Cavendish and the Poosher

Many are annointing Mark Cavendish as the next great sprinter. He's only 22, but has already amassed quite the impressive list of wins. Today he took his first stage of a Grand Tour with an impressive victory over Forster and Bennati. That looks to be the end of the fun for the sprinters, though, at least for the next little while. The next several stages once again have a distinctly Ardennes look to them, which is to say they have short uphill finishes that favour the likes of Bettini, Rebellin, Di Luca, etc. Full results, reports, and photos at CN, VN, and Pez.

Like Cavendish, the poosher also broke some new ground with his first stage win. With Cavendish and Forster on his team, Ikea Nesting Instict grabs a big win and, with 275 points on the day, leaps into third place overall. Not surprisingly, with all their sprinters, I'd Fight Gandhi was second with 220. And Tonight We Make Soap was third, with 200 points. Listen Up Maggots had another solid day and still look good in pink. But the top three spots overall have a slightly different look. I'd Fight Gandhi moves into 2nd overall, while Tonight We Make Soap moves into third place ahead of You Are Not a Beautiful or Unique Snowflake.

There was another big crash in the final kilometre. It left only ten or so riders contesting the sprint, so we have still have yet to see a full on sprint finish in this year's Giro. More significantly, it wreaks further havoc on the 2008 FGBC Giro Pool. Nuyens broke his collarbone and is done. Cornu and Stubbe also did not finish. A House Full of Condiments and No Food … How Embarrasing (Darryl) loses Nuyens and Cornu and is down to 7 riders. First You Have to Give Up (Craig) lost Nuyens, so is now competing with 8.

Ultimo Chilometro:

Top 20:

1 CAVENDISH Mark GBR THR 4:49:09 0:00 20"
2 FORSTER Robert GER GST 4:49:09 0:00 12"
3 BENNATI Daniele ITA LIQ 4:49:09 0:00 8" Maglia Ciclamino
4 BAZAYEV Assan KAZ AST 4:49:09 0:00
5 LORENZETTO Mirco ITA LAM 4:49:09 0:00
6 ZABEL Erik GER MRM 4:49:09 0:00
7 MCEWEN Robbie AUS SIL 4:49:09 0:00
8 MARTIN Tony GER THR 4:49:09 0:00
9 BETTINI Paolo ITA QST 4:49:09 0:00
10 FERNANDEZ Koldo ESP EUS 4:49:09 0:00
11 VELO Marco ITA MRM 4:49:09 0:00
12 TONTI Andrea ITA QST 4:49:09 0:00
13 USOV Alexandre BLR ALM 4:49:09 0:00
14 JEGOU Lilian FRA FDJ 4:49:09 0:00
15 BLAUDZUN Michael DEN CSC 4:49:09 0:00
16 PIETROPOLLI Daniele ITA LPR 4:49:09 0:00
17 ONGARATO Alberto ITA MRM 4:49:09 0:00
18 GREIPEL André GER THR 4:49:09 0:00
19 PASAMONTES Luis ESP GCE 4:49:09 0:00
20 PEREZ LEZAUN Alan ESP EUS 4:49:09 0:00


GC after Stage 4:

1 PELLIZOTTI Franco ITA LIQ 16:41:26 Maglia Rosa
2 VANDEVELDE Christian USA TSL 16:41:27 0:01
3 DI LUCA Danilo ITA LPR 16:41:33 0:07
4 POSSONI Morris ITA THR 16:41:34 0:08 Maglia Bianca
5 NIBALI Vincenzo ITA LIQ 16:41:34 0:08
6 SORENSEN Nicki DEN CSC 16:41:43 0:17
7 SIVTSOV Kanstantin BLR THR 16:41:44 0:18
8 SAVOLDELLI Paolo ITA LPR 16:41:45 0:19
9 NOE' Andrea ITA LIQ 16:41:48 0:22
10 BENNATI Daniele ITA LIQ 16:41:50 0:24 Maglia Ciclamino
11 BELLOTTI Francesco ITA BAR 16:41:51 0:25
12 GASPAROTTO Enrico ITA BAR 16:41:51 0:25
13 LARSSON Gustav Erik SWE CSC 16:41:54 0:28
14 KLODEN Andreas GER AST 16:41:54 0:28
15 PFANNBERGER Christian AUT BAR 16:41:54 0:28
16 PINOTTI Marco ITA THR 16:41:55 0:29
17 CONTADOR Alberto ESP AST 16:41:56 0:30
18 RICCO' Riccardo ITA SDV 16:41:59 0:33
19 MIHOLJEVIC Vladimir CRO LIQ 16:42:02 0:36
20 REBELLIN Davide ITA GST 16:42:03 0:37


Today's Results:

Ikea Nesting Instinct (Tomek) 275
I'd Fight Gandhi (Matt) 220
Tonight We Make Soap (Rachel) 200
Listen Up Maggots (Arlene) 180
Gasoline and Frozen Orange Juice (Paddy) 150
You Met Me at a Very Strange Time in My Life (Jonny G) 150
Skinny Guys Fight 'Til They're Burger (Jonny B) 130
You Are Not a Beautiful or Unique Snowflake (Dallas) 125
Remaining Men Together (David S) 120
I'll Take the Parasites (Chris) 80
His Name Was Robert Paulson (Bill) 70
Chloe's Libido (Johnny M) 70
I am Jack's Smirking Revenge (Brad) 70
OALETTSRFEDTZ (Colin) 60
First You Have to Give Up (Craig) 40
B Times C Equals X (Hal) 20
A House Full of Condiments and No Food … How Embarrasing (Darryl) 15
A Predator Posing as a House Pet (Andy) 0
Near Life Experience (LeAnn) 0
Project Mayhem (Donna) 0
Grade School Girlfriend (Adam) 0
Chemical Burn (Cam) 0
Grande Latte Enema (James) 0
The Most Beautiful Day of Raymond K. Hessel's Life (Charlene) 0
Stomach Full of Xanax (Laura) 0
Controlled Destruction (Ian) 0


Overall Standings:

Listen Up Maggots (Arlene) 704
I'd Fight Gandhi (Matt) 658
Ikea Nesting Instinct (Tomek) 648
You Are Not a Beautiful or Unique Snowflake (Dallas) 627
Tonight We Make Soap (Rachel) 624
Gasoline and Frozen Orange Juice (Paddy) 506
B Times C Equals X (Hal) 436
His Name Was Robert Paulson (Bill) 436
Skinny Guys Fight 'Til They're Burger (Jonny B) 415
Remaining Men Together (David S) 407
I'll Take the Parasites (Chris) 404
A Predator Posing as a House Pet (Andy) 397
I am Jack's Smirking Revenge (Brad) 383
Grade School Girlfriend (Adam) 364
Grande Latte Enema (James) 346
Chloe's Libido (Johnny M) 325
Chemical Burn (Cam) 323
OALETTSRFEDTZ (Colin) 285
Near Life Experience (LeAnn) 280
First You Have to Give Up (Craig) 265
The Most Beautiful Day of Raymond K. Hessel's Life (Charlene) 259
You Met Me at a Very Strange Time in My Life (Jonny G) 236
Project Mayhem (Donna) 234
Controlled Destruction (Ian) 200
A House Full of Condiments and No Food … How Embarrasing (Darryl) 182
Stomach Full of Xanax (Laura) 164