Giro heats up

Since my last post the Giro has taken a few more twists and turns, ascents and descents with the temperature rising both literally and figuratively. The Cinque Terre time trial was as visually stunning a stage as you could wish to see. It was also brutal. Denis Menchov won from Levi Leipheimer but every rider in the top 15 would have been happy with their performance on a course that never let up. Cav won his third stage the following day and then left the race, ready to focus on the Tour de France and possibly an assault on the green jersey. Stages 14, 15 and 16 saw the race head for the steep stuff again, with Simon Gerrans, Bertagnolli and Carlos Sastre winning respectively. Sastre's victory was simply epic. With temperatures hitting 40 degrees, the race exploded on the Monte Petrano, with Sastre attacking, Menchov sustaining and Leipheimer struggling. Many riders described this seven-hour marathon as their hardest ever day in the saddle; a prolonged sojourn into the dark corners of the mind, which appealed to the purist and the sadist in equal meaures. Menchov looks secure in pink now but there are still two summit finishes and a TT yet to come so who knows?