2013 Giro d'Italia, Stage19: Ponte Di Legno - Val Martello/Martelltal 160 kms

[Netserk]

So it has been confirmed that there will be no Gavia and no Stelvio?

If so, how is the new profile? Just flat until Val Martello?

See the OP...

 

[liamito]

Castrin is simply the toughest climb they can stick in that section of stage (and is a genuinely really tough climb) in order to pay at least SOME homage to the difficulty of the original plan. If the weather doesn't allow them to use Castrin they'll either use Palade or cut it entirely (which would lengthen the stage). However, I don't see any way they can do this without crossing Tonale, as that's the only alternative pass there to Stelvio that allows them to connect the start and finish in a reasonable distance.
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Thanks. Let's hope for the best. Maybe it is also possible to cross Tonale with the cars/buses? I could imagine the biggest issue for the riders will be the descents in snow and freezing rain.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Betancur will win by about 15"

 

[Peccio89]

The forecast says that it will snow starting from 700m of altitude tomorrow, in my opinion they're not gonna race tomorrow at all, and on Saturday we will see only half of last climb( and no other climb).
Very sad, but at least it happened in a year in which pink is already consolidated.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

But there's still fight for 2nd, and fight for white!

 

[doperhopper]

stelvio "bikable" today

http://webcam.popso.it/tmp/thumbnail/T_1000x1000_bae9f22765b6ff47260a75d043e89fb6.jpg

 

[pastronef]

tomorrow forecast: Snow for start town Ponte di Legno

http://www.ilmeteo.eu/meteo/Ponte di legno

about the race: Nibali and Astana just have to defend the lead, Cadel we don't know how much strenght he has left, Uran and Sky same thing.
I think the Lampre duo podium hopes and the battle for white jersey is what will make the race tomorrow.
The big question is: will the last survivors from a big break make it to the finish, while the GC man battle a few minutes behind?

 

[il_cobra]

i'm predict devastating attack by przemyslaw it will be include in hall of fame between pantani and landis rides.

 

[DenisMenchov]

i'm predict devastating attack by przemyslaw it will be include in hall of fame between pantani and landis rides.

Lampre doesn't really have anything to lose there, so why not?

 

[T-Nielsen]

I can't remember a stage I was looking forward to more then this one...

Damn you weather... What have I done to you besides my blatant polution.

 

[Gloin22]

I can't remember a stage I was looking forward to more then this one...

Damn you weather... What have I done to you besides my blatant polution.

Really?

Saturday's stage is the one, should be much better than this stage ever would.

Still sad it's changed, oh welll..

 

[Climbing]

A pity... but looks very tough anyway.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

The forecast says that it will snow starting from 700m of altitude tomorrow, in my opinion they're not gonna race tomorrow at all, and on Saturday we will see only half of last climb( and no other climb).
Very sad, but at least it happened in a year in which pink is already consolidated.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Yes, it's clearly still a tough stage, and the Hofmahdjoch is a very serious climb which will cause some serious hurt. However it's far enough from the finish that this is effectively a one-climb stage as it's too far out to justifiably go from.

 

[trevim]

I'm so impressed with Majka. I just hope he doesn't crash or have a bad day. As far as the white jersey matters, he's taking the right approach: ride for GC placings and see where he ends up. Betancour is a very strong competitor, more of an all-rounder and also more experienced.

 

[Escarabajo]

This stage depends on what Nibali wants. He can win like Simoni did last time trying to sweep the remaining stages or just follow wheels.

I am hoping for a great battle for white and for the podium. Cheering for my Colombian riders!

 

[Ryongsyong]

stelvio "bikable" today

http://webcam.popso.it/tmp/thumbnail/T_1000x1000_bae9f22765b6ff47260a75d043e89fb6.jpg

We know that. Normal everyday bikers would do it in any conditions for the love of it but the current crop of riders will refuse to do it anyway because it'll be too cold for them, and they're not interested in going downhill when it's snowing because then they'd have to use their brains and think about when to go more slowly than normal; plus they've got someone in to run the Giro specifically to ensure that riders now get whatever they want rather than to provide interest to the fans.

No one can predict the weather but as a whole it's been handled very badly from the beginning and the race has lost a great deal of lustre for it, thanks to the riders' and teams' reticence to adapt and the organisers treating them like royalty if it's too cold for them. I'm happy if Nibs wins but it's a shame it was done in such a damaged race, and the idea of cycling being an organic sport where riders will race come-what-may using a means of transport apparently immune to everything that's thrown in its direction appears to have disappeared after 100+ years, which is disappointing for a sport which I'd always thought relied on such things for its core image.

 

[manafana]

yeah bike racers are just machines eh

hopign we get stage b as planned, interested see who goes before the final 5km and who waits till then

 

[Afrank]

Nibali to take the first of his 3 stage wins in a row.

1 down, 2 too go.

Would like to see Betancur win too. The perfect result for me would be a top 4, in no particular order, made up of Betancur, Majka, Nibali, and Garzelli.

 

[xrayvision]

Would like to see Majka take this.

 

[Ferminal]

Meh, at least this means they will (should) go full gas right from the bottom.

 

[movingtarget]

Tomorrow very doubtful as well and Cav wins the final stage in the sunshine ! The changes may not effect the battle for the podium anyway if Evans is on another bad day but he will give it his best as usual. Young riders jersey still up for grabs. Been a good battle.

 

[stetre76]

We know that. Normal everyday bikers would do it in any conditions for the love of it but the current crop of riders will refuse to do it anyway because it'll be too cold for them, and they're not interested in going downhill ...

you've ever been up the Stelvio/Stilfser Joch?
no sane person would cycle up there today, no sane person would even go up there with the car today (maybe some 4x4 enthusiasts).

the Stelvio is at 2.7xxm, temps are some (optimistic) minus 10-15°C today, probably windy and snowing - so yeah, the riders are really all just wimps and too sensitive because of the cold

I am only in Innsbruck, and we've been actually lucky as we haven't gotten all the bad weather that was predicted - still, from approx. 1.000m upwards it's white again - so I don't even want to imagine what it looks like 1.700m further up...

 

[Pricey_sky]

Apologies if this has already been answered but providing we get the stage that's planned will it be shown in full?

 

[rhubroma]

Castrin is simply the toughest climb they can stick in that section of stage (and is a genuinely really tough climb) in order to pay at least SOME homage to the difficulty of the original plan. If the weather doesn't allow them to use Castrin they'll either use Palade or cut it entirely (which would lengthen the stage). However, I don't see any way they can do this without crossing Tonale, as that's the only alternative pass there to Stelvio that allows them to connect the start and finish in a reasonable distance.

Of course, what they've done is try to put together the best possible contingency plan, fitting the thoughts that some commenters had on the parcours all the way back in January.

The original stage would have been pure epice...end of story. Certainly it's a risk to plan such a stage for late May, but that's just the Giro, especially since the UCI has made it start earlier than in the past, which, along with running the Tour of Cali at the same time, is a great disrespect to the Italian event.

The problem this year of course is that Italy has been unseasonably cold and inclement in May. Yet, if the Giro were to finish at the end of the first week of June, perhaps none of this would have been a problem. The race organizers desire to showcase the Giro profile as the most dramatic and "hard" grand tour in the world. Hence a stage with both the Gavia and the Stelvio in it would achieve that goal: and we love the Giro for it. It's a shame the weather didn't cooperate, but it's better to plan such a stage and fail, rather than not plan it at all. The Giro needs such a stage to be planned. One of these years it will happen.