RYDER BACK IN PINK!

Giro d’Italia: Ryder Hesjedal attacks into pink on the Cervinia mountaintop by Ben Atkins at 11:38 AM EST Andray Amadar holds on to take the stage as Canadian wins the overall battle behind him

An attack in the final three kilometres of stage 14, on the climb to Cervinia, saw Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Barracuda) seize back the Maglia Rosa that was taken from him in Assisi. The Canadian jumped away from a select group of riders, which had been whittled down by the pace set by Liquigas-Cannondale, and incumbent race leader Joaquim Rodríguez (Katusha) could do nothing to stop him. Hesjedal was unable to catch up the the three remaining riders from the stage’s long breakaway however, and Andrey Amador (Movistar) outsprinted Jan Barta (NetApp) and Alessandro De Marchi (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela) to become the first Costa Rican to win a stage of the Giro. The Garmin-Barracuda rider finished just 20 seconds behind Amador, while Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) led the Rodríguez group over the line after 46 seconds. The 26 seconds gained were enough for Hesjedal to take back the Maglia Rosa, with the Canadian taking a slim nine second lead. "The guys started to accelerate a little bit on the climb," said Hesjedal immediately after receiving his new Maglia Rosa. "I knew it eased off after three kilometres. My legs felt good, I decided to give it a go and test myself a little bit. I tested the race as well…" Rodríguez tried to chase Hesjedal down once it became clear that he could sustain his attack, but this only had the effect of dropping a number of riders and the Catalan was unable to pull him back. “That’s good..." said Hesjedal. "I just felt good, I wasn’t thinking about anything, just putting in an effort and seeing what the other guys were up to. It worked out well, I’m back in the jersey, so that is great." The stage set out from Cherasco at a vey high speed but, after 60km, the break finally went clear. With Amador, Barta and De Marchi were Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale), Pier Paolo De Negri (Farnese Vini-Selle Italia), Olivier Kaisen (Lotto-Belisol), Nelson Oliveira (RadioShack-Nissan) and Nikolas Maes (Omega Pharma-Quick Step); by the time they arrived at the foot of the Col de Joux, with 46km to go, they were 13 minutes clear. Barta attacked early in the climb and was alone over the top; he was caught and passed on the descent by Amador however, who began the final climb alone. De Marchi and then Barta fought their way back up to the Costa Rican and, despite occasional attacks, arrived at the finish together. Behind the break Liquigas-Cannondale was controlling the peloton, and gradually closing the gap. Jose Rujano (Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela ) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre-ISD) attacked close to the top of the Col de Joux but, although Cunego managed to start the final climb clear, the peloton was all together as it closed in on the breakaway. "I think Ivan [Basso] is serious about winning the race…" said Hesjedal about the Liquigas-Cannondale tactics. "He knows he is capable and his team is strong enough. He feels he knows what he is doing, and [if Liquigas-Cannondale rides] that’s fine by me." Into the final five kilometres the attacks began, with Gianluca Brambilla (Colnago-CSF Inox), Tiralongo, and Mikel Nieve (Euskaltel-Euskadi) all trying to get away; but Hesjedal’s was the only move that stuck, and the Canadian rode himself back into the race lead.