Giro 2011 Review

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Moment of the Giro?
Weylandts death. After that, the Giro was finished for me.

Best win of the Giro?
-

Best Stage of the Giro?
-

Quote of the Giro...
-

Disappointment of the Giro?
The whole business-as-usual after stage 3.

Who did you expect more of?
-

Which riders performed beyond expectations?
-

Should there have been more pan flat stages?
Yes.

Was the tragedy handled correctly?
No.

Should Crostis have been included?
No.

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?
No.

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?
Of course.

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?
Which awesomeness?

 

[Njbb1995]

Moment of the giro? Contadors Attack on Etna

Best win of the Giro? Vasili.

Best Stage of the Giro? To the Zonocolan

Quote of the Giro... From Cav: "My legs exploded more than this fooking volcano!"

Disappointment of the Giro? Contador not completely smashing it everyone. He had the form he should have used it.

Surprise of the Giro? Gadret. And Euskaltel!

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro? More extreme!

Who did you expect more of? Menchov & J-Rod!

Which riders performed beyond expectations? Gadret

Should there have been more pan flat stages? I think so, But just for the favourites to recover for the climbs, for more action.

Was the tragedy handled correctly? Yes

Should Crostis have been included? Yea, the guys back in the day wouldn't have complained

Overall, did the organizers do a good job? Absolutely

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better? Nope, Maybe the vuelta, They just have to get a decent lineup...

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit? Same epic stages, not as exciting though. If your going to dominate Contador, Do it well.

 

[boomcie]

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?
Which awesomeness?

Error. Does not compute.

 

[hoolaparara]

I gave it an 8. I think too many people have marked it down because of Contador but even there the Giro induced a much more dominant performance from him. In the Tour he is happy to follow in the wheel of Andy... err somebody safe in the knowledge that he can take time out of Andy... errr somebody in the time trials. Here he had the platform with the mountains to do more and so did the guys against him.

Best win of the Giro?

De Clercq sneaking home by a fraction of a wheel after going up the road

Best Stage of the Giro?

I still think Zoncolan, motorbike expiring, Contador looking a little in trouble but still taking time out of everybody important.

Disappointment of the Giro?

The non-stop whinging of riders about having to actually do some bike riding not in an armchair.

Who did you expect more of?

I think Menchov stands out here.

Which riders performed beyond expectations?

Gadret being that consistent was a surprise.
Kruijiswijk too didn't really have a bad day.
Just before I post I'll add Scarponi.. he was the most aggressive to chase Contador and it looked like he would blow up after the first few mountain stages but in the end he held strong and it was Nibbles in the end who suffered.

Should there have been more pan flat stages?

God no.

Should Crostis have been included?

Abso-frackin-lutely

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?

Yes.

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?

No. Tour will be again overtly controlled. The Vuelta will somehow lack.

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?

No.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Should there have been more pan flat stages?
Yes.

Was the tragedy handled correctly?
No.

Should Crostis have been included?
No.

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?
Of course.

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?
Which awesomeness?

I think we can safely assume from your contradictions, that you are one proud Giro hater.
Vive Le Tour, eh?

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

I think we can safely assume from your contradictions, that you are one proud Giro hater.
Vive Le Tour, eh?

No. As I already mentioned somewhere I loved the Giros of 2000 and 2004.

This year's Giro was defined by
a) the death of a cyclist
and
b) the total dominance of a should-be-banned cyclist

Nothing to cheer about. Just sadness and anger.

 

[sky forever]

Moment of the giro?

The Crostis being taken out of the race. Would have made the Zoncolan really interesting.

Best win of the Giro?

Bart De Clecrq hanging on, on Montevergine.

Best Stage of the Giro?

Stage 16, the way everyone thought Contador was struggling at the first time check and then rolled in 34 seconds ahead of Nibali.

Quote of the Giro...

British Eurosport commentator David Harmon - "There's Dupont taking some Coke. No having a drink of Coke, very sorry Hubert."

Disappointment of the Giro?

Wouter Weylandt crash, R.I.P Wouter.

Surprise of the Giro?

Contador attacking to catch up with Gatto.

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro?

A closer race.

Who did you expect more of?

Roman Kreuziger, Denis Menchov and Thomas Lofkvist, although Lofkvist was ill so wasn't a great shock.

Which riders performed beyond expectations?

Steven Kruijswijk and Mikel Nieve.

Should there have been more pan flat stages?

Possibly but then we would moan about there being too many. But about 4-5 would be suitable.

Was the tragedy handled correctly?

I think mainly yes.

Should Crostis have been included?

Yes, I think with the safety measures they had they could have given it a go.

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?

With a route designed for Contador to easy roll in for the win, YES. For Nibali, NO.

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?

The Vuelta might be but all I hope is that the Tour and Vuelta will be closer race.

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?

2010 was made interesting by the stage 11 long breakaway. Otherwise I don't think it would have been that great. But yes.

 

[Archibald]

How else could you handle it? Shut the race down? Stop all the camera's? It's not like one can predict accidents of that magnitude. Respect was given and a difficult situation was handled admirably by everyone. Personally I believe Leopard Trek should have allowed riders like Feillu to stay and honour their passed team mate by racing if they chose to. They didn't. I don't get it. Weylandt loved the sport and died pursuing a dream and you pack up shop and go home! Sure emotionally some people can't deal so they need to leave, but some can. Let them choose, not some back room suit in a power position. Could you have imagined the scenes if a Leopard Trek rider stayed and won a stage? LA did it as a young man riding for Motorola at the Tour after Casertelli's death and it was genuine and a great effort. Missed opportunity to honour your friend and colleague.

As for the forumists who stopped watching the Giro after stage 3, you don't want to know what I think of them cause it's not all good.

a BIG +1

I've seen some Euro's knocking the tv footage. At least you get it Live at a reasonable time of day. You've got it really sweet. There's an old saying, "Beggars can't be choosers." You guys get the best deal and it still isn't good enough, be greatful of what you have.

I think it was more the actual footage itself - very patchy with the feeds from the bikes to the chopper failing continously. Don't know if you saw the final stage, but almost no coverage of Nibali from the [motor]bike was clear. Dunno if this is the terrain or maybe faulty transmitters on the motorbikes. It did detract.
As for the "best deal", I beg to differ - on a week day I'm at work with no chance of seeing it at all...

 

[Tuarts]

Moment of the giro?
Stage 15 and Mikel Nieve winning. Everyone was exhausted on that stage, absolutely awesome.

Best win of the Giro?
Contador on Etna obviously, after that De Clerq's half a bike length breakaway win.

Best Stage of the Giro?
Stage 15

Quote of the Giro...
TeamGadret

Disappointment of the Giro?
Nibali - weakest of the main GC contenders with only his Descending and good Mountain TT saving his 3rd place imo.
Expected a bit more from Kreuziger as well.
Team Sky absence apart from a 2nd place sprint finish.
Sella + Duarte
Geox

Surprise of the Giro?
Rujano
Sivtsov performing better than he has done.
Kruijswijk
Gadret

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro?
Another 3 weeks of the Giro

Who did you expect more of?
Nibali, Kreuziger, Menchov, Sella

Which riders performed beyond expectations?
Contador, blew away everyone

Should there have been more pan flat stages?
Possibly two of the transition/roueleur stages could be made into more suitable sprint finished

Was the tragedy handled correctly?
Yes

Should Crostis have been included?
No. Finestre descent should have been canned without protection either.

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?
Yes

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?
I have no expectations, just hope for good racing.

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?
The hype from this forum did but then L'Aquila was a freak stage.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I think we did have a bit of MTF overkill here - but I wouldn't have replaced a couple of MTFs with flat stages. However, I would have liked some short, steep finishes, à la Tirreno-Adriatico. Maybe a stage like Pescocostanzo 2008, or some of those short drags. More stages like Castelfidardo.

Montelupone for 2012 please!

 

[auscyclefan94]

Moment of the giro? Kiriyenka's win on top of Sestriere. Very emotional, touching victory.

Best win of the Giro? Anton on Zoncolan.

Best Stage of the Giro? Stage 15

Quote of the Giro... Sorry don't have one. I am sure I said something stupid enough which is worth quoting from the forum.

Disappointment of the Giro? Menchov, continual whinging by riders over the route even though it was a little over done and Team Geox.

Surprise of the Giro? Steven Kruiskwijk

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro? as above + Nieve

Who did you expect more of? Menchov, Rodriguez and Geox.

Which riders performed beyond expectations? Kruiswijk and Gadret.

Should there have been more pan flat stages? yes. sprinters do deserve more of a chance.

Was the tragedy handled correctly? Yes.

Should Crostis have been included? No.

Overall, did the organizers do a good job? Well the tv package RAI hand out is pretty shoddy. They could do better in promoting their race to more international audiences.

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better? Hard to say though I think the Vuelta route is the best.

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit? Yes. 2010 was one of the best Grand tours let alone giros I have ever seen.


EDIT: Average rating so far is 6.77

 

[metaCYCLE]

Best win of the Giro? Igor Anton

Best Stage of the Giro? Stage 15

Disappointment of the Giro? David Arroyo

Surprise of the Giro? Davide Appollonio

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro? nothing much. just to keep being the toughest GT.

Who did you expect more of? Colnago, Sastre, Hoogerland.

Which riders performed beyond expectations? Kruijswijk, Sivtsov, Gadret, DuPont.

Should there have been more pan flat stages? Not really. But spreading them across 3 weeks would have been better.

Was the tragedy handled correctly? Exemplary

Should Crostis have been included? Yes

Overall, did the organizers do a good job? Preety weak TV coverage. Huge disappointment regarding the final ITT (half of the parcours was on industrial suburbs wtf???)

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better? Honestly? No.

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit? Precisely the reason i gave only an 8 to the 2011 one.

 

[search]

Moment of the giro? Kiriyenka's win on top of Sestriere. Very emotional, touching victory.

nah, no way, not for me, it was too Landis-/Sella-/Hamilton-like

of course it was a touching moment and it felt fine to see Movistar win for Tondo, but it was the first time for years I didn't bother to leave the TV for a cig with a couple of kilometres to go on an MTF because i knew there was nothing going to happen anymore.

 

[phanatic]

I thought this Giro deserved a 10 simply for Contador's performance. The battle between Scarponi and Nibali against each other, the road, and The Great One was excellent and without incident. Gadret was incredible.

This race was scarred by the death of Wouter. I feel like it ended on stage 3 and began anew on stage 5. In this respect, I was really moved by what David Millar said after his victory in the time trial when he was asked about wearing the rosa, that it had meant nothing to him.

 

[Ferminal]

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro?

http://inrng.com/?p=2678

http://www.salite.ch/10011.asp

Old news, but still good if they pull it off. Probably not without Angelo.

 

[L'arriviste]

Six. A rather bland three weeks on the whole, considering the parcours.

Moment of the giro?-Etna probably. Not that excited by any single day

Best win of the Giro?-Kiriyenka

Best Stage of the Giro?-Etna probably

Quote of the Giro...None.

Disappointment of the Giro?-Rodriguez

Surprise of the Giro?-Dupont, Kruiswijk

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro?Wait and see

Who did you expect more of?-See disappointment, Sky

Which riders performed beyond expectations?-Kruiswijk, Dupont, Gadret

Should there have been more pan flat stages?-No

Was the tragedy handled correctly?-Yes

Should Crostis have been included?-Yes

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?-Yes

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?-Unlikely

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?-No, but still this one did not compare

 

[The Hitch]

What a brilliant link. A giro climb and TDP hype.

And they compare the Giro to the TDP. They are right, the TDP is a mini giro.

So a Alpe Mtf (hopefully during the first week not near the end) this new climb in the second week and hopefully Crostis (preferably up AND down) somewhere in there.

Doesnt quite make up for the disapointment of losing Crostis this year but sounds ok if thats what happens.

 

[masking_agent]

great race. I prefer it over the tour even more so. I prefer the mountains coming sooner rather than later. The narrow climbs, the snow capped mountains, and gravel roads really give the Giro its "unique-ness." I think Italy is much more picturesque and beautiful than France in my opinion. This year, the organizers did an amazing job despite a death. What bothered me was the likes of Cavendish and possibly other sprinters, abandoning because of no more flat stages ? That's not right.

 

[titan_90]

Best win of the Giro? Mikel Nieve, on the stage from hell.

Best Stage of the Giro? Zoncolan

Who did you expect more of? Roman Kreuziger

Which riders performed beyond expectations? Steven Kruijswijk

Should there have been more pan flat stages? No

Was the tragedy handled correctly? Yes

Should Crostis have been included? Yes, but rules are rules.

Overall, did the organizers do a good job? Yes

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better? No, but I am hoping for an exciting Vuelta.

Did the awesomeness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit? Yes

 

[killswitch]

Moment of the giro?
WW 108

Best win of the Giro?
Nieve/Kiriyenka

Best Stage of the Giro?
stage 15

Quote of the Giro...
Giro is won in the hotel.

Disappointment of the Giro?
Crostis cancelling.

Surprise of the Giro?
Kruijswijk

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro?
Crostis MTF (or other new climbs)

Who did you expect more of?
Geox

Which riders performed beyond expectations?
Kruijswijk, Rujano, Gadret

Should there have been more pan flat stages?
No, better balanced route maybe.

Was the tragedy handled correctly?
Best way possible.

Should Crostis have been included?
Yes!

Overall, did the organizers do a good job?
Yes!

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better?
Doubt it.

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit?
No.

 

[Siriuscat]

Scored it 8

Moment of the giro? Not so much a moment but the way cycling gelled around the death of Wouter Weylandt was a nice memory to take away from the tragedy of it all

Best win of the Giro? Paolo Tiralongo, not just the win but the classy way Alberto made sure he got it

Best Stage of the Giro? Stage 15, Gardeccia-Val de Fassa because it included the most exceptional climb in the Dolomiti, Passo Fediai.It was a staggering days bike racing

Quote of the Giro King Kelly and Harmon getting busted by Contadors performance at Nevegal...totally inept but I've forgiven them after the way they handled stages 3 and 4, perfectly well done
Anytime King Kelly mention the "eyetalians" had me in stitches


Disappointment of the Giro? Contadors opposition or lack of it, expected a little more presence from them

Surprise of the Giro? Kruiswijk (who??) Rujano, Menchov being soo bad

What are you looking forward to in the 2012 Giro? MTF at Kronplatz with luck and something different

Who did you expect more of? See disappointment, all the riders placed in the top 5 or 6 below Contador

Which riders performed beyond expectations? Rujano

Should there have been more pan flat stages? Noooooo

Was the tragedy handled correctly? Absolutely

Should Crostis have been included? No, the weather on the day and the day before conspired against it, it might be better suited to an MTF

Overall, did the organizers do a good job? Yes

Do you expect the other grand tours of 2011 to be better? No chance, hell would have to freeze over first

Did the awesomness of the 2010 Giro dampen this one a bit? Hard act to follow but you have treat each race on it's own merits

 

[El Pistolero]

Aren't people aware that the deeper you go into hell, the colder it gets

I agree with Zomegnan: The Giro in 3 numbers --> 108, 181 and 11 million

 

[The Hitch]

Aren't people aware that the deeper you go into hell, the colder it gets

I agree with Zomegnan: The Giro in 3 numbers --> 108, 181 and 11 million

What is 181 and 11 million?

 

[jobiwan]

What is 181 and 11 million?

181 = Contador's number
11 million = Fans, I believe

 

[El Pistolero]

What is 181 and 11 million?

181 is Contador's number and 11million are the fans along the road.