One last go for the Sprinters on Stage 15

[Brock Samson]

Todays stage is the last time the sprinters will have occasion to race at the front of the race and after that its a climbers paradise/purgatory for the last wk of the Giro.

So far Ivan Basso has laid waste to all contenders and I feel he will win the GC. Of course there is a fantasitic battle for the remaining podium posititions and my prediction is that Simoni and Salvo will finish alongside countryman Basso next Sunday.

Tomorrow I think Bettini or Pollack will be capable of winning since both are hungry and have been denied so far in this yrs Giro. Of course there will be a handful of contenders who would love to spoil and grab a victory for their Sponsors...

[Brock Samson]

It's taken what seems like ten goes and two of the world's best sprinters to go home, but after a fortnight trying, Paolo Bettini finally got the win he'd been searching for. With the peloton sucking Milram's wheels till four hundred metres to go, Gerolsteiner's Robert Forster tried to surprise, and while Olaf Pollack (T-Mobile) hesitated, Il Grillo jumped straight on the gravy train, before a hop, step and another jump saw Quick.Step's quickest stepper edge out Forster at the line.

"In sprints like this, you can win or lose in an instant. Milram did a great job in the lead-out; they are the only team here that knows how to ride for a sprinter. I came to the Giro after the [Spring] Classics in good form, but now I'm really good - finalmente... da vero! ("finally... for real!)" said a jubilant Bettini.