2014 Giro d'Italia, Stage 20: Maniago-Monte Zoncolan (167 Km)

[The Hitch]

yeh, when Basso won a couple of years ago they did it from the other side

What? Only in 2003 it has been climbed from another side than this one.

Yeah, I'm surprised at search. Usually he has all the bases covered and knows everything, but this is shocking. Not knowing Zoncolan is like not knowing your ABC's.

Sutrio for first 2 ascents 97 and 2003 - Libertine will thank me for it.

Ovaro ever since.

Print it out, read it, memorize it, then burn the paper and never allow anyone to remind you again.

 

[Ferminal]

I guess Astana chases.

 

[jaylew]

If Arredondo, Duarte and Henao go on a break, Aru, Pozzovivo, Kelderman, Rolland, Majka and all of the other riders from the break crash or drop out for various reasons your prediction is totally legit.....

I guess I should have included Anacona, Chalapud, Pantano, and Duque...

 

[yespatterns]

Well it would be nice for winner to do something provocative...

 

[search]

Yeah, I'm surprised at search. Usually he has all the bases covered and knows everything, but this is shocking. Not knowing Zoncolan is like not knowing your ABC's.

Sutrio for first 2 ascents 97 and 2003 - Libertine will thank me for it.

Ovaro ever since.

Print it out, read it, memorize it, then burn the paper and never allow anyone to remind you again.

I will.

Funny thing is, I even double checked that because I did not remember which year they did it for the last time - and found this profile for 2010...

 

[movingtarget]

Quintana to watch the battle for second third and fourth before before switching to turbo mode. Quintana stops to admire the scenery for two minutes then Aru, Rolland, Quintana, Uran, Pozzo and Majka stop to talk to the fans for five minutes and don't notice Cadel sneaking past for a well deserved victory. Straight after the stage officials announce that the stage has been neutralised but they are not sure who made the decision. Cadel decides to ride the Tour to put them in their place. TJVG back to being a domestique. Australian flags lowered to half mast. Final stage cancelled for safety reasons as Farrar is still in the race.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Sutrio for first 2 ascents 97 and 2003 - Libertine will thank me for it.

Ovaro ever since.

Print it out, read it, memorize it, then burn the paper and never allow anyone to remind you again.

Ten out of ten.

 

[Red Rick]

aka finnestre sestrieres.

which was a waste of space in 2011 at the Giro di Contador with the winner so clear, but a stage of the century contender in 2005.

Mortirolo Aprica similar principle though it wasn't the last stage, they made it basically the last stage.

Finestre 2011 had also to do with the other standings. Scarponi was well ahead of Nibali for 2nd and his nearest rival got dropped near the top of the Finestre. You had Rujano going from far out, and Purito early on sestriere, but nobody bothered to chase them. Contador didn't bother because the stage win was basically out of reach and all he could do was save himself somewhat for the Tour. Another problem was that the stage had been entirely flat up untill they hit the Finestre

 

[darwin553]

Lol. Those were the days. Couldnt do that in a car now

Basso should be equally highlighted.

 

[icefire]

I will.

Funny thing is, I even double checked that because I did not remember which year they did it for the last time - and found this profile for 2010...

That profile is correct... but you have to look carefully at both the horizontal and vertical axis annotations: it's only for the last 3 kms

 

[Eshnar]

Yeah, I'm surprised at search. Usually he has all the bases covered and knows everything, but this is shocking. Not knowing Zoncolan is like not knowing your ABC's.

Sutrio for first 2 ascents 97 and 2003 - Libertine will thank me for it.

Ovaro ever since.

Print it out, read it, memorize it, then burn the paper and never allow anyone to remind you again.

dafuq? Did they climb it in 97 too and nobody told me?

 

[icefire]

dafuq? Did they climb it in 97 too and nobody told me?

Giro Donne

 

[Eshnar]

Giro Donne

aaah I see.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Stage 10, 1997. Forgaria nel Friuli - Monte Zoncolan, 79km. Think it was via Tolmezzo and Ovaro then over Tualis & Sella Valcalda, descent into Sutrio then climbing the Zoncolan. Might be wrong on the route details but I think that's the case.

Main contenders all together in Sutrio. Fabiana Luperini killed it in the maglia rosa and won by 34 seconds from Heeb. Fifth place was already over 2 mins back.

 

[Arredondo]

Quintana surely wants to win this. He's not going to give anything to Aru.

I don't know if Uran will lose his 2nd place. On Panarotto he was one of the best GC contenders. So just holding the wheel of Aru as long as he can is enough i think.

 

[search]

That profile is correct... but you have to look carefully at both the horizontal and vertical axis annotations: it's only for the last 3 kms

yeh, I should better stop talking about the Zoncolan at this point...

Crostis instead next year please

 

[luckyboy]

Aru only lost 1 second of the 17 on the climb yesterday so if he has recovered well enough then he could hang onto Quintana for a long time

 

[Arredondo]

Aru only lost 1 second of the 17 on the climb yesterday so if he has recovered well enough then he could hang onto Quintana for a long time

Quintana didn't fo full gass on Monte Grappa. I'm convinced of that. He thought he could do it on 90%, but when he saw Aru was closing and leading him at a certain point, he rode the last km some 15 seconds faster. That's quite impressive.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Aru only lost 1 second of the 17 on the climb yesterday so if he has recovered well enough then he could hang onto Quintana for a long time

he lost more than 25 secondsn in the final 5 km though

 

[Arnout]

This stage should not be the last GC stage of the race.

1. It finishes on the toughest climb of the race, riders are less likely to attack on earlier stages because they either can wait for the last day or they want to conserve energy.

2. Because the finish is so tough, chances are 100% it all comes down to the final climb. There's no chance for longe range attacks, which actually is the thing you'd want to be possible in the last GC stage

3. Being so late in the Giro, chances are that everything is already decided when the race hits it's toughest climb. This sucks, cause it could make one of the most iconic climbs in cycling redundant. Angliru 2013 and Bola del Mundo 2010 working that way were rather unique situation imo.

I think the best stage design for a final mountain stage would be where the toughest obstacle is far from the finish line and were the final obstacle is rather mellow. It makes long range attacks way more likely cause the risk of blowing up is way smaller, and because waiting doesn't get you anything

While I agree with your sentiments, one can also turn this around. A not-so-hard stage which allows long range attacks as last stage has the potential to be a potential borefest if the GC is decided and if the leader is in a strong team (like Sky in the Tour, Movistar in this Giro). If you put the Zoncolan in the final stage, at least you're sure to get spectacle even when the GC isn't likely to change.

I'm fine with the GTs mixing it up a bit. One year hard final stage, other year your approach. Sadly the last few years backloading is quite popular.

 

[SafeBet]

Mori almost taking out one Bardiani rider at the start

 

[Pricey_sky]

It would be great for The Doctor to win today as it looks like he will miss out on the podium. It will be tough for him against Quintana and Aru though.

 

[The Hitch]

Quintana didn't fo full gass on Monte Grappa. I'm convinced of that. He thought he could do it on 90%, but when he saw Aru was closing and leading him at a certain point, he rode the last km some 15 seconds faster. That's quite impressive.

he lost more than 25 secondsn in the final 5 km though

Are you guys basing that on the giro gps differences, which are known to be unreliable?

 

[Arredondo]

Are you guys basing that on the giro gps differences, which are known to be unreliable?

Well, you're right. The gps differences are indeed unreliable.

The only thing we know is that Aru was 16 seconds slower than Quintana at the foot of Grappa (if i'm correct), and that he finished 17 seconds in deficit at the top.

Could be likely that Quintana was always in control and between 10-20 seconds in front all the time.

 

[pecival]

I think the gps is ok. Places where it was jumping were the serpentines, where riders were relatively close to eachother but on different levels. I don't think they are using equipment sophisticated enough to calculate that but I might be wrong.