Stage 21 - Wiggins wigs out

Bradley Wiggins fans were left feeling a bit disappointed today, as he failed to deliver in the time trial and finished a lowly 7th. Big winner of the day, was Gusttav Larsson, he did win the silver medal at the World Championships last year, so is pretty handy at a time trial himself.

He also does a nice line in surreal cartoons.

So Basso won the overall, with a strong ride, backed-up by a strong team. He seems to be back to the kind of form he was showing just before he got himself banned for 2 years for all those bags of blood.

Cadel started off strong, but had a weak team and apparently he was "crook" with a high temperature and some digestive issues during stage 11. At least he won the points jersey in the end. 

Vino was also strong, but didn't quite have what it takes. He also had a bit of a weak team, but he'll be a handy guy for Contador to have around come the TDF - if he doesn't get banned again between now and then.

The real Giro D'Italia may have finished and the winner crowned, but the outcome of the FGDI is still unknown. I'm thinking the Bile Beans did nicely on the final stage, but there's all those end of race points to think about. Rest assured I'll be keeping an eye on the Velogames site, to see what those final scores are and in the event of my possible victory, to rub every one's noses in it.

No more stages to tell you about. If you want to keep-on keeping-an-eye-on the pro cycling circuit, then the next race on the calendar is the Dauphine Libere, where the TDF contenders will be getting in a last bit of practise before the big race in 5 weeks time.

Stage 20 - Tschopp comes out on top

I was all ready for an epic stage of the Giro today, so expectantly turned on the TV to see how the race was going. Instead I was treated to some fuzzy shots of the top of a hill and some footage of yesterday's stage. Seems the low cloud was causing problems with the live TV feed.

If the TV let me down, then at least the internets came good with some information. After I had to leave for work in a cloud of frustration, without knowing what was going on, I eventually found out, that this guy, Johann Tschopp won.

And although Cadel Evans had a bit of a go, it seems no one is going to be able to stop Basso from taking the overall in this years Giro. No wonder he's looking so happy.

It's the final stage tomorrow then, and it's a short 15km time trial to end the whole Giro thing. With the time gaps between the leaders all fairly big, I don't think we'll see any big changes in the GC. I'll be hoping that Bradley Wiggins can take the stage and so will everyone in the minileague, as he's a popular pick. He's been taking it easy this last week, while the other big names have been battering themselves day after day. It's just the sort of distance he's good at, so the race could be a big Wiggins sandwich, there is a bit of a hill though, so it might not all go his way.

Stage 19 - Basso bags it?

As we head into the final few days of the Giro we're finally getting an idea of who might come out as the overall winner. The stage today was the first of two back-to-back mountain stages. It was obviously too much for the sprinters, as most of them didn't bother to start. There's no more sprints and the points jersey is safely with Cadel Evans. So farewell then, Andre Griepel,  Julian Dean and Danilo Hondo. It was also goodbye for Chris Froome, who was kicked out of the race for getting a tow off a motorbike. For the guys still in the race, come the hills, it was the Liquigas duo of Basso and Nibali off up the road with Michele Scarponi.

It was Scarponi who won the stage, but Basso was the big winner in the GC, taking the pink jersey and putting time into his rivals. Scarponi did manage to move himself up into 4th overall, but the effort seemed to have turned him into an old man.

Velogames scores just in...... Bile Beans hanging on, but it's still tight at the top.

Stage 19 will probably be the last opportunity for anyone to challenge Basso. There's a time trial to finish things off on Sunday, but it's pretty short at only 15km, so time differences shouldn't be huge. Tomorrow they're off over the famous Gavia pass. The scene of an epic stage back in 1988, when Andy Hampsten raced through a load of snow to become the first American to win a grand tour.

The weather may be a bit ropey tomorrow, but I hear snow isn't expected - shame. It should be a good day though, even if the sun is out.

Stage 18 - Greipel Grasps Victory

W-Hey!!! Andre-Greipel finally got his shit together and came up with a stage win in the Giro. He's no Mark Cavendish, but still, those points will come in handy.

Not that I know how many points at the moment, but I'm sure George will make-with-the-scores before too long. With any luck the Bile Beans will keep their spot at the top for a little while longer.

Today was the last chance for the sprinters. The next 3 days will certainly sort the Wheatabix from the Chaffabix and decide the overall victor in the Giro. Talk is of the battle between Basso and Evans, but there's that David Aroyyo still in the pink jersey and plenty of others within striking distance of the lead. Tomorrow's stage takes the race over the Mortirolo pass, which is quite sizable - now available in 3D.

The race still won't be over after tomorrow, there's still another mountain stage over the Gavia pass and a time trial to come - the winner is a long way from decided.

Stage 17 - Monier on the Money

I settled down on the sofa this morning and tuned-in, (well pressed some buttons, such is the technological age we live in) to catch the action from stage 17 of the Giro. I must have got my timing off, as the first thing on my TV screen was this gentleman.

I seem to having a bit of a run with encountering partially-dressed men in the morning recently. Yesterday arrived at my workplace to find what appeared to be a gay photo-shoot going on at the side of the building. I managed to get a quick picture of the scene, but hastily retreated when I heard the photographer say, "now undo the top button of your jeans for me".

Anyway, this Borat character seems to be the latest in a long list of chancers who pop up at the roadside to harass the riders. These range from the enthusiastic amateur, who just wants his 15 seconds of fame - like this guy.

To the seasoned race-follower with his own costume. Probably the most famous is "The Devil", who I spotted myself when I was in London for the TDF prologue back in 2008. I was lucky to spot him early on, as rumour has it, the Devil doesn't wash a whole lot during the race and come the mountain stages he can be smelled several km away.

So what happened in the race today? Well, there was a break of 19 men that went clear and soon had a nice lead of 10 minutes of so over the bunch. I wasn't too bothered, as none of the escapees were in my team, so no big scores for me. As the finish approached, the attacks started and in the end it was Damien Monier who made it over the line first.

Back in the main field, the favourites were content to sit back and watch each other. Although Scarponi did have a bit of a dig coming up to the line, there were no significant time gaps. No big changes in the GC then and no big points for anyone in the minileague - as far as I know anyway, the scores aren't in yet.

Stage 18 should be one for the sprinters. There aren't many fast-men left though. A lot of them have quit the race, rather than take a battering during the final week. Still riding though, is Andre Griepel, who I'm hoping will finally come good and win me a stage.

Stage 16 - Garzelli shows cajones on Plan de Corones

Dr. Chan was hoping for something special from Stefano Garzelli today and he's evidently been using his Evil Powers, as the winner of the mountain TT was none other than, Stefano Garzelli.

Cadel Evans was the next quickest and managed to put a little time into rival Ivan Basso. There's not much else to say, everyone tried to cycle up a big hill as fast as they could.

I was pleased to see young Dan Martin scrape in the top 20. He looked strong going up, but the last km seemed to take forever for the poor lad. I don't think his ride will earn me any points, but at least he's still in the race.

Someone who's not in the race now, is Harrisons Pharma's, Leonardo Bertagnolli, who didn't start after the rest day. So now everyone in the league has lost a rider and the league championship could still go to anyone. There's been an unusually fast Velogames scoring update, so let's have a look shall we?

And those scores for today's stage? 

What's on for tomorrow? Why Stage 17 of course. And a hard day in the saddle it's sure to be. That big mountain in the middle should split it up nicely before the uphill finish.

Wrest-day wrap-up

Rest day today and the riders can finally take a day off to "recharge their batteries" before the final week.

Scores are now in for the stages 14 and 15 and those pesky Bile Beans are still at the top of the minileague.

Now my team is down to just 7 men and Harrison's boys are snapping at my heels, with what I think is still a full squad. There's still all to play for going into the final week, not to mention those end of tour points, which are worth quite a bit.

In other cycling news, the Tour of California finished yesterday. It was HTC-Columbia's Mick Rogers what won it with a strong ride, which suggests he might be a handy FTDF pick if the price is right. Also on the podium as best young rider was Liquigas rider Peter Sagan, (no relation to Carl Sagan). He's only in his first year as a pro, but already has some impressive wins. If he rides the TDF, he could be another fantasy-team-tip.

I have to admit, that I wasn't really that bothered about the TOC. Following this young upstart of a race, seems a bit disloyal with the Giro going on at the same time. Thanks to the TOC, the likes of Cav and the Schlecks, have not been around to liven things up even more in Italy. I don't think it was just me that wasn't taking the TOC seriously either. Judging from this photo, neither was Steve Cozza - I reckon the wind-resistance from this facial-hair combo would cost him about a minute over 40km, but it's certainly popular with the ladies.

It was a rest day for me today as well - cause I've got the day off work like - but just as the riders still do a few kms on a rest day, I though I better keep in form by typing a few paragraphs. It's not all blogging for me though,  I actually managed to ride my bike today........ I set off in the trusty PanceWagen and  hit-up the 1996 Olympic MTB course over at the Georgia International Horsepark. It's pretty cool, especially if you've got some decent tunes on you're ipod, instead of whatever crap this dude was listening to.

MTB courses have sure come a long way since 1996 and despite my current lack of form, I made it round a flowing course with hardly a foot down. I suspect if I tried to ride the recent World-Cup course at my old stomping grounds at Dalby Forest I'd end up on my face in no time. There were a few sketchy moments over the granite sections, but the trickiest obstacle I had to contend with is pictured below. It may look like a carlessly discarded inner-tube, but actually it's a snake, which I nearly ran over after coming round a corner.

I'm back at work tomorrow and they'll be back racing in the Giro, with a nice little mountain time trial. As if the gradient wasn't enough, the top section is on dirt roads, just to make it extra-unpleasant. 12.9km may not sound far, but expect more "epic" rides from the GC contenders over this stage. I'm hoping for rain. That should sort the wheat from the chaff.

Stage 15 - Don't mess with Zoncolan

The Zoncolan has a reputation as one of the hardest climbs in Italy, with an average gradient of 12%, ramping-up to 20% in places. I know it sounds pretty simple compared to Hardknott Pass, but the riders of the Giro D'Italia had a long day and some other climbs to contend with before they got there. When they did get to the famous slopes, there were a few people out to watch.

There the early break, which had a 14 minute lead at one stage, but then the mighty Liquigas squad started chasing and come the bottom of the big climb they were all back together. I was hoping for big things from the climbers on the Bile Beans team. I was shit out of luck though, as both my climbing picks, Rohregger and Pozzovivo have already quit the race...... losers. Dan Martin has been hanging in there, but he needs to win a stage or something. I'm also impressed with Marco Pinotti, who has been getting a steady stream of points in.

All the big boys were looking to do well on the climb as the pace went up, (except Wiggo, who decided to take it easy and came in at 104th). In the end though, it was another day for Liquigas, as Ivan Basso was bestest up the climb and managed to put 1:19 into second place Evans. Arroyo still keeps the pink jersey, but his lead has shrunk and there's some tough stages ahead.

No racing tomorrow, as it's a well earned rest day for the peleton. Maybe it'll give George time to get those scores updated. I've got the day off too, so I might actually get out on my bike instead of watching the Giro on TV and writing my stupid blog.

Stage 14 - Porte is left; Arroyo is the boyyo

After coming a cropper in the first week and spending a few days recovering, it seems that there's now no stopping Fillipo Pozzato. He won stage 12, led the bunch home on stage 13 and today he was off the front again. 

His breakaway group of six didn't last long however when they hit the day's big feature, Monte Grappa. Liquigas were riding hard up the climb and it soon got too much for pink jersey Ritchie Porte, who slid off the back. Sliding off the front though, was Bradley Wiggins, (Wiggy) who caught up to team-mate Steve Cummings, (Cummy) who was part of the break, for a bit of a tow. Wiggy tested his legs off the front for a while, but it was short-lived and it wasn't long before he was reeled back in.

Come the summit, at the head of the race it was Liqugas duo Basso and Nibali, along with Evans and Scarponi in front. Nibali attacked on the descent and thanks to a set of invisible tri-bars, (the UCI has yet to rule on the legality of imaginary handlebars) managed to hold-on to the finish.

Nibali may have won the stage, but he's still nearly seven minutes down on new race leader, Davide Arroyo. So after they did the sums, (or math as it's known in the US), here's the new top 15.

While we saw most of the big names of this year's race giving it some on Monte Grappa, the 40km run-in to the finish gave riders the chance to re-group and limit their losses. Tomorrow they're off up the infamous Zoncolan climb, (after three other climbs), which is brutally steep and the finish is right at the top. Here's where we can expect some real battles to be fought and we should see some more changes in the top ten.

Stage 13 - Lucky for some

It's taken a few stages, but this year's Giro has finally repeated itself. You  may recall that yesterday, it was tattooed Italian, Filippo Pozzato who won the stage from a break. And today, it was tattooed Italian Manuel Belletti , who won the stage from a break.

They've got some impressive ink-work, but they've got a way to go to catch up with former Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande.

Sadly, Kayle is no longer racing. Rock Racing have gone a bit bust, but probably a bigger problem was this picture of a very distinctive, tattooed pair of hands holding some EPO in a fridge.

There were a few differences to yesterday's stage. Today's break was 17 strong and had been away since the 62km mark and were in little danger of being swept-up by the bunch. Once they got into the last few miles the attacks were coming thick and fast and Belletti timed it just right to get the win. In other stage news Vladimir Karpets sneaked away from the main pink jersey group to gain 2 minutes at the finish and it was farewell to David Millar who was feeling poorly. Overall though, it was a day where not much changed.

Velogame scores just in. I'm stilll just hanging in at the top, mostly thanks to Pozzato's win yesterday, Harrisons men aren't far behind now though. Further down the table Barmbyworld have climbed up to third spot as Drecifer's Druggies slip to fourth. It's still Dr Chan in last place at the moment, but his team is actually looking quite strong going into the tough final week.

So lets look ahead shall we? I predict stage 14 will happen tomorrow. Here she is in uppy-downy form. As you can see, it features a big uppy-downy bit, (or a mountain, as they are also known) before the finish. Maybe someone who can ride a bike fast up a mountain will win.