94th Giro d'Italia May 7 - 29

[The Hitch]

I see what you did there

I did nothing. Im a killer fan. I honestly just forgot to mention him in the winners list.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Many seem to be expecting a lot from Gadret. He's had a poor spring and probably won't be in form for the Giro. I think he's just riding Giro to get in shape for Le Tour.

Or he's been hiding his form extremely well and when the Giro comes he follows Contador in the mountains.

I don't get his hype either. The guy has always been a 2nd tier gc rider at best. Nothing has changed. He got somewhere like 10-15th last year I'n a weak field, considering this years field, he will struggle to get that.

 

[roundabout]

He was pretty good (for a Frenchman ) on difficult stages last year

 

[The Hitch]

I don't get his hype either. The guy has always been a 2nd tier gc rider at best. Nothing has changed. He got somewhere like 10-15th last year I'n a weak field, considering this years field, he will struggle to get that.

The point wasnt his finishing position. The point on the 2nd and 3rd hardest mountains in the race, he was awesome.

He beat Nibali Scarponi and Basso by some margin for 3rd in Kronplatz and was with the Sastre Vino Evans group on the Mortirolo.

This field is too hard for him though.

Agr should have let Nocentini go for stages, and kept Gadret to do a partnership with Roche in the Tour ( I dont care how much they hate eachother). Personally I believe Gadret can excel while everyone is looking at Roche.

 

[jens_attacks]

Considering Sella and Riccò were barred from entry in last year's race because Zomegnan said they needed to be quarantined as they hadn't had enough of a ban (the race being less than 2 years on from their ban) it's a shame he didn't wave an exclusion in Katyusha's face for including di Luca like the ASO did for Caisse d'Epargne in 2009 until they dropped Valverde.

Just inhaling in his presence can make you test positive.

danilo is a hero of the abruzzo people and nothing will change.i noticed even watching tirreno this year on la gazzeta,his abruzzese fans from all over the world cheered for him.remember how he won in abruzzo in 2009 just after the earthquake and started a funds campaign for all those affected by that terrible catastrophe.
in fact that's why they let him ride earlier and not those stupid 2 years,because he was and is an italian top champ.

what was disgusting for me and i nearly had to vomit was the fact he was humiliated by them(you know who,those who rule pro cycling),in order to get back he had to be humiliated like a criminal.he was brought in front of hundreds of kids by a catholic priest(!!!!!!) and he had to say "i'm sorry for what i did.doping is bad.don't do it and shiit like that.and standing by him a catholic priest but danilo was the one who took the hit,just like he was a child rapist.
seeing a top athlete who works his asz 5 hour/day,300 days/year being humilliated like a garbage junkie was a huge blow for me.

i hope in this giro he will get at least a stage victory.

 

[dlwssonic]

oh my god this is freaking me out. look at thishttp://tv.asia.eurosport.com/tvschedule.shtml
don't tell me eurosport asia is not showing the giro!

 

[roundabout]

I don't think the full schedule for the 7th of May (and beyond) is out yet.

 

[Parrulo]

oh my god this is freaking me out. look at thishttp://tv.asia.eurosport.com/tvschedule.shtml
don't tell me eurosport asia is not showing the giro!

don't worrie there will be plenty of streams around

 

[dlwssonic]

don't worrie there will be plenty of streams around

for some reason my stream always sucks, so much lag and its so blur. Still can't beat tv coverage. eurosport didnt show amstel gold either getting really worried!

 

[dlwssonic]

I don't think the full schedule for the 7th of May (and beyond) is out yet.

Thanks for telling me! i forgot that it was the 24hour clock. thought their 10:00 was the night. forgot it was the morning!

 

[roundabout]

It should be on Eurosport according to this

http://www.mediaresearchasia.com/view2.php?type=press&id=1498

 

[dlwssonic]

It should be on Eurosport according to this

http://www.mediaresearchasia.com/view2.php?type=press&id=1498

Thanks for searching it for me! I might be one of the few to watch eurosport asia

 

[hrotha]

what was disgusting for me and i nearly had to vomit was the fact he was humiliated by them(you know who,those who rule pro cycling),in order to get back he had to be humiliated like a criminal.

Look, I understand this is your shtick, but let's be clear here: Di Luca was, quite literally, a criminal.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Considering it was the 2nd time he'd been busted, why shouldn't he have been made to crawl on his hands and knees to return. We aren't going to see Christian Pfannberger or Patrik Sinkewitz in the péloton anytime soon, so why is it wrong that Danilo di Luca had to sit out LESS THAN his prescribed ban for testing positive MULTIPLE times?

Also, the guy had been under suspicion for half a decade. There are plenty of people who have taken worse hits for doing much less than him. Aurélien Duval and Marta Bastianelli, for example, took more in one ban for something designed to help keep weight down, than di Luca's had in two separate bans for brazen, unashamed cheating.

 

[Barrus]

Allright folks, lets leave doping out of the giro threads. The race will be good enough, so we don't need to focus on the doping angle to make posts

 

[Michielveedeebee]

I did nothing. Im a killer fan. I honestly just forgot to mention him in the winners list.

aah lame the killer sucks imo... everyone knows why

Although he deserves respect for his Abruzziamo thing

 

[The Hitch]

Anyone know why Guardini is not riding.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The Giro? Probably because he's so young, a neo-pro, has little chance of finishing it, and probably because with Visconti in the Giro and Sinkewitz banned, he's probably their ticket to some important rankings-point-scoring races in May, like the Bayern Rundfahrt and some other races in northern Europe where a dynamic sprinter could well be a popular addition to the startlist.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Anyone know why Guardini is not riding.

btw, I am missing a name on the prov. startlist.

First correct guess wins a nice insult for free.

 

[Cobrinha]

Does everybody think this Giro is better or worse for having Contador in it? No I am not talking about doping allegations and all that stuff I'm talking purely from a watching cycling perspective. On one hand we get to see a phenomenal rider test himself on some brutal stages and really show us how great he is. Though I wouldn't want him to destroy the competition and leave us watching a "best of the rest" race. I think the parcours will make it impossible to be a one man race though as even if Contador put minutes in to everyone on say the Etna stage he could blow up on anyone of Grossglockner, Zoncolan, Macugnaga, Fedaia, Sestriere etc. I'm torn to be honest.

 

[taiwan]

Does everybody think this Giro is better or worse for having Contador in it? No I am not talking about doping allegations and all that stuff I'm talking purely from a watching cycling perspective. On one hand we get to see a phenomenal rider test himself on some brutal stages and really show us how great he is. Though I wouldn't want him to destroy the competition and leave us watching a "best of the rest" race. I think the parcours will make it impossible to be a one man race though as even if Contador put minutes in to everyone on say the Etna stage he could blow up on anyone of Grossglockner, Zoncolan, Macugnaga, Fedaia, Sestriere etc. I'm torn to be honest.

I think it's a good thing, because it lends the race credibility. You basically have a gold standard against which to measure climbing performances. Of course Contador's not infallible, but he's the best climber full stop. We also get an opportunity to see what he can do on the really hard stuff. The level of competition will be high enough to test him and make a race, too. Take your point about it becoming a race for second, but I don't think he'll want to get into pink too early (if anyone ever does), not on this parcours, with that team.

 

[Cobblestoned]

Does everybody think this Giro is better or worse for having Contador in it? No I am not talking about doping allegations and all that stuff I'm talking purely from a watching cycling perspective. On one hand we get to see a phenomenal rider test himself on some brutal stages and really show us how great he is. Though I wouldn't want him to destroy the competition and leave us watching a "best of the rest" race. I think the parcours will make it impossible to be a one man race though as even if Contador put minutes in to everyone on say the Etna stage he could blow up on anyone of Grossglockner, Zoncolan, Macugnaga, Fedaia, Sestriere etc. I'm torn to be honest.

Yes, I have those thoughts too, also because of the "shadow" or "Damoklesschwert" of course.
But Alberto is definitely not the only rider with this sword above him. Same for Scarponi, possible 2nd.

I think that Alberto won't overdo things too early.
So we should see a more or less exciting race, but the end seems somehow clear.
Contador will poker and tranquillo a little bit, and wait till one of the last MTFs, or even till Milan-TT, to then take the porky jersey.
But waiting for TT - that would be too much risk.
Anyway, he doesn't have a super-GT-team any more, so he will wait and let the others do and work, without losing too much time. The the sword is hanging over all other contenders anyway. Alberto will drop it in Macugnaga i bet.
Means, I would do it like that.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I'm really looking forward towards the race. Gonna be awesome!

However, I'm a bit dissapointed with a few of the teams. What's Leopard Treks goals?

 

[taiwan]

I'm really looking forward towards the race. Gonna be awesome!

However, I'm a bit dissapointed with a few of the teams. What's Leopard Treks goals?

Bennati in the sprints, Intermediate stage wins for Wegmann?

 

[El Pistolero]

Contador had a weaker team at the Giro of 2008 though.