Cadel Evans finishes 2nd; Arroyo hangs on to overall Giro d'Italia 2010 lead.

Stefano Garzelli won an arduous mountain time trial ahead of world champion Cadel Evans in the 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia on Tuesday.

David Arroyo Duran of Spain held on to the overall leader's pink jersey and showed the pre-race favorites he won't be easy to pass before the race ends in Verona on Sunday.

"I'm prepared to fight with them until the end," Arroyo Duran said.

The 36-year-old Garzelli, who won the Giro 10 years ago, timed 41 minutes, 28 seconds in the 12.9-kilometer (8-mile) completely uphill leg from San Vigilio di Marebbe to Plan de Corones.

"This is one of the best days of my career - at nearly 37 it's incredible," Garzelli commented after finishing the individual mountain time trial.

Swinging his BMC team machine SLR01 side-to-side and gritting his teeth, Evans was only 42 seconds slower than stage winner Stefano Garzell (Acqua e Sapone). The climb included stretches of hard-packed gravel. "I went my own pace," Evans commented. "The stage was hard and a bit dangerous at times because of the crowds. But I was was feeling good with my experience in mountain biking."

Evans pulled back 28 seconds on Ivan Basso (Liquigas), who moved into second overall. "There's still a ways to go. It's still an open Giro," Evans said.

John Gadret of France was third, 54 seconds back.

Ivan Basso finished sixth in the stage, 1:10 behind, to move up from third to second overall, 2:27 behind Arroyo Duran. Richie Porte of Australia dropped to third overall, 2:36 behind, and Evans moved up a spot to fourth, 3:09 back.

"I really struggled today. It was a very tough stage for me," said Basso, who is considered the race favorite at this point. "There are still some tough stages to go and I'm not counting anyone out yet."

With snow lining the route and gradients as high as 24 percent, the stage was made even tougher with the final 5.3 kilometers (3.3 miles) on a dirt road.

With the finish at an altitude of 2,273 meters (7,457 feet) and a bright sun, many riders appeared on the verge of fainting when they got off their bikes. Italy's national time trial champion Marco Pinotti was so weakened he had to have an assistant remove his helmet.

The final section was so steep, with turns so tight, that team cars were banned, meaning mechanics rode (or tried to) behind the cyclists on specially outfitted motorcycles.

However, the motorcycle following Basso fell twice and a Liquigas team member had to run part of the way just in case of a mechanical problem.

Stay tuned to us here at Roadcycling.com for full 2010 Giro d'Italia coverage including daily video highlights from the Giro in our Roadcycling.com video section and visit www.universalsports.com/cycling for live video from the Giro d'Italia.

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