Giro 2012: Route Rumours / Our wishes

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Stages like this create more antipation than exciting action.


The cycling equivalent of macdonalds - just keep adding more sugar and salt until it tastes great.

 

[Jonny7c]

Latest tweet from Millar 'Nobody else (except Italians) is going to turn up. I remember Alberto saying the 'queen' stage was way too hard this year. And he won it. Nothing learnt.'

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

Lol, now saying that Alpe d'Huez stage was great because it was half the length and therefore lots of attacking took place, whereas this Giro stage will be along drawn out war of attrition. To which I replied, we owe that to one man. I think riders are justified in voicing their opinions on the route, but they know the Giro's reputation, and even without Zomegan, what did they expect?

 

[Eshnar]

Latest tweet from Millar 'Nobody else (except Italians) is going to turn up. I remember Alberto saying the 'queen' stage was way too hard this year. And he won it. Nothing learnt.'

Millar is complaining about the Giro since a few years. He's not worth of any attention anymore.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

lol how can anyone complain about this? It's awesome

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Latest tweet from Millar 'Nobody else (except Italians) is going to turn up. I remember Alberto saying the 'queen' stage was way too hard this year. And he won it. Nothing learnt.'

Millar might want to reconsider his phrasing.

Mikel Nieve won the queen stage.

 

[jens_attacks]

Millar, (well known for his love of hard climbing stages ) tweeted this earlier this morning; "What do the fans think about the penultimate stage of 2012 Giro? Will it make it a better race to watch for you? #girofolly"

they should be content as it is
almost all the fans on the facebook of giro wanted a gavia-mortirolo-stelvio of 270 km lol
i remember well the stages after il trittico terribile this year,they've ridden almost every stage in the first hours at more than 50 km/h.then zomegnan said the legendary:"i don't think i made this giro hard enough".

millar is still mad after this it seems:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIW1MAvyPD4

 

[The Hitch]

Stages like this create more antipation than exciting action.


The cycling equivalent of macdonalds - just keep adding more sugar and salt until it tastes great.

Giro 2010 was ultra hard and rocked. This years stages sucked because Contador was so dominant but stage 15 was still epic, even with Contador, and this stage has similar advantages.

You're thinking of stage 20 as one that sucked, and yes Finnestre was disapointing. But that stage was flat until the mega climb, so the break that got away wasnt that impressive, Kiriyenka heads and shoulders above everyone else.

Stage 15 however had climbs from the start (Cat 1 Piancavolo 20k in). This meant that the people that tried the break were all climbers.

And what a break it was. Sella, Di Luca, Nieve, Carlos Sastre, Garzelli, Weening, Tschopp, Pirazzi, Hoogerland, Deignan, Pasamontes.

An awesome breakaway with great climbing skills that no one in the group was willing to chase.

The battle for the stage win is important as everyone knows it could be career defining. Theres the Cimma Coppi prize which everyone wants too. First over the Mortirolo might be even more impressive.

And it is a stage that has the potential to crack riders. Nieve cracked but won lst year. Cadel cracked on Mortirolo without Stelvio.

Oh and Crostis Zoncolan would have been epic too. That was the other super stage that sucked and it sucked because it wasnt a super stage by the time it started.
Exciting race action even if GC is settled.

And if there are still GC cards to be settled, well then, remember the day.

Millar is complaining about the Giro since a few years. He's not worth of any attention anymore.

To be fair, he did manage to finish this years superedition. Even win the tt at the end. And that is worthy of respect.

 

[rzombie1988]

This giro DIDN'T SUCK. I thought it was awesome. Who cares if the winner was never in doubt, Contador still made it entertaining by owning everyone. Anyone who says that they would have a preferred a less-mountainous course over this one lies. Those same people surely wouldn't be watching more than the last 10km of flat stages instead.

 

[Richeypen]

This giro DIDN'T SUCK. I thought it was awesome. Who cares if the winner was never in doubt, Contador still made it entertaining by owning everyone. Anyone who says that they would have a preferred a less-mountainous course over this one lies. Those same people surely wouldn't be watching more than the last 10km of flat stages instead.

Yeah, anyone with different opinions to you is lying.

 

[rzombie1988]

Yeah, anyone with different opinions to you is lying.

So you are telling me that if the course was more flat you would have watched just as much of it as you did the mountains? Assuming you watched it or else you shouldn't bother responding.

 

[Richeypen]

So you are telling me that if the course was more flat you would have watched just as much of it as you did the mountains? Assuming you watched it or else you shouldn't bother responding.

Yes. (I could argue this point but with sentences like 'Assuming you watched it or else you shouldn't bother responding', you dont come across as some I should waste my time with.)

 

[rzombie1988]

Yes. (I could argue this point but with sentences like 'Assuming you watched it or else you shouldn't bother responding', you dont come across as some I should waste my time with.)

If you prefer watching Nibali take a leisurely bike tour around Italy for 3+ hours a day, then by all means, enjoy. But I don't want to see it, and since most people don't watch more than the last 10km of sprint stages, I don't think alot of them do either.

 

[Dancing On The Pedals]

So you are telling me that if the course was more flat you would have watched just as much of it as you did the mountains? Assuming you watched it or else you shouldn't bother responding.

The post is clearly not saying that they would prefer 20 flat stages. I think most are agreed that there was an MTF overkill this year. It would have been better if there had been a descent finish this year, just to break it up a bit (not saying that mountains are bad). This years Giro was brutally difficult, not only the numerous MTF's, but also the lengthy transfers and so on, all of which looks like being rectified slightly this year. We'll have to wait and see the whole route before we can really pass comment.

I know some people found this year's edition a bit boring due to Bertie's dominance, but for me, it was the greatest stage racer in the current peloton at his absolute best and was a treat to watch. Yes it would have been more exciting if the overall GC had been closer but in situations like that, you quite often get the favourites marking one another all the way up a climb and then trying to steal a few seconds in the last 2 kilometres, which I personally find a bit dull.

To be fair, he did manage to finish this years superedition. Even win the tt at the end. And that is worthy of respect.

I think he was also instrumental in helping to organise the WW tribute as he was Maglia Rosa at the time? Credit to him for that.

 

[Arnout]

I think most are agreed that there was an MTF overkill this year.

How did you reach this conclusion?

 

[rzombie1988]

The post is clearly not saying that they would prefer 20 flat stages. I think most are agreed that there was an MTF overkill this year. It would have been better if there had been a descent finish this year, just to break it up a bit (not saying that mountains are bad). This years Giro was brutally difficult, not only the numerous MTF's, but also the lengthy transfers and so on, all of which looks like being rectified slightly this year. We'll have to wait and see the whole route before we can really pass comment.

I know some people found this year's edition a bit boring due to Bertie's dominance, but for me, it was the greatest stage racer in the current peloton at his absolute best and was a treat to watch. Yes it would have been more exciting if the overall GC had been closer but in situations like that, you quite often get the favourites marking one another all the way up a climb and then trying to steal a few seconds in the last 2 kilometres, which I personally find a bit dull.




I think he was also instrumental in helping to organise the WW tribute as he was Maglia Rosa at the time? Credit to him for that.

Richeypen seems to prefer flat stages that go on for hours without anything happening. Whatever works for him.

I liked all the MTF's. I would have loved even more. There can never be enough. I thought there were a lot of decent finishes personally. I probably had more fun watching this Giro and watched more of this Giro than any other Grand Tour so far.

 

[jens_attacks]

Richeypen seems to prefer flat stages that go on for hours without anything happening. Whatever works for him.

I liked all the MTF's. I would have loved even more. There can never be enough. I thought there were a lot of decent finishes personally. I probably had more fun watching this Giro and watched more of this Giro than any other Grand Tour so far.

the tv audiences of giro this year were rocket high,probably the highest in its history indeed.
i still think that one of the mtf's(let's say etna) should have been replaced with a long itt.but yeah by far the best grand tour and that it's since 2007,the last time since le tour owned them all.my opinion of course

 

[Eshnar]

New rumour: stage 17
Falzes - Cortina with Valparola, Duran, Staulanza and Giau.
This makes me wonder about stage 16
@Hitch: I meant Millar doesn't deserve attention when he complains about the Giro, nothing else.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Nah, Etna was fine, Macugnaga and Nevegal were the problems. Given the amount of mountain time Nevegal should have been replaced by a flat ITT of around 45km, and Macugnaga was just overkill since it wasn't hard enough to open any gaps in the context of the rest of the race and would have been better served with an intermediate stage to somewhere like Biella or Ivrea, enabling them to have more km to play with to make a tougher lead in to the Sestrières stage rather than being totally flat to the base of Finestre, whether going over Sestrières itself as in 2005 or doing Moncenisio first like the redesigned stage to Pinerolo in 2009.

That makes me think actually... how good would it be to do the Pra Martino before finishing in Pinerolo like the Giro in '09 and the Tour this year... but instead of Sestrières, make FINESTRE the penultimate climb?

 

[Duartista]

Richeypen seems to prefer flat stages that go on for hours without anything happening. Whatever works for him.

I liked all the MTF's. I would have loved even more. There can never be enough. I thought there were a lot of decent finishes personally. I probably had more fun watching this Giro and watched more of this Giro than any other Grand Tour so far.

That's just silly. Personally, I don't think there's a lot wrong with a 'classic' GT format of 4-5 MTFs 2-3 non-MTF mountain stages, a couple of ITTs, and the rest a mixture of hilly and flat stages. One of the mountain stages should always be a real queen stage, like this one. Normally, it would be better earlier in the race though to ensure the GC is still in play.

I don't understand the comments along the lines of 'these stages always produce dull racing'. The queen stages of this years Giro and Tour were excellent, and many if not most of the most dramatic stages in GT history have been 200km plus multiple mountain stages.

 

[The Hitch]

Nah, Etna was fine, Macugnaga and Nevegal were the problems. Given the amount of mountain time Nevegal should have been replaced by a flat ITT of around 45km, and Macugnaga was just overkill since it wasn't hard enough to open any gaps in the context of the rest of the race and would have been better served with an intermediate stage to somewhere like Biella or Ivrea, enabling them to have more km to play with to make a tougher lead in to the Sestrières stage rather than being totally flat to the base of Finestre, whether going over Sestrières itself as in 2005 or doing Moncenisio first like the redesigned stage to Pinerolo in 2009.

That makes me think actually... how good would it be to do the Pra Martino before finishing in Pinerolo like the Giro in '09 and the Tour this year... but instead of Sestrières, make FINESTRE the penultimate climb?

Nvegal was very entertaining imo. We finaly got to see Contador race for a win, we got to see which climbers were the best (up to then you had guys failing one day owning next) All of Anton Scarponi Rujano, Nibali had failed badly on one day.

And it brought out great crowds on a nice Tuesday afternoon.

Macugnaga would have been better replaced. Maybe even Grossglockner.

This makes me wonder about stage 16

Crostis itt

 

[Descender]

The hardness of next year's Giro is going to have a clear consequence: the turn-out is going to be poor. Every single TdF contender will not take part in the Italian race. It was thought for years that a Giro-Tour double was very hard, but seeing The Great One fail at it was the last nail on the coffin, and nobody is going to risk their TdF by racing the Giro.

 

[ferryman]

The hardness of next year's Giro is going to have a clear consequence: the turn-out is going to be poor. Every single TdF contender will not take part in the Italian race. It was thought for years that a Giro-Tour double was very hard, but seeing The Great One fail at it was the last nail on the coffin, and nobody is going to risk their TdF by racing the Giro.

This is what Millar was alluding to in his tweets, only see Italians racing. Not that I have a problem with that.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

The hardness of next year's Giro is going to have a clear consequence: the turn-out is going to be poor. Every single TdF contender will not take part in the Italian race. It was thought for years that a Giro-Tour double was very hard, but seeing The Great One fail at it was the last nail on the coffin, and nobody is going to risk their TdF by racing the Giro.

That's right, cos Nibali, Scarponi, Rodríguez, Gadret, Arroyo, Rujano and Antón based their season around the Tour, of course.

There are plenty of people who could still go for the Giro. Many teams for the Giro will be more interesting than their Tour versions, because of youngsters being given a go, or the type of climber who could never truly compete for the Tour GC (Gadret and Antón spring to mind).

Honestly, the Giro has always been hard. In fact, the worst field in recent years was 2004, and then the parcours was the softest we've seen in years.

 

[jens_attacks]

The hardness of next year's Giro is going to have a clear consequence: the turn-out is going to be poor. Every single TdF contender will not take part in the Italian race. It was thought for years that a Giro-Tour double was very hard, but seeing The Great One fail at it was the last nail on the coffin, and nobody is going to risk their TdF by racing the Giro.

which is good thanks god