Bertagnolli triumphs, Menchov still in pinkItaly's Leonardo Bertagnolli Leonardo Bertagnolli (born January 8 1978 in Trento) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, currently riding for UCI ProTeam Liquigas. Palmares
Russia's Denis Menchov Denis Nikolayevich Menchov (Russian: Денис Николаевич Меньшов of Rabobank held onto the leader's pink jersey after a race that took place amid soaring temperatures and featured a spirited attack from Italy's Ivan Basso Ivan Basso (born 26 November 1977) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, most recently with Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team.[1][2] Basso, nicknamed Ivan the Terrible,<ref name="terrible" /> is among the best mountain riders in the . Belgium's Serge Pauwels nosed ahead of a group of pursuers on the line to take second place, less than a minute behind the winner of the 161km course. Bertagnolli broke clear from Pauwels with 12km to go, the 25-year-old Belgian having been the only rider from the initial breakaway to stick with the Italian during the closing stages of the arduous race. With 40km to race, Basso launched an attack from the head of the peloton
The peloton (from French, literally meaning ball and related to the English word platoon), field, bunch or on the slopes of Monte Casale after his team isolated his rivals with a sudden burst of acceleration. Basso's compatriot com·pa·tri·ot n. 1. A person from one's own country. 2. A colleague. [French compatriote, from Late Latin compatri Stefano Garzelli was the only man to follow him and the duo quickly closed the gap on a group of 16 riders who had broken away within the first hour of the race. The gap between Basso and his direct rivals in the general classification peaked at 1min 10sec on the approach to the summit of Monte Trebbio before being whittled away on the road down to the rolling plains of Faenza. The pair were eventually swallowed back into the main group with 15km remaining. Menchov found himself marooned without team support in the group chasing Basso, but the Russian managed to keep his main challenger Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born January 2, 1976) is an Italian professional road racing cyclist. He rides for the Liquigas cycling team on the UCI ProTour. In his career, he has won the 2005 UCI ProTour, the 2007 Giro d'Italia, two monument cycling races—the Giro di Lombardia in 2001 in his sights. Lance Armstrong lost ground on the last two climbs but limited his loss of time on the favourites to just one minute. Bertagnolli's victory was the 31-year-old's first in the Giro d'Italia, having been recruited by Diquigiovanni at the beginning of the month in anticipation of the race. His most notable successes to date include a stage win at the 2005 Tour of Spain and victory in the 2007 San Sebastian classic. Monday's 16th stage, considered the race's most gruelling, is a mountainous 237km trek through the Apennines between Pergola pergola Garden walk or terrace typically formed by two rows of columns or posts roofed with an open framework of beams and cross rafters over which plants are trained. Its purpose is to provide a foundation on which climbing plants can be viewed and to give shade. and Monte 
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