What happened to Farrar's lead for the red jersey?

[BERGP01]

Does anyone know why Tyler Farrar lost his advantage in the points classification after yesterday's crazy stage?
It looks like everybody in the last group (at 46.31) got a penalty of 25 points.
To stay in the race, because they exceeded the time limit?
Or did they just receive illegal help from sport directors?

 

[Tugboat]

Penalty for being outside the time limit... better to lose some points than get kicked out of the race.

 

[Jamsque]

It's a shame, though, because it means he probably won't finish the race. He said he would only ride through week 3 if he had a chance at winning the points jersey overall, and that's pretty much out the window now. There are a couple more potential sprints left, but I would expect him to climb off before Zoncolan.

Also, when did the points jersey at the Giro stop being the Maglia Cyclamino? I kind of liked it.

 

[tgsgirl]

Also, when did the points jersey at the Giro stop being the Maglia Cyclamino? I kind of liked it.

They went with an Italian flag this year - green, white and red.

 

[BERGP01]

Jamsque: That's the first thing I thought whan I noticed the new difference.
Shame because I feel the points jersey belongs to a sprinter, or at least someone outside the top 10 of GC.

Thanks for the extra info about the jerseys & the italian flag.
It hadn't crossed my mind.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Shame because I feel the points jersey belongs to a sprinter, or at least someone outside the top 10 of GC.

This is a common misconception; perhaps because the Tour de France skews the available points towards flat stages in order to give the sprinters more chance to win. Most races go with the same system as the Giro and Vuelta, that is, 25 for the winner, 20 for second, 16 for third, 14 for fourth, 12 for fifth, then 10 down to 1 for sixth-fifteenth, or a similar one. The points jersey is designed to reward consistency - in fact in Spain it is often called the maillot de la regularidad. The winner of the points jersey is often either a sprinter with consistent good results, or a GC candidate. Danilo di Luca won it last year but the year before that Daniele Bennati took it, which allows for a different aspect to the competition. It can create some interesting battles, as lesser GC men who can be 'up there' in mountain stages can then get in the mix for the sprints in flat and intermediate stages in order to compete for the green jersey - Kim Kirchen in the 2008 Tour springs to mind in particular here, but Damiano Cunego has also been known to behave thus.

 

[Califootman]

If that's the case, I'm suprised the Giro doesn't have both... a Points jersey for "consistency" with points available at all stage finishes and intermediate spots, and a Sprinter's jersey for "pure" sprinters with points available only at the finish line on flat stages.

Isn't the Giro's goal to become like sporting contests for four-year olds? Enough prizes (jerseys) so that everyone goes home with something no matter where/if you finish...