Mountain men ready to take the Giro reins

Today's Giro d'Italia stage was the flattest in many days, and at 156 kilometers it was also the shortest road stage of the entire race. This officially made it the last day for a pure sprinter to become a Giro stage winner. Given this, like a punch from Cadel Evans or a pile-up at a Dutch roundabout, a traditional sprint finish was a foregone conclusion.

This did not mean that there wouldn't be a breakaway -- of course there was. You sort of have to feel sorry for Oliver Kaisen of Omega Pharma-Lotto and Alan Marangoni of Colnago, who spent most of the day dangling a mere two minutes ahead of a leisurely peloton like a pair of fuzzy dice off a rear-view mirror. They seemed about as happy as two miserable children trudging off to school while the rest of the neighborhood kids got the day off.

Meanwhile, after cowering in the trenches during the mountainous stages, the battered sprinters (those that remained anyway) emerged. Columbia set the pace at the front for most of the day, which could only mean two things: 1) Andre Greipel was finally feeling good; or 2) They were trying to avoid a testy Graeme Brown of Rabobank, who you could spot at one point swatting at Filippo Pozzato near the finish. (Between Evans and Brown, the Giro might want to institute a maglia irritabile for the most irritable rider. It could be made from coarse, scratchy wool.) Team Sky also helped Columbia with the pace-setting, clearly hoping to make their Giro more than a pre-Tour de France training ride for Bradley Wiggins by getting a win for Greg Henderson.

In the end though, Greipel finally managed to get the stage win that has eluded him, and thus the Annals of Sprinting and Foregone Conclusions are hereby closed for this year's Giro. The Passo del Mortirolo tomorrow, the Passo di Gavia Saturday, and the final time trial will ultimately decide who will win the Giro d'Italia overall, and every climb will be an opportunity for Basso and Evans to stomp on the hands of David Arroyo as he clings desperately to his pink jersey.