2012 Giro d'Italia Stage 18, San Vito de Cadore - Vedelago, 24th May, 149km

[taiwan]

Grumble...lazy barstewards cherry picking stages to make threads for...grumble
Grumble...crap stages need threads too...grumble

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Final kms

Finishing Straight

Anyway this is the final sprint stage, which Cav must win to give himself a chance of retaining the points jersey, and he will. Finish looks to be a total dragstrip: long, flat, straight and fairly wide. Add to that the facts that the stage is downhill all the way and not long, and we can assume this will be a day for the 'fat' boys with the quick legs. I don't believe Guardini will have it in his first GT where he's shown nothing and he's coming off a hard mountain stage, but riders like Chicchi and Modolo I think will feature. The others with a chance aren't such bad climbers, but still look to be some of the fastest in this Giro: Ferrari, Ventoso, Kristoff, Favilli, in roughly that order. Everyone else really has gone home by this point.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

will henao have to work again?? would be pathetic. or uran

 

[will10]

Sky will use up everyone but Uran to make sure this comes back.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

I;m sure that will be good for henao's confidence idiots at sky

 

[King Of The Wolds]

will henao have to work again?? would be pathetic. or uran

LOL. Protecting a guy who's in 10th on GC, rather than working for a guy who virtually comes with a guarantee of a GT stage win on this parcours.

 

[Froome19]

I;m sure that will be good for henao's confidence idiots at sky

You care about Henao

They care about Cav

Just because you have conflicting interests doesnt make them idiots.

 

[cycladianpirate]

Any chance of getting the locals to get their hands on every fan they can find and set them up on one side of the road???

 

[hrotha]

Special edition t-shirt printed by Sky which shows how they see Henao:

 

[Frosty]

Could be a tricky one for Sky. Other teams will know they are low on numbers and so be more encouraged to go for the breakaway than normal as it should stand more of a chance of succeeding. If Sky do have to work hard then it could mean the end of the race is a bit chaotic. Other teams wont have their full trains and it could be a good opportunity for a late attack from a few strong riders to take advantage of any hesitation or confusion.

 

[jsem94]

The avg. speed on this one's going to be insane.

 

[Caruut]

will henao have to work again?? would be pathetic. or uran

Depends on how much work he does. If he's doing a Stannard-esque 100km on the front, that's obviously stupid. A 1km stretch towards the end ain't so bad. He needs to be up at the front anyway, and it's not like Henao is a threat for GC any more.

Why is working for Uran getting 5th on GC noble, whereas working for Cav getting a stage and a possible points jersey pathetic?

On a side note - could we see Cav trying to get into the breaks on 19 and 20 to take the primes? How badly does he want to complete his set of points jerseys?

 

[hatcher]

Who cares about finishing 10th on GC? Sure I've heard that said somewhere before.

 

[El Pistolero]

Who cares about finishing 10th on GC? Sure I've heard that said somewhere before.

A neo pro in Europe who's doing his first GT. If it was Nico Roche trying for his hundred time to ride a GC even though he clearly lacks in that department then you'd have a point.

 

[Caruut]

If it were Sean Henry and Robert Evans not Sergio Henao and Rigoberto Uran, we'd all be wondering why Sky were casting aside a great chance at a stage win, and talking about how Anglos don't understand the proper priorities of road cycling.

 

[hatcher]

A neo pro in Europe who's doing his first GT. If it was Nico Roche trying for his hundred time to ride a GC even though he clearly lacks in that department then you'd have a point.

I was, in much more broadcastable language, paraphrasing Ryo ("and a 10th place in a gc. who the f*** cares").

I wonder if the idea of Henao ruining his GC placement to help Uran would be quite so frowned upon.

 

[taiwan]

It's actually a pity Bos, Farrar, Goss and Renshaw have all gone, because this will be a proper bunch sprint, they would have put on a show. Nvm the average speed o the stage, the speed in the finale will be crazy.

 

[hrotha]

I wonder if the idea of Henao ruining his GC placement to help Uran would be quite so frowned upon.

It wouldn't, because Henao can actually help Urán in the mountains. Having him work for Cav is just a senseless waste of resources, and thus implies some degree of disrespect.

 

[hatcher]

It wouldn't, because Henao can actually help Urán in the mountains. Having him work for Cav is just a senseless waste of resources, and thus implies some degree of disrespect.

Not using all your resources to help the World Champion win another GT stage in his quest for the red jersey is disrespectful. I'd imagine they'd rather not work him, but I can't begin to get my head around the idea of it being disrespectful if they did.

If Henao is as strong in the TTT as Ryo said he would be, then he can definitely help pull back breaks. And yes, I realise you might well not agree with Ryo on that point.

 

[El Pistolero]

You care about Henao

They care about Cav

Just because you have conflicting interests doesnt make them idiots.

You're implying Sky doesn't care about all their cyclists which definitely makes them idiots.

 

[Caruut]

It wouldn't, because Henao can actually help Urán in the mountains. Having him work for Cav is just a senseless waste of resources, and thus implies some degree of disrespect.

Is it actually a senseless waste of resources? Henao seems fairly good on the flat.

 

[hrotha]

Not using all your resources to help the World Champion win another GT stage in his quest for the red jersey is disrespectful. I'd imagine they'd rather not work him, but I can't begin to get my head around the idea of it being disrespectful if they did.

If Henao is as strong in the TTT as Ryo said he would be, then he can definitely help pull back breaks. And yes, I realise you might well not agree with Ryo on that point.

Sure, Henao can help, but he wouldn't be able to help nearly as much as Stannard, Flecha, Thomas and Eisel. His contribution would be small, and the price to pay would be wasting his energy in a much less efficient way than if he saved it to help Urán in the mountains. Or, if things go that way, to do his own race. It's simply an inefficient use of resources.

Cav has already won three stages and has the full support of four teammates. Urán could podium, and he only has Henao.

 

[Fetisoff]

Sure, Henao can help, but he wouldn't be able to help nearly as much as Stannard, Flecha, Thomas and Eisel. His contribution would be small, and the price to pay would be wasting his energy in a much less efficient way than if he saved it to help Urán in the mountains. Or, if things go that way, to do his own race. It's simply an inefficient use of resources.

Cav has already won three stages and has the full support of four teammates. Urán could podium, and he only has Henao.

Remember Velits taking a pull for Cav in 2010 Vuelta, while being third overall in the GC? Different teams I know, but I don't see a different scenario here

 

[hrotha]

Remember Velits taking a pull for Cav in 2010 Vuelta, while being third overall in the GC? Different teams I know, but I don't see a different scenario here

Oh, definitely. I fully expect Henao to have to work tomorrow, unless we get a monster break and Sky decide they can't possibly bring it back or something.

 

[hatcher]

Sure, Henao can help, but he wouldn't be able to help nearly as much as Stannard, Flecha, Thomas and Eisel. His contribution would be small, and the price to pay would be wasting his energy in a much less efficient way than if he saved it to help Urán in the mountains. Or, if things go that way, to do his own race. It's simply an inefficient use of resources.

Cav has already won three stages and has the full support of four teammates. Urán could podium, and he only has Henao.

I just can't agree that he's only capable of a small contribution. This isn't PCM where he has a rating on the flat of 51, and will tire out after 5k. He's perfectly capable of providing 10, 20, 30k of work without it having an adverse affect on his Friday and Saturday job. He's not that delicate.

If Uran works (outside of the final 5k, where he needs to be up front anyway) then I'll say it's bad use of resources. At this point however, Henao is fair game.

 

[hfer07]

Let me put it this way: If SKY can't figure what most be prioritized in a GT, having in mind the current circumstances in Il Giro- then I foresee Wiggo getting fvcked up in the Tour when Cav demands "help" to win stages.........