By John Trevorrow in Torino
Dave Zabriskie (CSC, 3rd at 0'20)
Dave Zabriskie was happy with his ride when we congratulated him afterwards. "Thanks man. Yeah, I felt good today."
Do you think it's good enough to win? "I suppose we'll see, won't we?"
Rory Sutherland (Rabobank, 27th at 2'51)
Rory Sutherland finished in 47'56 and sculled a can of soft drink before we spoke to him. "Ouch. Ouch. It was a pretty hard time trial. I dunno how you're supposed to feel after 18 days. I think everyone's going to hurt out there, no matter what you do. I just said to myself, 'Just keep going, try not to fall still'. If you go back a gear, keep it steady on the climb, and don't punch over it, you could end up losing quite a bit of time.
"It's bloody hot out there. It's hard for everyone. You can't do more than your best and it definitely wasn't a day off for me. I think it [my time] should be alright. I was hoping to do about the same as the first time trial, or maybe a bit better, top 35. It would be fantastic to get a top 20, but you have to be realistic about these things."
We told Rory about Zabriskie's ride of 45'25: "Woah! If I'm within two and a half minutes of Zabriskie, I'll be pretty happy." [Sutherland finished 2'31 behind Zabriskie, and 2'51 behind Basso].
Afterwards, we spotted Rory eating a hamburger with the lot. We asked him how he felt after knowing his time. "I'm quite content," he said. "As I said earlier, you don't know what to expect. I've gotta stay realistic with all the good riders to come. I gauge myself on [Thomas] Dekker and I came in within a minute of him. So that makes me a bit happier. Especially as a neo-pro in the third week of a grand tour.
"I can leave with a bit of confidence from the race. I'm interested to see what the times are at the end. I'll be over the moon if I get in the first 30. And the first 20 would be a real bonus."
We also asked Rory about Ivan Basso's ride. "I think Basso's 20 seconds up, but he could lose some of that time because I just saw him take a bidon from one of the guys he passed. So he'll lose 30 seconds, if not more. He could maybe lose the time trial because of that." Apparently not, as Basso's time held.
Matt White (Cofidis, 61st at 4'24)
Matt's ride of 49'29 was one of the fastest at the time. It took a while before he cooled down enough for us to talk to him. "Yeah I've got good legs," he said. "But we needed a time for the teams classification. We've got a couple of sick boys, and everyone else was crook so I had to have a go. I think I got the quickest time so far."
White was just riding his ordinary road bike with clip-on handlebars. "If they took times for the top to the bottom [of the climb], I reckon I'd be the fastest. I knew the descent from Milano-Torino so I didn't bother with a disk wheel. It was too dangerous."
Christian Vandevelde (CSC, 73rd at 4'43)
Vandevelde was impressed with Zabriskie's ride. "He just never ceases to amaze me, that's for sure."
Vandevelde thought it might be the winning time, saying, "Savoldelli will go fast, especially on the downhill. He's the only guy that could give Dave a run for his money. Or Ivan."
Michael Barry (Discovery Channel, 95th at 5'19)
"We've got our work cut out for us tomorrow so I saved a bit today. Just save as much energy as possible. It's a really good time trial circuit for Paolo. The descent's tricky and he's a great descender. There's only a couple of bits of the climb that are steep, but it's a course that will suit him...I hope that Paolo will take a bit of time out of Simoni and Jose."
Charles Wegelius (Liquigas, 97th at 5'21)
"It was really hot and you can't take it too easy with the heat, it could be the end of the Giro. people say it's just a time trial and you have to look after yourself, but it's still a stage of the Giro. Hopefully Danilo can use the hill to make up some time."
Are you happy with your ride? "Yeah, as long I'm still in the race."
Mark Renshaw (Francaise des Jeux, 106th at 5'36)
"I just got into a rhythm, made the time limit alright. I didn't feel really good at the start, my legs were a bit heavy. Had a bit of a go on the descent, and got the heart rate up.
"Yesterday I was just glad to get through. I was in a lot of trouble early on, but got myself in the right group. After the first climb, I was yo-yoing in and out of the convoy for a while. It's looking good for Milan now."
Brett Lancaster (Panaria, 112th at 5'44)
"I just got myself into a rhythm. I just decided to take it easy today."
How's the bronchitis going? "It's not going anywhere. I'm stuck with it for the tour. You can't get rid of these things if you're digging deep every day. After the tour, I'll relax and maybe party a bit."
Antonio Cruz (Discovery Channel, 139th at 6'46)
"It was better than the last time trial. In the last one, I couldn't get on top of it. In this one, I got the heart rate up, I got on top of the gear, and got into a good rhythm."
Trent Wilson (Colombia-Selle Italia, 142nd at 7'02)
"Went out real easy, hit the hill, took it easier, lit it up on the descent, nearly crashed. Then just rode the big dog home, rolling it over. Did 52 minutes, that should be fine."
Henk Vogels (Davitamon-Lotto, 149th at 7'26)
Henk was in a lot of pain after the finish from his right ankle. "Ankle's f***ed," he said. "My right ankle has been compensating for my left ankle. It's the first time it's really flared up, so who knows?"
He also saw Cadamuro on the descent when he came through. "He was just lying on the ground, and it doesn't look good. Looks like he really hurt himself. He started 15 minutes in front of me and he was still laying there, waiting for an ambulance."
Can you get through tomorrow? "Ach, you never know, do you? I'm in the hurt box."
Russell Van Hout (Colombia-Selle Italia, 150th at 7'33)
Russell Van Hout rode across the finish line with part of his clip-on bar in his hand, as it came off five km to go. He threw an obscene gerund in the direction of his team mechanic, before remarking, "Our mechanic's the best, eh? He's a wanker! I just had a nice tempo, It was a good roll down for me. But with five kilometres to go, my bar came off. I was holding that in one hand and my brake in the other, so I nearly lost it on one corner.
"The winner will do about 45 minutes, I reckon. I don't care if I finish last, as long as I get inside the time limit."
Jason McCartney (Discovery Channel, 153rd at 8'02)
Jason didn't look too out of breath when we spoke to him after his ride. "Someone crashed on the descent, I hope he's OK," said McCartney, referring to Simone Cadamuro. "I think it's a good course for Paolo. It seems quite tricky. I think he can definitely make some time on that descent.
As for the challengers, "Hopefully Paolo can take a couple of minutes out of them today. We'll see tomorrow."
