In The (Time) Zone by David Olle, Italy, +39 333 5959 217 (twitter feed @DavidOLLE)

Stage 7, May 13, Maddaloni - Montevergine di Mercogliano 100 km

Results
1 Bart De Clercq (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto 2:54:47
2 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Pro Team Astana

GC after stage seven:
1 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 23:09:59
2 Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) HTC-Highroad 0:00:02
3 Marco Pinotti (Ita) HTC-Highroad 0:00:02

Bart De Clercq from Belgium, took today's stage ahead of a rampaging chase group led by Italy's Michele Scarponi.  Well done to him.

Skippy report:  Still not a lot to report, not much more than a bandage going on with Richie Porte, he's down the list, and unlikely to feature like he did last year.  As we all should be well aware, he is working for his team captain, Alberto Contador, and while Alberto is upright, Richie will be beside him, keeping him out of the wind and fetching bottles.  That's his job, that's what he is paid to do.  Simple as that.

Cuisine Report:  The barrels in the attic.  I could write a book about Modena vinegar barrels, and how they have split families, disappeared without a trace, been vandalized etc.  All this from a town with zero unemployment and no mafia.  But let's leave it ‘til next year.  

Tomorrow we depart Italy as we are hosting a group in the French Alps, returning to the Giro next Friday.  Don't worry, we're taking the tele with us, and after riding the Cols of Glandon, Croix de Fer, Galibier, Telegraphe, Ornon, Alpe d'Huez et al, in the mornings, we'll be catching all the action live on the tele in the arvos, getting the odd tip from the race front, and keeping everyone up to date, as usual.
Tomorrow:  Stage 8, May 14, Sapri - Tropea 214 km One more to keep the sprinter's teams occupied.

In The (Time) Zone by David Olle, Italy, +39 333 5959 217 (twitter feed @DavidOLLE)

For those in Australia, SBS2 does a daily report on the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) called by Matt Keenan in the evenings, catch them if you can.
Stage 6, May 12, Orvieto - Fiuggi Terme 195 km

Gloriously beautiful stage running out of Tuscany into Lazio.  Lots of attacks once the break was caught.  In the finale it looked like it was down to the resurrected drug cheats when first Emmanuelle Sella (2 years, from '08 giro) attacked, followed by Danilo Di Luca (<2 years, from '09 Giro), before Petacchi chased down Di Luca with Ventoso on his wheel.  Just before the line Petacchi kicked, hit the front and looked set to win, before sitting up, and rolling across the line for 2nd.  It was weird.

Petacchi, italian for Sally Robbins....

Results
1 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 5:15:39  
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Lampre - ISD    
3 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Androni Giocattoli

General classification
1 Pieter Weening (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team 20:15:12  
2 Kanstantsin Sivtsov (Blr) HTC-Highroad 0:00:02  
3 Marco Pinotti (Ita) HTC-Highroad

Skippy report:  All skips pleading docile at the moment.  All looking set for action in the 3rd week, when it counts.

Balsamic Basics Report:  Further on the Balsamic vinegar story (because it seemed to strike a chord with many).  This is the basics of it.  You get 5 barrels, ideally, of varying sizes and place them in your attic, presuming you live in Modena.  (Well, if you are being really ideal, your great-great grandfather will have done this for you).  Keep your barrels dry, vented to atmosphere, and in an area with maximum temperature changes.  Year zero, you fill the biggest barrel with wine.  After one year, you pass about half the contents of the large barrel into a smaller one, remembering to refill the big one again.  Year two introduce half contents from barrel two to barrel three, refill barrel two from one, then refill one again.  Introduce two more barrels over the next two years, repeating the process every year for the next twenty or so.  You get to use a little from the smallest barrel after 5 years, if you like.

After twenty five years you will have quarter century aged wine vinegar.  If you started with cooked white Trebbiano grape juice, and you did live in Modena, what you have ‘may' be traditional balsamic vinegar, but as the name is protected under the DOC law of Europe (denomination origin control) I won't guarantee it.  The development process has been going on for over a thousand years, and some vinegars can be over two hundred year old, with a corresponding price. 

If it is all down to a dry environment with maximum temperature fluctuations, I can think of nothing better than filling the roof spaces of Melbourne with vinegar barrels.  The next big thing "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Melbourne".  Now that would be something worthy to pass onto the grandkids.    
Quirk?:  see above.

Tomorrow:  Stage 7, May 13, Maddaloni - Montevergine di Mercogliano 100 km

In The (Time) Zone by David Olle, Italy, +39 333 5959 217 (twitter feed @DavidOLLE)

For those in Australia, SBS2 does a daily report on the Giro d'Italia (Tour of Italy) called by Matt Keenan in the evenings, catch them if you can.
Stage 5, May 11, Piombino - Orvieto 201 km

BMC's Kohler fashioned a 175k solo breakaway, led over all the ‘Strade Bianche' (unmade road) sections, getting caught by another two, with under 20k to go.  At 8.5k Pieter Weening (Holland) took off and solo'd in for the win and the pink jersey.    
Results
1  Pieter Weening (Rabobank)              4:54:49
2  Fabio Duarte (Geox-TMC)                 + 0:08
3  José Serpa (Androni)

General classification after Stage 5
1  Pieter Weening (Rabobank)
2  Marco Pinotti (HTC-Highroad)            + 0:02
3  Kanstantin Siutsou (HTC-Highroad)

Skippy report:  
Can't say the Skips featured at all today.  There was at least 5 separate crashes, so at least they didn't feature there either.

Cuisine Report:  (this is from the other day, when the stage started in Reggio Emilia)
I am aware that everyone in Italy is parochial about their products, from proscuito to pomegranites to pasta to pomodori.  Our weather is unique here, they all exclaim, the dew/wind/heat/fog/rain/reflection of the sun/moon comes off the hills/lake/sea/mountains/plains, and our soil is unique, all claiming to have no equal in the world.  Many a time, have I heard a different version of the above, many a time.

However, there is one product from one town, that is for sale in every supermarket and found in every kitchen I have been into, from Marsala to Milano.  Balsamic vinegar from Modena.  It transcends all.  And there has been many a family feud started in Modena, over who the barrels in the attic go to.  My friend Arturo is in control of his family barrels.  His lament is they are only small, and he can only milk ONE bottle per year from the attic.  We were treated some on our salad, on our last visit, but, note well, we were definitely not allowed to pour.          

Observation:  on Sunday when we turned up to receive our press accreditation at the Giro press room, there was one young girl only, working the desk.  Halfway through doing our accred she addressed the 4 or 5 waiting in the queue behind us.  ‘you're all going to have to come back later, as I am the only one here, and I am going to lunch now'.  The response was mixed, but along the lines of ‘we've got to cover the race'  her final reply was, ‘it's after one, I'm going to lunch' and that was it.  Lunch waits for no one.    

Tomorrow:  Stage 6, May 12, Orvieto - Fiuggi Terme 195 km