2021 Giro Route Rumours

[OlavEH]

Well, this seems okay. Not great, but medium plus.

Several medium mountain stages in the first 12 days. A sterrato stage is long overdue and is a high point in the first part.

A bit backloaded the last week. And the mountain stages are pretty similar, altough I like both the Sega di Ala and Alpe Motte stages.

I miss a (as every year) a BIG medium mountain stage. And another queen stage including a massive climb like Stelvio, Mortirolo, Finestre, Fauniera, etc.

 

[Gigs_98]

I'm a bit out of the loop. Didn't realize there won't be a long TT. That's a bit worrying. Also, is dort Remco still planning on going there? I would imagine he would want some TT'ing in whatever route he chooses. That said, if he does ride I'm looking forward to the sterrato even more.

 

[Eshnar]

afaik yes, Remco is still planning to participate. If he recovers fully, that is.

 

[SafeBet]

Giro wild cards: Bardiani, Vini-Zabu, Eolo-Kometa.

Terrible decision to leave Androni out.

 

[Jungle Cycle]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1359511530254045191

View: https://twitter.com/faustocoppi60/status/1359511530254045191

 

[tobydawq]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1359511530254045191

View: https://twitter.com/faustocoppi60/status/1359511530254045191

Maybe Vini Zabù's awesomeness on Twitter helped here?

 

[SafeBet]

Maybe Vini Zabù's awesomeness on Twitter helped here?

What's the argument for Bardiani then?

 

[tobydawq]

Anyway, Androni might be a bit stronger than the chosen ones, but boy has the Italian professional continental scene gone south the last years.

In 2012, they won 5 Giro stages with 5 different riders (all three Wild Card teams won at least one stage; 2 for Farnese Vini with Matteo Rabottini and Andrea Guardini, 2 for Androni with Miguel Ángel Rubiano and Roberto Ferrari, 1 for Colnago with Pozzovivo), they got one top 10 on GC (8th for Pozzovivo) plus the mountain's jersey for Rabottini.

Also, Colnago fielded - in addition to Pozzovivo - Sonny Colbrelli, Gianluca Brambilla, Stefano Pirazzi, Enrico Battaglin and Sacha Modolo; Androni had José Rujano, Alessandro De Marchi, Fabio Felline and Manuele Sella in addition to Rubiano and Ferrari; while Farnese Vini also had Oscar Gatto and Filippo Pozzato plus the previously mentioned Guardini and Rabottini.

I know a few of those riders still had not broken through but still, a remarkable quality.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Meh, Arkea also applied for a wildcard, Quintana and his crew plus Diego Rosa would have added a lot more than Vini Zabu, who only have Jakub (overall they are weaker than Eolo-Kometa). Even a Gazprom wildcard would have been fine for me, Zakarin plus Kreuziger, Canola and Velasco would have been a nice addition (they are also based in Italy during the season and ride Colnago bikes).
Bardiani is fine for me, they tried to strengthen their team.
Androni are having a bit of a transitional year, so it won't hurt their riders as much (fingers crossed to see them go all out in the other italian races).

 

[Sciatic]

Wow, Tobydawq, those were lineups of pro-Conti teams—-that is a world of difference from the lineups we see these days!

 

[repre]

Ravasi for top-20 i suppose!

 

[Escarabajo]

Quintana finding the hard reality of life by going to the French Continental team.

 

[Red Rick]

Is Quintana even fully recovered from the Tour crashes?

 

[roundabout]

he rides for a French team so he was probably hired to win the Tour, last Tour winner who raced the Giro in the same year was probably Pantani.

 

[Escarabajo]

Quintana probably was taking the Giro as an insurance. Not only to show recovery from his injury but to gain his confidence back. Similar to Bernal. Putting all the eggs on the Tour basket always seems like an error to me.

 

[Netserk]

he rides for a French team so he was probably hired to win the Tour, last Tour winner who raced the Giro in the same year was probably Pantani.

Rasmussen was close. Ulle and Basso would have been likely as well.

 

[Red Rick]

Quintana probably was taking the Giro as an insurance. Not only to show recovery from his injury but to gain his confidence back. Similar to Bernal. Putting all the eggs on the Tour basket always seems like an error to me.

It would've been the other way around.

Giro for glory

Tour to show up and say you tried.

Quintana can be godly but still not top 5 on that Tour route.

 

[Mayomaniac]

It would've been the other way around.

Giro for glory

Tour to show up and say you tried.

Quintana can be godly but still not top 5 on that Tour route.

This, both him and Wawa going stagehunting at the Tour while Nacer is going for the sprints would have been a good option. Of course his knee injury is a bit of a question mark when it comes to him being competitive at the Giro.
Savio hasn't taken it too well: "It's clearly not a merit based decision. If it would have been Eolo, Bardiani and Arkea I wouldn't say a thing."

 

[Eshnar]

This, both him and Wawa going stagehunting at the Tour while Nacer is going for the sprints would have been a good option. Of course his knee injury is a bit of a question mark when it comes to him being competitive at the Giro.
Savio hasn't taken it too well: "It's clearly not a merit based decision. If it would have been Eolo, Bardiani and Arkea I wouldn't say a thing."

as if Eolo was a merit based decision...

 

[Mayomaniac]

as if Eolo was a merit based decision...

That's true, but I'd still rate their team above Vini-Zabu, the later only have Jakub and the ghost of Zardini (who hasn't been impressive since 2014). I hope that Androni ends up dominating the Italian domestic scene to prove a point.

 

[Bolder]

I'm kind of surprised that Arkea didn't get in -- Quintana is a likely Top 10, maybe Top 5, if he's recovered. But I agree he's obligated to go for the Tour.

 

[tobydawq]

I'm kind of surprised that Arkea didn't get in -- Quintana is a likely Top 10, maybe Top 5, if he's recovered. But I agree he's obligated to go for the Tour.

And a former winner of the race.

Even if he won in a cheating way.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Maybe RCS came to an agreement with Arkea.
They were probably only interested because missing out on the Tour wildcard because of that clinic related raid could have happened.

 

[Leinster]

Rasmussen was close. Ulle and Basso would have been likely as well.

One of Ullrich’s 2nd place* finishes came after riding the Giro. That, and Dumoulin’s 2nd place, are the nearest anyone has come since Pantani.

It had been much more common in the 90s (Indurain) and 80s (Roche and Hinault obviously, but also Lemond rode the Giro in 89). Nowadays it seems nobody with a serious chance of winning the Tour goes in via the Giro, unless they’re making a genuine effort for the double.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

It had been much more common in the 90s (Indurain) and 80s (Roche and Hinault obviously, but also Lemond rode the Giro in 89). Nowadays it seems nobody with a serious chance of winning the Tour goes in via the Giro, unless they’re making a genuine effort for the double.

Fignon missed the Double by 8 seconds in 1989. Everybody seems to forget that.

What I think is interesting, that Giro ended on June 11th and TdF started on July 1st that year. Which is really difficult to manage. Lot of riders did both races in the 90ies, that's true.

Froome und Dumoulin have shown in 2018 that it is possible to do well in both. Also Contador could have come close in 2011 without these early crashes and without the Giro being Don Zomegnantes personal edition of Dante's inferno. Which also leads to the fact, that the Giro was a bit easier in the 80ies, with more stages to "rest", more softpedaling on transitional days and not that behemoth of a last week, that it is now. The same goes for le Tour and Jean-Marie Leblanc's personal interpretation of the Jacques Brel classic "le plat pays".