If you say Ferris Bueller, you lose a testicle

That's what she said. She, in this case, being Jeanie Bueller aka Jennifer Grey aka Franco Pellizotti, though others prefer to call him Il Delfino (the Dolphin?). No matter what you call him, you can now call him a stage winner of the 2009 Giro d'Italia. Alas, there was no magic today from little Carlos Sastre in his classy FGBC colours. Instead it was Pellizotti who seemed to defy gravity as he flew up the mountain. He finished 42 seconds ahead of Garzelli and 43 ahead of Di Luca to take the win atop the Blockhaus. Menchov was another 5 seconds back. Pellizotti also knocked Sastre off the podium. He now sits in third place overall, while Sastre has fallen to fifth. Basso has moved up to fourth. But none of those guys look to have a realistic shot at the overall victory. It is now very clearly a two-man battle. With his 5 seconds and the extra bonus seconds for finishing third, Di Luca moves within 26 seconds of Menchov. And with the ITT on the final day tipping the balance in favour of Menchov, Di Luca will have to get all of that back and more if he wants to win this thing. Friday's climb up Mount Vesuvius will provide one opportunity. But Saturday's stage finishes with another Classics-style climb of the sort that favours the Killer. You can bet he will continue to attack all the way to the bitter end. It makes for some exciting racing. As always, see Pez for more.

Highlights:




Over in the FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool, we have plenty of drama of our own. Chris A pulled off a big stage win today with 320 points. Prince Dan was second with 300 points, while El Presidente grabbed the final podium step with a 285 point showing. More importantly, The overall race has all of a sudden become very close. While I am still hanging onto a slim lead, it looks like that will come to an end soon. Chris A is now just 22 points back and looking like he's ready to pounce. Mike is only 40 points behind. And should those two falter, Prince Dan is right there as well. He is only 50 points from the lead. Meanwhile, it also looks like we will be treated to a thrilling battle for the lanterne rouge. FGBC'ers Adam, Craig, and Jonny G are separated within a mere 7 points of each other in the race for last place. In both races, it will almost certainly come down to the final bonus points. This new approach to picking teams seems to be working nicely. We will stick with it for the 2009 FGBC Tour de France Pool.

Stage 17 Results:

Chris A 320
Dan L 300
David S 285
Mike G 250
Ian H 230
Rachel H 210
Mark S 205
Paul V 205
Brad E 190
Greg W 180
Andy L 175
Bill A 145
Chris H 145
Hal L 145
Kevin K 135
Charlene 135
Dallas S 125
Naomi H 125
Miriam H 115
Vic P 115
LeAnn F 115
Donna H 110
Brian S 100
John W 80
Paddy H 70
Chris D 60
Chris O 50
Jonah H 50
Jonny G 50
Matt H 50
Craig P 0
Jonny B 0
Adam B 0


Overall Standings:

Chris H 3065
Chris A 3043
Mike G 3025
Dan L 3015
Greg W 2848
Ian H 2801
Kevin K 2734
Brad E 2608
Paul V 2549
Dallas S 2532
Andy L 2531
David S 2527
Mark S 2456
Hal L 2436
Naomi H 2376
Bill A 2332
Charlene G 2145
LeAnn F 2104
Rachel H 2066
Donna H 2049
Brian S 1997
Jonah H 1988
Matt H 1855
Chris O 1833
Miriam H 1829
John W 1817
Vic P 1798
Paddy H 1790
Chris D 1676
Jonny B 1608
Jonny G 1568
Craig P 1563
Adam B 1561