Denis Menchov retains overall lead in Giro; Sastre wins 19th stage, Armstrong falls but unhurt

Menchov retains Giro lead; Sastre wins 19th stage

MOUNT VESUVIUS, Italy — Russia’s Denis Menchov all but wrapped up the Giro d’Italia on Friday, keeping the leader’s pink jersey after a stage that took riders up the slopes of the Mount Vesuvius volcano.

Carlos Sastre of Spain won the 19th stage with a solo attack up the steep volcano. Lance Armstrong fell midway through the stage, but seemed unhurt and got back on his bike after repairs.

Menchov crossed fourth with the same time as Danilo Di Luca, retaining an 18-second lead over the Italian in the overall standings. Franco Pellizotti of Italy remained third, 1:39 back, while Sastre moved up from fifth to fourth.

Sastre, the defending Tour de France winner, finished in 4 hours, 33 minutes, 23 seconds over the 102-mile leg, which began in Avellino. Pellizotti was 21 seconds behind, and Di Luca was 30 seconds back in third.

Armstrong apparently touched the wheel of the rider in front of him as the main pack went around a tight turn on the Amalfi coast. The Texan hit the pavement on his left side — the opposite side of his crash in March when he broke his collarbone.

“Just a little stiffness in the hip and knee,” Armstrong wrote on his Twitter feed. “Was glad to not end up in another ambulance!”

Armstrong got right back up, changed his rear wheel, and rejoined the main pack.The seven-time Tour de France winner finished a respectable 1:42 behind Sastre. Armstrong lost contact with the pink jersey group on the second half of the climb and remained 12th overall, 13:29 behind Menchov.

Armstrong had a stainless steel plate and 12 screws inserted into his right collarbone after a crash in Spain on March 23.

Sastre also won the race’s most grueling stage up Monte Petrano on Monday.

“It was two nice victories,” he said.

Di Luca gained an eight-second bonus for crossing third but needed to gain much more time on Menchov.

He could earn another time bonus in the 20th stage on Saturday, a mostly flat 126-mile leg from Naples to Anagni.

“I’m going to try to win the stage, or be there in the sprint,” Di Luca said. “The finish suits my characteristics.”

The race ends in Rome on Sunday after a short individual time trial.

The serpentine Vesuvius climb measured eight miles. Vesuvius is best known for its eruption in A.D. 79 that buried the ancient city of Pompeii.

Ivan Basso and Stefano Garzelli were the first highly placed riders to attack on the climb, and Sastre quickly launched an attack of his own and joined Basso in the lead after Garzelli fell back.

Sastre and Basso rode together in front for about a mile before Sastre accelerated and left Basso behind with about three miles to go.