2017 Giro d'Italia, Stage 3 - Tortoli - Cagliari 148km

[MikeTichondrius]

Well, never made one of these meeself...But seeing as this stage is expected to be so thrilling, I can't see why there isn't a thread already.

From Eshnar's great Giro guide:

STAGE 3: Tortolì – Cagliari 148 km

START TIME: 13.35 CEST

Technical Overview:
The first clear chance for the pure sprinters, a rather short stage with only one very easy GPM4, Capo Boi (GPM4, 2 km at 4.9%), at 40 km to go. Those 40 km are all along the coast, but strong winds there are unlikely, albeit not impossible. There is no city circuit in Cagliari, and the last kms are pretty straightforward.

The Climbs:
Capo Boi GPM4
Short and easy.

What to expect:
This should definitely be a mass sprint. Echelons can happen, but are very unlikely in this area.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Ewan to finally get his win

 

[Tank Engine]

Yes, the stage I've been waiting for . Hirt will be attacking off the back of the peloton to set up a long range attack for mountain points on Tuesday. I'm wondering what Rolland will do, since he seems to have signalled his intentions to go for the same jersey, but he is still fairly close on GC.

Edit: I thought Hirt had lost a bit more time. He's on the same time as Rolland.

As for the minor details. I'll go with Premier Andrew
1. Ewan
2. Gorilla
3. Gaviria

 

[wheresmybrakes]

Gonna go for the break to win, just to pi$$ the sprinters off again

 

[BullsFan22]

Back to back for Greipel. The Gorilla bludgeons his way to another win.

 

[tobydawq]

40-50 kmh cross-tail-winds the first 100 kilometres. Sadly a headwind in the final 50.

But it could be interesting.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Should be a crosswind from the start and getting more brutal as they head towards the second intermediate sprint. Headwind for the last 50 km. The race should already be in bits by that point but might come together somewhat for the finish. Greipel FTW

 

[Ciddaman]

Re:

40-50 kmh cross-tail-winds the first 100 kilometres. Sadly a headwind in the final 50.

But it could be interesting.

I'm here and I know very well this road. Last 10km will be very hard for cross-head winds, the same after Villasimius( -60) for 10km. Stage will be harder than it seem looking the profile. There is no one flat meter between -80 to -20

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Go to sleep everyone. Alarm clock set at 2 minutes before the finish

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Go to sleep everyone. Alarm clock set at 2 minutes before the finish

If only we had such fancy alarms.

 

[Red Rick]

I just want an alarm that goes off when Gigs stops watching

 

[spalco]

Breakaway right from the starting line.

If there are no wind issues today, this will be tremendously boring (which suits me just fine, because I have to work anyway, with a live stream on the side).

 

[ferryman]

Woo hoo, live on Eurosport already, 140K to go! Don't care if it's boring, it's sit in the garden weather here on the Forth Riviera, so going to crack open a couple of cold ones, get some antipasto a wee bit later and enjoy

 

[jflemaire]

All I'm hoping for is some kind of action. This is the freaking 100th edition of the Giro and the 2 first stages didn't do it justice. Enough with the sprinter stages already!

 

[portugal11]

Bring back contador!!! At least we will have carnage

 

[Eagle]

4 riders in the break Jan Tratnik (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Ivan Rovny (Gazprom - Rusvelo), Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data) and Eugert Zhupa (Wilier Triestina)

 

[alexix7]

Sbaragli definitely for the Maglia Ciclamino !

 

[Krokro]

I naively thought that Sbaragli was DD best chance on overall stages finishes. Dont understand why he's on a breakaway

 

[Eagle]

Sbaragli won the intermediate sprint and then waited for the peloton

 

[Krokro]

Re:

Sbaragli won the intermediate sprint and then waited for the peloton

Oh, interesting, thanks for the heads up !

 

[alexix7]

Very clever race by Sbaragli. He will go for additional 6 points on the second intermediate sprint and will have enough strenght to force the final bunch sprint. Go Kristian !

 

[HelloDolly]

And everyone on here complains about the Tour.....this is sooooooooo boring

I saw yesterday Astana did try to open race up but BMC shut them down

And later Haas and a few others tried but not enough to make a difference

Please someone try something ...Otherwise I will have to turn off the TV

 

[tobydawq]

Very long TV transmissions expose the boredom, I guess.

 

[Oliwright]

The tour is often criticized but these 3 stages haven't been great! It's what happens when there is such a hard 3rd week, riders hold back.

I'm pretty sure we are going to have a regular bunch sprint today. The headwind will kill the racing.

 

[SlickMongoose]

I don't mind sprint stages, but it's a little bit annoying that they're climbing Etna on a Tuesday when most people have to work, but this is on a Sunday.