Giro d'Italia Giro d’Italia 2024, Stage 8: Spoleto – Prati di Tivo, 152.0k

[Samu Cuenca]

Question is if this will be the third day in a row where Pogačar fails to hand over the jersey to Plapp.

 

[solo80k]

Break will take this one for sure. I expect very solid GC shakeup. Tomorrow you can't win Giro but you can definitely lose it. I expect Pogi to follow Martinez and launch attack in last 4-5 KMS before finish if he feels well. Thomas will lose tons of time, same as O'Connor.

 

[Cookster15]

Break will take this one for sure. I expect very solid GC shakeup. Tomorrow you can't win Giro but you can definitely lose it. I expect Pogi to follow Martinez and launch attack in last 4-5 KMS before finish if he feels well. Thomas will lose tons of time, same as O'Connor.

Not sure about O'Conner. When you consider he had a mechanical today it tells me he is going maybe the best we have seen him? I think O'Conner will finish with the best of the rest.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Pogi likely tired from ITT so i don't expect big gaps.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Question is if this will be the third day in a row where Pogačar fails to hand over the jersey to Plapp.

I think the issue won't be Plapp but the people who will try and get in a move with him.

Given that the race for 1st is pretty much done, maybe time for Bora, Ineos, Jumbo, Quickstep to start the Landismo gambit of throwing *** at a wall trying to mess with Pogacar's Tour prep.

 

[sam6]

I think Thomas will lose time, the break will win, doubt Pogi will put in any huge attacks just a small 30 second gap at the end

Will be very interesting to see who is in the break? Will someone like Bardet be allowed? Probably not but he might get in anyway

I reckon Vansevenant, Chaves or Pellizzari

 

[Squire]

What's with all the Thomas pessimism? Except one day of Lipowitz beasting he has looked the strongest behind Pog so far (case to be made for Martinez too perhaps). One not-dominant but still decent TT doesn't mean his form is suddenly gone, I think.

 

[Escarabajo]

Very hard now for UAE to control the race, From 10 position and down everyone will want to get in the break. How is this going to be controlled?

 

[Peyroteo94]

Pogi likely tired from ITT so i don't expect big gaps.

If he is tired, what about others gc riders?

 

[CyclistAbi]

If he is tired, what about others gc riders?

Nah, likely already fresh for stage 21 of the Tour.

Joking aside it will be interesting to see on how Ineos responds, as two thirds of the race still to be raced and somehow i feel that if not Thomas then Ganna is rather pissed. Will Bora start defending or plotting for the Tour? Likely defending. Visma can't just accept the situation and do nothing, likely to try to gain a place or two ... Still, Pogi is the overwhelming favourite on this race and it's mostly up to him, if other riders will get a shot for overall or not.

P.S. Now UAE as a team, that in my opinion is beatable. Lets see if anybody tires to do that and if in the process catches Pogi on the back foot.

 

[Froome]

Pogi likely tired from ITT so i don't expect big gaps.

They are all tired.

 

[CyclistAbi]

They are all tired.

Thomas rested.

 

[Froome]

Thomas rested.

Thomas rested in peace.

 

[Cookster15]

What's with all the Thomas pessimism? Except one day of Lipowitz beasting he has looked the strongest behind Pog so far (case to be made for Martinez too perhaps). One not-dominant but still decent TT doesn't mean his form is suddenly gone, I think.

Strongest behind Pog? You are forgetting Ben O’Conner. Had a mechanical today and was the only contender with the confidence to try to hang with Pog on stage 2.

I am liking how O’Conner looks. An early pick for a possible podium? Thomas will need to keep an eye on him.

 

[Froome]

Main climbing doms to control the stage:

Majka, Grossshartner and Bjerg
Schachmann and Aleotti
Arensman and Sheffield
APP, VPP & Baudin

Very shallow uphill support, so a big break should sail away.

Probably the best tatic for Ineos is trying to make a big break and put on that break Arensman plus stronger guys from other teams like Bardet, to press Emirates and try to isolate and tire Pogacar,and then to try something with Thomas.

Mano a mano they don’t have a chance against Pogacar.

 

[Savant12]

Can Pog have a bad day? Only way to make the GC exciting as it seems done already in the first week.

 

[Nick2413]

Probably the best tatic for Ineos is trying to make a big break and put on that break Arensman plus stronger guys from other teams like Bardet, to press Emirates and try to isolate and tire Pogacar,and then to try something with Thomas.

Mano a mano they don’t have a chance against Pogacar.

Agreed, but that would probably just break Thomas even more. When you’ve got the ace in the deck those strategies just go to your benefit.

Only way to crack Pog is to get him to try too hard to win a stage against some random martyr on a day he has unexpectedly sour legs. A failed GC rider taking a week off then going all in on Grappa etc could be the carrot that he chokes on, however unlikely.

 

[yaco]

Why would other teams try and ride for the stage if they know Pogi will just beat them? Bora have the second-strongest rider in the race in Martinez, and even their best chance to win tomorrow is to put Schachmann in the break as Pogi is so much stronger. The only reasons why they would ride on the front is to make it hard so Martinez can put time into Thomas or to protect against a rider up the road from gaining time, realistically they have no chance with the stage

Because teams have to try to win and it can't always be from the break.

 

[Tonton]

I hope that Pozzo takes it from the break. How much did he give today, when every rider who had any sort of GC expectation had to give it all?

No one with any sort of GC aspiration could have taken a day off today. They will try to survive tomorrow and hope that some have a bad day or miss the bus.

I would have voted Thomas De Gendt on a stage like this and hope that Romain is the guy...Allez Romain! But if Domenico gets the win and the jersey, what a blast!

Except that Pogacar will want to win this bike race. His team is inept, but there's no reason to think that he hasn't recovered better than his "rivals", so watch out. The steep portion on the final climb is all he needs.

 

[Rob5091]

Pogi likely tired from ITT so i don't expect big gaps.

Apparently an hour after the finish the guy's good as new ... according to the UAE PR team anyway!

Martinez, O'Connor and Bardet the men to watch -half of the peloton try to get in the break, sprinters ride the group etto bus and the UAE & Ineos guys ride tempo to the last climb.

 

[Rob5091]

Can Pog have a bad day? Only way to make the GC exciting as it seems done already in the first week.

Can Pog have a bad day? Stage 5 at last year's Tour was one, but is there a Vingegaard here?

 

[iBanesto]

Can Pog have a bad day? Only way to make the GC exciting as it seems done already in the first week.

 

[SHAD0W93]

But none of the factors that caused that bad day are present. Without having to fight Visma every single day in a slugfest Pogacar either doesn’t have bad days or they’re minimal.

 

[Pantani_lives]

I wonder if Caruso is recovered well enough to join the break today. Bardet, Vansevenant, Quintana and Alaphilippe might have a go as well. And why not send Ganna to take revenge for yesterday?

 

[iBanesto]

But none of the factors that caused that bad day are present. Without having to fight Visma every single day in a slugfest Pogacar either doesn’t have bad days or they’re minimal.