Dario Cataldo,who was 10th in the GC going into the 229km Stage 8, from Sulmona to Lago, showed he can finish amongst the best in the tough climbs by finishing 5th (+27") on Sunday. Domenico Pozzovivo (Colnago) soloed to victory, attacking with 6.8km to go. Benati Intxausti (Movistar) decided to counter with a few kilometers to go and earned himself second place. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha Team) was third.
"On the last climb Liquigas was doing the tempo but at a certain moment, Pozzovivo attacked at the top of the climb and nobody followed except Intxausti," Cataldo said. "The rest of us remained on the wheels of Liquigas until the final sprint. I tried to do my sprint, but was not as explosive as I would have liked. I couldn't stay out of my saddle to be more powerful. So I was fifth. At the end of the day I am happy because I came out from these three days of mountains with more confidence."
"These three days of racing were a great test for me. Maybe yesterday I could do something more, but in the last two days it was really warm and I also had a little bit of cramps so I was unable to do a good sprint. At the end of the day I know I am good in the long climbs. I trained good and have been repaid for the training. The only thing I need is a little bit of explosiveness but hope it can arrive in the next days. The Giro will be decided only in the last week, so I have to stay under control and not use all my energy now."
In the overall classification Cataldo is now in 8th place, 46 seconds behind the Maglia Rosa of Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda).
