Germany's Danilo Hondo celebrated his first Giro d'Italia with victory in the second stage on Monday, sprinting past Spain's Rafael Mateos in the final metres of the 163-kilometre ride from Fossacesia.
It was the 25th victory in the six-year professional career of the 26-year-old rider from the eastern German town of Cottbus. Hondo overtook Mateos after the slightly uphill road to the finish and a sharp left curve had strung out the 179-rider field. Italy's Gabriele Missaglia was third in an exciting finish in this small town in the Puglia region.
Rik Verbrugghe of Belgium retained the overall race lead, finishing 64th on Monday in the same time as Hondo. He leads Dario Frigo of Italy by nine seconds and Jan Hruska of the Czech Republic by 13 seconds. It was a day far removed from the cold rain, crashes and broken bones of Sunday's first stage in which Italy's Francesco Casagrande, one of the overall favourites, fractured his wrist and retired from the race. As the Giro headed south, Casagrande went home to Tuscany but bravely announced he would try to recover in time to ride in the Tour de France, which starts on July 7. Today's stage is from Lucera to Potenza over 149 kms.
Stage: 1) Danilo Hondo (Ger) Telekom 3hr 39min 35sec; 2) Rafael Mateos Perez (Spa); 3) Gabriele Missaglia (Ita); 4) Wladimir Belli (Ita); 5) Massimo Strazzer (Ita)
Overall: 1) Rik Verbrugghe (Bel) Lotto 9hr 02min 25sec; 2) Dario Frigo (Ita) at 9 secs; 3) Jan Hruska (Cze) at 13 secs; 4) Abraham Olano (Spa) at 15 secs; 5) Gabriele Colombo (Ita) at 18 secs; 6) Mariano Piccoli (Ita) at 20 secs; 7) Wladimir Belli (Ita) at 26 secs; 8) Jose Azevedo (Por) at 28 secs; 9) Vladimir Duma (Ukr) at 29 secs; 10) Ellis Rastelli (Ita) at 30 secs
Filed by Pat Nugent
