May 28, 2005 – The final stage befitted the drama that has been this year’s Giro, with a final high-altitude showdown between three rivals as a climax to what has been one of the most entertaining major tours in recent memory. But in the end, Paolo Savoldelli (Discovery) dug deep to fend of a last-ditch attack by his rivals Gilberto Simoni (Lampre) and 19th stage winner Jose Rujano (Selle Italia), and barring disaster will win the Giro d’Italia with a mere 28 seconds to spare.

Savoldelli was disconnected from Simoni and Rujano 40km from the stage finish, on the dreaded Colle della Finestre, a near-20km monster climb with a more than 9% gradient. Following up the attack of Ruslan Ivanov (Domina Vacanze), who had broken away early and remained up the road, Rujano and Simoni worked hard to disconnect the pink jersey, at one point gaining a more than two and a half minutes — in a group with Valjavec (Phonak), Di Luca (Liquigas), and Garate (Saunier) — and making Simoni virtual race leader.

But Savoldelli, to his immense credit, didn’t panic: instead, he stabilized the gap and used the very technical descent of the Finestre to gain some back. At the foot of the final 9km climb to Sestriere, the lead group had a 1:40 lead on Savoldelli. Logically, Simoni and Rujano should have expected to gain additional time on Savoldelli on that last climb. But while Rujano could, riding strongly and dropping Simoni with 4km to go to take the stage, Simoni had already run his tank dry. Cramping badly in the final kilometers, his advantage began to fizzle. By the end, he had just over a minute and a half on the pink jersey: a tremendous performance, but not enough. Savoldelli, riding cautiously and defensively, had salvaged the result.

Results
1. Jose Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 5.49.30 (32.618 km/h)
2. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.26
3. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.37
4. Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.53
5. Wim Van Huffel (Bel) Davitamon-Lotto 1.55
6. Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze
7. Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team
8. Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems
9. Mauricio Alberto Ardila Cano (Col) Davitamon-Lotto 2.38
10. Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 5.07

100. Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 39.27

General classification after stage 19:
1. Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 88.01.43
2. Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.28
3. Jose’ Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.45
4. Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 2.42
5. Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 3.11
6. Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 4.22
7. Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears 11.15
8. Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole 11.38
9. Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 11.40
10. Emanuele Sella (Ita) Ceramica Panaria-Navigare 12.33

101. Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 3.11.01