Ivan Basso and his Liquigas team produced some devastating results over the fi🐬nale of the fifth day of the Giro d'Italia on Wednesday in the Dolomites: Lance Armstrong lost 2:53 to his Italian rival, Damiano Cunego 2:34, Gilberto Simoni lost 42 seconds and Michael Rogers lost 17 seconds.

Basso finished fourth, five seconds behind stage winner Denisꦇ Menchov (Rabobank) and is now 1:06 behind new race leader Danilo Di Luca (LPR Brakes-Farnese Vin💎i).

"Someꩵ riders don't handle such short stages well. Honestly, I ♑was worried going into it. After the first pass there was a long descent and immediately the ascent to Siusi," the 2006 Giro d'Italia winner Basso told Cyclingnews

The 24.9-kilometre Alpe di Siusi climb ended a 💃day that started an 8.2-kilometre Passo Rolle. The first climb produced the stage's escape, but the finale ♓on Siusi allowed Liquigas to blow out their rivals.

"You saw in the last four kilometres, I was al💃ways puling hard. 🧸It is hard to make a big difference on such a short stages, though. It really is a strange Giro, we are in the fifth day and it is difficult to manage such a climb so soon."

Liquigas managed the stage with𓄧 five men at the start of Siusi. Kjell Carlström and Vladimir Miholjevic drove before handing the pace making over to Sylvester Szm🐟yd and Franco Pellizotti. Szmyd's pull from seven to three kilometres remaining was the most impressive.

"Szmyd and all of the team showed themselves well. Pellizotti, you have to ask him. I think he wa💜s going well but lacked a little bit to stay with the first riders."

Basso warned that there are still some dangerous days in this first week– tomorrow and the stage to Bergamo on Saturday – but the next show down will be the Cinque Terre time trial, stage 12. He has p🐻reviewed the 60.6-kilometre stage more times than his rivals and is well positioned to take the race leader's maglia rosa, his first since 2006.