Larsson, silver medalist in the time trial at the Beijing Games behind Fabian Cancellara, set the early top time of 20:19 and it held up. Basso crossed the line in 21:01 for 15^th,  good enough to give him the final maglia rosa of the 2010 Giro.

“This is a great moment for me in my sporting career. I went through a bad moment and now I am back in a good way,” Basso said. “The team protected me 100 percent and had faith that I could win. This is something important we did as a team.”

The course featured a short Category 3 climb in its midsection that reached a maximum of 9 percent at its toughest point. The final kilometer was over bumpy brick roads with some tight corners, and the finish was just outside Verona’s first-century Roman arena; after crossing the line, riders rolled into the arena itself for a parade lap of sorts. Riders left the start house in one-minute intervals, save the top 10, who departed every three minutes.

Larsson on his way to victory in stage 21 - Courtesy Roberto Bettini

The tifosi nearly got a two-fer on the day — Italian time-trial champ Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia) just missed toppling Larsson, turning a time of 20:21, only two seconds slower. Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) hit the line in 20:36 to round out the podium.

That moment of excitement aside, the finale was something of an anticlimax. With the top spot secure barring catastrophe, the only GC battle was between Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas) and Michele Scarponi (Androni), who sat third and fourth overall, separated by a single second. Nibali padded that margin by finishing the ITT in 20:42, 12 seconds better than Scarponi.

British champion Bradley Wiggins (Sky), winner of the opening time trial in Amsterdam, couldn’t repeat his winning performance of three weeks previous, crossing the line in 20:48.

World road champ Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team), who also had entertained hopes of winning the stage, finished in 20:41. The rumor mill had it that the Aussie was suffering from an ingrown toenail.

“Basso and Liquigas were too strong for me at this Giro,” said Evans. “I gave my best, but up the Mortirolo, I knew it would be difficult to try to win. Now I have to recover and think about the Tour.”

Vladimir Karpets (Katusha) saw his hopes for a strong finale vanish as he overcooked a right-hand corner and skidded to a stop against the barriers. He didn’t fall, but lost time, finishing 54 seconds down on Larsson.

Stage 21 results

1 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank 0:20:19
2 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team HTC – Columbia 0:00:02
3 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:00:17
4 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:00:22
5 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:00:23
6 Ignatas Konovalovas (Ltu) Cervelo Test Team
7 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:00:29
8 Cameron Meyer (Aus) Garmin – Transitions 0:00:32

Final general classification

1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 87:44:01
2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0:01:51
3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:02:37
4 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:02:50
5 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:03:27
6 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:07:06
7 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 0:07:22
8 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team

Garzelli stopped the clock in 41 minutes, 28 seconds (18.7kph) on the knee-busting route with ramps as steep as 24 percent to claim his first Giro stage victory since 2007.

“It’s incredible to win today. This is one of the mythic stages at the Giro, I still cannot believe I won,” said Garzelli, who rode a 34×28 low gear. “I tried to spin in my easiest gears to recover a little bit in the hardest parts. When I saw my time, I thought someone would beat it.”

Stefano Garzelli wins

No one could. Garzelli started in the third and final wave, so all the top riders rode under similar conditions as a strong wind kicked up in the afternoon.

The GC contenders were fighting to gain time on stubborn Spanish rider David Arroyo (Caisse d’Epargne), who stopped the clock at 2:16 in 16th, but retained the pink jersey.

Arroyo leads Ivan Basso (Liquigas), who climbed into second at 2:27 back. Tasmanian sensation Ritchie Porte (Saxo Bank) also rode well, slotting into third on GC at 2:36 back.

Cadel Evans 2nd

Cadel Evans (BMC) rode to second on the stage at 42 seconds back, gained 28 seconds on archrival Basso and moved into fourth at 3:09 back. Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) ceded more ground and slipped to fifth at 4:36 back.

Stage results

• 1. Garzelli (ASA), at 41:28
• 2. Evans (BMC), at 42:10
• 3. Gadret (ALM), at 42:22
• 4. Nibali (LIQ), at 42:29
• 5. Scarponi (AND), at 42:35
• 6. Basso (LIQ), at 42:38
• 7. Uran (GCE), at 43:04
• 8. Vinokourov (AST), at 43:05
• 9. Cataldo (QST), at 43:09
• 10. Petrov (KAT), at 43:14

GC standings

• 1. David Arroyo (GCE)
• 2. Basso (LIQ), at 2:27
• 3. Porte (SAX), at 2:36
• 4. Evans (BCM), at 3:09
• 5. Sastre (CTT), at 4:36
• 6. Nibali (LIQ), at 4:53
• 7. Vinokourov (AST), at 5:12
• 8. Scarponi (AND), at 5:25

Courtey Andrew Hood

Images courtesy Graham Watson

“I don’t want this Giro decided until the final rider enters the Verona arena,” Zomegnan told VeloNews. “When we made this Giro course, we wanted a surprise every day. So far it’s been just like that.”

The Giro’s final time trial May 30 will conclude inside the first-century Roman arena, replete with live music and dancing girls, but exasperated riders within the Giro peloton would love to have things neatly wrapped up before then.

They shouldn’t bet on it. Even though Liquigas has dominated this weekend’s racing with back-to-back victories in the northern mountains, the final week of the Giro promises to deliver one surprise after another.

“I’ve been saying from the start that this Giro won’t be decided until the final time trial,” says Cervélo’s Carlos Sastre, who climbed to fourth Sunday despite losing time up Monte Zoncolan. “Liquigas has shown they’re the strongest team right now, but the climbs ahead of us are very demanding. There’s still a lot of Giro.”

Going into Monday’s rest day, nothing is decided.

David Arroyo (Caisse d’Epargne) widened his lead to second-place Ritchie Porte (Saxo Bank) to 2:35, but can feel the big names breathing down his neck. Zoncolan stage winner Ivan Basso (Liquigas) climbed to third at 3:33 back and Cadel Evans (BMC) is fifth at 5:51 back.

Arroyo has lost more than six minutes in two mountain stages, so he can read the writing on the wall.

“We’ll keep fighting all the way to the end, but I see it complicated to try to win this Giro,” Arroyo said. “The maglia rosa gave me extra legs on the Zoncolan today, I see Basso very strong and his team is also very strong. Maybe the podium is still an option.”

Basso has taken the initiative after two spectacular days of climbing. On Saturday, he and Liquigas teammate Vincenzo Nibali blew up the peloton before Nibali dropped like a rock off Monte Grappa to win the stage.

On Sunday, it was Basso’s chance to turn the screws. Evans stayed close until Basso spun away with 1.7km to go for an emotional victory that puts him within striking distance of the maglia rosa. Basso reduced the gap to Arroyo and widened the distance to the riders behind him.

“I have a very strong team at this Giro, the strongest. We have to be patient. We lost time at L’Aquila, but we’re taking it back piece by piece,” Basso said. “There are hard mountain stages to come. We hope things continue like this, but it’s better to look day to day.”

That mantra is repeated among all the favorites. This Giro has been so unpredictable and uncontrolled, that just about anything can happen.

With six stages to go, there’s plenty of road to keep things on edge, with two time trials, two hard mountain stages and two transitions well-suited for breakaways.

The GC favorites still need to shake off the riders who gained nearly 13 minutes in the L’Aquila stage last week. Out of the big breakaway, only five remain in the top 10.

Arroyo is clinging to the pink jersey, but quickly losing ground. Second-place Porte, who took pink into L’Aquila and is riding great for a neo-pro, isn’t expected to hang in the final week. Linus Gerdemann (Milram) and Robert Kiserlovski (Liquigas) are more than seven minutes back and sinking fast.

Then there’s Sastre, hovering in fourth at 4:21. The 2008 Tour de France champion has lost time on every mountain stage so far in this Giro, but he keeps preaching “tranquility and patience,” and seems to have something up his sleeve.

Evans has been the dogged of the favorites, with his ability to resist the attacks fully intact as he faces the final week with a weakened team.

“Everyone has discounted me (on GC), didn’t they?” Evans said Sunday. “Things are looking pretty good. If Basso continues like this, he’ll be the favorite because his team is very strong. Every day is important from here to the finish. I’ve always considered myself in the game.”

Discounting Arroyo’s and Porte’s chances, Basso now has the “virtual” pink jersey. Up next is the Plan de Corones climbing time trial, which could put Basso well on his way toward overall victory. Or maybe not.

The final story of this Giro is far from over. Zomegnan wouldn’t have it any other way.

Courtesy Andrew Hood

Overnight race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas Doimo) finished safely in the main pack to retain the maglia rosa — the first time in this Giro that the same man will wear the leader’s jersey for more than one stage.

“It was very fast right through the last kilometers,” said Nibali. “We were all struggling in the final and there was a lot of tension in the group that costs a lot of energy. One thing that will always remain etched into my memory is having the honor of riding through the hometown of Fausto Coppi in Castellania with the maglia rosa on my shoulders.”

Pineau was the day’s hero, however, as he and two of his breakaway companions of 135 kilometers somehow managed to fend off a huge chase that appeared to have them caught with 1.5 km to go.

The main pack seemed to stop to catch its breath when the three leaders refused to give up the fight. Pineau timed it just right to slice across the line for victory just four seconds ahead of the fast-charging peloton led by Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Transitions).

“A breakaway is only successful if you cross the line first,” Pineau said philosophically after winning for the first time in five years. “After five long years, I’ve finally won again. After a bad classics, I asked my team to take to me the Giro and now I’ve taken the most important victory of my career.”

Stage:

* 1. Jérôme Pineau (FRA), Quick Step, 162 km in 3:45:59 (43.012kph)
* 2. Julien Fouchard (FRA) Cofidis, Le Credit En Ligne at 0:00
* 3. Yukiya Arashiro (JPN) BBox Bouygues Telecom at 0:00
* 4. Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Transitions at 0:04
* 5. Gregory Henderson (NZL) Team Sky at 0:04

GC:

* 1. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas Doimo, 14:30:03
* 2. Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas Doimo at 0:13
* 3. Valerio Agnoli (ITA) Liquigas Doimo at 0:20
* 4. Harley Goss Matthew (AUS) HTC-Columbia at 0:26
* 5. Andre Greipel (GER) HTC-Columbia at 0:26

Wednesday’s 33km team time trial from Savigliano to Cuneo saw Liquigas power to an impressive victory in 36:37 that saw all nine team riders cross the line together.

Vincenzo Nibali, who started the day just five seconds behind race leader Alexander Vinokourov and who was called up as a last-minute replacement for Franco Pellizotti last week — takes the Giro’s fourth pink jersey in as many stages.

“This pink jersey is like a dream for me,” said Nibali, seventh overall in last year’s Tour de France. “This is for my teammates, because we went really strong throughout the course. I still cannot believe it and I have goose-bumps.”

Sky powered to the fastest intermediate time of 19:31 (29 seconds faster than Liquigas) but struggled later in the race to only finish with six in 36:50.

Garmin, starting without Christian Vande Velde who crashed out Monday with a broken clavicle, finished a distant eighth at 49 seconds off the pace. David Millar started the day third at one second back and slipped to ninth at 45 seconds back.

Mid-race starters saw a heavy downpour midway through the course and later, a change of wind direction from the side to more of a tailwind seemed to favor the later starters.

Vinokourov (Astana) saw his grip on the pink jersey melt in the final kilometers. Liquigas was strongest in the final quarter of the course while Astana struggled to stay together, stopping the clock tied with Cervélo at 37:15. Vinokourov slipped to sixth at 33 seconds back.

“I had hoped to take some more time off the climbers,” lamented Vinokourov, the winner last month of the hilly one-day classic Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

“The weather conditions didn’t do us any favors.”

Several big names lost a lot of time, including Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni (Lampre), 13th at 1:43; Marzio Bruseghin (Caisse d’Epargne) at 18th at 2:21; Michele Scarponi (Androni), 19th at 2:24; and Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone), 21st at 2:39.

Carlos Sastre, who crashed hard in Sunday’s second stage and lost more time Monday, was very pleased with Cervélo’s performance that limited his losses against Liquigas and gained back some time to riders like Cadel Evans (BMC) and the Italians. He slots into 32nd at 2:13, but realizes things could have been even worse.

“This team time trial has been a positive balance. To finish sixth, with the same time as Astana, in a time trial course like that after the first two stages and the rest day has been important to recover lost time with some important riders,” Sastre said. “The team did a sensational job and, frankly, it was important to be well-organized and have a motivated team.”

Evans was hoping for more from his young BMC squad. The team, one of only two teams starting with less than nine riders (Garmin was the other minus Vande Velde), posted an early fast time at 37:58, but soon saw the big guns take important gains.

When the dust settled, Evans lost 1:21 to Liquigas, but the team took solace that against other GC rivals, such as Vinokourov or Sastre, the losses were less than expected.
Wiggins leads Sky

“It was a regular time trial that didn’t cost Cadel too much time,” said BMC sport director John Lelangue. “With the team we have here, and those conditions, the guys were really working to make it happen. Liquigas made a really good time, but there are a lot of mountains to come.”

Stage:

* 1. Liquigas in 36:37:00
* 2. Sky in 36:50:00
* 3. HTC-Columbia in 36:58:00
* 4. Katusha in 37:04:00
* 5. Cervelo in 37:15:00
* 6. Astana in 37:15:00
* 7. Omega-Pharma in 37:23:00
* 8. Garmin in 37:26:00
* 9. Saxo Bank in 37:27:00
* 10. Milram in 37:34:00

GC:

* 1. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Liquigas Doimo in 10:44:00
* 2. Ivan Basso (ITA) Liquigas Doimo at 0:13
* 3. Valerio Agnoli (ITA) Liquigas Doimo at 0:20
* 4. Harley Goss Matthew (AUS) HTC-Columbia at 0:26
* 5. Andre Greipel (GER) HTC-Columbia at 0:26
* 6. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ) Astana at 0:33
* 7. Vladimir Karpets (RUS) Team Katusha at 0:39
* 8. Richie Porte (AUS) Team Saxo Bank at 0:45
* 9. David Millar (GBR) Garmin-Transitions at 0:45
* 10. Paolo Tiralongo (ITA) Astana at 0:59

Courtesy Andrew Hood and www.velonews.com

The pan-flat 223km race from Amsterdam to Middelburg saw more crashes — including one that knocked Christian Vande Velde (Garmin-Transitions) out of the Giro — and overnight race leader Cadel Evans (BMC Racing) was caught out following another pileup, losing more than enough time to put Vino’ into the maglia rosa.

The day began with a break that managed to build a comfortable lead of nearly eight minutes.

The bunch was soon impatient, however, and set about pulling them back, making the catch with about 70km to go.

The peloton then fragmented, with Damiano Cunego (Lampre) stuck in a group trailing the maglia rosa bunch containing most of the contenders for the overall. Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago-CSF) was caught out, too, as Team Sky and HTC-Columbia drove the pace up front.

The new wheeled order was Vinokourov in pink, with Riche Porte (Saxo Bank) second in the same time (he also leads the young rider classification), and David Millar (Garmin) third at one second back.

“I’m very satisfied to be in the pink,” said Vinokourov. “This allows us to go off last in (Wednesday’s) team time trial. That’s perfect!

“The team did excellent work. I saw Greipel was in front of us and I thought he’d take the jersey if he won. But he didn’t win and now we can really go for it in the time trial. The team will be more motivated than ever.”

Stage results:

* 1. Wouter Weylandt (Bel), Quick Step, 5:00:06.
* 2. Graeme Brown (Aus), Rabobank, s.t.
* 3. Robert Förster (Ger), Milram, s.t.
* 4. Danilo Hondo (Ger), Lampre, s.t.
* 5. Adam Blyth (GBR), s.t.

GC after stage

* 1. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ), Astana, in 10:07:18
* 2. Richie Porte (AUS), Team Saxo Bank, s.t.
* 3. David Millar (GBR), Garmin-Transitions, at 0:01
* 4. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA), Liquigas Doimo, at 0:05
* 5. Marcel Sieberg (GER), HTC-Columbia, at 0:07

Clad in a white skinsuit sporting the colors of the British time trial champion, Wiggins cranked out a time of 10 minutes, 18 seconds on the wet, technical circuit.

“I just did my race, that’s what I always do in time trials,” he said. “If I crashed, I crashed. I wasn’t going to touch my brakes.”

American Brent Bookwalter (BMC Racing Team) finished second on the day, two seconds slower than Wiggins, with teammate Cadel Evans third in the same time.

The Giro is the second successive grand tour to start in Holland. Last year’s Vuelta kicked off in the Netherlands, and the Tour de France will give Holland the hat trick with a start in the port city of Rotterdam in July.

The weather was decidedly not Italian — cold, cloudy and wet. The tricky course started in the Museumplein, home to two of the world’s best museums, the Riks and Van Gogh, and stormed past the Heineken brewery in the first kilometer.

Bradley Wiggins on his way to victory - Courtesy Graham Watson

Next the course drove right into the heart of Amsterdam, crossing the Amstel River, with the final 3km rolling through a residential part of town with better road conditions.

Xavier Tondo (Cervélo TestTeam) praised the course, if not the conditions.

“They did a great job for an urban course. Even where the route passes train tracks, they’ve put in buffers to make it safer. It’s an excellent course and not dangerous at all,” he said. “What makes it dangerous is the rain. You don’t know how fast to go into the corners.”
Larsson, Bookwalter set early marks

Gustav Erik Larsson (Saxo Bank) started 60th and set the early best time of 10 minutes, 25 seconds. It would stand for quite a while. Marco Pinotti (HTC-Columbia), starting 110th, nearly knocked Larsson off his perch, but missed by just two seconds, slotting into second.

Bookwalter finally got the job done — the 2006 U.S. under-23 time trial champ started 144th and muscled his bike across the line to clip five seconds off Larsson’s time and take over the lead.

Team Sky sprinter Greg Henderson also turned in a fine performance, briefly slotting into second behind Bookwalter at three seconds back.

Time trial specialist David Millar (Garmin-Transitions) was next to just miss dethroning Bookwalter, by just four seconds.

And then Wiggins roared through to take the lead by two seconds, averaging nearly 49 kph and pushing Bookwalter into the runner-up spot. (More on Bookwalter’s time trial)

The man widely considered a favorite to win the Giro, world road champ Evans, nearly avenged his BMC teammate, but fell just short, slotting into third with a 10:20.

And that’s the way the podium would stay — Wiggins took the win and the first maglia rosa of the 2010 Giro d’Italia, with Bookwalter second and Evans third.

“For me, to win here is one of the most beautiful days of my career. The maglia rosa is one of the most iconic jerseys in cycling,” Wiggins said. “It’s a big honor to win here. I knew I had good chances, but you never know what the others can do. I just focused on my ride and I was lucky enough to win.

“Wearing the maglia rosa is special. You’re following a long line of riders like Coppi to Bugno. To add your name to that list of riders who’ve worn the jersey is special.”

Race notes

* The Italians: Gilberto Simoni (Lampre), had a disappointing start to what will be his final Giro, finishing 156th at 56 seconds back. Michele Scarponi (Androni) and Filippo Pozzato (Katusha) also turned in less-than-stellar performances, finishing 33rd at 0:21 and 66th at 0:32, respectively. Stefano Garzelli (Acqua e Sapone) crossed 30th at 0:20, while Ivan Basso (Liquigas) crossed 27th at 0:23.

* The Dutch: Jos Van Emden (Rabobank) cracked the top 10 for the home crowd, finishing ninth at nine seconds back.

* The others: Alexander Vinovourov (Astana) turned in a fine time, crossing in 10:23 for fourth, while Carlos Sastre (Cervélo) finished 42nd at 0:25.

Top five results

* 1. Bradley Wiggins (GBR), Team Sky, 8.4km in 10:18 (48.9kph)
* 2. Brent Bookwalter (USA), BMC Racing Team at 0:02
* 3. Cadel Evans (AUS), BMC Racing Team at 0:02
* 4. Alexandre Vinokourov (KAZ), Astana at 0:05
* 5. Greg Henderson (NZL), Team Sky at 0:05

Courtesy Andrew Hood and Agence France Presse