White roads make for brown shorts

Another stage and another big shake up in the race. Today's stage was always going to be a bit special, what with the "white roads". They weren't looking so white today though as the Italian weather continues to be wet and made what was already a treacherous stage a full-on mudfest.


I used to like Cadel Evans when he was a young pup making the transition from the world of MTB. Then after hearing his high-pitched whinging in interviews a few too many times, I decided that he was a bit of a prick. Now I think he's pretty cool again. Since taking the World Championships in style last year, he's proved to be a gutsy rider and today was no exception. He might have regretted that white World Champion's strip today, but he probably didn't care that he was covered in shite, as he took the stage win and a nice slice of time.

Velogames scores are still any one's guess, but it's another day of changes for the GC. Former race leader Nibali and team-mate Basso crashed and lost time, as did Carlos Sastre, who didn't even have the excuse of crashing. So the pink jersey is back with Vino, while Evan's is in second and David Millar has sneaked up to third. Despite being let down by Pozzato, it wasn't a bad day for the Bile Beans as I've now got Vino, Evans, Pinotti and Rohregger in the top 10. It will probably all change again tomorrow though.

It's the first mountain-top finish on stage 8 and maybe a day for some of those climbers who've lost a load of time. Or maybe it will be another day of the top GC guys slugging it out. Who knows? Either way it'll be another great day of racing, as this years Giro continues to make the TDF look like a boring snooze-fest. Even with a few cobbles thrown in, I doubt that the first week of the Tour will be this good.