2012 Giro d'Italia, May 23rd, stage 17: Falzes → Cortina D'Ampezzo, 186 Kms

[Gloin22]

OPQS ( chicchi ), Androni with Rujano gone ( Ferrari ) should help tomorrow a bit too.

 

[SafeBet]

So is downhilling far less important than many would have us believe, or is it simply that today's descent was not as difficult as many were expecting?

1) It was not so difficult;
2) The leaders are all mediocre descenders (apart from Hesjedal, who actually looked unspectacular at best). In fact, a cramping Scarponi managed to get back.

 

[ooh_25mm]

What a well designed stage and it really served up the drama.

Purito impressed today, and Ryder looked super strong (he is really helped by Liquigas' tactics BTW).

This still looks like Basso's Giro

Good Show!

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Will be hard for Cav tomorrow, only 4 teammates left as Henao and Uran won't be able to help him. Every chance a breakaway could stay away.

Any tactical advice?

 

[ooh_25mm]

Also,

Vino is disappoint!

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Purito impressed today, and Ryder looked super strong (he is really helped by Liquigas' tactics BTW).

This still looks like Basso's Giro

I'm with you on all of these points. Hesjedal really does benefit from the Liquigas tempo train, just as Velits and Roche did in the Vuelta 10. Purito is still in the lead and still yet to have his customary bad day. And Basso is still the favourite.

 

[Parrulo]

It's the key weapon in his arsenal and it's very effective, but it's not an "attack", which pretty much by definition involves a sudden change of pace. Riding at your own consistent tempo isn't an attack, even if your tempo is so damn high that eventually nobody can stay with you.

This would be a much better race if the entire Liquigas support squad came down with a mild dose of dysentery.

i must say i disagree with you, basso's type of attack isn't very common but if a rider hits the front with the intention to drop every1 off his wheel or at least to cause the biggest selection possible, he is imo attacking the race. yes it isn't as viewer friendly as the acceleration method used by others but it still is an attack

 

[DirtyWorks]

The downhill wasn't very technical and, crucially, nobody in the front four actually descended notably well.

Disagree! Ryder was driving the pace down. Those switchbacks were plenty technical. I guess it just depends on who you are comparing. Either Schleck would have been put into trouble on a descent like that.

I'm with Parrulo, Basso's riding to win. He's no Contador, but he's not following wheels up either.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Disagree! Ryder was driving the pace down.

Right up until JRod bridged back to him, at which point he knocked it off.

If it had been wet, that descent would have been very difficult, but in the dry it wasn't difficult enough.

 

[Frosty]

Miguel Minguez Ayala made it and holds on to last place!

Guardini running him close now though.

 

[Bumeington]

Totally agree with you.
They were not riding hard for most of Giau when they formed that 6 man group.

Child, they were riding harder than the other 165 guys in the race

 

[Libertine Seguros]

So is downhilling far less important than many would have us believe, or is it simply that today's descent was not as difficult as many were expecting?

Nah, this descent reminded me of the descent of Navacerrada in the 2009 Vuelta. Samuel Sánchez had a go at the top and gapped Valverde, who fought and chased back on on the descent. Samu seemed to be biding his time before going again, which allowed Evans back. Then we realised actually, he'd just given up on gapping Valverde and sat up, allowing Cobo, Rodríguez, Moreno, Tiralongo, Basso and even Mosquera to come back.

It looked like Hesjedal had a bit of a go, couldn't distance Purito, decided that the amount of effort and risk required for a small gain from there on in wasn't worth it, and it came back together. Remember Hesjedal isn't a super descender either, so he couldn't guarantee the kind of time gain that, say, Nibali, could have expected in the situation.

 

[karlboss]

Disagree! Ryder was driving the pace down. Those switchbacks were plenty technical. I guess it just depends on who you are comparing. Either Schleck would have been put into trouble on a descent like that.

I'm with Parrulo, Basso's riding to win. He's no Contador, but he's not following wheels up either.

In the dry, the switchbacks were too far apart at smoe points to really make a difference and none of the front 4 took any risks.

 

[Lexman]

What a well designed stage and it really served up the drama.

Purito impressed today, and Ryder looked super strong (he is really helped by Liquigas' tactics BTW).

This still looks like Basso's Giro

Good Show!

Basso still has to get time back ,you think he will succeed in riding away alone friday or saturday?

 

[karlboss]

Nah, this descent reminded me of the descent of Navacerrada in the 2009 Vuelta. Samuel Sánchez had a go at the top and gapped Valverde, who fought and chased back on on the descent. Samu seemed to be biding his time before going again, which allowed Evans back. Then we realised actually, he'd just given up on gapping Valverde and sat up, allowing Cobo, Rodríguez, Moreno, Tiralongo, Basso and even Mosquera to come back.

It looked like Hesjedal had a bit of a go, couldn't distance Purito, decided that the amount of effort and risk required for a small gain from there on in wasn't worth it, and it came back together. Remember Hesjedal isn't a super descender either, so he couldn't guarantee the kind of time gain that, say, Nibali, could have expected in the situation.

I thought Scarponi was the best decender of the front 6, but he didn't really get a chance to use it.

 

[jens_attacks]

not a big show again....
congrats to purito
everyone thinks that hesjedal will crack on the steepness of pampeago...maybe it won't happen,they waited too much.
chapeau to nieve.


giau not ridden that fast...
both in 2007 and 2008 it wasn't the last climb of the day and it was climbed around 34:30.now they did it in 33:54...probably basso and pozzovivo still had something in the tank though

 

[WinterRider]

108 RUJANO GUILLEN Jose' VEN AND 5:58:47 34:05

So did he blow up, or did he purposefully take it easy so he can go for stage wins on Friday/Saturday?

 

[Escarabajo]

Henao will be there to help him, they used Henao during his last stage win.

Not tomorrow. No way.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Totally agree with you.
They were not riding hard for most of Giau when they formed that 6 man group.

So that's why Rodriguez said the pace was insanely hard and that everyone was at their limit trying to keep the wheel? And that's why he said it will be hard to follow Basso this weekend.

You are seeing the race but you aren't watching with your eyes. Didn't you see the faces?

 

[will10]

So did he blow up, or did he purposefully take it easy so he can go for stage wins on Friday/Saturday?

Nah, just catagorically dropped when the pace went up on Duran. I think once dropped he didn't chase and waited for the autobus, but whether he'll be able to do something on Friday or Saturday remains to be seen.

 

[DirtyWorks]

So is downhilling far less important than many would have us believe, or is it simply that today's descent was not as difficult as many were expecting?

Descents would be a bigger factor if the finish is placed close to the bottom. They don't do that most of the time for lots of good reasons.

I disagree with this idea that this descent wasn't difficult. They don't collect descent splits, so it's impossible to see how it affects things.

 

[will10]

Totally agree with you.
They were not riding hard for most of Giau when they formed that 6 man group.

Yes, that would explain why there were such small gaps, I mean still 26 guys within 10 minutes, they obviously weren't going hard up front. Rodriguez said in interview that everyone in the front group was cooked, but I think we should take your word for it and agree it just wasn't hard enough today.

 

[WinterRider]

Will be hard for Cav tomorrow, only 4 teammates left as Henao and Uran won't be able to help him. Every chance a breakaway could stay away.

The other sprinters teams will help. They have nothing else to ride for in this Giro after tomorrow, and Cav might get taken out by a crash in the sprint, or have to touch brakes like in the stage Ferrari won so it's not a lost cause yet.

 

[jens_attacks]

So did he blow up, or did he purposefully take it easy so he can go for stage wins on Friday/Saturday?

he has nothing in the engine,i don't even think he can breath well,he's done for this giro

also i'm amazed by the low level here.if wiggins would have been here,he would already be at six minutes above purito
hesjedal can win this easily,figure that one.

 

[WinterRider]

Right up until JRod bridged back to him, at which point he knocked it off.

If it had been wet, that descent would have been very difficult, but in the dry it wasn't difficult enough.

Exactly this. Once JRod got on his wheel, and refused to come through, why would Ryder continue pulling hard when his main rival is sitting on his wheel.

If JRod had wanted to help, and distance Basso and Scarponi, it would have been a different result. But as it is, it seems he is confident with his advantage over those two riders, so he just marked Ryder.