Italian Franco Pellizotti (Liquigas) pulled a coup by taking the win on one of the hardest time trials any cyclist will ever face. Pellizotti won by 6 seconds over, who seems to be the Italian hero of this year's Giro, Emanuele Sella (CSF Group Navigare) and moved up to 5th overall. Spanish Tour champ Alberto Contador (Astana) consolidated his lead by finishing a solid 4th, just behind old man Gilberto Simoni (Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni).

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The big loser of today was definitely Danilo Di Luca (Team LPR Brakes) who lost over a minute to Contador. Denis Menchov (Rabobank) didn't do much better but considering his sights are on the Tour, it won't be such a heartbreak. Simoni perhaps impressed people the most. He rode an excellent time trial and was able to take time from everyone including Contador and Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval - Scott), who finished 5th behind Contador.

For those of you who couldn't watch this on TV or on the internet, I would recommend doing a search for some footage because the scenery is amazing. A major part of the route included gravel roads as the cyclists make their way up to the ski station of Plan de Corones. This made for good ratings but most riders complained about how hard this stage was considering it was immediately after 2 epic stages in the Dolomites. Tomorrow, the riders will "enjoy" a rest day. But 4 hours of transfers may not seen like a rest. This is the Giro after all.

Top 10 Results for Stage 16
1 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas..........................................40.26
2 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare..............................0.06
3 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni................0.17
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana...............................0.22
5 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott...........................0.30
6 José Rujano (Ven) Caisse d'Epargne....................................0.49
7 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Lampre...........................................1.04
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare......................1.43
9 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes..........................................1.45
10 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank.......................................1.49

See the complete results here.