ZOLDO ALTO, Italy, 20 May 2005 — Home rider Ivan Basso took the lead in the Giro d’Italia with a strong display on the first Dolomite mountain stage over 150-km from Marostica to Zoldo Alto yesterday.
Fellow Italian Paolo Savoldelli won the 11th stage but Basso finished second in the same time to replace compatriot Danilo di Luca in the pink jersey.
It was the first time Basso pulled on the pink jersey in his seven-year career. He now leads Savoldelli by 18 seconds, with Di Luca third at 1:04.
Italian Gilberto Simoni finished third in the stage, 21 seconds behind the winner, and is fourth overall at 2:27.
Last year’s race winner Damiano Cunego suffered on the steep Passo Duran climb near the end of the stage, finishing 6:02 behind Savoldelli and Basso. Italian Cunego is now down in 16th place overall, 7:20 behind Basso, and has little chance of victory.
“I’ve been thinking about this stage for months, was determined to do well and hoped to take the pink jersey,” Basso told reporters.
“I tried to sprint for the stage victory but I’d worked hard to catch Savoldelli and wasn’t quite fast enough.”
Basso said he and his CSC team would have to work hard to defend the pink jersey.
“It’s obvious the cards are now on the table so I’ll have to race differently,” he said.
“The second half of the Giro is tough but I’m ready to defend my lead.
“I’ve got a good team and a good team director that will come up with the right tactics so that we can race well. But I won’t underestimate any of my rivals until the end of the Giro in Milan on May 29.”
Savoldelli said he sat behind Basso in the final two kilometers to give him extra strength for the sprint to the line.
“After two years of crashes and illness I really wanted to win the stage and played it smart near the finish,” Savoldelli said.
“I hope Ivan isn’t upset. He took the pink jersey so it was right to share the prizes.”
Savoldelli is Basso’s biggest rival for overall victory but knows it will not be easy to finish first.
“I won the Giro in 2002 and know how to win it but I was also second in 1999,” he said. “The difference between winning and finishing second is an abyss.”
Today’s 12th stage is over 178-km from Alleghe to Rovereto. It includes a tough climb after 20-km but is expected to end in a sprint.
