Giro d'Italia 2023 Giro d'Italia, Stage 19: Longarone – Tre Cime di Lavaredo 183 km (Friday, May 26th)

[luckyboy]

6 riders vs 3 and you are doing nothing with them until the final 15km. Great...

 

[Brullnux]

With the break taking this one, they will officially have won the majority of the non-TT stages. Fifth Giro in a row with 9+ breakaway wins after a long streak of anything from 3 to 7 (h/t PCS), good indicator of how the race has declined.

I feel opinions like these are very short-termist. In 2018, the winner was better than the Tour winner; in 2019, it was a young Carapaz with Nibali (still good) and the 2019 vuelta winner on the pdium, the tour had Bernal in a pretty low-quality year;

It's really been since COVID that the field quality has dropped. But even then, the Tour has not been crazy ahead: in 2020, it was Pogi's first go, but Roglic second. Then Carapaz/Thomas podiuming with the two GT stars (Pogacar and Vingegaard) first. And this year, you had Roglic, Thomas, Remco, Tao - a Giro winner, a Tour winner, and two Vuelta winners. Basically the entire second tier of GT riders, except Carapaz and Bernal. I feel like the very, very best going to the Tour was normal in the mid 2010s - Froome didn't do the Giro until 2018!

Is it more a mark of the GC/GT world stage, rather than just the Giro? Roglic has been the #3 GT rider in the world over the past few years, and a triple Vuelta winner. Thomas was 3rd at the Tour last year, Carapaz the year before. Is the issue also that between Ineos and Jumbo Visma, you have two defensive teams and two defensive riders? And that there's an obsession with last day finishes over good racing? 8 years ago, Almeida was replaced by Aru and a crazy Astana team. Roglic was Nibali in 2016, who forced his team to work like crazy until he was set up to win.

There's also a bit of a lack of third-tier GT riders across world cycling, and also a lack of bravery/aggression. There's no long range attempts as in the 2000s, and all the issues of the past ten years are just stronger.

 

[Bonimenier]

Stage 19 and 20 really should have been switched around.

 

[titan31]

6 riders vs 3 and you are doing nothing with them until the final 15km. Great...

Ya, it's very annoying. Go use them and try something like.

 

[dazaau]

6 riders vs 3 and you are doing nothing with them until the final 15km. Great...

I like how you assume something will happen at 15km

Hope springs eternal!

 

[Red Rick]

The plan is Roglic attack then roadblock FC Thomas out of contention

 

[Samamba]

De Plus is so strong

 

[Elos Anjos]

Laurens is a beast.

 

[dazaau]

The plan is Roglic attack then roadblock FC Thomas out of contention

This is genius

 

[Didinho]

If I was Quickstep, try to get De Plus back next year.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Yeah De Plus is what Quickstep are missing big time

 

[saunaking]

6 riders vs 3 and you are doing nothing with them until the final 15km. Great...

All those guys are good for are the spare bikes they are sitting on

 

[geisterhome]

Hessmann really strong, he could turn into a good GC rider despite his size.

 

[Rollthedice]

6 riders vs 3 and you are doing nothing with them until the final 15km. Great...

Maybe their main man is not so good today?

 

[Bonimenier]

If I was Quickstep, try to get De Plus back next year.

His market value has increased massively this Giro. Probably stronger than Arensman who barely rode at the front this Giro.

 

[luckyboy]

Maybe their main man is not so good today?

It's the only explanation really.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I feel opinions like these are very short-termist. In 2018, the winner was better than the Tour winner; in 2019, it was a young Carapaz with Nibali (still good) and the 2019 vuelta winner on the pdium, the tour had Bernal in a pretty low-quality year;

It's really been since COVID that the field quality has dropped. But even then, the Tour has not been crazy ahead: in 2020, it was Pogi's first go, but Roglic second. Then Carapaz/Thomas podiuming with the two GT stars (Pogacar and Vingegaard) first. And this year, you had Roglic, Thomas, Remco, Tao - a Giro winner, a Tour winner, and two Vuelta winners. Basically the entire second tier of GT riders, except Carapaz and Bernal. I feel like the very, very best going to the Tour was normal in the mid 2010s - Froome didn't do the Giro until 2018!

Is it more a mark of the GC/GT world stage, rather than just the Giro? Roglic has been the #3 GT rider in the world over the past few years, and a triple Vuelta winner. Thomas was 3rd at the Tour last year, Carapaz the year before. Is the issue also that between Ineos and Jumbo Visma, you have two defensive teams and two defensive riders? And that there's an obsession with last day finishes over good racing? 8 years ago, Almeida was replaced by Aru and a crazy Astana team. Roglic was Nibali in 2016, who forced his team to work like crazy until he was set up to win.

There's also a bit of a lack of third-tier GT riders across world cycling, and also a lack of bravery/aggression. There's no long range attempts as in the 2000s, and all the issues of the past ten years are just stronger.

I'm not talking about field quality, I'm talking about the racing. 2015-2018 was a series of good to fantastic years. 2019-2021 was already a step down on the whole, then now we've had a very bad and an atrocious edition back to back. The growing apathy in the Giro pelotons is reflected by both that and the number of breakaway wins rising sharply.

 

[saunaking]

Hatch impressed the gap is finally coming down

 

[KOM]

All it takes to make this even worse is Thomas dropping everyone effortlessly so I assume that is precisely what is gonna happen

 

[dazaau]

The bees lost half the colony in an ad break lol

 

[ice&fire]

Jumbo riders being dropped without having faced the wind

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Pinot looks like he’s barely clinging on

 

[Elos Anjos]

De Plus missed the Giro 2019. Maybe Roglic would have won have he been there.

 

[Didinho]

Could they catch the break now?

 

[postmanhat]

Not that uncommon to do Dauphine or Suisse after the Giro and take a break afterwards.

Cheers. Looking again at the dates, I'd forgotten how quickly The Dauphine follows the Giro.