Top Three:
Final Standings

1. Stefano Garzelli
2. Francesco Casagrande
3. Gilberto Simoni

VeloNews Coverage of the '99 Giro

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2000Daily stages of the Giro.  

'99 Giro

Results

By Mike Price 

MILAN, Italy, June 4 (Reuters) - The Giro d'Italia wheel of fortune has turned full circle. 

On Sunday Stefano Garzelli stood in triumph on the Milan podium, resplendent in the pink of victory. Yet a year ago he and his team mates shunned the final stage to this city in protest at the Giro expulsion of Marco Pantani. 

That was the misery that followed Pantani's positive blood test, 48 hours before he was due to mount the podium for his second Giro triumph. 

A year later the supermarket-sponsored squad have plenty to celebrate. 

Not just Garzelli's overall win by one minute and 27 seconds from fellow Italian Francesco Casagrande, but a strong signal that Pantani's comeback is finally on course. 

After 3,698 kilometres the Giro curtain came down with Mariano Piccoli scoring a 13th stage win for Italy after the final 189 kilometres from Turin, but the day belonged to Garzelli, and Pantani. 

When Pantani arrived in Rome 22 days ago to start the Giro it was his first encounter with racing for almost a year. It soon showed as he lost time even on the climbs where he normally rules. 

Then on Friday he had the fans celebrating his second placing at Briancon. In a sense it was victory for a man fighting his way back to the form of 1998 when he won the Giro and the Tour de France. 

On Sunday the banners were out, saluting Garzelli's victory, and declaring Pantani as favourite for next month's Tour de France. 

After days of stalemate among the contenders in the mountains Garzelli broke Casagrande's 11-day grip on the leader's jersey. 

His aim was to start strongly in Saturday's mountain time trial to Sestriere to ``psyche out'' the solemn Tuscan, but Garzelli did not realise that Casagrande had a handicap. 

During the mountain stages he had trouble with his sciatic nerve, which numbed his left leg, and in the time trial Casagrande struggled through the first 10 kilometres, able to use only his right leg strongly. 

This revelation answered those who criticised his failure to attack. Casagrande said: ``If I could have given more to gain time I would have.  

``I am sorry to lose the Giro like this, but I have no regrets. I still have two or three years in which to try again.'' 

One consolation for Casagrande was that his Giro successes have raised him to number one in the world rankings. 

SESTRIERE, Italy, June 3 (Reuters) - Stefano Garzelli snatched the Giro d'Italia lead from fellow Italian Francesco Casagrande on Saturday's penultimate stage. 

He finished one minute 52 seconds faster than Casagrande in a 34 km time trial. 

Casagrande, first overall for 11 days, had his 25-second advantage turned into a 1:25 deficit. 

Garzelli was third on the stage behind Czech winner Jan Hruska. Casagrande struggled home ninth. 

Casagrande hit trouble on the climb to the summit of Montginevro, which he reached 1:45 slower than Garzelli and almost a minute behind Italian Gilberto Simoni, who started third overall. 

But Casagrande fought back to stay second overall by the narrow margin of six seconds.