Giro D´italia stage 11 - Tortoreto Lido - Castefidardo 144.0km

[Ferminal]

It's a selective finish, correct decision.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

It's a selective finish, correct decision.

agreed.

Not like were gonna get a big group coming in.

 

[Je ne sais quoi]

Gilbert to phone this one in for the win.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Scarponi is very strong on such terrain and should look to gain time on AC here. The shorter climbs suit "Boots" a lot more than AC.

 

[nomendil]

Did anyone else catch this?

"Officials also lifted the three-kilometer rule from Wednesday’s finish, meaning that any crashes or mechanicals will result in the real time across the line. That will make for a very nervous finish among the GC favorites."
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/05/news/giro-notes-cavendish-gets-his-win-with-conviction-contador-fined_173933

Considering the profile at the finish, this could cause some panic if something goes wrong. Not that I expect a large group to be rushing to the line together. Odd decision though, no?

That makes sense. One local media here reported it as "organizers cut final 3km from stage". At least now I know what they meant.

 

[Sasquatch]

Tschopp to get in the break, Visconti to join him with a few others. Tschopp and Visconti go for the stage victory and Visconti jags it with Tschopp getting pink. ACF will go to Harvey Norman or the local computer store tomorrow and get a new keyboard because his will be unworkable with it being sticky.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Tschopp to get in the break, Visconti to join him with a few others. Tschopp and Visconti go for the stage victory and Visconti jags it with Tschopp getting pink. ACF will go to Harvey Norman or the local computer store tomorrow and get a new keyboard because his will be unworkable with it being sticky.

ACF is working on not over hyping riders. I am trying to be calm when expressing happiness.

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Gilbert to phone this one in for the win.

Was thinking the same.
How more Gilbert can a course be

 

[Sophistic]

As a reaction to Contadors dominant performance on the Etna some gc teams could try to attack full force today, watch out for Androni and Movistar.

 

[greenedge]

Astana will definetly be aggresive. I can picture something that will make Contador lose 10 seconds on GC/ like a crash. Kiryienka, Hoogerland, Pineau, Pirazzi and ( LE MEVEL!!! ) Only because I think SBS will promise Garmin the jersey if they work to keep it till stage 13 and also he might just want it for a bit before he slides down to top 8

 

[Ferminal]

As a reaction to Contadors dominant performance on the Etna some gc teams could try to attack full force today, watch out for Androni and Movistar.

Sella and Serpa have hardly attacked all race, which is a bit of a shock given what they were doing earlier in the season.

Sella in particular, either he's not at his best/not good enough, or saving everything for the weekend. Serpa is probably riding more conservatively as a backup for GC if Rujano drops off.

 

[Finbouy]

My heart says a break so I'll go with that. I'm plugging a Movistar chap to hit this one hard and Androni?Aqua/Euskatel too.
I feel the GC boys will just bunch around each other, including Scarponi/Le Mevel/Bert/Nibs et all, so can't really see anything GC wise falling apart.
Would be nice to see De Luca being let loose or someone like Hondo, someone with a hard kick thats not too much of a threat..What about Millar or even Garzelli now he's slightly out of contention?? Visconti..hmmm nah, I think he's resting up a little bit what with the hard mountains soon, and thats a sensible thing to do.
Or even Menchov since we've seen boogerall from Geox..
As for a winner... Anton.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Purely in terms of out and out races, this could become the stage of the Giro.
There are more uncatagorized climbs on the route, than there are catagorized.
Almost impossible to control, from the gun, I would be extremely surprised if the breakaway group isn't fairly large.
A lot of riders and a lot of teams will sense the opportunity. Could well be too much for Saxo to handle, if indeed they want to try.

I would normally go for Di Luca, Sella or Visconti, but two seem out of shape and the third, too well placed in the GC, to be given much rope.

However, if the composite break is strong and someone of GC note makes it, things could get very interesting.

For some reason, as I type, the name of Pavel Brutt has also sprung to mind.

 

[Sasquatch]

Sella has stated on numerous occasions that he is going to attack on the weekend. I think he has a chance on Zoncolon, particuarly if he gets in the early break and the GC guys decide to take it easy on the descent. He could get a good lead at the base of the Zoncolon and hold on. Either that or he tries for Friday's stage and then tries for Sunday's. But I think Zoncolon is his best chance or Sunday's stage. The GC guys will want to take it easy on Sunday after two tough days so he could probably get away on that day.

 

[boomcie]

Looking forward to today's stage. I'm also hoping for a large break to mix things up a bit.

 

[just some guy]

weather sun and 22 not much wind.

was hoping for rain and 5 degrees a bit like last year, still it´s going to be fun.

 

[Climbing]

Scarponi at home... maybe he's gonna try something!
That would be cool.

 

[Kwibus]

I was hoping for a lot of rain and wind, but that's not going to happen unfortunately.

Another hope is a huge break, but an L' Aquila kind of break is unlikely as it only happens once in every 15Gt's or something. Still hoping for a decent rider to take pink by a huge margin. The more fun the upcoming weeks will become.

 

[Ferminal]

It is the same stage as L'Aquila last year - Wednesday, Stage 11. Maybe that will help them channel it today. It's about half the distance though...

 

[LugHugger]

Scarponi or Rodriguez

It will be a hectic pace at the start so breaks will be difficult to come by, a small one will form and they will never get more than 3-4 minutes. Lampre and a few other teams will bring it back, but it could be messy as there will be plenty of attacks in the last 35km.

That would be my bet too. Let's hope that the stage does turn in to a mini Classic!

 

[gregrowlerson]

I really like this parcours. You don't always need to have the giant climbs to make a stage interesting. Anyone think this stage would be perfect for Gilbert if he was riding, or would it be slightly too difficult?

 

[El Pistolero]

Slightly too easy lol.

Anyway, my bet is Bakelants.

 

[Kwibus]

I really like this parcours. You don't always need to have the giant climbs to make a stage interesting. Anyone think this stage would be perfect for Gilbert if he was riding, or would it be slightly too difficult?

Heh. If Gilbert was here we allready knew who would win this stage.

 

[AussieGoddess]

Slightly bonkers prediction: Alessandro Petacchi to get in the (large) break, to attempt to win the TV sprint, in the hope of getting a win on Thursday and trying to build up a lead in the race for red.

slightly bonkers is right LOL

the question is how many sprinters will remain in the race by friday?

For today - I have picked Scarponi whenever I have thought he's had a chance, just coz I like him so much but I really think a break will get away today ... and AC isnt likely to allow Scarponi any room to move.

Will be pretty fun to watch if Michele gives it a go though

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

Anyway, my bet is Bakelants.

Would be great. Is riding very well, but not always as smart...