Rik Verbrugghe of Team Cofidis may have finished 165th, nearly eight minutes down, in Tuesday's Giro d'Italia stage, but he was the man of the day. He took off from the peloton as soon as the neutral zone was over, and they didn't see him again until there were only 25 kilometres left in the race. During his 164 kilometres solo flight, he had built up a lead of up to 11 minutes.
"It was the first time in my 13 year career that I have made such a long solo escape," he told hln.be. "It was perhaps hopeless, but at least I tried. To be a cyclist, you have to be a little crazy." (SW)
