Team Liquigas leader Ivan Basso proved that he is the man for the mountains, stamping out a decisive win atop Monte Zoncolan to claim victory in Stage 15 of the Giro.

In the final 5k, Basso rode away from BMC's Cadel Evans, gapping the world champ by a full 1:19 at the finish. 

David Arroyo of Caisse d'Epargne keeps the Maglia Rosa for another day, inspite of finishing in 11th place, 3:50 behind Basso. Arroyo leads Richie Porte of Saxo Bank by 2:35, with Basso in third, 3:33 back after two weeks of racing.

Monday is a well-earned off day for the racers of the Giro. On Tuesday, they face the brutal uphill time trial to Plan de Corones. We'll be there to show you what we saw, and bring you our own unique coverage of the 2010 Giro d'Italia this Tuesday on CycleTo.

Everybody loves free stuff...and everybody loves Jelly Belly racer Mike Friedman.

The cyclist nicknamed "Meatball" because of his full-figured physique, has a new ritual at the Tour of California. Every day at the pre-race sign-in, Friedman tosses little Jelly Belly "Sport Bean" packets to anybody and everybody in the crowd.

Looking more like a baseball outfielder than a cyclist, he throws 'em to the fans on both sides of the stage, and even a few of the guys in the race scramble to grab the freebie beans.

Check out Meatball's technique, in the following CycleTo video.

He's quickly becoming the surprise star of the 2010 Tour of California.

First it was a sprint to the line in Bakersfield...and now, 20-year-old Liquigas rookie Peter Sagan wins his second straight race with a victory on the mountain top finish at Big Bear. After 14,000 feet of climbing, Sagan won the sprint at...gasp...7,000 feet above sea level, out-kicking United Healthcare's Rory Sutherland and overall leader Mick Rogers of HTC-Columbia.

Sagan is now third in the overall standings, just ahead of three-time California champ Levi Leipheimer.

Saturday's individual time trial could decide the winner of this year's event. Three of the top four...Rogers, Leipheimer and Garmin's Dave Zabriskie are all world-class time trial-ers. A win in the LA TT could send one of them to the top of the final podium on Sunday.

He is one of the world's biggest cycling fans, and he's one the funniest people on the planet.

When Robin Williams shows up at a bike race, you never know what might happen.

Our CycleTo camera was rolling as BMC chief mechanic Ian Sherburne gave Robin the up-close-and-personal look at the bikes the BMC team rides in the Tour of California.

A word of warning. This video is rated "R" because of some "colorful" language from Mr. Williams. See and hear it for yourself, below.

Between all the racing in the Tour of California, and all the controversy stirred-up by the latest allegations from Floyd Landis, we've had little time to pay attention to what's going on over in Italy. 

But don't worry...we're off to Italia this weekend, to bring you our own unique coverage from the 2010 Giro d'Italia. 

Starting with the uphill TT to Plan de Corones, ending with the TT in Verona, and climbing over the Mortirolo and the Gavia in between, CycleTo will be on-site in Italy to bring you all the sights and sounds of the Giro.

It's been a crazy race so far. All the big names lost huge chunks of time on Wednesday, when an escape went up the road, and the leaders all missed the selection. As of this morning, after Stage 12, Richie Porte of Saxo Bank is in the Maglia Rosa, with all the major contenders trailing: Carlos Sastre (+7:09), Bradley Wiggins (+8:14), Alexandre Vinokourov (+9:48), Cadel Evans (+11:10), Vincenzo Nibali (+11:18) and  Ivan Basso (+11:39).

...but the real racing starts next Tuesday. We'll be there when it matters.

Liquigas rookie Peter Sagan out-kicked his elders and won the Bakersfield finish of today's Tour of California stage.

Sagan won the sprint to the line, ahead of HTC-Columbia's Mick Rogers, Dave Zabriskie of Garmin-Slipstream and RadioShack's Chris Horner.

After running the numbers and calculating the time bonuses, Rogers takes the overall lead, with DZ in second and Levi Leipheimer third. 

It's a great day for the 20-year-old Sagan, but it's not a good day for 38-year-old Lance Armstrong. First, he had to face Floyd Landis' doping allegations this morning, then less than 30 minutes into the race, he crashed. Lance did remount his bike and try to solider on, but his injuries were just too painful. Armstrong abandoned the race, leaving Levi with one less strong teammate to help him try to win a fourth straight Tour of California title.

Tomorrow, it's the Queen Stage of the race...217km from Palmdale to the mountain-top finish at Big Bear. Ouch!

I wonder how all those people who gave money to the "Floyd Fairness Fund" feel now?

If you want to hear my take on all of this, and the possible motivation behind Floyd's allegations, go here.

During the entire Tour of California, the riders on Lance Armstrong's RadioShack team will be honoring cancer fighters and survivors with individual "I Ride For..." stickers on their Trek bikes. It's a very personal way of highlighting the global battle against cancer.

We have all been touched by this disease, either through our own experiences, or through the experiences of friends and family. I ride for Harold Cullinan and Meg Page, two great people who both lost their own battles with cancer.

Who do you ride for? You can join the campaign, and make your own personalized "I Ride For..." stickers here.

We talked to RadioShack's Chris Horner and Levi Leipheimer about the "I Ride For..." effort, and who they're riding for, in the following CycleTo video.

Liquigas fast-man Francesco Chicchi...nicknamed "The Sheriff"...out-kicked HTC-Columbia's Cav to the line, after nearly 200km of racing from San Jose. Saxo Bank's JJ Haedo is second, while Cavendish had to settle for third.

The overall standings in the Tour of California remain the same. Garmin's Dave Zabriskie leads HTC's Mick Rogers by four seconds, with Levi Leipheimer of RadioShack six seconds behind DZ in third.

Stage 5 rolls tomorrow, 196km from Visalia to Bakersfield, including the big-ass climb up Old Stage Road at the halfway point.