Paolo Tiralongo wins the seventh stage of the Giro d’ Italia 2012
Paolo Tiralongo of Team Astana opened his 2012 winning account after the splendid performance during the 202 kilometre stage 7 of the Giro d’ Italia 2012.
The cyclist rode brilliantly during the event and overcame his major competitors with an impressive time of 5 hours, 51 minutes and 3 seconds.
Michele Scarponi of Team Lampre-ISD finished almost at the same time and occupied the second position with Team RadioShack-Nissan leader Frank Schleck finishing 3 seconds behind at the third spot.
Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha, Ryder Hesjedal of Team Garmin-Barracuda and Domenico Pozzovivo of Team Colnago-CSF achieved the fourth the fifth and the sixth positions in the respective order.
The 34-year-old started his professional pursuit with Team Fassa Bortolo in 2000 and stayed with the side by the end of 2002 season.
He also represented Team Ceramiche Panaria-Fiordo (2003-05), Team Lampre-Fondital (2006-09) and penned a deal with Team Astana in 2010.
The cyclist is continuing his third consecutive season with the team and has helped the side with a Giro victory in the past season as well.
Tiralongo’s previous win came during the stage 19 of the Giro d’ Italia 2011 and he has now achieved his second win at the stage 7 of the Italian Grand Tour.
The Italian filled his bag with 25 important UCI points during the stage while Michele Scarponi, Frank Schleck, Joaquim Rodriguez and Ryder Hesjedal occupied the 20, 16, 14 and 12 points in the respective order.
Fumiyuki Beppu of Team Orica GreenEdge Cycling and Paolo Tiralongo succeeded during the first and the second mountain stage of the event.
Ryder Hesjedal finished fifth during the stage but managed to keep the top overall spot after the stage 7 classifications.
He is now leading the category with a total time of 26 hours, 16 minutes and 53 seconds with Paolo Tiralongo of Team Astana is 15 seconds behind at the second spot.
Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver of Team Katusha is further 2 seconds behind at the third position.
Christian Vande Velde of Team Garmin-Barracuda is occupying the fourth overall spot with Peter Stetina, Daniel Moreno and Roman Kreuziger holding the fifth, the sixth and the seventh spots in the respective order.
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