MENCHOV WINS TIME TRIAL, TAKES OVER LEAD AT GIRO

Rabobank team leader dons the pink jersey as overall leader at Tour of Italy

Team Rabobank’s Denis Menchov roared into the lead of the three-week Giro d’Italia stage race with a win in the critical Stage 12 time trial on Thursday.

In one of the biggest victories of his career, the Russian beat all the top contenders to snatch the overall lead from previous leader Danilo Di Luca. It was Menchov’s second stage win of this year’s Giro, and the first time that the two-time Vuelta a España winner has worn the pink leader’s jersey at the Giro.

“Today was a great day,” Menchov said. “I know when I am in good condition, and I’m going better and better every day. RIght from when I started the race I thought I could go for a victory in this stage. Now it seems I can do well in the overall classification, too.”

Menchov beat second-place finisher Levi Leipheimer by 20 seconds. Italian Stefano Garzelli was third, 1:03 back.

Menchov’s win came on the longest TT seen in any grand tour in more than a decade. With more than 4,000 feet of climbing, the arduous route through the scenic Cinque Terra region resembled a mountainous road stage. The Russian chose to ride his Giant TCR Advanced SL road bike, rather than his time trial bike.

At every checkpoint on course, Menchov was fastest. And by the finish, he was the only athlete to shatter have shattered the invisible barrier of 1 hour and 35 minutes.

Hard days are still to come, Menchov insisted afterwards, pointing out that the race is barely halfway over. But at the same time, victory in the Cinque Terre region on Italy’s northeast coast has made the Rabobank leader the top favorite to take the overall win in Rome on May 31.

“The heat was a big factor today, but if you’re going well then you’re good in the heat, you’re good in the cold,” Menchov said. “You can take whatever the weather throws at you.”

Menchov dedicated the stage win to injured Rabobank rider Pedro Horrillo, who is slowly but surely recovering from his crash on Stage 8. The key to victory overall, Menchov said, is to be consistent, “and not be too worried about any particular rider.”

“What I learned from my two victories in the Tour of Spain is that winning is like a jigsaw puzzle,” he said. “You slowly put the pieces together. There are some areas of the puzzle that are more difficult than others, then there are moments when you have flashes of inspiration and things fall quickly into place.”

For Menchov, victory in the Cinque Terre time trial was definitely one of those flashes of two-wheeled inspiration. And it could well be the one that takes him all the way to Rome in the leader’s jersey.