Giro d'Italia 2022 Giro d'Italia: Stage-by-stage Analysis

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

When you have the likes of Yates, Almeida and Bardet drop out like they did, when they did doesn't help. But yeah, the route isn't the best.

The route was fine, just more ITT to be a good route, there should be little blame on the route other than the ITT, more on the riders for being **** boring.

 

[Põhja Konn]

By now I'm not even sure how much an additional TT would have saved this Giro. The contenders who are left have been so equal thus far, that it's difficult to see any of them being to able to make bigger moves stick in order to overturn bigger gaps opened up by the TT. In addition to this the one of the three most likely to be able or willing to pull off such a move (Carapaz) is the best TT-er of them all and wouldn't probably to need overturn any gap. There have been more than one climb tough enough to make a difference on if there was one to be made with sustained gradients high enough to negate any drafting effect there could be.

So while an addiotional TT would certainly have improved the route, I'm more and more leaning towards the opinion that most decisive factor in this Giro being as bad as it has been, is the early loss of GT contenders who could have offered different dimensions for the GC battle.

 

[Big Doopie]

I guess my point is that you add in the TT, you get other contenders choosing to race the Giro, not all the same type of only climber types. They are so equal because they are largely the same type of rider.

GTs traditionally have worked best when it is a battle between all-rounders and more pure climbers. This route only enticed pure climbers. As has been pointed out, even just having a second week TT would have made Almeida more of a threat to the others. And then the attacking would have, by necessity, been different.

For example, take Itzulia and P-N this year as examples of that type of fight. Think of the last stages of each. The purer climber(s) has to gamble more and attack from farther out and then we saw the defense by the all-rounder in each case, one successful, the other not quite but only by 20+ seconds and things were definitely in the balance until the, yes, drama of Remco finally being dropped for good on the last climb. Had Remco not been in play, then Martinez would not have pushed on as he would be only competing against similar type riders and would ride only defensively (very much like this Giro).

The Cycling Podcast has discussed this a lot and also brought up a debate between the two hosts, one preferring that “suspense” until the very end the other (Daniel Friebe) noting that traditionally people ultimately want to see at least that one exploit by the eventual winner so that they know that the winner is definitely the best - either a dominating TT or a mountain destruction of the opposition.

i definitely side with the latter myself. No matter who wins this Giro, I would have my doubts that they were indeed the strongest rider. And because there has been no dominant ride of any kind, it only accentuates the sense that we are watching second and even third-tier GC riders battle it out, whether that’s fair or not.

 

[Netserk]

Fedaia done like this was always going to dominate and block the last part of the race. The design of the rest of the mountain stages and the lack of ITTs are separate problems (somewhat, they also feed the first).

As I understand it, it is Belluno (province) that is paying for the stage (and for it to be the big finale), and it is compensating for the cancelling last year. So why not do the two climbs like they were supposed to last year and with a finish in the Belluno province? The solution is a finish in Arabba, and adding to the stage as it is designed now is fine. A better Aprica stage and a proper ITT earlier in the race, and suddenly you have a good route.

 

[ashhutch1997]

A better Aprica stage and a proper ITT earlier in the race, and suddenly you have a good route.
[/QUOTE]
That's what is so frustrating, they could have used the same start and finish towns but designed them so much better. Even though the Torino stage was great, that could have been turned into a really nice hilly TT. The stage to Aprica could have instead of doing the Mortirolo from the easy side, the could have done something similar to the 2010 stage, with Aprica/Trivino/Mortirolo/Aprica. That would be around 210km and 5 climbs, basically a better version of the 2015 Aprica stage.

 

[tobydawq]

Red Rick will greet all new members welcome to Petulant Whiners United, first year for free. Maybe even @tobydawq will be tempted to join?

I don't know, I don't get why Bahrain or Bora don't ever try sending riders up the road to maybe be of help in a long-range attack later on the stage. Why is that tactic suddenly off the table?

But yeah, clearly something is not working in this race.

Maybe Hindley thinks it's better not to have the jersey so he doesn't have to ride in a less aero jersey on the TT? That would be quite sad if that was the reason.

 

[Netserk]

A horrible Giro, the worst I've ever witnessed, even beating 2012. A very bad route which together with the field it attracted incentivised defensive racing. And it was also hampered by illness, quite unfortunately and in a way that only made the racing worse. The perfect storm of bad outcomes.

At least we'll always have Torino (even if it was won by an attack of a non-GC rider who was somewhat let go when he attacked).

 

[fbjim]

I think 2019 was worse but it wasn't great

 

[fbjim]

The Cycling Podcast has discussed this a lot and also brought up a debate between the two hosts, one preferring that “suspense” until the very end the other (Daniel Friebe) noting that traditionally people ultimately want to see at least that one exploit by the eventual winner so that they know that the winner is definitely the best - either a dominating TT or a mountain destruction of the opposition.

I said it in my post of the best GC stages of last year, but even if it "killed the race", I'll take a GT that has one stage like Pogacar's attack to Le Grand-Bornand over a "close" GC race with passive racing every time

 

[Red Rick]

No way 2019 was worse. Stages 12-14 were all really big in 2019, then Como and Mortirolo also had good action, it was only really the final mountain stage that had pretty bad design but even that had moment of actions as early as Passo Manghen.

 

[Netserk]

Hindley and Hirt with 1 stage win each as the only riders in the top-10. Hirt's win was from a breakaway, Hindley's win was from a sprint of 6 riders. Sad.

 

[Red Rick]

Pretty confident in saying the top 5 of GC at the finish is rather weak. Landa exposed as a rather non mythical climber who's probably the consistent 5th-9th fixture in the Tour, while Carapaz was heavily expected to win on consistency yet his attacks didn't do the damage and he got hard cracked the one time he was put under hard pressure.

Maybe Hindleys climbing is legit Slovenian level, but consider me a bit sceptical on that one.

 

[fbjim]

Carapaz also had a late attack that didn't pan out at LBL last year, though to be fair he won his gold medal with one.

 

[fbjim]

No way 2019 was worse. Stages 12-14 were all really big in 2019, then Como and Mortirolo also had good action, it was only really the final mountain stage that had pretty bad design but even that had moment of actions as early as Passo Manghen.

Worse as a route, I mean. Still arguable with the lack of a real TT but the first ten days were just dire with not even many good break stages, and the last two or three mountain stages weren't well thought out.


Also I was mad that Como was going to be a really prestigious break stage because it followed the Lombardia route and then the break was two riders. And it won.

 

[Red Rick]

Worse as a route, I mean. Still arguable with the lack of a real TT but the first ten days were just dire with not even many good break stages, and the last two or three mountain stages weren't well thought out.


Also I was mad that Como was going to be a really prestigious break stage because it followed the Lombardia route and then the break was two riders. And it won.

I rembmer that 2 man break almost losing it after having like 14 minutes at one point.

That stage would be super cool in the Giro if you just put Muro di Sormano instead of just the Colma. Maybe add San Fermo after Civiglio too


Also Gavia got canceled.

When I look at 2008 route I still don't understand how Gavia/Mortirolo somehow did 0 damage in the CERA Giro

 

[fbjim]

What's sad is that this isn't even the worst GT route of the year but the Vuelta will probably be really entertaining anyway because it's the Vuelta

 

[greyclouds]

A horrible Giro, the worst I've ever witnessed, even beating 2012. A very bad route which together with the field it attracted incentivised defensive racing. And it was also hampered by illness, quite unfortunately and in a way that only made the racing worse. The perfect storm of bad outcomes.

At least we'll always have Torino (even if it was won by an attack of a non-GC rider who was somewhat let go when he attacked).

It was a bad route, much worse than I thought. Its key mistakes (low itt, dull second week and bad sequencing) combined with a rather non-exciting field + bad luck + illness resulted in the worst GT I can remember watching - might be a spur of the moment exageration, but that’s the feeling.

It’s also rather disappointing that there wasn’t a single young rider stepping up for the GC battle. We had good rides from a few kids, but GC wise only Juanpe Lopez and Buitrago actually showed something, and they are finishing 9th and 12th in the GC, 17 and 23 minutes behind Hindley. In a decimated GC field I was expecting to see youngsters some stepping up, the same way that Vingegaard, Almeida or Hindley did in recent GTs.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Someone on here should use their magic and try and make a better route using the same start/finish towns

 

[Red Rick]

Someone on here should use their magic and try and make a better route using the same start/finish towns

Make Napoli a 45km ITT. Make Aprica go Aprica>Mortirolo>Aprica. Do Giau>Falzarego>Fedaia today.

Fixed.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Make Napoli a 45km ITT. Make Aprica go Aprica>Mortirolo>Aprica. Do Giau>Falzarego>Fedaia today.

Fixed.

I was thinking for the Aprica stage something on the lines of Goletto di Cadino/Aprica/Trivigno/Mortirolo/Aprica, that would be around 210km making it a proper queen stage.
But even with these improvements the second week was horrible and the stage to Cogne was also a snoozefest...

 

[Netserk]

Make Napoli a 45km ITT. Make Aprica go Aprica>Mortirolo>Aprica. Do Giau>Falzarego>Fedaia today.

Fixed.

Pordoi kept as Cima Coppi (and compensation for the cancelling last year). Direct route from Belluno to San Pellegrino, alternatively you could add the 27 km extra they did today.

Belluno - Marmolada (Passo Fedaia), 198 km

(https://ridewithgps.com/routes/39598742)

Without San Pellegrino and Pordoi, where Giau is Cima Coppi, and the first 50 km is the exact same as today:

EDIT: It's Il Giro, it deserves some effort and love, at least from us if not RCS.

 

[fbjim]

I think some of the mid-10s TDFs were worse but this was just depressing because it's the Giro, and back then everyone kind of expected the Tour to be lousy.