Let Levi Slide

All the way down to 6th place. It looks like his hopes for a podium, let alone the overall victory, are done. Little Carlos Sastre, looking resplendent in his FGBC colours, climbed his way back onto the podium and gave us reason to wonder whether he might still have a shot at the overall title. He attacked on the final climb and held on for a 25 second win over Menchov and Di Luca, who took 2nd and 3rd. It was not as much as he'd hoped to gain, but with the bonus points for finishing first he moves into third place overall, 2.19 behind Menchov. Need more info? See Pez.

Highlights:



Final kilometre:




Tomorrow is the second rest day. But they're back on Wednesday with another potentially explosive finish. The stage is only 83 km, but final the climb up the Blockhaus should make up for the relatively shorter distance:



Over in the FGBC Giro d'Italia Pool, Greg won the stage with 295 points. It's his third stage win of the race so far. Not bad for a rookie. Charlene finished second today with 250 points. And LeAnn's 225 points were good enough for third place. In the overall race, Greg moves up into fifth place, bumping KK down another spot to sixth. No change in the top four, though Mike has narrowed the gap to just 145 points. With Levi plummeting down the standings today and its implications in terms of post-race bonus points, the odds may well have tipped in favour of the RRR captain. The difference between second and fourth also remains close. Just 60 points separate Mike, Chris A, and Prince Dan. Soler quit the race today. The crybaby otherwise known as the Impaler is down to five riders.

Stage 16 Results:

Greg W 295
Charlene 250
LeAnn F 225
David S 220
Rachel H 220
Dan L 215
Mark S 210
Miriam H 205
Hal L 200
Mike G 200
Bill A 185
Chris A 170
Paul V 170
Dallas S 155
Vic P 150
Ian H 145
Andy L 135
Brad E 130
Brian S 130
Donna H 125
Kevin K 125
Chris H 120
Chris D 110
Paddy H 95
John W 90
Jonah H 90
Naomi H 80
Chris O 50
Jonny G 50
Matt H 50
Jonny B 15
Craig P 0
Adam B 0


Overall Standings:

Chris H 2920
Mike G 2775
Chris A 2723
Dan L 2715
Greg W 2668
Kevin K 2599
Ian H 2571
Brad E 2418
Dallas S 2407
Andy L 2356
Paul V 2344
Hal L 2291
Naomi H 2251
Mark S 2251
David S 2242
Bill A 2187
Charlene G 2010
LeAnn F 1989
Donna H 1939
Jonah H 1938
Brian S 1897
Rachel H 1856
Matt H 1805
Chris O 1783
John W 1737
Paddy H 1720
Miriam H 1714
Vic P 1683
Chris D 1616
Jonny B 1608
Craig P 1563
Adam B 1561
Jonny G 1518