Killer Strikes Again

He extends his lead to 1.20 over Menchov. Rogers and Leipheimer are 1.33 and 1.40 back, respectively. And so we begin to wonder, can the Killer elude capture? Thursday's epic 61 km ITT should give us a clearer indication. The odds still seem to favour one of the three chasers, as they are much better against the clock than the man with daggers for eyes. Garzelli gave it a go today, but couldn't hold on. Basso looks a little disappointing. Cunego proves once again that he's not a Grand Tour guy. Sastre is right there, but can he hold on in the TT? And, I have to say, LA looks surprisingly strong given the collarbone setback. See Pez for the rest.

Watch them split apart on the day's big climb:




The Killer's attack and the finish:




Over in the FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool, the three teams with Di Luca on their roster constitute today's podium. Greg picks up his second stage win of the race, with 365 points. Mike and Chris A rounded out the podium with 325 and 300 points, respectively. In the overall race, Mike knocks his teammate KK off the podium and steps up into second place. Might we be treated to a battle for the vicarious leadership of RRR? It looked like Mike was their man for the classics and KK was the grand tour guy. But now it seems the cohesiveness within RRR is a little less tight than we had originally been led to believe. Perhaps the Impaler needs to unleash some of his signature, if more than a little awkward, homoerotic humour to distract these two from machismo-fueled trainwreck that appears to be looming. The worker bees of the FGBC, meanwhile, have been sacrificing their individual ambitions to try and preserve my current lead. That is what good teamwork looks like. Chris A remains in third place. But notice how close it all is. Only 76 points separate first through fourth. And the difference between 2nd and 4th is just 16 points. Turning to the back of the race, four teams have yet to crack the 1000 point barrier: Jonny B, Vic, Jonny G, and Chris D. It is surely no coincidence that they all picked Vandevelde, who left the race early last week.

Stage 10 Results:

Greg W 365
Mike G 325
Chris A 300
David S 245
Andy L 240
Chris H 240
Kevin K 235
Dan L 230
Rachel H 215
Charlene 210
LeAnn F 205
Brad E 190
Hal L 175
Dallas S 170
Paddy H 165
Brian S 145
Ian H 145
Matt H 140
Naomi H 140
Miriam H 130
Mark S 120
Paul V 120
Bill A 100
Jonah H 100
Vic P 100
Donna H 70
John W 70
Chris D 65
Chris O 65
Jonny G 65
Craig P 15
Jonny B 15
Adam B 15


Overall Standings:

Chris H 1895
Mike G 1835
Chris A 1823
Kevin K 1819
Greg W 1758
Dallas S 1647
Ian H 1646
Dan L 1600
Brad E 1553
Mark S 1521
Naomi H 1521
Andy L 1456
Donna H 1424
Hal L 1416
David S 1402
Jonah H 1358
Paul V 1279
Brian S 1257
LeAnn F 1254
Chris O 1203
Bill A 1192
Craig P 1158
Matt H 1140
Adam B 1126
Charlene G 1100
John W 1072
Miriam H 1044
Paddy H 1040
Rachel H 1031
Jonny B 983
Vic P 918
Jonny G 878
Chris D 871