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.

At 9am sharp this Saturday, the regular club ride departed from Oak Bay Bikes and wove its way down along the E & N Trai, across the footbridge over the Millstone River and then down to Victoria Road and into Cedar. Eight started the ride but Regis Chapman, with very few miles in his legs, found the going a bit fast and after being paced back by the Pres. on his scooter a couple of times , decided to call it a day and rode back down to Cassidy.

For those who are still working on fitness level or who like a more sedate ride, the Monday rides, with 6.30pm  starts alternating between the Aquatic Centre and OBB, are a little slower and the group always waits for dropped riders.

Thanks to Bryan Rehill for sharing his Garmin output from last night's time trial, here. As you can see, there is quite a climb to the turn. Bryan almost did 40kph for the distance - quite the ride and an improvement on his previous best. Perhaps a brown bear on the course might have inspired Bryan to break the 40kph barrier

With all the interest in time trials, you need something to inspire you to go REALLY FAST! This short video of world champion time triallist Fabian Cancellera will give you many tips about position, effort, concentration, facial expression and the like.

				Pts.
Shawn Boyd	MIVA	S	29' 06"	12
Bryan Rehill	MIVA	S	30' 21”	10
Charles Hamer	MIVA	S	31' 45"	9
Dave Steen	MIVA	M5	32' 48”	8
Iain Hay	MIVA	M1	33' 39"	7
Gareth Slocombe	MIVA	M	34' 47"	6
Vicki Boyd	MIVA	W	34' 56"	12
Russell Berg	MIVA	M1	35' 17"	5
Sue Handel	MIVA	W	35' 25"	10
Katy Condon	MIVA	W	35' 59"	9
Dave Patterson	MIVA	M2	36' 17"	4
Brodie Hay	MIVA	Y	37' 01"	12
Patrick Burnham	MIVA	S	38' 03"	3
Mykelti Berg	MIVA	Y	39' 22"	10
Charlene Hay	MIVA	W	39' 57"	8
Nancy Patterson	Ind.	MW	44' 11"	7
15km tt
Don Gillmore	MIVA	M1	21' 34"	5
Volunteer
Regis Chapman	MIVA	M1		5