# Giro d'Italia **Spoilers**



## thom (22 Apr 2014)

Granted we have a threads about the Norn Iron bits however not one dedicated to the racing.

The Start List is available now.

A cursory glance at the contenders might give the impression the really big guys aren't lining up for this one but a second look shows Basso, Cunego, Hesjedal & Scarponi have all been on the top of the podium, Uran Uran & J Rod have been 2nd while Evans won the tour with Quintana placing second there last year. 

Quintana is my favourite with Uran Uran up there too.


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## smutchin (22 Apr 2014)

I'd love to see some of the young guns given a chance to shine - Ulissi and Majka in particular strike me as two who could usurp their nominal team leaders before the end of the race. Cunego seems to be gearing up for this one nicely, but I don't see him as a GT winner any more, and I'm not sure Roche ever was - though if Hesjedal can do it...


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## LarryDuff (22 Apr 2014)

This might be a daft question but. With the Giro starting with a TTT, who wears pink on the next stage? Is it the 1st man over the line from the winning team?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (22 Apr 2014)

LarryDuff said:


> This might be a daft question but. With the Giro starting with a TTT, who wears pink on the next stage? Is it the 1st man over the line from the winning team?


Yes


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## rich p (4 May 2014)

Okay not long to go now before the first GT of the year. It lacks the heavyweights we have been used to in previous years but it shoud be a fascinating battle and parcours as usual.
Quintana is odds on but many a slip, as they say.
If I was a betting man, I'd rather have a few quid on Purito at 5-2 or even Cuddles or Dan Martin at 12/1 and 33/1 .
I don't rate Uran's chances unless he's been keeping his powder very dry up until now, nor Pozzovivo's apart from stages.

Scarponi and Basso too old (and dopers!), Majka too young. Hesjedal hasn't been on the case since he fessed up to being a previous doper but didn't inhale.
Anyone I've missed?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (4 May 2014)

I'm going for Cuddles to win


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## T.M.H.N.E.T (4 May 2014)

Don't care who wins, @Marmion promised me a pint though


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## Crackle (4 May 2014)

Purito must be due to not be a gallant 2nd surely.


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## Monsieur Remings (4 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Okay not long to go now before the first GT of the year. It lacks the heavyweights we have been used to in previous years but it shoud be a fascinating battle and parcours as usual.
> Quintana is odds on but many a slip, as they say.
> If I was a betting man, I'd rather have a few quid on Purito at 5-2 or even Cuddles or Dan Martin at 12/1 and 33/1 .
> I don't rate Uran's chances unless he's been keeping his powder very dry up until now, nor Pozzovivo's apart from stages.
> ...



What he said; I see it the same way. I think Purito is worth a shout and having shown what he can do in the elite company of Froome, Contador and Quintana (at Tirreno-Adriatico) this may well be his GT.

I'd still love the Columbian to do it though, if only to set up the TDF 2015 as I am under the impression he will not be there this year. I can't see Hesjedal doing what he once could do and I'm not sure that Daniel Martin will have enough either.

Looking forward to see whether any of the other sprinters - Viviani and Bouhanni in particular - can trouble Kittel. Something tells me not.


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## rich p (4 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Purito must be due to not be a gallant 2nd surely.


I'd like to see Rodriguez win too


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## smutchin (4 May 2014)

I fear Purito is destined to be always the bridesmaid. Never seems to quite have what it takes. He may never get a better chance at a GT though, and he does appear to be in good shape.


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## themosquitoking (5 May 2014)

Quintana and Purito are my two favourites, this is going to be epic.


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## beastie (5 May 2014)

Cadel FTW. Purito 2nd and Quintana 3rd.


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## The Couch (6 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Okay not long to go now before the first GT of the year. It lacks the heavyweights we have been used to in previous years but it shoud be a fascinating battle and parcours as usual.
> Quintana is odds on but many a slip, as they say.
> If I was a betting man, I'd rather have a few quid on Purito at 5-2 or even Cuddles or Dan Martin at 12/1 and 33/1 .
> I don't rate Uran's chances unless he's been keeping his powder very dry up until now, nor Pozzovivo's apart from stages.
> ...


I'd rate Pozzovivo (currently) as high as Martin, he has been riding pretty good this year and has proven in the previous years he can be a GT man (Martin yet to do so)

You did forget Cunego, who has a bit of a revival season. But he'd do well to get a top 5.

You also forgot 2012 number 3... Thomas De Gendt . He doesn't look to be anywhere near that form (so personally I'd not even put him at a Cunego, Scarponi, Basso expectancy -level), but then again he wasn't among the favourites 2 years ago either. He's just a weird rider that is completely unpredictable.


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## Hont (6 May 2014)

Would love to see Cadel do it, but I can't see it happening. He's quite old now and hasn't really shown GT winning form this year. I can't help feeling that it will be between Quintana, Uran (4th in the Romandie TT) or Purito but I'll be cheering on Dan Martin.

Right that's the five to watch that cycling news picked out, so if someone else wins then it's not my fault I missed them.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (6 May 2014)

Should we have a Punditry thread to guess which other riders won't get a visa? 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astana-have-giro-ditalia-visa-problems


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## Flying_Monkey (6 May 2014)

Kennaugh is out (illness) - which means Sky will have their 4th (or 5th) choice, Nieve, as their GC contender. Not looking like its going to be a good Giro for them at all this year.


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## Flick of the Elbow (6 May 2014)

I wonder if the Tour riders are going to have the same issues with visas. Is it because the department processing them doesn't realize what the Giro is? Or is it because it involves the security issues of Belfast ?


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## Flick of the Elbow (6 May 2014)

Cuddles for the win, sounds good to me


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## tug benson (6 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Kennaugh is out (illness) - which means Sky will have their 4th (or 5th) choice, Nieve, as their GC contender. Not looking like its going to be a good Giro for them at all this year.


 Neive isn`t riding it.


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## Crackle (6 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> Should we have a Punditry thread to guess which other riders won't get a visa?
> 
> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/astana-have-giro-ditalia-visa-problems


That's ever so slightly embarrassing. Are you sure they're going to let you in when you go over?


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## Flick of the Elbow (7 May 2014)

I think I see the problem, somebody remembered all those giro funded UK cyclists of the 80's and assumed that all these foreign cyclists were requesting entry in order to start claiming social security. No wonder there's been delays in granting them.


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## beastie (7 May 2014)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/giro-ditalia/preview

Robert Millar preview on CN


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## rich p (9 May 2014)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rogers-returns-to-grand-tour-racing-at-giro-ditalia
anyone know if there's a clen issue with Irish beef?


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## The Couch (9 May 2014)

rich p said:


> http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/rogers-returns-to-grand-tour-racing-at-giro-ditalia
> anyone know if there's a clen issue with Irish beef?


Don't think so, but he'd better not make a stop in Scotland for some old-fashioned Haggis... who knows what can be found in that


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## Hont (9 May 2014)

Hont said:


> I'll be cheering on Dan Martin.


Or not, as it turns out. I'm guessing he's walked under a ladder recently.


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## dragon72 (9 May 2014)

Hont said:


> Or not, as it turns out. I'm guessing he's walked under a ladder recently.


You gave him the kiss of death. Nice one, Hont.


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## Apollonius (9 May 2014)

Horrible for Dan Martin. I must admit to lining up behind him as he comes from round these parts (Tamworth). Going on form from this season it looks like Cuddles is well placed.


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## Flick of the Elbow (9 May 2014)

What a disaster for Martin ! And for the rest of Garmin. 
But great to see the birthday dono to Tuft, a nice touch of teamsmanship.


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## Donger (9 May 2014)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> What a disaster for Martin ! And for the rest of Garmin.
> But great to see the birthday dono to Tuft, a nice touch of teamsmanship.


 Garmin must be pig sick. Worst start I've seen to a sporting event since I tripped up before the starting line in the sack race at Mapledene Junior School back in the 1960s.


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## Booyaa (9 May 2014)

We were discussing who was going to win this today at work, I said Dan Martin.... I've lost before the end of the first stage. Poor Dan.


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## SWSteve (9 May 2014)

Sky have done a class A effort at ****ing things up again, just put on Sky Sports to catch the highlights from earlier...oh, and cricket is on. It's a good job they don't pour money into a team to sponsor their own products


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## Keith Oates (10 May 2014)

Really bad luck for Martin who I thought may have done quite well in the Giro this year. Hours of training and all ruined by a split second mishap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## threebikesmcginty (10 May 2014)

Martin should get some stabilisers, poor bloke.


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## Louch (10 May 2014)

He should have went in the cycle path .....


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## Kiwiavenger (10 May 2014)

That crash looked horrendous, very slippy roads though. Hope they're not too badly knocked about and are all back on the bike soon


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## Pedrosanchezo (10 May 2014)

Shame for both riders. Both with broken collarbones.

Velo news has a piece on it

Here are some pics, though not overly pretty. 

GC is wide open though.


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## rich p (10 May 2014)

Typical Dolomitic weather conditions today!


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## thom (10 May 2014)

I'll have you know @rich p that 2 weeks ago it was 20 degrees and fabulous in Norn Iron. 
Apparently…

Back on the Dan Martin crash, it seems he touched wheels with the guy in front on a manhole cover.
We were 3 km from the end and not sure what was going on but you could almost tell something bad had happened because the time gap to Garmin was obviously much longer than for the others. They came through with 5 guys, then a couple a bit further back and one more I think after another team had passed. He looked in a bad way - I think it must have been Fernandez. Hats off to him for making it round as it seems he also broke something.


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## rich p (10 May 2014)

thom said:


> I'll have you know @rich p that 2 weeks ago it was 20 degrees and fabulous in Norn Iron.
> Apparently…
> 
> .


Farenheit?


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## thom (10 May 2014)

This is far better conditions than a wet Milan San-Remo and equally as spectacular coastal scenery


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## rich p (10 May 2014)

thom said:


> This is far better conditions than a wet Milan San-Remo and equally as spectacular coastal scenery


Great to see the massive level of support from our countryfolk!


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## Apollonius (10 May 2014)

Chapeau to the people of Northern Ireland for massive support despite the rain.
Mrs A and I considered going to today and taking a little ride out on the Antrim coast. After discovering that it was easier and cheaper to go to Italy and do it, we decided to base ourselves in Riva del Garda and visit from there instead. Having done about 20km in today's rain here in Staffordshire, I think we made the right choice!


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## thom (10 May 2014)

Kittel gets it on a rainy day - sounds like there were no more injurious moments thankfully.

My favourite bit was the horses on the beach at Carnlough with riders dressed in Pink. Great to see so many people out to see the event. It is tempting to say something about events like these helping people becoming more outward looking - fingers crossed in that regard.

What I can say is there was genuine peace in Belfast yesterday. With the roads closed to traffic in what is the most congested city in the UK per head of population (taxi driver fact alert), it was great to be able to wander through the city centre without without incessant traffic noise ;-)


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## smutchin (11 May 2014)

Must admit I thought Giant had cocked it up going into the last bend, with OGE setting it up nicely for Matthews, but Kittel made it look easy in the end.


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## smutchin (11 May 2014)

Great finish. Kittel just too powerful.


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## y2blade (11 May 2014)

I must say I'm really enjoying the coverage on Eurosport, shame about the weather but the guys seem to be enjoying it regardless


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## thom (11 May 2014)

Kittel shows a bit of class there - Cannondale and SKY seemed to have edged him off the best position and Ben Swift came oh so close but Kittel had a different gear in the end.

Glad that overall the crowds came out all along the route to get into the swing of things - shame about the weather, as always. If they'd come in August then perhaps they might have been a bit luckier… And the cost to host at somewhere around 4.2 million in the north compares rather favourably to the 27 million needed to bring the tour to yorkshire.


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## Crackle (11 May 2014)

So close for Swift. I look forward to seeing what else he can do this Giro.


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## Apollonius (11 May 2014)

I don't think Sky have a particularly strong team out, but that was a good effort from them today. 

Just been looking at the contour profiles for some of the final week stages. That should be interesting!


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## jifdave (11 May 2014)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4ToNryyyUs


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBrwyJBtrdc


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## themosquitoking (11 May 2014)

Apollonius said:


> I don't think Sky have a particularly strong team out, but that was a good effort from them today.
> 
> Just been looking at the contour profiles for some of the final week stages. That should be interesting!


The final time trail, stage 19 i think, looks like a killer. At least i would die trying it.


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## LarryDuff (13 May 2014)

Kittel out. Didn't start stage 4.


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## The Couch (13 May 2014)

And the riders (Paolini mostly) are discussing with the organisation to cancel the final 8 laps (to avoid dangerous situations with the heavy weather)


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## LarryDuff (13 May 2014)

Should have stayed in Ireland, hasn't rained today. Yet.


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## deptfordmarmoset (13 May 2014)

It looks like they should have gone to Barry.

It does look like this is staying neutralised till the commissaire decides how to finish it.


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## beastie (13 May 2014)

It's a right slow burner the Giro this year......if it wasn't for Kittel and his amazing sprinting.......thank god they are back in the sunshine of Bari.............

Oh.

Never mind.


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## Crackle (13 May 2014)

25 years they've waited for a stage and they're all trundling around enjoying the scenery.


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## MikeG (13 May 2014)

thom said:


> ......... the 27 million needed to bring the tour to yorkshire.



To where?

I always thought Finchingfield was in Essex.........


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## The Couch (13 May 2014)

Why isn't the full FdJ-team falling back to bring Bouhanni back?
(he just has 1 rider helping him and at this end-of-race pace, he'll be knackered when even reaching the back of the peloton)


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## Crackle (13 May 2014)

Crazy finish, everyone skating everywhere. Bouhanni deserved that after the chase back and getting back on to the front after the crashes and then a long sprint to the finish. Mad road surfaces though, you could finally understand why they weren't racing.


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## raindog (13 May 2014)

that might as well have been on ice


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## smutchin (13 May 2014)

Haven't seen any of today's stage yet... What happened to Ben Swift? Did he just not bother contesting it or was he in one of the crashes?


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## Rob3rt (13 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> Haven't seen any of today's stage yet... What happened to Ben Swift? Did he just not bother contesting it or was he in one of the crashes?



Fell off couple of k out.


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## philk56 (13 May 2014)

Sean Kelly summing it up nicely


View: http://youtu.be/S6_KAwV8DL8


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## smutchin (14 May 2014)

He sounds so much more fluent when he doesn't try to contain it.


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## Crackle (14 May 2014)

Interesting finish today. All the contenders there or thereabouts with the finish suiting Evans best of them.


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## Flying_Monkey (14 May 2014)

Nice win for Ulissi - that's the second debut Giro win in a row after Bouhanni yesterday. And after all the pundits saying that the finish today wasn't steep enough to bring out the GC riders and that it would suit people like Swift more, the GC boys all went for it. As for Swift, he had clearly decided from the start that he wasn't going for it (whatever he had said before) or he wouldn't have got in the break. He obviously thinks he's got a chance at the points jersey especially with Kittel gone and getting the intermediate sprint was his best tactical bet today...


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## The Couch (15 May 2014)

The longest stage of the Giro (even made a bit longer due to road works) started in a delightful way today for OPQS:
At 6.50 in the morning they got woken up for a doping check... checks are necessary, but this could have happened with a bit more respect for the riders imo

then again, it could be worse... Lotto Belisol had a fire alarm in their hotel at 6 in the morning


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## MikeG (15 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> .....At 6.50 in the morning they got woken up for a doping check... checks are necessary, but this could have happened with a bit more respect for the riders imo.........



You think ten to seven in the morning is disrespectful? Really?


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## The Couch (15 May 2014)

MikeG said:


> You think ten to seven in the morning is disrespectful? Really?


With the prospect of spending 257km on the bike today (during a multiple stage race), I think the riders probably like to sleep the amount of hours they need/prefer

(I know for a simple working man, this isn't so early, but I wouldn't compare that to what these guys do)


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## The Couch (15 May 2014)

Damn.... 
The images from all these riders that have crashed are amazing 

Flens doesn't have much jersey left
Tuft doesn't have much of his thighes left
Rodriguez is probably out of the Giro (GC ?)

Caruso hopefully has nothing serious


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## Crackle (15 May 2014)

Evans gaining 50secs or so on the other favourites but did he take advantage of that crash?


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## raindog (15 May 2014)

Evans wins the 2014 Giro?


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## dragon72 (15 May 2014)

A stinker of a day for the Columbian GC hopefuls


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## beastie (15 May 2014)

Did BMC have the hammer down before the crash? Certainly they were riding on the front but it seemed tempo sort of pace at most. When they cut to them after the crash it was flat oot. Kelly says the race was on and normally that'll do me but this time I'm not so sure. It makes the last week even more interesting. Quintana could be 3 mins plus down by the TT, meaning he will need to distance Cadel more than once. Mt Zoncolan could well see the jersey change hands just like the organisers wanted.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (15 May 2014)

Go Cuddles, go cuddles <does a wee dance> go cuddles, go cuddles


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## smutchin (15 May 2014)

There's an awful lot of racing left. Surely it's far too early to write anyone off? Evans is clearly in good form but will he he able to keep up with the likes of Quintana and Uran in the big mountains?


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## montage (15 May 2014)

The lack of Rodriguez could see this being a similarly dull giro to last year if either Evans or Quintana are not on form for a real battle


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## thom (15 May 2014)

beastie said:


> Did BMC have the hammer down before the crash? Certainly they were riding on the front but it seemed tempo sort of pace at most. When they cut to them after the crash it was flat oot. Kelly says the race was on and normally that'll do me but this time I'm not so sure. It makes the last week even more interesting. Quintana could be 3 mins plus down by the TT, meaning he will need to distance Cadel more than once. Mt Zoncolan could well see the jersey change hands just like the organisers wanted.


Not just BMC - I wonder whether Matthews, the Pink jersey wearer thought he might play the patron, sit up and await the guys behind.
He also made the choice to continue and so pursue the stage win - if he had decided otherwise, it would have been hard for BMC to continue.

If Cadel does go on to win it (and I'd be happy if he does), I just hope it is by more than these 50 secs.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (15 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> ...will he he able to keep up with the likes of Quintana and Uran in the big mountains?



It'll be a suitcase of pain for them all


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## beastie (15 May 2014)

thom said:


> Not just BMC - I wonder whether Matthews, the Pink jersey wearer thought he might play the patron, sit up and await the guys behind.
> He also made the choice to continue and so pursue the stage win - if he had decided otherwise, it would have been hard for BMC to continue.
> 
> If Cadel does go on to win it (and I'd be happy if he does), I just hope it is by more than these 50 secs.


I have re- watched the crash, and I can't tell if BMC were gunning it.........never mind. If Quintana is near top form then he should take minutes out of Cuddles on more than 2 stages, possibly 3 or 4. However he doesn't look to be on top form yet. If he is just building for the 3 rd week then he should win. If not then it will be down to Uran to pressure and I think Cadel is good enough for that.


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## Crackle (15 May 2014)

Rodriguez has quit

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...guez-abandons-giro-after-stage-6-crash_328029


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## cikoleko (15 May 2014)

What are you thoughts about BMC attacking after massive crash in the peloton..? I thought team radios exist to warn the riders about crash and tell them to lower the pace but probably it's the other way around to warn them about crash and tell them to go full gas because their opponents are in big trouble... Any way do you people accept Evans and Co. statements about that this is racing etc...?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (15 May 2014)

cikoleko said:


> Any way do you people accept Evans and Co. statements about that this is racing etc...?



Yes, not a problem at all. Afterall this is racing. Not a tea party.


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## Crackle (16 May 2014)

cikoleko said:


> What are you thoughts about BMC attacking after massive crash in the peloton..? I thought team radios exist to warn the riders about crash and tell them to lower the pace but probably it's the other way around to warn them about crash and tell them to go full gas because their opponents are in big trouble... Any way do you people accept Evans and Co. statements about that this is racing etc...?


Kelly commentating thought the 'race was on' and a few of the reports mentioned that everyone was out the cars looking after riders who'd crashed, with no time to review the situation until later. Plus Orica didn't slow either. Let's see what else comes out.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (16 May 2014)

I have a good feeling about Evans, despite it being a long way to go. And a bad feeling for a few others...


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## Pedrosanchezo (16 May 2014)

Some horrible crashes. Hope all are okay. 

Evans wasn't in a position to neutralise the race as much as Mathews was. The wearer of the leaders jersey is very much a position of authority and respect, should Mathews have decided to inform Cadel of his intentions to call a temporary truce the Aussie would have had no choice but to comply. The alternative would be unthinkable in terms of etiquette, public opinion and reaction from the Peloton. 

FWIW though, i think the race was on. I don't like Cuddles very much but i don't think he, or BMC, can be blamed.


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## The Couch (16 May 2014)

Pedrosanchezo said:


> Evans wasn't in a position to neutralise the race as much as Mathews was. The wearer of the leaders jersey is very much a position of authority and respect, should Mathews have decided to inform Cadel of his intentions to call a temporary truce the Aussie would have had no choice but to comply. The alternative would be unthinkable in terms of etiquette, public opinion and reaction from the Peloton.



Both Evans and MM were in the position to call this off.
The pink jersey would indeed have been able to make the rest comply, however so would have had the best placed GC rider and 1 of the pre-race favourites.
However, MM quickly realized this was his stage for the taking and Evans realized this were his GC seconds/minutes for the taking.

It's a somewhat comparable situation with the Tour 2012 when Evans got a flat tire in a stage and Wiggo stopped the peloton so he could come back.
- For the record though - I prefer that they ride ahead, since it's part of sport/cycling and if you wait for 1 guy, do you then wait for another and another and another... and where does one draw the line then? (e.g. in that same Tour 2012 both Froome and Jurgen VdB got a flat tire in earlier stages and weren't waited for... although they both had a better GC ranking at the end of the Tour than Evans)


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## Crackle (16 May 2014)

There's a good article in Velonews with previous examples of when a race has been affected in similar way.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...d-debate-reignited-massive-pileup-giro_328060


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## laurence (16 May 2014)

it's a difficult decision... this was different to the Ullrich/ Pharmstrong situation as that was a small group of leaders. from the footage it looks as if there were a couple of crashes (albeit close together) and they were in the main peloton. it isn't as if the GC contenders where together and a couple fell, it was one of those crashes that hits the peloton now and then. you could even say the crash was caused by the speed upping after the breakaways had been caught and the stage finish was near - in that case, any GC rider should have been close to the front to stay out of trouble.

with so many riders down, you could argue that the race should be neutralised for safety, but it is cycling, it is the nature of the sport. from the tv coverage i saw, only Purito was shown to be in trouble (of the main GC contenders). Evans was in a good position, out of trouble on roads that have already seen accidents when wet (not just this year, but it is a common problem on il Giro). he used his head and experience.


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## The Couch (16 May 2014)

Maybe a bit off-topic, but here is a pretty cool video of Adam Hansen showing the Lotto Belisol bus (during this Giro)

Wouldn't have imagined such nice shower on the bus (then again, how should I know)


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## Hont (16 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> There's a good article in Velonews with previous examples of when a race has been affected in similar way.
> 
> http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...d-debate-reignited-massive-pileup-giro_328060


_"...while social media was alight with the “wait or race” debate, most sport directors and riders didn’t even seem to consider it an issue. Crashing is simply part of racing."_

We all love a talking point, but I don't really see an issue. You can't stop the race for every misfortune that befalls one of the favourites. Unless you have a situation where someone attacks _because _someone has a puncture or crash, race on.

There are exceptions to this, though. The incident that The Couch refers to in the Tour of 2012 was caused by someone throwing tacks on the road. That's not a normal racing incident and the last thing you want is for idiots like that to be able to influence the outcome of the race.


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## Hont (16 May 2014)

On a related point, which hasn't really been mentioned: did anyone else think that the 'chase' was really disorganised? It's like Quintana and Uran are not that worried about Evans. Neither of them did any work and the group was going slow enough that people were regularly attacking out of it.


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## The Couch (16 May 2014)

Hont said:


> On a related point, which hasn't really been mentioned: did anyone else think that the 'chase' was really disorganised? It's like Quintana and Uran are not that worried about Evans. Neither of them did any work and the group was going slow enough that people were regularly attacking out of it.


You have a point... I believe nobody really had many good helpers around (or at least they were used rather quickly), which either means that

the other "GC guys" didn't have the legs to pull the group themselves
they were too afraid to pull the group themselves (which could actually also mean that they weren't feeling strong enough)
or maybe they were just too shaken up from the crash

This weekend should tell us much more


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## Flick of the Elbow (16 May 2014)

Loving the pink Colnago of the Japanese guy


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## Strathlubnaig (16 May 2014)

Its a race, not a sunday club run, next thing folk will be suggesting the leader stops to change wheels for guys. In general, race leader has a mechanical or a minor spill, peloton sits up, otherwise it should be allez...


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## Pro Tour Punditry (17 May 2014)

And they're off for stage 8, apart from Cameron Meyer who has retired due to illness.
C'mon Cadel, dig in!


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## Pro Tour Punditry (17 May 2014)

8'15" gap with 122km to go. Great to see the whole stage for a change rather than the last few kms that misses out loads of tactical stuff highlights.


----------



## Crackle (17 May 2014)

Arredondo to hold on, Rolland to catch him or AG2R to drag the whole thing back......


----------



## Scoosh (17 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Arredondo to hold on, Rolland to catch him or AG2R to drag the whole thing back......


Oooops ...


----------



## Crackle (17 May 2014)

Or in fact, none of them.


----------



## tug benson (17 May 2014)

Thought Rolland had that stage..Some finish to the stage..


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (17 May 2014)

Missed the stage finish due to having to go and collect my daughters...bugger.


----------



## rliu (17 May 2014)

Kelderman has shown fantastic form in the mountains and really built on his results in Paris-Nice.


----------



## Strathlubnaig (17 May 2014)

man, all that effort from rolland for foxtrot alpha....


----------



## smutchin (18 May 2014)

rliu said:


> Kelderman has shown fantastic form in the mountains and really built on his results in Paris-Nice.



Another very impressive young rider. It's the burgeoning young talent like Kelderman, Aru, Majka and Ulissi (and not forgetting Quintana) who could make this a very exciting Giro.

Fair play to Evans for using his guile and experience to get to the position he's in now, and he'll probably extend his lead in Thursday's TT, but I want to see all these kids really attack him in the mountains.


----------



## montage (18 May 2014)

What a race (and indeed year) for Orica


----------



## thom (18 May 2014)

montage said:


> What a race (and indeed year) for Orica


I like the Europcar are getting involved too - it is a step up for them this season and they've tried to make an impression these past 2 days.

Pozzovivo showing some form too and backed up by AG2R.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (18 May 2014)

Good to see a few more teams putting in some good performances.


----------



## The Couch (19 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> Fair play to Evans for using his guile and experience to get to the position he's in now, and he'll probably extend his lead in Thursday's TT, but I want to see all these kids really attack him in the mountains.


Not that sure about that, personally can't really remember a very impressive TT from Evans in recent time, while people like Uran and Pozzovivo have surprised last year in a GT TT, while Kelderman should have the best TT of all GC contenders and will likely retake the most time.
Other good TT guys are already a bit far behind (Hesjedal and perhaps Monfort).

So indeed Evans should have more of a benefit (across the competitors), but I personally wouldn't be surprised if the 3 above mentioned guys creep closer to him.


----------



## jifdave (19 May 2014)

It's also a little lumpy so will help the climbers


----------



## Hont (19 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> Not that sure about that, personally can't really remember a very impressive TT from Evans in recent time, while people like Uran and Pozzovivo have surprised last year in a GT TT, while Kelderman should have the best TT of all GC contenders and will likely retake the most time.
> Other good TT guys are already a bit far behind (Hesjedal and perhaps Monfort).
> 
> So indeed Evans should have more of a benefit (across the competitors), but I personally wouldn't be surprised if the 3 above mentioned guys creep closer to him.


It's not a particularly hilly course (46km with just one cat 4 climb), so if Pozzovivo gains time on Evans you'll hear the dodgy performance alarm bells ringing back in Belfast. In the first ITT last year Evans (who came seventh) put nearly two minutes into Pozzovivo, and over a minute into Uran and Kelderman, albeit on a slightly longer course with fewer kilometres spent going uphill - but with a real kick at the finish.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/news/results-2013-giro-ditalia-stage-8_286061


----------



## The Couch (19 May 2014)

Hont said:


> It's not a particularly hilly course (46km with just one cat 4 climb), so if Pozzovivo gains time on Evans you'll hear the dodgy performance alarm bells ringing back in Belfast. In the first ITT last year Evans (who came seventh) put nearly two minutes into Pozzovivo, and over a minute into Uran and Kelderman, albeit on a slightly longer course with fewer kilometres spent going uphill - but with a real kick at the finish.
> 
> http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/news/results-2013-giro-ditalia-stage-8_286061


If I am not mistaken Kelderman crashed in that TT and Pozzovivo wasn't in the best of form in the Giro (he was however in the Vuelta where he finished 3rd in the TT behind Martin and Cancellara  - which should have made alarm bells ring back then as well )


Then again, I was forgotten that Evans still had a decent TT last year... I guess I held him in a higher regard (TT-wise) back then and he underwhelmed me which stuck in my head...but indeed he was still easily better then the GC contenders not named Nibali


----------



## smutchin (19 May 2014)

I was thinking more in terms of Evans vs the other supposed GC contenders like Quintana and Uran. And indeed Pozzovivo. He should take lumps of time out of them in the TT, even with the hilly bits. And don't forget that Evans is currently in his best form for at least a couple of years.

Agree that Kelderman should climb a few places in GC after the TT, but I'd be (pleasantly) surprised if he makes up any time on Evans.

This TT doesn't look nearly as tough on paper as the one in the Vuelta last year.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (19 May 2014)

Anyone with more than one Z or V in their name rings alarm bells with me - PoZZoViVO has my head thumping with the sounds of alarms!


----------



## thom (19 May 2014)

It is unfortunate that PozzO sounds like it might be Italian for a blood group, but I'm guessing he has no actual history of adverse testing results ?


----------



## Flying_Monkey (20 May 2014)

I think everyone is underestimating Uran this year...


----------



## The Couch (20 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I think everyone is underestimating Uran this year...


I think many didn't really know what to expect from Uran before the start of the Giro (with his not-so-great 2014 form)
However, with him being in 2nd place currently and that he hasn't shown weakness _(although no strength either for that matter)_ yet, I don't think he is being underestimated now...especially not the GC guys in the Giro

I have the feeling the biggest under-the-radar cyclist is/was Kelderman... although he was on the long-list of outsiders, he was definitely not held in very high regard. With the nice form he has shown so far, he could really be the biggest surprise (even more than Aru, who was mentioned much more in the press as one to watch). Then again, it has been pretty much kiddy play so far compared to what is still ahead and he/they can still have a bad day in the high mountains.


----------



## T.M.H.N.E.T (20 May 2014)




----------



## Hont (20 May 2014)

T.M.H.N.E.T said:


> View attachment 45675


That's missing a few of his classics.....

"Last number of days"
"Group of big favourites"
"Certaintly"


----------



## rich p (20 May 2014)

Hont said:


> That's missing a few of his classics.....
> 
> "Last number of days"
> "Group of big favourites"
> "Certaintly"


..and "playing the waiting game"


----------



## rich p (20 May 2014)

I've largely missed the race so far but from catching up as much as I can it seems that there have been some inferior sprints without enough serious protagonists. And the race is a slow-burner so far.
Is that unfair?


----------



## T.M.H.N.E.T (20 May 2014)

rich p said:


> I've largely missed the race so far but from catching up as much as I can it seems that there have been some inferior sprints without enough serious protagonists. And the race is a slow-burner so far.
> Is that unfair?


Nope.


----------



## Crackle (20 May 2014)

rich p said:


> I've largely missed the race so far but from catching up as much as I can it seems that there have been some inferior sprints without enough serious protagonists. And the race is a slow-burner so far.
> Is that unfair?


Weather has played a part in that though.


----------



## rich p (20 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Weather has played a part in that though.


Weather I'm right or not?


----------



## montage (21 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> I think everyone is underestimating Uran this year...



I think many are overestimating him


----------



## The Couch (21 May 2014)

Garmin should perhaps consider putting some supportive side-wheels on Farrar's bike. You know those wheels when you take a turn that touch the ground:


----------



## The Couch (21 May 2014)

Michael Matthews won't start today feeling (still) too much pain from his fall on stage 9. 
Not that he is injured very bad, but the team prefers him to recover.
(Nevertheless pretty impressive that he then still was able to take 3rd place yesterday)

A bit of a shame that the remaining sprints will be contested without him (and Kittel of course). 
Then again, there's probably only 2 stages with a sprint coming up


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (21 May 2014)

Well done to Matthews, he looked impressive in pink and did the jersey proud even after losing it.


----------



## Booyaa (21 May 2014)

What is wrong with Tyler Farrar? Once again it looked as if he meant to go down it was such a crazy way to fall. He certainly needs lessons on how to keep upright.


----------



## rich p (21 May 2014)

Booyaa said:


> What is wrong with Tyler Farrar? Once again it looked as if he meant to go down it was such a crazy way to fall. He certainly needs lessons on how to keep upright.


Maybe someone should tell him about those Transition prescription glasses....


----------



## Crackle (21 May 2014)

Rogers. So much for a breakaway. Rode like he was never away.


----------



## Flying_Monkey (21 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Rogers. So much for a breakaway. Rode like he was never away.



And at least the win was all about experience and tactics, not some ludicrous ride that would have had people shaking their heads.


----------



## Monsieur Remings (21 May 2014)

rich p said:


> I've largely missed the race so far but from catching up as much as I can it seems that there have been some inferior sprints without enough serious protagonists. And the race is a slow-burner so far.
> Is that unfair?



I'm not the only one then...I've had a few bits to take care of...buying a new house, moving in, new job, two kids, no internet until today; that sort of thing. The last stage I saw was narrowly lost by Rolland of Europcar. Glad to hear that Uran is doing well if that is the case.

Not a good race I hear?


----------



## rich p (22 May 2014)

ITT today. It could shake up the GC standings a little.
Evans used to be useful but has been less so recently. Quintana was better than expected last year especially as it's not pan flat.
Uran is a bit of an unknown. Pozzovivo not renowned.
Keelderman could do relatively well.


----------



## The Couch (22 May 2014)

Interesting to see what will happen to the GC guys, but the same applies to the stage victory
Without the absolute top-TT specialists (Martin - of course, most of all him -, but also Wiggo, Froome, Kwiatek) or the best climber-TT combos (Nibali, Contador).

Looking at the latest results in TT, Malori would be the most obvious pick, however how will his fall yesterday impact his time.
Tuft should be considered but he has been hurting the whole week
Castroviejo and Ludvigsson haven't shown the best of form this year yet

So maybe the stage victory is something for some less expected names... Bookwalter, De Gendt or Zoidl
Or for the GC guys... Evans, Kelderman or Hesjedal


----------



## The Couch (22 May 2014)

The rain hasn't made it simple for the riders who have ridden so far, but it does look like the rain has mostly passed, so this might be something for the GC guys still to come (who will still have wet roads though, but without the rain itself the ride should be better)


----------



## tug benson (22 May 2014)

Turned it on to see Ludvigsson on the ground...Looks a bad one


----------



## tug benson (22 May 2014)

A bit far from his bike


----------



## jifdave (22 May 2014)

that was nasty, took a corner too fast and went over a barrier
The ambulance/doctor is taking forever to get to him


----------



## The Couch (22 May 2014)

Ulissi


----------



## Hont (22 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> Ulissi


The dodgy performance antenna was already twitching with his performances in this Giro so far. It's gone into overdrive now. Especially given how slow he was going downhill.


----------



## The Couch (22 May 2014)

Hont said:


> The dodgy performance antenna was already twitching with his performances in this Giro so far. It's gone into overdrive now. Especially given how slow he was going downhill.


Those intermediate times showing that this is going to be for the GC guys, so might not be so weird a performance


----------



## Roscoe (22 May 2014)

This TT is going to sort out the GC big style


----------



## Roscoe (22 May 2014)

Not looking good for Evans, this could be where he loses the Giro given Uran's strength in the mountains.


----------



## Crackle (22 May 2014)

Well Uran hasn't shown much this season, until now. Ooof, big ride.


----------



## Roscoe (22 May 2014)

Uran 1.17 up on Ulissi!!!


----------



## Roscoe (22 May 2014)

Uran to keep the Maglia Rosa until the end? I think so


----------



## Hont (22 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> might not be so weird a performance


Mmm not convinced. Second, half a minute ahead of everyone bar the winner and Evans. And Cunego passed him on the descent like Ulissi was a cyclo-tourist.

Uran's winning margin, when he's never won an ITT in his life before, is not reassuring either.


----------



## montage (22 May 2014)

montage said:


> I think many are overestimating him


re Uran..
I was wrong


----------



## andrew_s (22 May 2014)

Full RAI video coverage is available at http://www.raisport.rai.it

Ciclismo --> Giro 2014 on the top bar, pick the stage on the right, then select "Rivedi la tappa con la funzione highlights" at the right of the main stage photo.
The video is present from not long after the stage finish.


----------



## tug benson (22 May 2014)

Roscoe said:


> Uran to keep the Maglia Rosa until the end? I think so


 would love to see him do it!..


----------



## 400bhp (22 May 2014)

Great ride by Uran. Evans did well in the end too.

The interview with Lefevere was a good insight. Stuck him [Uran] in Romandie to give him some confidence. Reckon it worked.

Worth a few quid on Majka for the GC I reckon.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (23 May 2014)

Plenty of time and opportunities for Evans yet to come.


----------



## thom (23 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> Plenty of time and opportunities for Evans yet to come.


Not so sure - I think the chances are if he's not taking big time off the likes of Uran in the TTs then he'll find it very tough when it come to the higher mountains. OPQS' strength in depth was notable yesterday too - they've not done much work on the sharp end yet so could turn out to be very able to protect Uran.


----------



## The Couch (23 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> Not that sure about that, personally can't really remember a very impressive TT from Evans in recent time, while people like Uran and Pozzovivo have surprised last year in a GT TT, while Kelderman should have the best TT of all GC contenders and will likely retake the most time.
> ...
> So indeed Evans should have more of a benefit (across the competitors), but I personally wouldn't be surprised if the 3 above mentioned guys creep closer to him.



Well... I just had to bring this one back up 
Although to be fair I only got 33% correct, both Pozzovivo and Kelderman lost versus Evans... but only very little


----------



## 400bhp (23 May 2014)

I thought pozzovivo did really well. His tt style isn't the best.


----------



## cikoleko (23 May 2014)

Roscoe said:


> Uran to keep the Maglia Rosa until the end? I think so


Uhm... I wouldn't say so, considering that there hasn't been a serious mountain stage yet and all of them are ahead, anything can happen. Personally I still believe in Quintana especially with that stage 19 mountain TT


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

400bhp said:


> I thought pozzovivo did really well. His tt style isn't the best.


It's godawful  . He was out of the saddle on some flat sections, his head sticks up like a meercat and he wobbles from side to side almost with each pedal stroke. Plus he was on a modified road bike.

On a flat TT, with that style, given how small he is, he should be losing 4-5 minutes on the specialists.


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

cikoleko said:


> Uhm... I wouldn't say so, considering that there hasn't been a serious mountain stage yet and all of them are ahead, anything can happen. Personally I still believe in Quintana especially with that stage 19 mountain TT


Well Quintana has a cold and is 3:29 down, so his odds have slipped... 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/quintana-the-problem-was-with-my-breathing-not-with-my-legs

Uran has to be favourite but, as you say, anything can happen.


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

The Couch said:


> Well... I just had to bring this one back up
> Although to be fair I only got 33% correct, both Pozzovivo and Kelderman lost versus Evans... but only very little


Or to put it another way, you were 66.6% incorrect


----------



## Flying_Monkey (23 May 2014)

I think it's Uran's to lose now. He's ridden a really canny race so far and until the TT, it was unspectacular and kept him out of the limelight. Now he's got to extend, not just defend, but he doesn't need to go crazy. I don't think he'll have a problem with Evans, who I don't rate as any better in the high mountains than Uran and most of the more explosive climbers are too far behind to be a huge problem. Uran's problem is that he doesn't have a real mountain team, but he will be tactically astute enough (and will have learnt much from his time with Sky) to know whose wheel to follow and when to try to take a few more seconds here and there. The problem for the race is that so far this had not been a particularly memorable Giro (so far) and it's gone back a few years in terms of the calibre of the main contenders.


----------



## Crackle (23 May 2014)

Uran's problem is he always has a bad day. Let's see whether riding for his own ambitions changes that and increases his ability to suffer.


----------



## rich p (23 May 2014)

Not another bloody sprint stage.


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

wtf? Italy 23rd May, not in the mountains...







It's hail btw, not snow, but really.


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Not another bloody sprint stage.


That's the problem with trying to leave the decisive action until the last week. Two weeks of the GC placings being decided mostly by crashes.


----------



## rich p (23 May 2014)

Hont said:


> wtf? Italy 23rd May, not in the mountains...
> 
> View attachment 45952
> 
> ...


----------



## rich p (23 May 2014)

Now we've got leaves on the line FFS


----------



## rich p (23 May 2014)

Looks like the break will stick, against all expectations


----------



## Hont (23 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Looks like the break will stick, against all expectations


Yep. Weather and indecision decided it.


----------



## thom (23 May 2014)

Hont said:


> Yep. Weather and indecision decided it.


Leaves on the line, trains arriving too late, sounds like London commuting...


----------



## rliu (23 May 2014)

They could just use clips from the Giro the last 2 years for their Channel 4 equivalent's 'Italy's Most Extreme Weather'


----------



## Apollonius (24 May 2014)

Another huge breakaway. Same sort of cast as yesterday. Not sure who is who as I am watching on Rai 3. Should see some live action tomorrow, if I can get up early enough to drive over to Montecampione. Weather in Italy is perfect. 24 degrees and warm sun. Stevio should be on.


----------



## jifdave (24 May 2014)

Uran had a stinker. Not Even in the big mountains and he lot time to Quintana and pozivivo. Evans even got away from him towards the line.

He always has one bad day. Let's just hope it was today


----------



## Scoosh (24 May 2014)

The doorbell rang , then my internet feed froze with 200 metres to go !


----------



## Flick of the Elbow (24 May 2014)

It looks as if it's going to be a close contest, should make for an interesting week.


----------



## 400bhp (24 May 2014)

Great racing today


----------



## Shadowfax (24 May 2014)

Watched a recording of this today, did anybody else see a motorcycle hit that marshall as the coverage flicked to the Pantani story ? think it was about 50kms out.


----------



## Shadowfax (25 May 2014)

Something here about it, they re saying it was a racer hit.
http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/05/24/giro-ditalia-2014-stage-14-results/
Anybody shed any light on it, they were filming the breakaway when it happened.


----------



## Pedrosanchezo (25 May 2014)

This?


----------



## Hont (25 May 2014)

Comparison of historical times on yesterday's final climb...

https://twitter.com/scienceofsport/status/470314364621553668

Encouraging.


----------



## Shadowfax (25 May 2014)

Pedrosanchezo said:


> This?


That was it thank you, thought I was imagining it for a moment, strange no mention made of it during commentary.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (25 May 2014)

Sodding nobbery Eurosport women's tennis!


----------



## Crackle (25 May 2014)

http://www.hahabar.com/20140506/v-haha_sport_9_name-814507-536810cd7dc429.67306403.html

Italian. Better than the squeaking and grunting on English Eurosport.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (25 May 2014)

The game is over, hopefully they cut straight to cycling...and no waffling


----------



## montage (25 May 2014)

feck off with the images of pantani already


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (25 May 2014)

Deignan looks very smooth and balanced here.


----------



## tug benson (25 May 2014)

Big attacks starting


----------



## Crackle (25 May 2014)

Uran looks better than yesterday so far.


----------



## Supersuperleeds (25 May 2014)

Cracking finish today, I can't believe how fast these fellas can climb.


----------



## threebikesmcginty (25 May 2014)

I've got a ton of photos from today's stage, you'll have to wait though, I'll bore you with them when I get home next weekend - molto bene!


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (25 May 2014)

Supersuperleeds said:


> Cracking finish today, I can't believe how fast these fellas can climb.



You shoulda seen how fast they were in the EPO era...


----------



## 400bhp (25 May 2014)

Pretty open this year. Evans will go backwards though.

The uphill TT could give someone a minute on the rest I guess.


----------



## Flick of the Elbow (25 May 2014)

Curious how still no mention of the crash that Shadowfax spotted yesterday


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (25 May 2014)

Video of the person being hit, turns out it was a Policeman.


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNBNofb-7fQ


----------



## Supersuperleeds (25 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> Video of the person being hit, turns out it was a Policeman.
> 
> 
> View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNBNofb-7fQ




Ouch! Wasn't it a police officer who stepped out on a TDF finish to take a photo and got wiped out by the riders?


----------



## Supersuperleeds (25 May 2014)

Blimey 1994 it was, must have been one of the first ones I watched


----------



## Flick of the Elbow (25 May 2014)

Any news of their condition ? And of the motorbike riders ??


----------



## Buddfox (26 May 2014)

Stable in an induced coma, according to Carlton Kirby on Twitter today (or might be road.cc or GCN)


----------



## Crackle (26 May 2014)

So Uran to hold on if he doesn't lose too much time over the Zoncolan, Evans to fade and Aru and Quintana into two and three, Rolande 4th, Pozzovivo then Majka. Wot say you?


----------



## SWSteve (26 May 2014)

Majka to get on the podium, Quintana had better start moving up the rankings as until Sunday's stage he has seemed pretty anonymous


----------



## thom (26 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> So Uran to hold on if he doesn't lose too much time over the Zoncolan, Evans to fade and Aru and Quintana into two and three, Rolande 4th, Pozzovivo then Majka. Wot say you?


Yeah - the way I see it is Uran will lose 30 secs or more on each mountain finish but likely not to the same contender. I think he'll have the right level of consistency and that he'll also take time off the others on the TT. I think Evans can lose 3 or 4 mins this week to Uran. 

But tomorrow is a wierd one. A 139 km stage with over 4km of climbing. People will be attacking like bonkers all day and if any GC rider hasn't managed their rest day properly (think J-Rod in the Vuelta a couple of years ago), then they're at risk of losing a couple of mins.


----------



## thom (26 May 2014)

On a separate summarising note, to me the racing is interesting and varied rather than spectacular in a superhuman kind of way. No-one appears without weakness and nobody seems to be riding in an unbelievable way to me. A good sign for the future ?


----------



## rich p (26 May 2014)

thom said:


> On a separate summarising note, to me the racing is interesting and varied rather than spectacular in a superhuman kind of way. No-one appears without weakness and nobody seems to be riding in an unbelievable way to me. A good sign for the future ?


Indeed. It's still encouraging in terms of time and performance as far as I can see.


----------



## 400bhp (26 May 2014)

thom said:


> On a separate summarising note, to me the racing is interesting and varied rather than spectacular in a superhuman kind of way. No-one appears without weakness and nobody seems to be riding in an unbelievable way to me. A good sign for the future ?



Yes, it's how it should be.

I can't work out whether Uran is riding within himself or he's struggling in the last few km.


----------



## 400bhp (26 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> So Uran to hold on if he doesn't lose too much time over the Zoncolan, Evans to fade and Aru and Quintana into two and three, Rolande 4th, Pozzovivo then Majka. Wot say you?



I'd say Majka for 2nd. I feel he might produce a good TT.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (26 May 2014)

I'm still going for Evans to win


----------



## rich p (26 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> I'm still going for Evans to win



Save your pocket money Marmy!


----------



## themosquitoking (26 May 2014)

Quintana is going to shine this week, he'll win this race by a minute.


----------



## Flying_Monkey (27 May 2014)

I think Quintana is the main danger for Uran. He's coming into form at the right time. Aru is too inexperienced and he won't be able to do what he did the other day too many times more. Evans will gradually lose time and Majka will never get anything on Uran. Uran will stay doing what he's doing - matching or gaining a few seconds here and there on his immediate rivals and keeping any losses to attackers from slightly further down to a minimum. But as I say, Quintana is the real threat to this strategy.


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

Should be a cracker of a stage today.


----------



## Rob3rt (27 May 2014)

Do not envy these guys racing in that!


----------



## The Couch (27 May 2014)

Giro looking like a flash-back of last year:





(That's the raindrops/mist crystalizing on the camera)

Concidering how he did in the cold, it might not be a bad thing for Uran... but Lefevre is venting his disgust with the continuation of the stage on Twitter
(Of course, cancelling moutnain stages is even better for Uran )


----------



## Rob3rt (27 May 2014)

I'd DNF... lol


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

Stelvio descent neutralised


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (27 May 2014)

This makes a wet, grey afternoon in SE London look almost inviting.


----------



## clid61 (27 May 2014)

That is brutal!


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

Fair play to the fans at the top


----------



## roadrash (27 May 2014)

Must be the worst conditions weather wise ,I've seen on a grand tour . Hope they all make the descent safely.


----------



## PpPete (27 May 2014)

Feeling cold just watching.... and just got myself a cup-a-soup.


----------



## PpPete (27 May 2014)

Cataldo's got a couple of big ones hasn't he? His home race and all that but still....


----------



## Rasmus (27 May 2014)

Correction: Stelvio descent NOT neutralized

I reckon the organizers will have some questions to answer at the end of the day...


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

This race is all over the place, Uran is struggling to get back on


----------



## Roscoe (27 May 2014)

Interesting day all round, Uran 2 minutes down on Quintana.

Fingers crossed Cataldo holds on


----------



## montage (27 May 2014)

Rasmus said:


> Correction: Stelvio descent NOT neutralized
> 
> I reckon the organizers will have some questions to answer at the end of the day...



Not least from Uran. Quintana might owe the organisers a few beers after this one


----------



## The Couch (27 May 2014)

Rolland looking relaxed in the wheel of Quintana


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (27 May 2014)

I'm still going for Evans


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

Quintana making it look so easy


----------



## roadrash (27 May 2014)

Go Quintana


----------



## tug benson (27 May 2014)

Rolland dropped...Evans i think was also dropped


----------



## Crackle (27 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> I'm still going for Evans


Grab him by the neck from behind.

I go out for the afternoon, come back for the last k's and the whole race is upside down.


----------



## montage (27 May 2014)

after watching this all day I ended up missing the final climb - please could somebody point me in the direction of a video when up which avoids the spoilers?


----------



## Flying_Monkey (27 May 2014)

Well, Quintana has done this perfectly, coming into his best form at just the right time.


----------



## montage (27 May 2014)

Ben Swift came 25th on that stage!


----------



## montage (27 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Well, Quintana has done this perfectly, coming into his best form at just the right time.



Unfortunately though, unless he continues to take significant time, people will always say he won the giro due to the neutralised/not neutralised descent.


----------



## thom (27 May 2014)

Still digesting this stage - an immense shift in the standing. Wow.

I reckon Hesjedal deserves a good amount of respect for that - he's 2 mins 35 off Uran in second having lost 3 mins 20 to him due to Dan Martin's crash...


----------



## jifdave (27 May 2014)

controversy? http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gal...-giro-ditalia-finds-winter-atop-gavia-stelvio


----------



## SWSteve (27 May 2014)

jifdave said:


> controversy? http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gal...-giro-ditalia-finds-winter-atop-gavia-stelvio





cycling news said:


> Quick Step-OmegaPharma



I thought it was OPQS, not QSOP


----------



## 400bhp (27 May 2014)

Woaaa - amazing by Quintana

Was rooting for Hesjedal - he just looks like a big bloke who shouldn't be going up the steep stuff.


----------



## themosquitoking (27 May 2014)

That was hecking amazing. Kudos to Quintana he blew that to bits.


----------



## qigong chimp (27 May 2014)

And Dave Gorman exceeded all expectations in holding on for second.


----------



## Strathlubnaig (27 May 2014)

Cracking stage all in, watched after coming off shift, kudos to all the riders. Seemed to me Quintana and Co made most of their time up on the longfinal climb, not the descent, so the moans are just that.


----------



## The Couch (27 May 2014)

montage said:


> Unfortunately though, unless he continues to take significant time, people will always say he won the giro due to the neutralised/not neutralised descent.


Would be weird if he doesn't


thom said:


> I reckon Hesjedal deserves a good amount of respect for that - he's 2 mins 35 off Uran in second having lost 3 mins 20 to him due to Dan Martin's crash...


Yeah, I am actually blown away how well he is climbing (he probably wasn't that good uphill when he won it)


----------



## LarryDuff (28 May 2014)

http://www.bmcracingteam.com/index....]=2741&cHash=0e35615b1790f9abfa6f1ed8ccf1f9a1

BMC not happy about yesterday.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (28 May 2014)

ItsSteveLovell said:


> I thought it was OPQS, not QSOP


----------



## cisamcgu (28 May 2014)

SFQR - small flange quick release - I remember this from the first wheels I ever bought.


----------



## The Couch (28 May 2014)

LarryDuff said:


> http://www.bmcracingteam.com/index....]=2741&cHash=0e35615b1790f9abfa6f1ed8ccf1f9a1
> 
> BMC not happy about yesterday.


I've got the feeling the race organisation is going to face a law suit about this 
(probably pushed most by OPQS, but most likely there'll be enough teams interested to join in)


----------



## jifdave (28 May 2014)

http://m.independent.ie/sport/other...ket-on-which-is-a-record-for-me-30310114.html

It's getting worse.


----------



## LarryDuff (28 May 2014)

It will be everyone v Quintana from now on.


----------



## zophiel (28 May 2014)

did he not attack on the upslope and not downhill?

was a bit different when bmc attacked after the crashes a few days ago to get slimy toad evans into the pink.


----------



## ColinJ (28 May 2014)

Yikes! I watched the second half but I think it is worth me firing up Eurosport Player and watching the first half now.

It's a shame that this controversy is going to overshadow such a great stage.


----------



## roadrash (28 May 2014)

Interesting response from the giro director,

.*THE RESPONSE* The Director of the Giro, Mauro Vegni replied as follows: "I'm sorry there was a misunderstanding. But we never talked about suspending the stage" To protect the riders, in conditions of poor visibility, we decided to deploy safety bikes to indicate the best trajectory.”

taken from here

http://www.gazzetta.it/Giroditalia/2014/en/28-05-2014/polemichetappa16-80777079737.shtml

A lot of people not happy


----------



## jifdave (28 May 2014)

Dan frieb on twitter....

@friebos: Amadio (Cannondale boss): 'It's shameful - & I can say that without any real vested interest. Give Quintana the win but cancel time gaps.'


----------



## montage (28 May 2014)

The most annoying this is that this was shaping up to be a very tight run contest - with Uran in the lead and several better climbers within shooting distance to possibly snatch it from him by the last stage.
Now, as long as Quintana doesn't fall off his bike at the wrong time or there is no spectacular attack on a flat stage, it's pretty much over with the best Climber considerably in the lead.

Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal must have known they were being cheeky, but the blame is with the DS of their respective teams, who certainly would have known, and of course the organisers. The riders shouldn't be penalised, as no rules were broken and any attempt to "fix" the time standings will just muck things up further - however they were certainly taking advantage of the situation and to say that they were oblivious to it is BS considering the time the stretched out over the descent alone (which was over 2 minutes before the climb began, not the 1 minute being stated by Movistar). Quintana really, really needs to put several minutes into the others now to prove that he is the strongest rider in the race.

This Giro was boring as sin, then started to shape up to be one of the most exciting grand tours in a while as we hung onto the edge of our seats seeing whether the climbers could peg back Uran, and now that suspense has been snatched away from us. I'm certainly not going out of my way to watch the remaining stages.

And I still think the most impressive thing about yesterday was Ben Swift!!!


----------



## jifdave (28 May 2014)

michelle cound getting involved



*Mikkel Condé v2.0* ‏@mrconde  2h
About yesterday. Quintana says Rolland and a team mate attacked on the descent. Then he followed. Rolland says it was the other way around.




*Michelle Cound*‏@michellecound
@mrconde one attacked during a nature break & the other started pulling after a crash (Contador & Froome) in the #TDF13 #justsaying



*Michelle Cound*‏@michellecound
@mrconde I wouldn't say either have the best reputation of playing by the unofficial rules of the peloton...





*Michelle Cound*‏@michellecound
@slimbuster @mrconde He attacked on Alpe d’Huez when he thought Chris punctured & also pulled when Contador took Chris down on a descent.


----------



## IDMark2 (28 May 2014)

UCI have made a statement now, race organisers 'did the right thing but should have communicated it better' is the gist I think. Which, I think, is where we were, ie something was rumoured to have been done but no one seems to know...


----------



## jifdave (28 May 2014)

according to the tv coverage, apparently quintana said he saw no red flag. there are pictures of him behind it.

also he apparently was asking the bike escorting him down to go faster, when it didnt he overtook....

my feelings for quintana are quickly changing


----------



## Flying_Monkey (28 May 2014)

jifdave said:


> according to the tv coverage, apparently quintana said he saw no red flag. there are pictures of him behind it.
> 
> also he apparently was asking the bike escorting him down to go faster, when it didnt he overtook....
> 
> my feelings for quintana are quickly changing



The motos were apparently there for guidance, but riders were not *required* to ride behind them. The stage was not neutralized, not even the descent was neutralized. 

The problem was that the race organizers did not seem to have communicated what was going on to all the teams.


----------



## Crackle (28 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> The motos were apparently there for guidance, but riders were not *required* to ride behind them. The stage was not neutralized, not even the descent was neutralized.
> 
> The problem was that the race organizers did not seem to have communicated what was going on to all the teams.


Pretty ambiguous though

“Attention: A communication to directeur sportives. The management of the organisation have planned to put ahead of the head of the riders, depending on the situation, of course, after the top, to place in front of various groups an organisation moto with a red flag. All to avoid having attacks on the descent and after this to ensure that the riders remain in their positions and to prevent taking big risks and, for all, to remain in this position until the security agents lower the red flag.”


----------



## jifdave (28 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Pretty ambiguous though
> 
> “Attention: A communication to directeur sportives. The management of the organisation have planned to put ahead of the head of the riders, depending on the situation, of course, after the top, to place in front of various groups an organisation moto with a red flag. All to avoid having attacks on the descent and after this to ensure that the riders remain in their positions and to prevent taking big risks and, for all, to remain in this position until the security agents lower the red flag.”


added to that they tweeted the descent was neutralized then later deleted that.


----------



## biking_fox (28 May 2014)

Cycling news "Belgian TV are reporting that all the teams have put forward a suggestion to the UCI to take away the time gained on the Stelvio descent. That would be around 2 minutes and would hand Rigoberto Uran the pink jersey back, albeit by a small margin."

Which is more sensible than neutralising the stage or the whole time gap, but still maybe a bit harsh. Although it's unclear to me at the moment how many riders saw motorbikes with red flags and how many then ignored them. Some had_ stopped_ at the top to change into warm clothes, which I'm sure they wouldn't normally do.


----------



## Beebo (28 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Pretty ambiguous though
> 
> “Attention: A communication to directeur sportives. The management of the organisation have planned to put ahead of the head of the riders, depending on the situation, of course, after the top, to place in front of various groups an organisation moto with a red flag. All to avoid having attacks on the descent and after this to ensure that the riders remain in their positions and to prevent taking big risks and, for all, to remain in this position until the security agents lower the red flag.”


 I dont think that is ambiguous, that says to me dont overtake the bikes with red flags.


----------



## RecordAceFromNew (28 May 2014)

Of uncertain provenance, but quite a cool pic...  from https://twitter.com/vamosalberto


----------



## Flying_Monkey (28 May 2014)

Woo, Pirazzi! Really nice win. Attacked at just the right time to avoid the sprint.


----------



## LarryDuff (28 May 2014)

Beebo said:


> I dont think that is ambiguous, that says to me dont overtake the bikes with red flags.


The problem arises if the bikes don't all go the same speed. Quintana et al didn't overtake because their bike accelerated.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (28 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Pretty ambiguous though
> 
> “Attention: A communication to directeur sportives. The management of the organisation have planned to put ahead of the head of the riders, depending on the situation, of course, after the top, to place in front of various groups an organisation moto with a red flag. All to *avoid having attacks* on the descent and after this to *ensure that the riders remain in their positions* and to prevent taking big risks and, for all, to *remain in this position until the security agents lower the red flag*.”



It seems fairly clear to me, if it's an accurate translation.

I still think Evans will win.


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## Flying_Monkey (28 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> I still think Evans will win.



If Quintana and Uran both meet with unfortunate accidents, that could happen... however, I suspect that not only will they stay ahead of him, but Rolland, Majka, Aru, Pozzovivo and possibly others will all overtake him too.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (28 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> If Quintana and Uran both meet with unfortunate accidents, that could happen... however, I suspect that not only will they stay ahead of him, but Rolland, Majka, Aru, Pozzovivo and possibly others will all overtake him too.



They'll all fall off.


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## rich p (28 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> They'll all fall off.


Face the truth Marmy. Your 50p is gone.


----------



## roadrash (28 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Face the truth Marmy. Your 50p is gone.


 
was that a 25p each way bet


----------



## 400bhp (28 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Pretty ambiguous though
> 
> “Attention: A communication to directeur sportives. The management of the organisation have planned to put ahead of the head of the riders,* depending on the situation, of course*, after the top, to place in front of various groups an organisation moto with a red flag. All to avoid having attacks on the descent and after this to ensure that the riders remain in their positions and to prevent taking big risks and, for all, to remain in this position until the security agents lower the red flag.”



That was the ambiguity.

They needed to follow up this message and they didn't.

Anyhow, it sounds like something is being sorted, according to the Orica bloke on Sky earlier.


----------



## roadrash (28 May 2014)

400bhp said:


> That was the ambiguity.
> 
> They needed to follow up this message and they didn't.
> 
> Anyhow, it sounds like something is being sorted, according to the Orica bloke on Sky earlier.


 
what did he say ....i missed that


----------



## deptfordmarmoset (28 May 2014)

roadrash said:


> was that a 25p each way bet


I hope not. We all know that bikes are like buttered toast and nearly always land mech-side down.


----------



## 400bhp (28 May 2014)

roadrash said:


> what did he say ....i missed that



He said they [the teams] had put a proposal to the race organisers as one and they await the outcome in the next 24 hours. He mentioned that the teams were speaking as one which is encouraging (that's the jist I got anyway).

Let's see.


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## Flying_Monkey (28 May 2014)

400bhp said:


> He said they [the teams] had put a proposal to the race organisers as one and they await the outcome in the next 24 hours. He mentioned that the teams were speaking as one which is encouraging (that's the jist I got anyway).
> 
> Let's see.



Their proposal (to remove the small time difference accumulated on the descent) has already been rejected by the race organizers and the UCI.


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## thom (28 May 2014)

It's sad - there's been a fark up by the organisers; racing in conditions on the edge of acceptability stretched their ability to give clear direction and control over the proceedings. For me the proposal to the teams made was reasonable as despite reducing Quintana's advantage somewhat, it still allowed him some benefit from the gap he accumulated subsequently which would have been much harder to achieve had he been attacking from a larger group of contenders.
RCS/UCI just don't know how to handle this satisfactorily - the absence of an admission of error seems wrong. Spectacle for spectacle's sake is not good for a race's reputation. Maybe the teams should neutralise the Zoncolan stage on principle now!


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## montage (29 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Their proposal (to remove the small time difference accumulated on the descent) has already been rejected by the race organizers and the UCI.


2 minutes isn't that small!


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (29 May 2014)

thom said:


> Maybe the teams should neutralise the Zoncolan stage on principle now!



Maybe they should get blokes to tie Quintana's laces together, and then claim they were not sure about the rules.


----------



## thom (29 May 2014)

montage said:


> 2 minutes isn't that small!


And it isn't just the time differences gained by the bottom - it's the ability to slipstream Quintana as in normal racing. 
Hesjedal & Rolland managed to hang on - who's to say the rest of the top contenders wouldn't also ?


----------



## smutchin (29 May 2014)

Moany gobshites, the lot of you. Whatever happened on the descent, the way Quintana rode up the final climb was magnificent and he earned every second of his lead. 

Chapeau to Hesjedal for being able to hang on to his wheel for so long but he was a passenger all the way, as was the supposed "ally" Rolland. 

And anyone who says Quintana made it look too easy wasn't watching the same race as me. He didn't celebrate as he crossed the line, clearly too drained by his effort. (And the fact that he wasn't able to drop Hesjedal or Rolland is encouraging from a performance analysis point of view.)

Is today's stage too soon after that epic effort for a repeat performance? We'll see. Will be interesting to see what happens if the likes of Pozzovivo, Aru or Uran try to attack, but my guess is they'll all keep their powder reasonably dry - looks like it could all come down to the Zoncolan.


----------



## thom (29 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> Chapeau to Hesjedal for being able to hang on to his wheel for so long but he was a passenger all the way, as was the supposed "ally" Rolland.


It is hard to argue hypotheticals but do you take my point though ? 

It isn't so much the epic performance he did put in or necessarily about the rights and wrongs of how it happened. Its that it is very arguable how much of a time impact he could have had had he made that effort from the bottom of the last climb out of the main group of contenders. There's be more of an argument in his favour had Rolland and Hesjedal not managed to stay with him so long. But they did, so others would have too in all likelihood and hence the fact that he managed to be separate to the pink jersey group in non-normal racing circumstances is key to the time he gained up the climb as well as prior to that on the descent.


----------



## Flying_Monkey (29 May 2014)

montage said:


> 2 minutes isn't that small!



The teams were talking about 45 seconds.


----------



## Hont (29 May 2014)

thom said:


> It isn't...necessarily about the rights and wrongs of how it happened. .... the fact that he managed to be separate to the pink jersey group in non-normal racing circumstances is key to the time he gained up the climb as well as prior to that on the descent.


I agree with that. Regardless of the fairness of what happened Quintana would not have won by that margin without the gap obtained on the descent. 
Should be interesting today with the Peloton effectively taking a day off yesterday.


----------



## Crackle (29 May 2014)

Hont said:


> I agree with that. Regardless of the fairness of what happened Quintana would not have won by that margin without the gap obtained on the descent.
> Should be interesting today with the Peloton effectively taking a day off yesterday.


I think we can expect quite a few attacks, as points are made and scores settled.


----------



## smutchin (29 May 2014)

Worth noting, btw, that Tuesday's stage was supposed to be in last year's Giro (stage 19) but was abandoned due to the conditions. I wonder if that had a bearing on their decision to allow the race to go ahead - dropping it two years running would have made them look very silly... even sillier.


----------



## smutchin (29 May 2014)

thom said:


> It is hard to argue hypotheticals but do you take my point though ?



Yes... up to a point. But he broke away before the top of the Stelvio. His intent was clear. Riders made their choices as they saw fit. Some stopped to put on jackets. Lost a few seconds there but probably made them up by not being too cold to ride hard on the descent. I just don't buy the argument that team orders or race directives influenced the outcome to the extent some are claiming. This is bike racing. 

Quintana seems to be a take-no-prisoners kind of rider. This might rub a few people up the wrong way and may not earn him many friends in the peloton in the long run, but it's bloody brilliant to watch.


----------



## smutchin (29 May 2014)

Also, if Quintana hadn't had to effectively ride solo all the way up that final climb, when his attack came, it probably would have been even more explosive (cf last year's TdF). He may well have gained enough time to grab the maglia rosa however the stage had panned out. It was the stage he was targeting for his assault on GC, after all.


----------



## montage (29 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> The teams were talking about 45 seconds.



He gained just under 2 minutes on the descent alone - I had to stop watching just as they hit the bottom, and the advantage was at 1:41 (which makes the claims that only 1 minute was gained going downhill pretty annoying).

I am sure he will take today's finish to prove that he is the strongest in the race, and when that happens the controversy should quieten down - which I hope is the case as he is a class rider, however he really is building himself a negative reputation pretty quickly, whether that is by his own mean's or the fault of the DS.

As a football analogy - it feels like Team A has taken the lead from Team B in the cup final with a penalty that shouldn't really be given. But in the long run it probably won't matter as Team A will win 3-1 anyway.


----------



## dragon72 (29 May 2014)

Basso's having a great day by the looks of things. 
I've got a soft spot for him. 
Yes, he was as dodgy as they come in his heyday, but recent performance indicates that he's off the juice (how can a big team's designated GC rider be consistenly _so disappointing _over the past few seasons?). 
But it seems that today he's riding great - mostly down to his descending, which growth hormones don't have much of an effect on.
Forza Ivan!


----------



## Roscoe (29 May 2014)

Ivan's had his day unfortunately. Just shows how much the juice helped him.


----------



## Roscoe (29 May 2014)

Really want Sky to win this stage (any stage!)


----------



## Speicher (29 May 2014)

Is anyone in the breakaway even remotely close to the top ten placings?


----------



## Apollonius (29 May 2014)

Cataldo wants this. He didn't really have a big effort on the previous climb. I think he was saving himself.


----------



## Roscoe (29 May 2014)

Cataldo has Deignan with him, that's going to help.


----------



## Roscoe (29 May 2014)

As usual, my prediction/hope for a Sky victory gets blown away!

Looks like it was a cracking stage, can't wait to watch it on V+ later.


----------



## Flying_Monkey (29 May 2014)

Arredondo deserved that win. And a Colombian 1-2, with Deignan third - a podium placing which he also thoroughly deserves. And Evans lost over 4 minutes and may be out of the Top 10... so looks like somone is going to be losing a bet!


----------



## Apollonius (29 May 2014)

Cadel has been on borrowed time for a while now. Finished, I fear. This Giro has been remarkable for the young talent coming through. Aru, Pozzavivo, Keldermans, not to mention the odd Colombian!


----------



## Hont (29 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> And Evans lost over 4 minutes and may be out of the Top 10... so looks like somone is going to be losing a bet!


He only lost 4 minutes to Arrondondo. He lost about one and a half to the leaders. Doesn't change the outcome of the bet though. ;-)


----------



## Hont (29 May 2014)

Apollonius said:


> Cadel has been on borrowed time for a while now. Finished, I fear. This Giro has been remarkable for the young talent coming through. Aru, Pozzavivo, Keldermans, not to mention the odd Colombian!


Pozzovivo is 31.


----------



## Hont (29 May 2014)

/correction mode off


----------



## Flying_Monkey (29 May 2014)

Well, Cadel is not quite out of the Top 10, he's 9th... 

The most fascinating battle is now the one for third place overall: Rolland has only 2 seconds on both Aru and Majka. I can't see him keeping his podium spot, but who will he lose it to?


----------



## Apollonius (29 May 2014)

31 seems very young to me, but thanks for the correction.


----------



## Crackle (29 May 2014)

I think we all thought that Evans had lost his edge now, hence him targetting the Giro this year. I don't know what he plans for the future but 3 week grand tours are looking beyond him now. Mind you, top 10/20 at 37 is not to be sniffed at. Maybe he can pull a good itt.


----------



## smutchin (29 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> Mind you, top 10/20 at 37 is not to be sniffed at.



Maybe he'll rediscover his GT winning form when he hits 40.


----------



## Pro Tour Punditry (29 May 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> And Evans lost over 4 minutes and may be out of the Top 10... so looks like somone is going to be losing a bet!



He's got a Dick Dastardly plan, I'm sure of it.


----------



## rich p (29 May 2014)

I cycled the Grappa 2 years ago from Semonzetto in 2hrs 10 mins so if any of this lot beat that tomorrow I'm going to assume they're still on the juice


----------



## thom (29 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> Yes... up to a point. But he broke away before the top of the Stelvio. His intent was clear. Riders made their choices as they saw fit. Some stopped to put on jackets. Lost a few seconds there but probably made them up by not being too cold to ride hard on the descent. I just don't buy the argument that team orders or race directives influenced the outcome to the extent some are claiming. This is bike racing.
> 
> Quintana seems to be a take-no-prisoners kind of rider. This might rub a few people up the wrong way and may not earn him many friends in the peloton in the long run, but it's bloody brilliant to watch.


Well that's fair enough - I didn't spot too much on the highlights about how all that transpired. I do think as you mentioned, that the fact the equivalent spectacular stage was repealed last year likely contributed to RCS being maybe over-keen to run it. I think this was too much in the conditions, that something clearly got beyond good race control and that this was the cause of the subsequent consternation, not the riders.

Was it appropriate to race ? I don't think such suffering is all that entertaining and it seems most of the teams considered it was very much a judgement call that they expected RCS to make. The Wouter Weylandt incident shows the risks - Taylor Phinney just screwed his season riding a descent encountering a badly placed moto. RCS has an obligation to be clear with the teams how they run their race, on where the red lines are, on what normal racing is. Unfortunately for Quintana, the lion's share of his current GC positioning has been achieved due to circumstances that many consider not normal.


----------



## rich p (30 May 2014)

I think they've missed a trick to take the sting out of the situation.
The majority would have been happy (happier?) if Quintana et al had been docked a minute, say.


----------



## raindog (30 May 2014)

Arredondo rides a 50cm frame!!


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkFmV7RZ578


----------



## Beebo (30 May 2014)

raindog said:


> Arredondo rides a 50cm frame!!
> 
> 
> View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkFmV7RZ578



What's the benefit of mounting the rear brake underneath the bottom bracket?
In the real world that would just get clogged up with road muck.


----------



## Flying_Monkey (30 May 2014)

rich p said:


> I think they've missed a trick to take the sting out of the situation.
> The majority would have been happy (happier?) if Quintana et al had been docked a minute, say.



I've got no problem with the result at all. Quintana didn't attack, he followed the wheel of someone who attacked who was a threat to him. He had to do that.


----------



## jifdave (30 May 2014)

arse the tennis is still on


----------



## Speicher (30 May 2014)

Roger Federer took his shirt off. 

Sorry, as you were.


----------



## Hont (30 May 2014)

Any TT regs experts on here? Because Quintana's overshoes look illegal to me. I thought the reg was not above half-way between and ankle and knee.


----------



## rich p (30 May 2014)

Great ride by the younger Henao who has been impressive in a blank Sky performance.
Deignan and Cataldo have had their moments.


----------



## Rob3rt (30 May 2014)

Beebo said:


> *What's the benefit of mounting the rear brake underneath the bottom bracket?*
> In the real world that would just get clogged up with road muck.



Aeros!

Wouldn't get any more clogged up than in a normal mounting position IMO.


----------



## Crackle (30 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Great ride by the younger Henao who has been impressive in a blank Sky performance.
> Deignan and Cataldo have had their moments.



I thought they'd both ridden well.


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## rich p (30 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> I thought they'd both ridden well.


Didn't I say that? Or did you read it as 'damned by faint praise'?


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## rich p (30 May 2014)

Pelizotti leading now - the doping twat


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## Crackle (30 May 2014)

rich p said:


> Didn't I say that? Or did you read it as 'damned by faint praise'?


I might have done.


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## rich p (30 May 2014)

Crackle said:


> I might have done.


I may have missed something while I was out of the country but wasn't Cataldo supposed to be Sky's GC contender?


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## rich p (30 May 2014)

Aru is flying!
Taken Majka for 3 minutes


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## Crackle (30 May 2014)

rich p said:


> I may have missed something while I was out of the country but wasn't Cataldo supposed to be Sky's GC contender?


I thought so too but he had a couple of crap stages and would be doing better if not for them, though I can't remember which ones they were.


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## Flying_Monkey (30 May 2014)

Astonishing performance by Aru - could even get him second overall if Uran is still suffering a bit from the bronchitis. Incidentally, not bad by the other Henao, a few places down.

Rolland definitely off the podium...


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## Flying_Monkey (30 May 2014)

fark me, Quintana is going even quicker than Aru! Finishes 17 seconds faster. Damn. Uran just holds on the second overall, good performance by him in the circumstances.


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## Strathlubnaig (30 May 2014)

Well that TT performance by Quintana should put the gags on those still moaning about the Stelvio stage. However, the full on pink toe to helmet is a bit much, he looks like some Tiajauna night fighter in that get up, and those ridiculous pink Boy Wonder bootees, crissakes....


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## thom (31 May 2014)

So we go into the Zoncolan stage with the GC winner all but wrapped up. Something of a diamond this will be but only in the context of the stage itself and minor GC placings now. I wouldn't have felt it worth pointing this out but for the remarks above, but had RCS not screwed up the Stelvio stage, Quintana's advantage probably would have still been within striking distance of Uran on paper and there'd be a mighty battle for the millions watching on TV this weekend deciding the GC...


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## Crackle (31 May 2014)

I can't see Uran holding 2nd place today, if he does it'll be a mighty ride but I reckon Aru has the bit between his teeth, though he was a little anonymous after his last good stage until the TT, maybe that took a lot out of him.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

Evans to win by 15 minutes on the Zoncolan...


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## smutchin (31 May 2014)

Having not been able to follow the race closely for the last few days, I was wondering what happened to Ulissi but I see he has pulled out due to illness. Shame. With a bit better luck, he could have been a good bet for a podium place in this Giro.


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## montage (31 May 2014)

Quintana has showed he is definitely the strongest rider here and deserves the pink jersey - thank god. Though he took it in an unrespectable manner, it is obvious he would have taken it regardless.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/dehaes-misses-time-cut-at-giro-ditalia-time-trial Yet another organiser oopsy. They really need fireworks to occur today to try and salvage this giro


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## jifdave (31 May 2014)

As much as I'm enjoying the giro I'm missing a nibali/contador who would be really trying to run away on this descent to pressure quintana.

Any of the main contenders demon descenders?

Also if nairo did crash on the descent would/should they wait?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

Bongiorno will be raging with that twonk!


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

Rogers turn to get píssed off by twonks


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

Marmion said:


> Bongiorno will be raging with that twonk!



He does not seem to have learned!


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

I think my fiver on Evans is gone


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## Smokin Joe (31 May 2014)

If I were Bongiorno I'd ride back down the mountain, rip the rainbow jersey of that clot then shove it up his arse and set fire to it.


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## roadrash (31 May 2014)

Smokin Joe said:


> If I were Bongiorno I'd ride back down the mountain, rip the rainbow jersey of that clot then shove it up his arse and set fire to it.


 and then throw him off the side of the mountain


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## Strathlubnaig (31 May 2014)

Typical muppet in a rainbow jersey dicking things up. Loved seeing Poels throw buddie's shades away, class.


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## threebikesmcginty (31 May 2014)

OK, as promised some pics from Stage 15, I won't bore the thread with all of them so I've just picked a few. Great to see it, nearly missed it due to traffic so scooted off down a back street and parked up yards from the route with about 20 minutes to spare.

Thought this guy was a one man break away for a minute...







Pre race entertainment provided by the guy in the red car zooming down past the traffic and trying to get round the rab, the policeman was having none of it, he was told!










Race pics...


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## threebikesmcginty (31 May 2014)

Last couple...


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## zophiel (31 May 2014)

jifdave said:


> As much as I'm enjoying the giro I'm missing a nibali/contador who would be really trying to run away on this descent to pressure quintana.
> 
> Any of the main contenders demon descenders?
> 
> Also if nairo did crash on the descent would/should they wait?



Evans team didnt wait when all the crashes made him go into the pink.

Why would any other team wait?


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## smutchin (31 May 2014)

Got to feel for Bongiorno. What a nobber that bloke was. And to make it worse, his idiocy handed the stage to Mick feckin' Rogers of all people...


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## thom (31 May 2014)

smutchin said:


> Got to feel for Bongiorno. What a nobber that bloke was. And to make it worse, his idiocy handed the stage to Mick feckin' Rogers of all people...


aye it was buonanotte for Bongiorno from that point onwards...


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## Flying_Monkey (31 May 2014)

thom said:


> aye it was buonanotte for Bongiorno from that point onwards...



You can get your own coat...


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## montage (31 May 2014)

What happened with Bongiorno? I only watched the last 2km


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## Supersuperleeds (31 May 2014)

montage said:


> What happened with Bongiorno? I only watched the last 2km



Per BBC

Another Italian, Francesco Bongiorno, was challenging Rogers for victory until he was pushed by a spectator. 

The Bardiani Valvole rider was on Rogers's wheel with three kilometres to go when a fan pushed him on the back, forcing him to take his left foot off the pedal.

Bongiorno recovered to finished the stage third, ahead of Ireland's Nicolas Roche.

He said: "I'm very bitter. On a climb like that, when you lose your balance, it's impossible."


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## thom (31 May 2014)

montage said:


> What happened with Bongiorno? I only watched the last 2km


http://www.esport3.cat/video/5109111/La-conducta-inapropiada-dun-aficionat


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## Flying_Monkey (31 May 2014)

Unlike Rogers' TT win the other day, today I am thinking 'hmm...' 

I mean, he's always been a strong climber but since when did he become a mountain goat?


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## Strathlubnaig (31 May 2014)

Its a sad state of affairs when anyone who wins a big mtn stage is assumed to be a doper


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## Pro Tour Punditry (31 May 2014)

Strathlubnaig said:


> Its a sad state of affairs when anyone who wins a big mtn stage is assumed to be a doper



It's not "anyone" tho. It's a six foot TTer with a recent doping query against him who left SKY under a shadow due to previous doping.


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## Monsieur Remings (31 May 2014)

Well, having been able to watch the last four or five days I'm, suffice to say, very pleased for Quintana - the epitome of cool.

Being a little bit more moved in than what I was when the Giro left Erin's Isle, I'd have to say that what I've seen has been both fantastic as well as that typical Italian something that lies somewhere between disorganisation, passion, absurdity and disorganisation. I'm not sure if anything has come of the tweet that never was, but IMO, biaised as I am, I feel that Quintana was the stronger. If Uran had got any closer with any post-pink strategy of any potency then perhaps this angle would be afforded more credit. Maybe I'm being harsh but I feel that Quintana has justly rode himself into the Giro's history - stage 16 was breathtaking - and whilst the organisers were pig-headed not to accept the proposed time penalty fairly offered by the teams, there's no disputing in my mind who rode the ride of the day. Likewise, and this may also be wrong, aside that prick of a spectator, Bongiorno was also caught by Pellizotti and I'd wager that Rogers would have won either way too. The sight of those Alpine soldiers there to keep the lunatics at bay on that last 500 metres to the summit finish, won't be any consolation to the lad.

Add into the equation the disgraceful expulsion of Kenny Dehaes, the sight of a Canyon bike on the back of a two-man motorcycle ascending up the Zoncolan, and the usual out-of-the-ordinary weather, you have the Giro D'Italia. I wonder whether Vittoria tyres from these days on might just behave a little better in the rain than they ever have before?

And...for any insomniacs among you, just pretend you are Igor Anton's legs.


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## Flying_Monkey (1 Jun 2014)

Marmion said:


> It's not "anyone" tho. It's a six foot TTer with a recent doping query against him who left SKY under a shadow due to previous doping.



Exactly. And it's not as if anyone, me included, has raised any supsicions of any winner so far in the Giro.


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## Strathlubnaig (1 Jun 2014)

Chapeau to Hesjedal clawing his way back from 165th position to a top 10 place. Gutsy performance. Of course, there will be detractors.


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## Strathlubnaig (1 Jun 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> Exactly. And it's not as if anyone, me included, has raised any supsicions of any winner so far in the Giro.


I should have put some kind of 'emoticon' on my post. Saying that, his climb of the Zoncolan was not any quicker than the GC boys 6 minutes back, I think.


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## smutchin (1 Jun 2014)

I'd like to see some detailed analysis of his performance before jumping to any conclusions but instinct tells me it doesn't add up.


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## smutchin (1 Jun 2014)

Monsieur Remings said:


> Bongiorno was also caught by Pellizotti and I'd wager that Rogers would have won either way too.



Ah yes, Pelizotti... Bad enough being beaten by one rider with a cloud of suspicion over him, but to then be caught by another is even more galling.

I love the way the idiot who pushed him started jumping around and smacking himself in the face straight after the incident. If he'd had two brain cells to rub together he might have realised that another push might genuinely have helped Bongiorno at that point. 

But yes, Rogers would probably have won anyway.


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## Monsieur Remings (1 Jun 2014)

Well, I don't know what to think any more Smutchin; if riders among the peloton are still doping by known means, they'll be caught. If, however, as has always been the case before, cheating technology is one step ahead then who knows.


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## Crackle (1 Jun 2014)

Rogers went into that with an 8 minute lead, it was 4 by the end. I haven't seen any times for the climb and it's hard not to be sceptical, especially as he's only just back but maybe that was actually a help, fresh legs, plus all the GC guys would have been tired from the TT, Aru in particular seemed to suffer after a good stage. So in conclusion......no idea.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (1 Jun 2014)

Federer is winning


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## thom (1 Jun 2014)

Mezgec!


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## Flying_Monkey (1 Jun 2014)

Congratulations to Quintana, to Uran and to Aru, and to Columbia for the 1-2. Given the current crop of Columbian talent I don't think it's the last time we will see 2 Columbians on the podium in a GT. In Aru we've seen Italy's best hope for future GT wins too. Although this Giro was at several points farcical, the final result is one that I think everyone (apart from perhaps, Rolland) will be happy with...


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## User169 (1 Jun 2014)

A nice blog post here from Klaus of Cycling Inquisition..

http://pages.rapha.cc/racing-2/two-quintessentially-colombian-storylines

No mention of the ethnic aspects, but a nice piece all the same.

(And I'm sure @Flying_Monkey is on the wind-up with his spelling!)


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## smutchin (1 Jun 2014)

Flying_Monkey said:


> In Aru we've seen Italy's best hope for future GT wins too.



More so than Ulissi? I mean, you're probably right, but they both look exceptionally talented, although maybe Ulissi is more of a puncheur than a true all rounder. Likewise Moreno Moser. 

Bongiorno and Cattaneo both look very interesting prospects too.


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## Flying_Monkey (1 Jun 2014)

smutchin said:


> More so than Ulissi? I mean, you're probably right, but they both look exceptionally talented, although maybe Ulissi is more of a puncheur than a true all rounder. Likewise Moreno Moser.
> 
> Bongiorno and Cattaneo both look very interesting prospects too.



Yes, more so than Ulissi, I think. To me Ulissi looks more like the kind of guy who will win shorter stage races and hilly classics. I hope I'm wrong though, because I like him a lot as a rider. I like Moser a lot too, but he definitely seems more of a puncheur and he's not had such a great season so far compared to last year. Cattaneo did win the baby Giro a couple of years ago and he's making steady progress, but I've not seen much to get too excited about him recently. Bongiorno had not really crossed my radar much until this race...


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## Flying_Monkey (1 Jun 2014)

Delftse Post said:


> (And I'm sure @Flying_Monkey is on the wind-up with his spelling!)



Actually not - I typed that on my new mobile, and the autocorrect is in Canadian English, so I guess it must have assumed I meant British _Columbia_ as opposed to _Colombia_.


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## Pro Tour Punditry (1 Jun 2014)

Just spotted a pic on Team Garmin's Facebook Page of Nathan Haas doing a one-handed wheelie up the Zoncolon...


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## Hont (5 Jun 2014)

Was the Giro clean?

http://veloclinic.tumblr.com/post/87834528643/2014-giro-final-performance-analysis

As always you have to take this thing with a huge pinch of salt and your conclusions will depend on your level of cynicism. 

I guess I'm not an optimist, though.


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## Crackle (5 Jun 2014)

Hont said:


> Was the Giro clean?
> 
> http://veloclinic.tumblr.com/post/87834528643/2014-giro-final-performance-analysis
> 
> ...


I'm a realistic optimist.

Aru definitely paid for his efforts after his good stages. Quintana is definitely a rare talent.


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## threebikesmcginty (8 Jun 2014)

Hont said:


> Was the Giro clean?



Definitely a suspect pastry product being consumed here.


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## thom (25 Jun 2014)

Diego Ulissi - what a prat.


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## Flying_Monkey (25 Jun 2014)

thom said:


> Diego Ulissi - what a prat.



Yeah, looks like it, although as always we await the B Sample... 

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/diego-ulissi-returns-adverse-analytical-finding-at-giro-ditalia


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## smutchin (25 Jun 2014)

thom said:


> Diego Ulissi - what a prat.



Oh. I liked him too. FFS.


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## Roscoe (25 Jun 2014)

What a diddy.


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## Flick of the Elbow (26 Jun 2014)

I suggest that the comments above are a bit harsh. Its not like he was using EPO or anything. He has medical approval for the substance in question. So its a matter of degree. Sounds to me like a minor misjudgement in dosage on the part of his team doctor, he shouldn't be condemned for that.


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## Pedrosanchezo (26 Jun 2014)

There is a study that suggests an improvement of 1 minute over a 60 minute time trial using Salbutamol. Worth noting though that the subjects were all non asthmatic. Ullissi claims to have been suffering from Bronchospasm.

@Flick of the Elbow, quantity found was nearly double that of the allowed amount. I'm not so sure it is a minor misjudgment as he claims to have had "2 puffs" equalling about 200ng. That being said the second sample has yet to be checked.

Didn't Chris Froome recently have to admit to having asthma for a TUE issue? Don't think it was the same substance though?

Some chat about it on Bikeradar, i've just noticed.............


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## Crackle (26 Jun 2014)

It looks well dodgy. A Lampre rider too, who'd a thunk. It took a bit of reading around to realise those levels in his urine would be pretty hard to achieve by simply taking an extra puff on his inhalor.


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## smutchin (26 Jun 2014)

Whether or not salbutamol is proven as a ped, it's proscribed and Ulissi has broken the rules. By some considerable margin. At best he's been extremely stupid, at worst this is the tip of the iceberg...

I'm not impressed with Sky over this TUE for Froome either. I kind of trust that there's nothing dodgy about it but it doesn't sit at all well with their whiter than white image. If he's ill enough to require glucocorticosteroids, he shouldn't be racing. End of.


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## Pedrosanchezo (26 Jun 2014)

smutchin said:


> If he's ill enough to require glucocorticosteroids, he shouldn't be racing. End of.



According to Walsh this is the exact line Sky have been using!! Why the U-turn? Strange.


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## Hont (26 Jun 2014)

Pedrosanchezo said:


> Didn't Chris Froome recently have to admit to having asthma for a TUE issue? Don't think it was the same substance though?


Froome does apparently have asthma and does take Salbutamol, which does not need a TUE apparently...

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...him-to-use-inhaler-to-treat-his-asthma_331334

The steroid he took during Romandy obviously does and I'm with smutchin. Regardless of whether the TUE was obtained correctly I don't like to see riders racing if they need a steroid to get better. I know if I was to be on steroids I would not be in work and I just sit at a desk.


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## Hont (26 Jun 2014)

And Ulissi is hardly a surprise after that TT performance (see page 8 of this thread).


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## Flick of the Elbow (26 Jun 2014)

"quantity found was nearly double that of the allowed amount"

So you are making an assumption that he took double the allowed dose ?


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## smutchin (26 Jun 2014)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> "quantity found was nearly double that of the allowed amount"
> 
> So you are making an assumption that he took double the allowed dose ?



He's claiming he only took two puffs of his inhaler. I admit to having no idea of how the biology works but from what I've read it seems there's no way on earth that could account for the extremely high level of salbutamol shown in the test, so either the test is screwy or he's lying. 

I know which of those options my money is on.


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## Pedrosanchezo (26 Jun 2014)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> "quantity found was nearly double that of the allowed amount"
> 
> So you are making an assumption that he took double the allowed dose ?


If this is for moi - I am not assuming anything.

Sample A has found 1900ng of Salbutamol. The limit for that specific substance is 1000ng's. That's nearly double and WAY beyond the two uses claimed, each containing 100ng's. 

I will make an assumption, though it's just my opinion - the B sample will confirm the findings of the A sample. 

Or perhaps i am wrong, perhaps the A sample got contaminated with 1700ng's of Salbutamol and the B test will prove this. Or perhaps someone is out to get the poor rider, as many dopers claim, and has spiked/rigged the results. 

We shall find out soon.........


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## Flick of the Elbow (27 Jun 2014)

"I admit to having no idea of how the biology works"

Me neither. I have no idea how and at what rate the dose administered works through the system to appear in the urine and the factors that will affect the concentration in the urine. Lets not condemn him until we know the verdict of those that do understand how these things work.


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## smutchin (27 Jun 2014)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> I have no idea how and at what rate the dose administered works through the system to appear in the urine and the factors that will affect the concentration in the urine.



You're suggesting it's possible that the medicine has become *more* concentrated after it entered his body? I see.


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## Crackle (27 Jun 2014)

Flick of the Elbow said:


> "I admit to having no idea of how the biology works"
> 
> Me neither. I have no idea how and at what rate the dose administered works through the system to appear in the urine and the factors that will affect the concentration in the urine. Lets not condemn him until we know the verdict of those that do understand how these things work.


This is just the first study I found on Google, I read quite a few more. He didn't just take a few extra puffs.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21563035


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