Giro 2017, stage 10: Foligno - Montefalco 39,8km (ITT)

[tobydawq]

How can Pelucchi be so bad? Seriously? He was almost three and a half minutes behind Ewan, who himself was more than a minute slower than the third-slowest and should be outside the time limit if what I heard with winning time + 30 % is true. For the second consecutive year in the first half of the Giro. And he even seems to have lost his sprint.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Yeah, I think Quintana can drop Dumoulin on any climb he wants to. The real battle will be whether Movistar can turn their superior team strength into a several minute advantage on one stage. Sunweb need to be so alert at getting riders in the break if Dumoulin wants a chance of defending in the final week.

This - Riders in the break give Dumoulin protection if he gets dropped in the second last mountain - Had Sunweb put a rider in the break in the 2015 Vuelta, Dumoulin probably wins that Vuelta seeing he was only 15 or 20 seconds behind when they went over the last mountain.

I guess the other factor is that Movistar will recognise that and may drill the peloton fairly hard from the start of the stage. If the break only has a couple of minutes advantage at the start of the Stelvio, that could be enough for someone like Amador, Izagirre or Anacona to get to the top before their team leader, but perhaps not enough for Ten Dam or other Sunweb climbers.

Should be a great tactical battle though.

 

[Velolover2]

Re:

What if...
What if...
What if...

Sky decides to protect Tom D and helps Sunweb on multimountain stages, in order to tire NQ and favour CF on TdF?? That's not so crazy to think ATM!!

Why? That's some serious 3D chess.

Quintana will be tired and Froome can beat him on the climbs, anyway.

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

Top 10

Isn't it safe to say that it's between Quintana and Big Tom? I don't think any of the other riders can take 2:30+ minutes on Dumoulin.

It's not going to be one on one, he could lose lots of minutes. If he drops at penultimate climb, or even earlier, which is by no means impossible, minutes are at stake. Just rewatch Navacerrada stage.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

What if...
What if...
What if...

Sky decides to protect Tom D and helps Sunweb on multimountain stages, in order to tire NQ and favour CF on TdF?? That's not so crazy to think ATM!!

Don't think Sky are good enough to do that. And if they somehow did do it, then it might peruade Movistar to switch to Valverde as leader for the Tour, which could potentially be a more dangerous option than a doubling up Quintana.

 

[red_flanders]

I'm just glad there's someone who can TT in contention for a GT. Missing the old days when the big guys were actually...relatively big guys. Tired of the wispy climbers. Rooting for Dumoulin.

 

[willbick]

Re:

I'm just glad there's someone who can TT in contention for a GT. Missing the old days when the big guys were actually...relatively big guys. Tired of the wispy climbers. Rooting for Dumoulin.

Erm.... Wiggins, Froome

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re: Re:

Top 10

Isn't it safe to say that it's between Quintana and Big Tom? I don't think any of the other riders can take 2:30+ minutes on Dumoulin.

It's not going to be one on one, he could lose lots of minutes. If he drops at penultimate climb, or even earlier, which is by no means impossible, minutes are at stake. Just rewatch Navacerrada stage.

I'm never watching that stage again, heartbreaking. But not as bad as Kruijswijk in the Giro last year, that was even harder. 2 GT wins down the drain. :Neutral:

 

[SeriousSam]

They aren't big, just somehow able to time trial really well in the flat.

 

[huangho]

Re: Re:

What if...
What if...
What if...

Sky decides to protect Tom D and helps Sunweb on multimountain stages, in order to tire NQ and favour CF on TdF?? That's not so crazy to think ATM!!

Don't think Sky are good enough to do that. And if they somehow did do it, then it might peruade Movistar to switch to Valverde as leader for the Tour, which could potentially be a more dangerous option than a doubling up Quintana.

Froome has not been extraordinaire this season so far, and NQ has been improving since the start of season... Remember that NQ can peak after 3 weeks, and of course Sky preffers AV on the field against CF, than NQ.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but it's doable, they may have nothing to fight about on this Giro, but tiring NQ can be a factor.

 

[Cookster15]

In the space of a 40K TT Quintana and Movistar's hopes of a Giro/Tour double suddenly looking very shaky. Not only does Nairo have to expend huge energy now to have any chance of staying ahead of Dumoulin after the final TT but we know Froome will be at a higher level again come the TdF.

 

[Red Rick]

Dumoulin for the double? I believe

 

[red_flanders]

Anyone who thought any rider can coast to a GT win, especially someone like Quintana, was being pretty optimistic. Never really seen it done.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

Anyone who thought any rider can coast to a GT win, especially someone like Quintana, was being pretty optimistic. Never really seen it done.

2014 Tour?

Nibali could have stopped for a picnic every day in that last week if he wanted to.

 

[carton]

Dumolin simply improved in the mountains and kept his weight and power.

Wait, what?

Anyway, a little stronger than expected from Dumo and a little worse than expected from Pinot and Quintana but we'll se how it goes when the going gets tough. Good to see the big man in pink, though, well deserved.

And I'm just going to come out with it: I love it when Quintana is fighting for the GC because we always get the TTist vs climber match-up that's far rarer than what the collective memory assumes. The last time before Nairo was the (long-retired, lest we forget) Andy and Cadel duel. I mean, Contador, Nibali and Froome are all great riders but when the same guy is winning the MTFs and the TTs then the race gets a little more predictable, about form rather than formulation. Styles make fights, as they say. With Dumolin, Quintana (+Thibopino?) and Nibali duking it out we might be really in for a treat.

 

[ontheroad]

Re:

Anyone who thought any rider can coast to a GT win, especially someone like Quintana, was being pretty optimistic. Never really seen it done.

Froome at last years tour, never took a fidge out of him.

 

[Brullnux]

This Giro is shaping up beautifully. The first 7 stages were awful but since then it has improved a lot. The second week is pretty abysmal but it also means that the gaps will probably be very close to what they are now, unless someone cracks on Oropa(!). Stelvio will be great and this means the short dolomite stage could be very good, instead of crap. Even the Grappa stage can be good.

 

[DFA123]

Re: Re:

Anyone who thought any rider can coast to a GT win, especially someone like Quintana, was being pretty optimistic. Never really seen it done.

Froome at last years tour, never took a fidge out of him.

Ah yes, the one where he was planning a third week peak so he'd be in shape for the Olympics. But by the third week he already had such an advantage he could just sit on the back of his 8 man long train drinking cans of coke on all the climbs.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

This Giro is shaping up beautifully. The first 7 stages were awful but since then it has improved a lot. The second week is pretty abysmal but it also means that the gaps will probably be very close to what they are now, unless someone cracks on Oropa(!). Stelvio will be great and this means the short dolomite stage could be very good, instead of crap. Even the Grappa stage can be good.

Yeah, Stelvio and Grappa are shaping up to be two of the great stages of recent years. Everyone knows Quintana will go long on Stelvio - it's what he always does. And then he'll go long again on Grappa if needs be. Will be fascinating to see what Dumoulin and Nibali plan to do about it.

 

[Mr.White]

Re: Re:

Quintana will be in fourth place!!!

Im allready amazed that Movistar attacked hard on the Blockhaus instead of waiting for week 3 what Quintana likes to do. Obviously they knew they needed time everywhere possible.

I think it would have ideal for Quintana to peak in the 1st week, crush on Etna and Blockhaus, then ride defensively to recover for the Tour. Now he will have to work really hard in the Giro's 3rd week and try to recover to challenge Froome in July. I don't think that's going to work out well for Nairo.

It's not a video game! You can't just peak whenever you want! For that, he should've ride much more, earlier in the spring, something like Contador or Valverde did. But you can't be in top shape at the beginning of the Giro, ride on till the end, and then again peak at the Tour. He would have too much race days at the Tour, and he would certainly fade in the last part of it. Not to mention that on Etna and Blockhaus he can't gain enough time for the overall. 3rd week and high and multi-mountain stages are place to do that.

 

[huangho]

Re:

This Giro is shaping up beautifully. The first 7 stages were awful but since then it has improved a lot. The second week is pretty abysmal but it also means that the gaps will probably be very close to what they are now, unless someone cracks on Oropa(!). Stelvio will be great and this means the short dolomite stage could be very good, instead of crap. Even the Grappa stage can be good.

Oropa... Seems to be a silly stage, but I think it will deliver... Last 5k should be nice!

 

[Brullnux]

It's just such an easy climb. Everyone will be fresh from an easy stage and an easy second week that even if Quintana puts in a good attack, he won't gain more than 15 seconds.

 

[HelloDolly]

So after the Giro Big T will go after Froome, Sky and the Tour in 2018 ?

 

[Djoop]

Deleted post

 

[May0maniac]

Apparently Nibali had a proplem with his bike computer and he was only able to see his speed on his powermeter and Slongo told him on the Radio that he had a high cadence and that he should keep it high.