Two strange things happened in this afternoon's Giro d'Italia stage. Mark Cavendish didn't win, and Taylor Phinney didn't crash. For the first stage that wasn't a time-trial of one kind or another and for the first stage that didn't involve someone taking him down, Mark Cavendish was held off the top spot on the podium thanks to a couple of dreaded hills that seen him lose a staggering 33min 12sec on the day as his group of eight finished just 30sec under the time cut. He did win that sprint though!
Whether the race organizers would have had it in them to eliminate the World Champion and a name like Cavendish from their race so early would be interesting to see but he never gave them the chance. Phinney was also in his group, his chances of wearing the Pink jersey again this year vanishing for good, ironically on the first race stage he didn't fall on. "Made time cut by 30 seconds. One of the most difficult days I have ever had on the bike! At least I didn't crash today... #littlevictories," he Tweeted somewhat sarcastically after the race.
Another big loser on the day was the man in Pink, Ramunas Navardauskas. He came in some 15min 40sec down, another victim of the tough stage. The Maglia Rosa as a result passed onto the shoulders of Adriano Malori who finished 2nd. Which I suppose brings me to the days winner. His name is Miguel Rubiano (Androni Giocattoli) and he rode solo to victory after escaping from his escape group that had gotten away earlier in the day.
Some big names however didn't make it to the finish. Tyler Farrar -- Cavendish's whipping boy -- had a terrible crash that forced him out of the Giro and into hospital, while one time sprinter turned there-or-there-about's man, Thor Hushovd, usually one of the iron men of the peloton pulled out with a bout of, what he calls, "nothing to give". Most of the big race favourites came in 1min 51sec down on Rubiano meaning that while some people struggled nightly, nobody who will truly effect the outcome of this race were tested too much.
