HF2300
Insanity Prawn Boy
Yep. You'd have thought he above anyone would have been able to do a J turn.
Giro d'Italia 2016 ***spoilers***
- Thread starter mjr
- Start date
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Yep. You'd have thought he above anyone would have been able to do a J turn.
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
I've seen a few "tut-tut for attacking the jersey" mentions on social media. Twats. Go back to whooping at golf if you dinnae ken what yer on aboot!
I havenae even seen the end yet - just watching Eurosport highlights - but what a great stage so far
I havenae even seen the end yet - just watching Eurosport highlights - but what a great stage so far
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Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
What an amazing stage.
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
I still want to punch Scarponi in the face, repeatedly.
smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Uh? Really? How very bonkers!
SWSteve
Guru
- Location
- Bristol...ish
By the time I put on the stage earlier, I missed CrossWag's crash, but if you bin it, surely people can attack? They can't just sit around waiting for him
OP
OP
mjr
Comfy armchair to one person & a plank to the next
- Location
- mostly Norfolk, sometimes Somerset
I feel they can attack when it's like today. It wasn't like he was taken out by a fan or poor road maintenance. Still a rotten way to lose the lead, though.
brommers
Years beyond my wisdom
- Location
- Clacton-on-Sea
They keep saying that but I've not really seen any evidence of that
"They keep saying that but I've not really seen any evidence of that"
Witness today and look at the line he took and the line Kruisjwicjk took and the fact he attacked the descent. He may well have noted Kruisjwicjk's discomfort on previous descents whereas he is entirely comfortable on descents and he's blown a few races apart on descents in bad weather. Coming off doesn't discourage him either as witnessed on one of the classics last year.
Witness today and look at the line he took and the line Kruisjwicjk took and the fact he attacked the descent. He may well have noted Kruisjwicjk's discomfort on previous descents whereas he is entirely comfortable on descents and he's blown a few races apart on descents in bad weather. Coming off doesn't discourage him either as witnessed on one of the classics last year.
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
Betancur is out - like we care 
HF2300
Insanity Prawn Boy
Several comments on the Eurosport commentary as well - obviously had people emailing or tweeting in.
It can be quite subtle, but as @Crackle says, you need to look at the lines people take, who presses on and pushes the speed up on fast descents, who looks confident and who's a bit jittery or hestitant, people cornering cleanly and confidently vs. dropping back at corners or wobbling through them, confidence braking, that sort of thing.
It still baffles me why riders don't (seem to) pay attention to practicing cornering lines and descents. OK, it might not have saved Kruijswijk - you can always make a mistake - but on tricky descents we've repeatedly seen (whole lines of) riders turn into corners too early and almost run out of road on the exit, which is what seemed to happen yesterday - though he commented he 'wanted to eat and drink something', so maybe he just wasn't concentrating at a critical moment.
He's talking about "I f...ed up, I've lost the Giro", which if he still feels the same doesn't sound as though he has the right head on to attack today. His team are reporting he's fractured a rib, so he might not even start this morning...
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smutchin
Cat 6 Racer
- Location
- The Red Enclave
Exactly this. It was already full on racing by the time Grousewog fell off, so the 'attacking the jersey' comments are imbecilic, and in fact it was the pressure being exerted by Nibali and Chaves (another very accomplished descender) that probably caused Krooseweek to overcook that bend.
There's no way back for Krasswerk now - it's not just the time he lost, it's the psychological impact that will make him Pinotesque on today's descents and the pain from his injuries that will make the ascents even more uncomfortable - amazing he even finished the stage if he cracked a rib.
And that's bike racing, Brian. Nibali was looking similarly vulnerable earlier in the week but yesterday was a masterclass in crushing your rivals, both mentally and physically. Merckx and Hinault used to do that all the time.
Pro Tour Punditry
Guru
Yesterday's stage reminded me of the Tour de France with Merckx v Ocana from the early 70s (I am obviously far far too young to have watched it live of course...) when Merckx attacked and broke Ocana mentally and physically, and resulted in Ocana withdrawing (in some accounts it would appear his injuries were not too bad but he was broken)
Edit - see it here
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hnLjiTzejo
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Flying_Monkey
Recyclist
- Location
- Odawa
I'm pleased to see the indications from LottoNL-Jumbo that Kruijswijk will at least start today. Whether he finishes, however, is another matter.
