Oscar Gatto wins eighth stage of Tour of Giro d’ltalia 2011 - Cycling News
Farnese Vini- Neri Sottoli’s, Oscar Gatto, has won the eighth stage of the Tour of Giro d’ltalia on Saturday, 14 May.
The race started in Sapri and ended at Tropea. The 26-year-old, Oscar, took a total of 4 hours, 59 minutes and 45 seconds to cover the distance of 217 kilometres.
In the final two kilometres of the race, Oscar beat Alberto Contador of the Saxo Bank-SunGard team. Alessandro Petacchi finished at third spot, with a difference of five seconds.
Alexander Kristoff, Roberto Ferrari and Davide Appollonio stood at the fourth, fifth and sixth places, respectively.
After winning the stage, Oscar said, “I threw away the first two years of my career but I'm starting to make up time now. I just didn't understand how much work I had to do to be a professional. I have to thank Luca Scinto because he's helped me a lot. This
stage win is for him.”
In the last 40 kilometres of the race, the HTC-Highroad sprinter made good effort for his team-mates, Marco Pinotti and Kanstantsin. On the other hand, Alessandro Petacchi proved his riding abilities during this year’s race with his third spot finish.
After just two kilometres, the two Italian riders, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM) and Leonardo Giordani (Farnese Vini), made the first break in front of the race. He reduced the gap to 10 minutes and 50 seconds over the peloton.
The peloton made a counter-attack and caught the two cyclists with 7 kilometres to go in the race. The HTC-high road and Lampre-ISD team were working together to take a lead and created a gap over the other cyclists.
In the last kilometre, the 26-year-old, Oscar had perfect positioning and his legs were in good shape to attack other riders. With the help of his team-mate, Oscar crossed the finish line without any difficulty.
Recently, Oscar had won the second stage of Giro della Provincia di Reggio Calabria and he also secured the first stage of the Brixia Tour time trail race, in 2010.
Peiter Weening of the Rabobank Cycling team lead the overall classification with the timing of 28 hours, 9 minutes and 49 seconds.
Weening said, "Etna's going to be tough but it won't be the first time I've undergone a tough examination. Anyway, whatever happens it's been a great adventure wearing the leader's pink jersey and I'll give my maximum to hold on to it,"
Kanstantsin Sivtsov of the HTC-Highroad team was placed in second spot, with the difference of 2 seconds. The stage winner, Oscar, was in 67th place, as he was 15 minutes and 53 seconds adrift.
The ninth stage will start in Messina and end in Etna. All the riders are to cover the distance of 169 kilometres.
Points:
1. Oscar Gatto (Ita) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli Team 25 pts
2. Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard Team 20
3. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD Team 16
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