We couldn’t catch up with Nicki Sørensen until the sign-in protocol before Saturday’s stage to get his reaction to his dramatic attack the previous day: “My legs were feeling good over the Vivione. The breakaway was working well together and we knew we were going to have enough time to win the stage. I got the bonk on the final climb. It’s too bad. When (Vasil) Kiryienka attacked, I couldn’t go with him. Under normal conditions, I think I could have stayed with him. He was the strongest in the group. He surprised me. I didn’t think he’d be so strong.”

Australian rider Brad McGee is recovering well from his crash in stage 3 at the Giro d’Italia and hasn’t lost all hope of perhaps earning a spot in the Tour de France team. “It’s not out of the question, but realistically a long shot. Look at the list of amazing riders CSC can choose from,” McGee said in a chat on Team CSC’s Web page. “One thing for sure is, that if called for I will be ready to deliver all that I have.” McGee is undergoing extensive rehab work to recover from surgery that placed screws into his shoulder to help repair the broken bone. His first race back will be the Dutch Food Valley Classic on June 11.

There were no major shakeups in Friday’s fifth stage at the Volta a Catalunya as French rider Sylvain Chavanel won in a solo breakaway in the 163.5-kilometer stage from Ascó to El Vendrell. Thor Hushovd led the peloton across the line at 2:37 back while Remi Pauriol retained the overall lead but just two seconds over Josep Jufré. Team CSC will see if it can try something in Saturday’s 163.9-kilometer stage from El Vendrell to Pallejà. The bumpy stage could see another breakaway.

Bradley McGee is wasting no time in his recovery from surgery Monday to repair a broken clavicle that sent him packing in stage 3 at the Giro d’Italia. The Aussie, who underwent surgery Monday and was released from the hospital Wednesday, promises to begin training as soon as he can. “The operation went well, although it took a bit longer than I’d expected. Before the operation we’d talked about how important it was for the plate to be placed exactly right, because of the way the bone had fractured so it took a while for them to get it just right. But apparently they’ve done a really great job so I think it’ll work out perfectly afterwards,” said McGee during a chat with CSC’s fan club. “I’m starting my training program straight away, but I actually got some training in already before the surgery so I’m sure I’ll come back even stronger.”

The surviving seven Team CSC riders at the 91st Giro d’Italia enjoy a well-deserved rest day Monday. But not before the team had to make another long, grueling 400-kilometer transfer from the finish of Sunday’s stage and the start of Tuesday’s individual time trial. At least they’ll be in the comfort of the Team CSC bus, which features showers, televisions, couches and coolers with cold drinks. So what will Team CSC be doing on Monday? As little as possible, explains sport director Kim Andersen. “Tomorrow we take a long sleep in the morning and then we’ll take a look at the time trial course,” Andersen said. “Then the rest of the day we’ll take a rest and be ready for the chrono. The rest day comes at a good time.”