With just one big test left, Saturday’s incredible mountain stage, the Giro victory is all but in the pocket of Discovery Channel’s Paolo Savoldelli. With a 2:09 advantage over 2nd place climbing superstar Gilberto Simoni, Paolo has the luxury of watching Gilberto for the inevitable attack and try to limit his losses to the 2 minute mark. Simoni has in his corner several factors. 1. Defending champion and teammate, Damiano Cunego, who is not in the running after a bad day in the mountains cost him 6 minutes resulting in working tirelessly for his team leader, Simoni. 2. The stage to Sestiere is a brutal climb with major sections on gravel. Advantage goes to the climbers. 3. Discovery Channel has no climbers to help Paolo.
These three items all favor the attacking climber, Simoni and if used correctly and soon after Paolo is isolated, the cagey Italian Lampre rider will be snugly fitting into his 3rd Pink Jersey (Maglia Rosa). But Paolo has shown the ability to fight and not panic and limit his losses in the high mountains. Paolo also put time into Simoni on the first two mountain stages. My prediction: Paolo loses another 25 seconds to Simoni and keeps the jersey for the overall win. But, this is why they race the race…to prove me wrong.
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