Giro d'Italia 2022 Giro d'Italia, Stage 1: Budapest – Visegrád 195 km (Friday, May 6th)

[Mayomaniac]

Interesting to see what a 60kg sprinter like Consonni, who is usually at his best after a hilly stage, can do on a stage like this. He should have the ability to not get dropped on this kind of climb.
That said, it looks like MVdP vs Ghirmay to me.

 

[AlfaLum]

Interesting to see what a 60kg sprinter like Consonni, who is usually at his best after a hilly stage, can do on a stage like this. He should have the ability to not get dropped on this kind of climb.
That said, it looks like MVdP vs Ghirmay to me.

I love Girmay and what he is doing. But too be fair he has never shown to be in the same league as Mathieu on these kind of finishes has he?

 

[SafeBet]

What is the longest HTF that Van der Poel has won in his career?

 

[Hugo Koblet]

It does look perfect for Van der Poel. Albanese is in stellar shape and is my number two favorite here. Valverde will also be up there. Girmay and Ewan are the dark horses for me. Will they be able to survive? Girmay was climbing poorly earlier this year but in the classics he suddenly found his climbing legs - at least on short climbs. Ewan I have no idea about. Usually I would say that it's too hard but in MSR '21-shape it should suit him perfectly.

 

[Red Rick]

What is the longest HTF that Van der Poel has won in his career?

He has done very few such finishes. Only close comparison is stage 2 of Tirreno last year where he got beaten by Alaphilippe.

Also I dont thibk length is that inportant here. I think its clearly easier than Mur de Bretagne.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Maybe not a bad thing that they start in Hungary, this time. First stages of the Giro are almost always some of the most nervous kilometers of the year. Peloton full of climbers, going full gas on technical Italian roads.

I hope, the roads in Hungary are a bit more forgiving. Always sad to see riders, who have prepared for months for a GT, crashing out on one of the first stages, to be injured for weeks…

 

[search]

I really struggle to see Sanremo as much of an indication for a finish like this, or basically any normal race at all. That one is all about being fesh after 300k, not about climbing skills. After 180k everyone would make it over the Poggio.

Ewan still has a good uphill sprint, of course, but I'd tend to say this is too long. It would probably need a massive headwind and a very slow pace

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

He has done very few such finishes. Only close comparison is stage 2 of Tirreno last year where he got beaten by Alaphilippe.

Also I dont thibk length is that inportant here. I think its clearly easier than Mur de Bretagne.

didn't he do a similar longer climb in a break in Tirreno 2020? Although it was steeper I think. That was with Guerreiro and Fabbro in the break as well

 

[Ricco']

didn't he do a similar longer climb in a break in Tirreno 2020? Although it was steeper I think. That was with Guerreiro and Fabbro in the break as well

It was shorter, 1900m @ 7.2%.

 

[Laplaz]

**** MVDP
*** Girmay, Valverde, Albanese
** Ewan, Ulissi, Vendrame
* Everyone else

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

anyway, the climb is not harder than cipressa so VDP should easily be able to handle that

 

[Red Rick]

It was shorter, 1900m @ 7.2%.

Its functionally a harder climb though. But it was from a break

 

[Ricco']

Its functionally a harder climb though. But it was from a break

Yes. The closest I could find, apart from the stage won in T-A by Alaphilippe in 2021, is the 1st stage of last year's Tour with 3.2 km @ 5.3% but that had a harder section in the beginning and a harder run-in.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

**** MVDP
*** Girmay, Valverde, Albanese
** Ewan, Ulissi, Vendrame
* Everyone else

Carapax at least 2 stars

 

[Billie]

Diego Ulissi. This is carbon copy of opening stage in 2020.

 

[AlfaLum]

I think Carapaz and Bilbao might actually do well here, and wouldn’t entirely rule out Almeida either. Also Cort in good form would be a great contender here, but that’s a tad unlikely.

Ciccone and Mollema could be in for good results here as well, although probably not really for the stage win. Valverde a bit overrated here in my opinion, it is not steep enough, and his sprint seems to have declined quite a bit.I am also gonna be a bit stubborn by being of the opinion that Ewan will already be at the back of the peloton when they reach the steepest 1.5km of the Visegrad climb. Albanese, whereas obviously a surprise package this season I think doesn’t have the required level to actually win this stage. But I will give him one star nonetheless.

**** Van der Poel
*** Carapaz, Almeida
** Ulissi, Ghirmay, Bilbao
* Cort, Ciccone, Albanese, Valverde

 

[Netserk]

Valverde is overrated here, his sprint is not what it used to be.

 

[Red Rick]

Valverde is overrated here, his sprint is not what it used to be.

It isn't. But uphill it's not as declined as on the flat. Still I don't think is steep enough for him.

 

[Fantastico]

Valverde is overrated here, his sprint is not what it used to be.

Not only that, he also tends to take way less risk in sprint finales than he used to. So even if his sprint is still good, he often gets boxed in and therefore ends up in a position where a top result is out of reach.

 

[Velolover2]

Ewan.

It's an easy single climb stage with no real hills before the HTF.

 

[Red Rick]

Ewan.

It's an easy single climb stage with no real hills before the HTF.

Ewan has never won a finish as hard as this one. I think if it were 1km at 5 or 6% he'd have a shot, but this is too hard for too long, after I've checked his previous results.

 

[Velolover2]

Ewan has never won a finish as hard as this one. I think if it were 1km at 5 or 6% he'd have a shot, but this is too hard for too long, after I've checked his previous results.

Normally, I'll agree. But remember there are no real hills before this climb.

Gaviria might have a better shot than Ewan tbf.

 

[Red Rick]

Normally, I'll agree. But remember there are no real hills before this climb.

Gaviria might have a better shot than Ewan tbf.

No real hills before also means the peloton will ride it faster. If we take Frascati in 2019 as the reference, that was 2km at 4.5%, it's just much shorter.

 

[gregrowlerson]

Hopefully MAL wins, just for the LOL's.

 

[search]

Interesting that this is a full-points stage (and #8 as well). Looks likely to be a big blow to every sprinter's Ciclamino ambitions.