leipheimer from the festivities.

Unfortunately, Leipheimer's return engagement isn't shaping up as planned. The hometown start was to be a triumphant moment, but an accident with a car left him healing a broken ankle. Friday Leipheimer said he planned to take the start, apparently on the theory that missing out on your hometown race entirely is worse than getting dropped in it. [OK, that's an exaggeration, Levi is a gifted enough climber to hang on in a relatively mellow stage on a mere two weeks of training. But anything more would be superhuman.] Leipheimer rolled into town with a new kit -- the classics giant Omega Pharma Quick Step -- and as famous a teammate as you can have in Tom Boonen. After losing the title two years running it was all teed up for Levi to grab it back when a car plowed into him from behind six weeks ago.

Disappointment.

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Domenico Pozzovivo of Colnago left the peloton on the slopes of the Colle Molella, the day's final climb, and soloed home to his first career stage win in the Giro d'Italia. The little climber from Policoro, just to the south of today's finish in the Campania region, attacked with 6.9km to go in the stage, and 3km in the climb. Benati Intxausti of Movistar launched an attack from the peloton one km later and stayed away for second place, while the peloton came in seconds later with overall leader Ryder Hesjedal of Garmin in tow. Hesjedal was suffering toward the back when Pozzovivo attacked but recovered and held onto his race lead. Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha nabbed the last bonus to climb within nine seconds of the Canadian, which will make things interesting in the days to come. Results:

1. Domenico Pozzovivo, Colnago
2. Benat Intxausti, Movistar, at 0.23
3. Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, at 0.27
4. Thomas De Gendt, Vacansoleil, s.t.
5. Dario Cataldo, OPQS, s.t.

Astana's Paolo Tiralongo alertly caught the accelerating wheel of Lampre's Michele Scarponi on the final ramp to the Giro d'Italia's first hilltop finish, coming around Scarponi in the last few meters for the stage victory. Scarponi left his cautious rivals behind, seeking his first Giro stage, as the road steepened in Rocca di Cambio. The pair got a modest gap and ground their way to the line, with Scarponi leading out the opportunistic Tiralongo for the win. Frank Schleck sprinted for the final time bonus ahead of Joaquim Rodriguez, while Garmin's Ryder Hesjedal finished fifth to become the first Canadian to wear the magia rosa.

A four-rider break provided the entertainment, consisting of Matteo Rabottini, Mirko Selvaggi, Fumiyuki Beppu and Reto Hollenstein. As the race approached L'Aquila, the break fractured into a number of attacks, with Rabottini on the loose for a while. Lampre spent as much time as anyone keeping things under control, but the gap began plunging practically on its own inside the last 30km. Stefano Pirazzi of Colnago was the first to make contact with the leaders, drawing Jose Herrada of Movistar for company, while moves formed from the pack behind. Maglia Rosa Adriano Malori saw his lead slip away, unsurprisingly, as the road and the pace tilted up. PIrazzi and Herrada were finally caught in the final km.

Results:

1. Paolo Tiralongo, Astana
2. Michele Scarponi, Lampre, s.t.
3. Frank Schleck, R-N-T, at 0.03
4. Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, s.t.
5. Ryder Hesjedal, Garmin, at 0.05

Top and bottom photos © Fotoreporter Sirrotti

America's Biggest and Best Stage Race* kicks off edition #7 this coming Sunday, with a rolling and rocking course up and down the Golden State's rugged landscape, enough to make the pack sprinter in each of us bleed from the ears. Yep, it's gonna be a shootout, and you're going to watch. Why? Because it's beautiful, easy to follow, and you're at work.** The Podium Cafe will be chock-full of commentary, which you'll casually check in between answering emails. You're going to give co-workers evasive answers about meetings in the afternoon. You might even knock off early a day or two (after quietly slipping into the office early to watch the end of the Giro stage). Admit it. And let me help you...

[*for now] [**Western Hemisphere folks only]

Basta! To the race... Here is our Viewer's Guide to the Cali course. I know there are some bona fide Cali experts out there who can fill in details, but for the big picture, read on.

Stage 1: Santa Rosa - Santa Rosa, 185km

Sunday, May 13 (arrival @ 4pm PDT)

What's It About? The Levi Leipheimer tribute stage. Leipheimer has built a strong name ID with Santa Rosa, his adopted hometown, which he celebrates with his Gran Fondo. Levi has also won half of the Tour of Cali editions completed so far. His fingerprints are all over this stage, which takes in part of the gran fondo route, a chunk of Highway 1, and about 3000 feet of climbing. Unfortunately Leipheimer is in no shape to do anything on the bike right now.

Who Got This? Erm, it probably wasn't going to be Levi anyway, unless he'd spent the spring at Klodi's sprinting camp for climbers. The up-and-down will dampen the enthusiasm of quadricep muscles across the sprinters' club, but I can think of a few guys (coughPeterSagancough) who should be up to the task.

Viewing Plan: Not a bad way to wind down a mellow weekend, if your Sunday isn't overly scheduled, since the race is on NBC Sports (ex-Vesus), not just the Tour Tracker. Myself, I dream of a world where Sunday isn't overly scheduled. Highlights will have to suffice.

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Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez of Androni Gioccatoli finished off a solo attack, out-pacing a chase by Adriano Malori, Alex Dyachenko, Michel Golas and Cesare Benedettl to take the win in today's Giro d'Italia stage to Porto St. Elpidio. Malori held on to take the overall lead, holding a nine-second advantage over Golas and beating him for bonus seconds as well. The up-and-down transitional stage saw a sluggish peloton content to let the race get away from them. Garmin-Barracuda had little answer in its defense of the maglia rosa, as Ramunas Navardauskas slipped backward on the climbs and its other well-placed riders remained in the peloton, which finished another 51 seconds back.

Sprinters Tyler Farrar (Garmin), Thor Hushovd (BMC) and Romain Feillu (Vacansoleil) all left the Giro following a crash earlier in the day. Overall leader Ramunas Navardauskas suffered on the climbs and saw his race lead go up the road. The day was otherwise low on drama as the race heads to bigger climbs over the weekend. Rubiano Chavez, meanwhile, capped an outstanding first spring with Androni, where he was second in the Trofeo Laigueglia, tenth in the Giro dell'Appenino and 11th in the Giro del Trentino. Malori, meanwhile, is the time trial champion of Italy but a rider with few results in the climbs. His stay in the maglia rosa may be brief. Results:

Stage:

1. Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez, Androni
2. Adriano Malori, Lampre, at 1.10
3. Michel Golas, OPQS, s.t.
4. Alexandr Dyachenko, Astana, s.t.
5. Cesare Benedetti, NetApp, s.t.

World Champion Mark Cavendish of Sky delivered another stage f the Giro d'Italia today at the end of a perfect leadout following a quirky stage to the coast of Le Marche. Cav fended off a strong challenge from Matthew Goss of Orica, while sprinters Tyler Farrar of Garmin and Theo Bos of Rabobank missed the party. It was a long, flat, dead-straight stage for most of the day as the Giro headed south and east, but as the race approached the coast it headed up some twisting climbs to the Adriatic headlands. There a couple dozen riders came unhitched, coming close to rejoining on the descent but ultimately surrendering in the final 10km as the race thundered toward Fano. Sky massed on the front, and Geraint Thomas dropped Cav off with some 150 meters in perfect postion, where the Manxman has been practically unbeatable in grand tours for the last several years. With the extra incentive of his baby daughter Delilah in attendance for the first time, Papa Cav wasn't gonna miss this one.

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Got a question for America's most decorated active stage racer? Levi Leipheimer will be appearing on a live webstream and taking your questions via Twitter! The event is being organized by CLIF Bar, and people whose questions are taken can get a free signed Levi poster! [No, really.] Here are the details:

When: 1:30pm Pacific, Today. a/k/a 4:30 Eastern or 10:30pm CEST for our Euro friends

Watch the stream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/clif-bar-live-webcasts

Submit a question: Use an existing UStream profile or create one. Or, sign on to Twitter and send questions with the hashtag: #AskTeamCLIFBar

Got it? I can't make it, so you guys make it happen. Don't let him off the stream before he can tell us exactly where he plans to attack at the Tour!

World Champion Mark Cavendish of Team Sky finished off the Giro d'Italia's first sprint stage with his trademark charge up the middle, easily fending off challenges from Matt Goss, Tyler Farrar and FDJ's Geoffrey Soupe. The finale got chaotic in the final curve, where a crash took Theo Bos of Rabobank out of contention, on a day where Bos had won the intermediate sprint. Farrar and Cav each got strong leadouts to 250 meters and jumped, with Goss and co on the wheel of the Arc en Ciel. Farrar's slow return to sprinting form was evident as the other challengers went past and the American had no answer to Cav. Not that anyone else did either.

The action was calm today out on the roads of rural Jyllland, with cold winds and big wide roads. As the race got closer to Herning, Sky took control of the front, with Astana, Garmin, Liquigas, Lampre, OPQS and Rabobank looking for space as well. Maglia rosa Taylor Phinney also occupied a space at the front for the last 10km, but dropped his chain with 8km to go, creating about 4km of drama before he rejoined and defended his overall lead.

Results:

1. Mark Cavendish, Sky
2. Matt Goss, GEC
3. Geoffrey Soupe, FDJ
4. Tyler Farrar, Garmin
5. Roberto Ferrari, AND

Can takes over points. No change on GC or white. Garmin win the team prize.

Photo © Fotoreporter Sirotti

The year's first grand tour, the Giro d'Italia, marks the biggest cache of points on the calendar... potentially at least. All three grand tours give 600 points to the winner, 80 points for stages, and either 120 or 60 points for lesser jerseys, plus the longest list of non-winning points of any race. Of the three grand tours, the Tour de France is the worst opportunity to get ahead of your FSA DS competition, since the contenders are very well known and the spoils get pretty broadly distributed. By contrast, the more provincial Giro and Vuelta are sometimes seized by a smaller pool of contenders, or maybe even a single dominant rider, who can win multiple stages and jerseys. If you've got one of those guys, this is your big moment.

But is this anything like a winning strategy? Can chasing pink put you in the black for the rest of the season? Let's take a look at the contenders for the big pile of points. Douglas's top eight are Basso, Scarponi, J-Rod, Gadret, Kreuziger, Frank Schleck, Pozzovivo and Rujano. I suppose we could go to ten with the CyclingNews list, adding Damiano Cunego and Ryder Hesjedal.

Ivan Basso, Liquigas

Cost: 10

Giro or Bust? Definitely. This category speaks to whether the Giro is the only place for a guy on this list to pay back your investment in him. Basso could theoretically do something at the Tour, but there is no precedent for him scoring significantly outside Italy after a big Giro run. 2010 was his best year and the Giro was his last point.

Likelihood of win: In general, I am accepting Douglas's predictions, so these riders are in his order of likelihood, with a few extra notes. In Basso's case, he has royally sucked all year, but not in a way that should eliminate him, particularly with his history of wins... at least one of which has been rated as terrestrial.

Extra Credit: In Basso's wins he was pretty dominant, with stage wins and minor jersey points: second in mountains in 2010 and 5th in points. If he is on his top form, he could go very big.

Alla flippa for the rest...

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Every year, with an almost drone-like devotion, I publish a guide to watching the Giro d'Italia, for the benefit of people whose busy lives don't allow them to watch at will without making some significant tradeoffs. This is a valuable service and we will not let you down this year. And in keeping with past years, I try to find a different theme to mask the repetitive nature of these posts... be it the West Coast parents' guide or the guide to watching and staying employed. So with that in mind, and the lake of self-pity I am currently wallowing in, I bring you... the post-surgical guide to watching the 2012 Giro d'Italia!**

Recovering from surgery, even routine matters, presents the unlucky soul with some unusual choices. First is the medication, which is typically indispensable (and a little bit fun) at first but can take its toll on one's sanity after a while. Before long, the choice is between tolerating whatever lingering pain is around and taking leave of one's senses, again, as well as on the verge of falling asleep at any given moment. Then there's the activity level. Recovery is all about restoring normal life, and a few days on the couch will make plenty of people long for normal life, particularly cyclists unaccustomed to taking it easy without first hammering over a few hours of roads. Your mind wants you to get moving again, and your doctor will too, in the right dose. But the couch and the meds are waiting for you when you've moved enough. Or else. The Giro d'Italia presents the post-surgical cyclist or cycling fan with a perfect excuse to kick back for a couple hours anyway. Doctor's orders. What state of mind fits the session, well, that depends on the stage. So here we go.

Stage 1: Herning (DK) ITT, 8.7km

Saturday, May 5

Stage Excitement: The opening of the Giro d'Italia is always a momentous occasion, though a prologue(ish) stage around central Denmark is about as free of real intrigue as it gets.

Race Impact: Not insignificant, as far as the first several maglie rosa are concerned. A win here could keep a rider in pink for half the week, including the first transit/rest day, where the honor of starting the first Giro stage on Italian soil in the lead comes with plenty of attention. Secondary jerseys too perhaps.

RAI-ness Forecast: The understated nature of the Danish people will be a mere speed bump on the road to a glitzy, star-studded, completely unnecessary level of pomp courtesy of the world's liveliest nationalized TV network. This will need its own post.

Viewing Recommendation: Definitely take your medication. A flat prologue might seem exciting if you mix it with alcohol. And the RAI pre-race show will make perfect sense.

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Tyler Farrar just completed his latest spring campaign for Team Garmin-Barracuda, his fourth full-on run through the Classics, at an age (27) when you would expect a pattern to develop. And yet if any word could define his campaign (besides dissatisfying -- as he put it), it would be "change." Changed training and objectives, changed tactics, changes in the team, changes in the races, and changes in the results. Some of these changes are pretty surprising; and even the ones you knew about, well, Farrar had plenty to say about them too when we caught up last week.

Farrar came back to Seattle shortly after finishing Paris-Roubaix (29th, not a bad day's work), and hung around here and his family's home in Wenatchee while catching a bit of a break and getting ready to start the Giro d'Italia next month. Perfect time to take stock of a fascinating spring season. Join us on the flip!

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And with that, we're out. The big Spring Classics are behind us for 2012, and while things are happening fast elsewhere a quick goodbye is warranted. It was, in a word, a strange season. A rundown, and Patricks' pics from Liege-Bastogne-Liege... on the flip!

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Astana's Maxim Iglinsky broke Italian hearts today with a perfectly timed counterassault on Vincenzo Nibali of Liquigas, catching the soloing Italian with 1km to go and dropping him quickly for a stunning victory in Liege-Bastogne-Liege. Nibali appeared to be in complete control with a powerful solo effort from the Cote de la Roche aux Faucons, after sitting quietly behind a battery of BMC riders for much of the last hour. He came to the front and challenged a tentative peloton at the race's crucial moment, opening up a gap that was listed as 40+ seconds. But Iglinsky left the chase in the chaos of the Saint-Nicholas and closed in on a tiring Nibali, catching the Italian in the streets of Ans and dropping him under the red kite. Nibali had no challenge left, and finished 21" behind, while Iglinksy's teammate Enrico Gasparotto, winner a week ago in the Amstel Gold Race, won the sprint for the final podium place.

It was a pretty tranquil race most of the day, with BMC increasingly controlling the front of the race and keeping the pace high once the peloton got within sight of the Cote de la Redoute. Vasil Kiryenka launched an attack on La Redoute, joined by Pierre Rolland and Dario Cataldo, while Alejandro Valverde suffered a brief mechanical and became unhitched. Greg Van Avermaet, Mauro Santambrogio and Tejay Van Garderen spent a fair bit of time hammering the peloton with Gilbert in their wheels from that point, as BMC finally began to take on the "superteam" appearance expected of them all spring. On the Roche aux Faucons, Vincenzo Nibali took the initiative and created some small gaps, bringing Gilbert, Vanendert and a few others to the front. Over the top, Nibali's advantage became a real gap, and the race was on.

Behind the Sicilian, a dozen or so big names were in pursuit, including three Astana riders, but the chase broke into small attacks and failed to organize. On the flat sections and downhill approach to Liege, Nibali was time-trialling for his life, opening up a 25" gap. Gilbert had no teammates and plenty of company, adding to the negative instincts in the chase. By the time Nibali hit the final climb, the Cote de Saint Nicolas, his gap was north of 40 seconds, and the race was apparently for second. But the gap counters failed to account for Iglisnky, who had timed his own breakaway to perfection.

Astana did what BMC hoped to do this past week, at least in terms of results. The powerful American squad raced like a powerful team, burning domestiques in control of the race's last 60km, but in the end Gilbert was isolated and not up to any heroic tasks.

Results:

1. Maxim Iglinsky, Astana
2. Vincenzo Nibali, Liquigas, at 0.21
3. Enrico Gasparotto, Astana, at 0.36
4. Thomas Voeckler, Europcar, s.t.
5. Daniel Martin, Garmin, s.t.
6. Bauke Mollema, Rabobank, s.t.
7. Samuel Sanchez, Euskaltel, s.t.
8. Michele Scarponi, Lampre, s.t.
9. Ryder Hesjedal, Garmin, s.t.
10. Jelle Vanendert, Lotto-Belisol, s.t.
11. Rinaldo Nocentini, AG2R, s.t.
12. Pierre Rolland, Europcar, s.t.
13. Daniel Moreno, Katusha, s.t.
14. Robert Kiserlovski, Astana, s.t.
15. Joaquim Rodriguez, Katusha, at 1.00
16. Philippe Gilbert, BMC, at 1.27
17. Rui Costa, Movistar, at 2.11
18. Julien Simon, Saur-Sojasun, s.t.
19. Simon Gerrans, GreenEdge, s.t.
20. Lars Petter Nordhaug, Sky, s.t.

All photos © Fotoreporter Sirotti

Do you know what weekend it is? Here's a hint:

Gilbert may not have any wins to his name this season, but at least he's won the Great La Redoute Chalk Wars. Here's the man himself readying for Sunday. I call this one "Gorilla in the Mist":

Of course, he don't own the place. Not yet...

Should be a great weekend. Enjoy!

All photos © Fotoreporter Sirotti