Bertagnolli Wins from a Disintegrating Breakaway in Giro Stage 15

On the 161-kilometer Stage 15 in the Centennary Giro d'Italia, a sweltering, hilly day for the riders, Leonardo Bertagnolli (Diquigiovanni) managed to outlast his breakaway companions and soloed to the line for his team's second stage win of this year's race.

The day featured six climbs; two small but steep climbs, flanked by four fairly large mountains.  At this point of the Giro, the race is in a transitional phase since it is after the major time trial and the stages in the Dolomite mountains but is before the major mountain stages hit the riders in full force.

As such, a breakaway was sure to escape, much like yesterday's Stage 14 into Bologna.

A massive breakaway of 16 riders made it clear, featuring Jose Serpa (Diquigiovanni), Lars Bak (Saxo Bank), Daniel Navarro (Astana), Leonardo Bertagnolli (Diquigiovanni), Eduard Vorganov (Xacobeo-Galicia), Andriy Grivko (ISD), Marco Pinotti (Team Columbia-Highroad), Pablo Lastras (Caisse d'Epargne), Marco Marzano (Lampre), Serge Pauwels (Cervelo), Nikita Eskov (Katusha), Gorazd Stangelj (Liquigas), Mauro Facci (Quick Step), Matteo Montaguti (LPR Brakes), Alessandro Donati (Acqua & Sapone), and Hector Gonzalez (Fuji-Servetto).

And like yesterday, with so many legs working to stay ahead of the peloton, the breakaway had a much better chance of succeeding than the smaller breakaways that characterized the first two weeks of the Giro.

With less than 50 kilometers to go in the stage, the heat and climbing started to take a toll on the riders.  The breakaway started dissolving, and Bertagnolli and Pauwels managed to break from their companions.  Pinotti, Grivko, and Bak led up a secondary chase as the rest made the slow drift back to the main peloton.

Back in the peloton, more fireworks were being set.  Ivan Basso (Liquigas), one of the main GC contenders, who so far has not lived up to expectations, made a bid to escape from his main GC competitors.  Mountains-leader Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) joined him and the two started gaining time.

Second-placed rider Danilo DiLuca (LPR-Brakes) also had his own attack to try and distance the pink-jersey Denis Menchov (Rabobank).

Both of these attacks looked to single out third-placed rider Levi Leipheimer (Astana), who at one point lost a further 30 seconds on the road to his rivals.

As the day progressed, the remnants of the main peloton joined back together.  Leipehimer managed to get back on, Basso and Garzelli were reeled in, and the peloton had been slimmed down to an elite group of around 15 riders, mainly featuring the GC contenders. 

Up ahead, Bertagnolli had dropped Pauwels, who waited for the chasing trio of Pinotti, Bak, and Grivko, to chase the surviving Italian rider out in front.

Bertagnolli made the most of his advantage and came home a minute clear on the chasers, as he entered the town of Faenza to take his first stage win in the Giro.  This supplements his past stage win in the Vuelta a Espana.

Coming in right behind, Pauwels took the second podium spot ahead of Pinotti and Bak.  The main peloton containing the GC riders arrived together nearly two minutes adrift.

The overall GC times stay the same tonight.  Menchov continues to hold 34 seconds on DiLuca and 43 seconds on Leipheimer. 

Tomorrow's Stage 16 culminating with an uphill finish on the Monte Petrano looks to be the most decisive stage of the Giro so far, a 237-kilometer course with three category-one climbs, one of the toughest kinds of mountains. 

The GC contenders will throw everything they have at one another, as the dominant rider on this stage could well win the overall in a week's time.  If Leipehimer, DiLuca, or one of the other favourites wants to take time out of Menchov, performance on this stage will be crucial.