Giro d'Italia 2023 Giro d’Italia, Stage 20: Tarvisio- Monte Lussari, 18.6km MTT

[Vino's Mum]

I think the bike change is assumed

Yup.

Thomas after today’s stage: "I haven't practised the bike change yet, but I will do.”

 

[dercuforever]

It is coming home!

I can't believe it but I am almost rooting for Thomas. Dude seems so chill.
Him and Roglic both were unlucky on the giro, and on this one as well, they both deserve it but there can be only one.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I hope Almeida can ride a beast of a TT to take the overall and win.


What I do know is that whoever of the three wins tomorrow, their fan base/camp will be very excited and will talk about it for a long time and rightfully so.

 

[Bolder]

Is this steep enough for Kuss? Of course, he's going to stop pushing a km from the end out of habit...

 

[tobydawq]

Jay Vine? The dude seems calculating enough to have taken it easy today just to give himself the best shot for tomorrow.

I hope this is just my poor impression of him taking over.

 

[bajbar]

A lot of teams staying just over the border in Kranjska Gora. So home turf advantage for Roglič. Tomorrow the TT course will look like Planica ski jumping event every year. There is even an organized (free?) bus that will be taking spectators from Kranjska Gora to Tarvisio every 20 minutes for the whole day. So expect a lot of Slovenian flags.

My only worry is that among those thousands of fans there will always be one or two idiots... remember Lopez getting into a fistfight in 2019? Yeah, those kind of idiots...

 

[dgodave]

5km at 15% ???

I sorta wish theyd left it gravel.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

This is the most extreme MTT I can remember. Only Zoncolan has a longer section at 15% than this one. It's between Primoz and Thomas I think. 26'' is not a lot but today the Welshman looked strong enough to win the race so it won't be easy. Hopefully tomorrow the Slovenian will find something extra so close to his country with a lot of his compatriots on the road side. This could be epic...or not. Time will tell.

 

[Gratemans]

maybe Thomas will crash

That's the absolute last thing this Giro needs.
Also, I hear many complaining about the route, but imo the route (aside from this ludicrous mtt at this particular place in the race) has been fine. Illness has been the main factor in how this Giro turned out.

 

[vwpe]

the problem isnt the route the problem is the riders you have here. THE GC guys are ALMEIDA, G. THOMAS and ROGLIC all are notoriously knowned for riding defensive all the time.....ofcourse its gonne be a snooze fest.

Same route and put Pogacar in it, attacked left and right and sprints in intermiditates sprints too..its the riders not the course and their all notoriously knowned for riding this way all 3 of em so yeah here you go ofcourse this is the outcome then..their riding this non stop all their life its just these riders way of riding.

Ofc would pog ride there wouldnt be much excitment in the GC apartments in terms of time so in that perspective that also could been boring in the sense of easy win but wouldnt lack of attacks left right and center.

Also Roglic will win tomorrow, just a well educated guess from inner circles, run to the bookies.

 

[Netserk]

Jay Vine? The dude seems calculating enough to have taken it easy today just to give himself the best shot for tomorrow.

I hope this is just my poor impression of him taking over.

It's the correct impression, and we are not the only ones to notice it.

 

[Didinho]

I'm wondering if the riders are doing the climb aswell in the recon? Or they al did it months ago, if it was accessible/open?

 

[Gratemans]

the problem isnt the route the problem is the riders you have here. THE GC guys are ALMEIDA, G. THOMAS and ROGLIC all are notoriously knowned for riding defensive all the time.....ofcourse its gonne be a snooze fest.

Same route and put Pogacar in it, attacked left and right and sprints in intermiditates sprints too..its the riders not the course and their all notoriously knowned for riding this way all 3 of em so yeah here you go ofcourse this is the outcome then..their riding this non stop all their life its just these riders way of riding.

Ofc would pog ride there wouldnt be much excitment in the GC apartments in terms of time so in that perspective that also could been boring in the sense of easy win but wouldnt lack of attacks left right and center.

Also Roglic will win tomorrow, just a well educated guess from inner circles, run to the bookies.

That's what I meant. Illness took out Evenepoel, Tao and Vlasov. With those still in the game this would've been an entirely different race.

 

[staubsauger]

the problem isnt the route the problem is the riders you have here. THE GC guys are ALMEIDA, G. THOMAS and ROGLIC all are notoriously knowned for riding defensive all the time.....ofcourse its gonne be a snooze fest.

Same route and put Pogacar in it, attacked left and right and sprints in intermiditates sprints too..its the riders not the course and their all notoriously knowned for riding this way all 3 of em so yeah here you go ofcourse this is the outcome then..their riding this non stop all their life its just these riders way of riding.

Ofc would pog ride there wouldnt be much excitment in the GC apartments in terms of time so in that perspective that also could been boring in the sense of easy win but wouldnt lack of attacks left right and center.

Also Roglic will win tomorrow, just a well educated guess from inner circles, run to the bookies.

Fun Fact:

If Tao was still in the race Thomas would have been the one that would have ridden offensively.

And if it would just have been those fake attacks Leipheimer did at the 2008 Vuelta a Espana so Contador could counter once Levi was marked.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Also Roglic will win tomorrow, just a well educated guess from inner circles, run to the bookies

The best poster in the forum is back

 

[Nick2413]

Roglic to win GC and Almeida and Thomas to be within seconds for 2nd and 3rd overall in that order. Love this stage idea.

 

[Andy schleck]

I cannot believe Roglic is not favored to win il Giro. 25 secs is nothing on this climb. I also believe in this type of effort intrinsic w/kg and power etc is much more important than shape and freshness compared to real road stages.

That's why i think roglic will win the Giro. Pure W/kg he is superior.

 

[Andy schleck]

the problem isnt the route the problem is the riders you have here. THE GC guys are ALMEIDA, G. THOMAS and ROGLIC all are notoriously knowned for riding defensive all the time.....ofcourse its gonne be a snooze fest.

Same route and put Pogacar in it, attacked left and right and sprints in intermiditates sprints too..its the riders not the course and their all notoriously knowned for riding this way all 3 of em so yeah here you go ofcourse this is the outcome then..their riding this non stop all their life its just these riders way of riding.

Ofc would pog ride there wouldnt be much excitment in the GC apartments in terms of time so in that perspective that also could been boring in the sense of easy win but wouldnt lack of attacks left right and center.

Also Roglic will win tomorrow, just a well educated guess from inner circles, run to the bookies.

It's the two things. The riders and the route.

 

[Andy schleck]

Why they put the 11 flat km? The TT would be better just with the climb.

 

[dgodave]

It's the two things. The riders and the route.

And the darn weather.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

This thread needs a bit of music!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2X_2IdybTV0

 

[Sciatic]

I'm wondering if the riders are doing the climb aswell in the recon? Or they al did it months ago, if it was accessible/open?

In the instructions for the stage they gave a specific time when team cars could drive up the road to recon. Don’t know if some guys will chose to do a recon ride —maybe just those 1st 10k?

 

[Sciatic]

I can't believe it but I am almost rooting for Thomas. Dude seems so chill.
Him and Roglic both were unlucky on the giro, and on this one as well, they both deserve it but there can be only one.

I was neutral about him until he said that defensive posturing about riders from past eras have no right to criticize and then a thousand folks on Twitter went all ga-ga about it. Similar to way Wiggins used to snap—with an air of superiority—at reporters for daring to ask him the wrong question. Bleck

 

[saunaking]

I was neutral about him until he said that defensive posturing about riders from past eras have no right to criticize and then a thousand folks on Twitter went all ga-ga about it. Similar to way Wiggins used to snap—with an air of superiority—at reporters for daring to ask him the wrong question. Bleck

I dont remember him saying they had no right to criticize. Only him insinuating his generation shouldn't be doing things like a bunch of dopers.
I havent been watching cycling that long, but i watched a youtube video yesterday about the 2008 Giro by some youtuber that tells all the doping stories. Was pretty crazy how the race that year was dominated (stage wins) by pro-conti teams that had very little testing copared to pros.

I learned about Emanuale Sella. Too bad Gee didn't actually win any stages, we would have a great forum thread title for him!!!

 

[Gratemans]

I dont remember him saying they had no right to criticize. Only him insinuating his generation shouldn't be doing things like a bunch of dopers.
I havent been watching cycling that long, but i watched a youtube video yesterday about the 2008 Giro by some youtuber that tells all the doping stories. Was pretty crazy how the race that year was dominated (stage wins) by pro-conti teams that had very little testing copared to pros.

I learned about Emanuale Sella. Too bad Gee didn't actually win any stages, we would have a great forum thread title for him!!!

Your whole post brings back sweet memories of The Cobra. Well, bittersweet perhaps. Ok, it was actually outrageous. But let us not deny, it was also a lot of fun to watch

Regarding G, and other current riders being sceptical about criticism they get from former (perhaps, and yeah: even probably doped-up) riders...
I say deal with it. There's always a new-wave of 'clean riders' acting like the previous generation don't have the right to criticize them. Whatever. When it comes to tactics, and calling teams out on their tactics, I don't give a flying fungus if the person who's being critical ever doped. He was a pro. He knows what he's talking about tactically. I thouroughly dislike Lance for example, and the bullying and destruction he was culpable of. That doesn't mean he doesn't know how to read a race, and talk sensible about it.