Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval - Scott) showed today that perhaps he is the leading candidate for this year's Giro. He stormed out of the peloton to claim today's 8th Stage, his second this year. He outkicked compatriot Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) and Davide Rebellin (Gerolsteiner) to gain the valuable 20 second time bonus given to the winner of each stage.

While this day ended with another sharp climb, some of the action happened mid-race when Alberto Contador (Astana) went down in a crash that claimed his teammate Steve Morabito. Contador was able to chase back but didn't contest the finish as he was just content on not losing any time. All of the other favorites arrived safely with the same time as Riccò ready for the next big test on Monday.

One has to think whether Riccò will be good enough in the high mountains fully a week from now. If he is this good, will he be able to keep his form? We can assume he will lose valuable minutes to some of the other GC contenders on Astana so his 20 seconds may go a long way.

Tomorrow's stage should be one for the sprinters as everyone would want to save energy for Tuesday's time trial. Monday is a rest day.

Top 10 results for Stage 8
1 Riccardo Riccò (Ita) Saunier Duval - Scott.............................4.41.05
2 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
3 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
4 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
5 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) LPR Brakes
6 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes
7 Emanuele Sella (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) CSF Group Navigare
9 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) LPR Brakes
10 Félix Rafael Cardenas Ravalo (Col) Barloworld

See the complete results here.