Giro Jot del Giorno - 5/13/2012

Ryder Hesjedal had to fight hard on the steepest parts of the final climb in today's stage to retain the pink jersey, which he did, even though Purito Rodriguez ate into his lead by snagging the 8 second time bonus for finishing third. Hesjedal is the first Canadian to wear the maglia rosa, garnering intense scrutiny and interest from sports fans in his home country. Commentator Steve Schlanger remarked that Ryder has Canadians' full attention because there are no Canadian teams left in the NHL playoffs. A very rare occurrence, indeed.