Sport and Cinema.com

What a climactic close to the 100^th anniversary of this prestigious bike race as Russia’s Denis Menchov survived a fall on a rain-soaked final stage to win the Giro d’Italia in dramatic fashion in Rome on Sunday.

Searching for his third Grand Prix victory and first here, the Rabobank rider seemed to have the world’s second-biggest stage race in his grasp with a 20-second lead before Sunday’s 14.4-kilometer time-trial, but the conditions quickly turned hazardous making the Eternal City’s slippery cobblestones even slicker.

The thirty-one year-old two-time winner of the Tour of Spain, took a spill on a straight stretch in the last kilometer, but kept his focus was quick to get help from his support squad and crossed the finish line near the Coliseum with the 10th best time taking the Giro with a 41-second margin of victory.

Cervelo’s Lithuanian Ignatas Konovalovas won the final stage taking advantage of comparatively dry conditions early on when he set his time of 18:42 before a light downpour forced riders to slow down, although conditions had dried out only for more rain to create havoc at the end.

Italy’s Franco Pellizotti of Liquigas came third overall, 1:59 behind Menchov, while Spain’s Carlos Sastre, the 2008 Tour de France champion, was fourth after winning two stages late in the race.

Lance Armstrong, improving his fitness and building momentum for an unprecedented run at an eighth Tour de France title in July after coming out of retirement and overcoming a broken collarbone, finished a solid 12th. Liquigas’ 2006 winner Ivan Basso and Tour de California winner Levi Leipheimer finished fifth and sixth respectively.

The turning point of the three week race came in the 12th stage when Menchov took the pink leader’s jersey after nearest rival Italian Danilo Di Luca had worn it for seven days by winning a 60.6-kilometer time trial.

The Russian attributes the win to an overall steady performance.

“Being consistent has been my weapon,” he said. “Not having bad days, or crises, keeping my concentration high.”