Giro d'Italia 2023 Giro d'Italia, Stage 13: Borgofranco d’Ivrea – Crans Montana, 199 km (Friday, May 19th)

[Rackham]

INEOS and Jumbo were in favour of the compromise. Whether its ‘s Thomas or Roglic who wins the whole thing, neither is a champion.

When Rog drops a watts bomb later today, no one will remember any of this drama.

And IMO despite the heated arguments & vocal complaints, most people love this stuff (even subconsciously), i.e. all the handwringing, name calling, finding culprits, blame game etc. adds to the mystique & folklore of Grande Casino GT racing.

Today's drama will be old news real fast & something new will become the focal point of debates.

 

[zlev11]

what a *** joke. this sport is ruined.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Considering there is still third week i actually like today's new stage profile. Still extremely hard and likely a bit more explosive. Both ascends and descends still being brutal.

As for people complaining. Calling cyclist not being a real men. And at the same time acting like whining pussies. Something to think about.

Hopefully a bit of a stomp today. For desert.

And by the way whoever wins this race will be a deserving champion. People saying otherwise more or less sided with Remco before the race. It's more the less the same folk. Remco will for sure get other chances. Just not at this Giro edition. And because of that the winner won't be any less of a champion.

Personally i am a bit angry there is no live image of the busses going over Great St Bernard. But OK. Still looking forward to the start.

Amore Infinito!

 

[ashhutch1997]

I won't agree with you on this topic but let's just move to a cafe covid thread with that disucussion <3
Today though the riders changing this stage means I will not be able to watch it as I'm going to a party. Crap!

Agree to disagree 👍, I think the stage will still finish on the normal time schedule through so you shouldn't miss anything.

 

[MrTea1976]

I have been enjoying the hyberole.

 

[Ricco']

We don't need 220 flat stages which add little to the race - Have these stages 180kms and they will be ridden harder.

No they won't.

Cut 40k of any of stages ridden so far this week and nothing would change.

 

[BR2]

I am absolutely not in favour of riders having to be "gladiator" and seriously risk their own health. Hell, I am currently writing a book basically about athletes not listening to their own bodies and crossing borders to be tough.
But what is happening in cycling/the Giro at the moment is simply wrong.

-It is an outdoor sport and a GT is an ultimate endurance test. Technical skills, speed, riding in the bunch and non-perfect road conditions are an essential part of the sport. It's what everyone signed up for.
-The most dangerous thing in cycling is training on non-closed roads, with cars that hit you. Not riding long stages in the rain. Also the amount of motos and cars in the races is dangerous.
-There are lots of things the riders could do themselves beside voting to shorten stages, like wear masks. Agree to stop in a group during a stage to put on new, dry clothes. Put on some more weight.
-There are other things the organizers could do, like for instance not try to make the race so super close until the last stages, so that there are less people in the sprint finishes.

Instead of looking for good solutions the only solution they come up with is "shorten stages, cancel stages". That hurts the essence of the sport and the riders who are able to deal with these conditions (who exist).

The weather will become more extreme in the next years. Extreme heat and sudden torrential rain will become a norm. Riders need to be protected from real dangers, like heat strokes. But having to ride through the cold for hours for days is nothing new, nor does it have to be life-threatening, especially with the clothing we have today. If you have to stop to change, then so be it. Do it. You have cars and soigneurs everywhere, don't behave like you are left out in the snow with no soul remembering you even exist.
And simply riding long stages - I don't even know what to say if riders don't want to do them. Change the sport, men.

And now to the most essential part of my rant: All of this can be discussed before a race starts. You cannot change the rules of a game during the game unless it ABSOLUTELY HAS TO BE.

 

[EddyMazzoleni]

If Almeida wanted the stage and climbs shortened he went against his own best interest if he wanted to win this giro lol

Almeida is only capable of riding watching is power meter. No way he can formulate a complex thought about what benefits him

 

[Rackham]

I have been enjoying the hyberole.

I'm loving the whole thing. It's amazing.

Much better than watching riders get soaked for 2 hours whilst eating energy bars.

 

[ashhutch1997]

Can we please start a potition to bring back Angello Zomegnan? He would of told the riders to f*ck off and as punishment would of added the Col Tsecore to the original stage as punishment!

 

[Rackham]

Personally i am a bit angry there is no live image of the busses going over Great St Bernard. But OK. Still looking forward to the start.

Amore Infinito!

Yes. I wanted full tv coverage of the team busses on their journey, also with their fight for position on the road. Like the old 1970's movie 'Convoy' with Kris Kristofferson.

Also with Jens Voigt giving updates from his motorbike.

 

[Netserk]

Extremely disappointing. Infuriating.

Cowards, shameful cowards! That includes Vegni. He must go.

Risk of avalanches presents a clear danger and is a legitimate reason to alter the route. That much I can accept, even if it saddens me that it's the case.

This is about comfort. It's wet and cold, but not freezing at any point. The first 120 km that they now take by bus are not only ridable, not only raceable, they are in conditions that have been and will be raced in again during this Giro. There's absolutely nothing wrong with those 120 km.

There was a straightforward solution to the cold. Stick together, put your foot down on the road and change clothes at the tunnel.

 

[DNP-Old]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1659499559314247680

View: https://twitter.com/cyclingpro/status/1659499559314247680


They're just toying with our balls, and Vegni is letting them.

 

[Danskebjerge]

I'm being sceptical towards the concept of "meeting the athletes' requests" in sports in general. Assessments concerning the circumstances under which a contest is going on should be objective and made primarily by the organizers. There are too many differing interests involved among the contestants to regard them as a group with consistent and objective views.

 

[HelloDolly]

why not a new sport

Riders ride up every climb but race down the other side in a car with the bike on the roof

 

[Brullnux]

I don't think there's any point in taking CSB out (even if I very much understand taking the tunnel at the top). It doesn't strike me like a Stelvio 2014 type of descent?

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

Scrap the Giro from the history books, hold a Grand Tour in South-America instead.

Yeah, but be sure to include that KOM from last San Juan (0,2 kilometers at 0,5% gradient)…

It will be raced harder this way.

Would make sense, seriously. Riders certainly ate yesterday night expecting a full stage for today. Now they have to get the carbs out, on a much shorter stage. So hard racing to be expected…

 

[KOM]

Oh why o why cant I just like this field sport with 22 players and a ball everyone else seems so excited about all the time

 

[DenisMenchov]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1659499559314247680

View: https://twitter.com/cyclingpro/status/1659499559314247680


They're just toying with our balls, and Vegni is letting them.

Some seriously dangerous roads. Will the buses be able to overcome them and arrive in La Cheble in time for the start of the stage?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Do most of these guys not live in the notoriously mountainous and wet Pyrenees, largely for training purposes?

 

[Lequack]

Why don't they shorten sprint stages to 75km or less? Who want's to watch 180km+ of flat stages? No one.

 

[Brullnux]

I think that Vegni is worried that then top rider will not to Giro anymore...not to justify him...

I am also, as italian, worried that after the weather of this Giro all top riders won't be at Giro 2024

I do not think that is an issue. I think we can chill with the catastrophism a bit, the weather of this Giro has been pretty much unprecedented and there's been, what, 7 months worth of rain in 2 weeks? The Giro has just happened to coincide with the worst rainfall in 100+ years. This may become more likely in future with the effects of climate change, but still quite rare.

In terms of snow, it's always a threat at the Giro but the organisers are coming up with better solutions around it (or they come up with the solutions on paper, and then ditch them). CSB was a huge risk, the roads are never open this early, but at least there was a tunnel at the top. The climb and descent is rideable; it's a shame that the riders have dropped out of it.

 

[Pirazziattacks]

Typical sports fan response this. The level of contempt most sports fans have for athletes is truly nauseating. If you're in favour of labour protections, you can't pick and choose when it comes to the reasonableness of demands. Be honest about what you want to see riders do to themselves or stay quiet.

Riders rightly don't trust race organisers, so I say go for it. Anyone who's having a tantrum because they don't get exactly what they want isn't worth the time of day.

 

[staubsauger]

A postman can't cancel his work day either because of rain.

Nonsense.

 

[Netserk]

If they hadn't had the long days in terrible weather (which is the reason they're giving I believe) there wouldn't be an argument for them to skip it. Again, there's a clear middle ground to be found and sacrificing the boring stuff so this doesn't happen would seem a sensible thing to try.

Or they can just continue like this and we'll have the same conversations over and over again.

We only have the same conversation over and over again because Vegni gives in. Make it clear that no matter if concerns are raised by 1 or 100 riders, only concerns with merit about the safety of the riders made as soon as they reasonably could be made would be met with open ears.

Let the riders strike, or try to, if they don't like what they signed up to. But don't give in to complaints without merit. Better if only 50 riders make it to Rome, if the rest don't want to do the race they have started.