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Giro del Trentino

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laurentiu46

laurentiu46

Apr 20, 2009
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Despite the Ardennes,this week also features the Trentino,which has "the hardest route in history",as the organisers said.
Most of the italian big guns will be there,trying to fine-tune their preparations for the Giro: Ivan Basso,Gilberto Simoni,Danilo Di Luca,Stefano Garzelli,Franco Pellizotti,Marzio Bruseghin.
Astana will line-up Andreas Kloden and Yaroslav Popovych,while Barloworld will bring their best climber,Mauricio Soler.
Too bad Ezequiel Mosquera is out because of a stupid injury he suffered last night,but hopefully he will be in good shape for the Giro by riding the Vuelta a Asturias.
The route features 1 ITT and 3 mountaintop finishes,so there's only place for the all-rounders.
Stage 1: Torbole Sul Garda - Arco (ITT) 17,5 kms

Stage 2: Riva del Garda - Alpe di Pampeago 141 kms

Stage 3: Tesero - Innervillgraten(Austria) 165,5 kms

Stage 4: Sillian - Pejo Fonti 214,2 kms

My money are on Basso and Soler. ;)
 
D

davidw

Apr 18, 2009
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Should be especially interesting this year, because the Giro d'Italia starts off with a bang, instead of lots of flat stages. So riders will need to reach it in top form, rather than having a few weeks to ride into top form. Which may mean that the Giro del Trentino will be more indicative than usual of who to watch out for at the Giro.
 
laurentiu46

laurentiu46

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Yes,Soler will ride the Giro 100%,if nothing happens until then.
He showed good form earlier this month and will be a man to watch. It's the only grand tour Barloworld is doing this year(i doubt they'll receive a wildcard for the Vuelta),so they will bring the best riders. Robert Hunter and John Lee Augustyn(remember him,crashing on the descent of Bonette in last year's tour) feature on the startlist too.
I agree,Trentino is interesting this year because we'll see who is on top form for the Giro,as the Dolomites will be tackled in the early stages,and those who aim for pink will have to be ready much sooner than in the past years.

Later edit:i had another look at the startlist websites and Soler features there,but you never know.
What do you think about Diquigiovanni's south american climbers? Venezuela's Carlos Ochoa and Jackson Rodriguez will ride the Trentino,and probably the Giro too.
They got some good results this year. Jose Serpa is doing the Fleche,but he is also another mountain goat.
 
Escarabajo

Escarabajo

Apr 16, 2009
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Serpa is having a good year and He is going to be key for Gilberto Simoni. But the real future for South America relies in Mauricio Soler and Rigoberto Uran. It is a pitty that this will be a second year lost for Mauricio Soler for a good representation in the Tour.

For the Giro I think is a complete wide open race. I have no idea who is going to win. Everybody thinks that Basso is going to pick up where he left off. But I don't think that after two years off you are going to have the same form as before. We'll see.
 
Kazistuta

Kazistuta

Mar 19, 2009
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Yeah, and Basso was 50 seconds off Klöden... now he got some time to make up for;)

Visconti, Samoilau and Garzelli (all three interesting to see in Trentino as well as the "real" giro) also made great times today and should be in contention for the overall.
 
M

Mellow Velo

Mar 11, 2009
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Watched Rai's coverage, yesterday evening. Stunningly beautiful, pan flat course, on the shores of Lake Garda. Arco always gets a stage of this race.
Kloden was interviewed in English, after his win, so I can definitely confirm he is not riding the Giro.

Other than Brajkovic, the only riders that got close to Kloden's time all ride for smaller outfits. I hope that's not shades of last year's Sella.

Popovych was well down. Even Brushegin lost a minute over the 16kms.
Basso only beat Gibo by 29" and Gibo beat Di Luca, whom Kloden caught and passed.:eek:
 
laurentiu46

laurentiu46

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Looks like Kloden made the right choice by riding the Trentino. He was scheduled to lead Astana at the Tour de Romandie,but when he found out that the organisers replaced the ITT with a TTT,he decided to come to Italy.
But i'm afraid Pampeago will be too difficult for him to keep the leader's jersey.
Garzelli is within striking distance and could very well fly to the top spot.
Brajkovic looks in good shape,he will ride the Giro and could be a top 10 finisher in Rome. He has the potential and much more experience than in the past,remember the Vuelta 2006 when he even wore the golden jersey for a few days.
My bet for this second stage is CSF Navigare's little climber Domenico Pozzovivo.:rolleyes:
 
laurentiu46

laurentiu46

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Escarabajo said:
Serpa is having a good year and He is going to be key for Gilberto Simoni. But the real future for South America relies in Mauricio Soler and Rigoberto Uran. It is a pitty that this will be a second year lost for Mauricio Soler for a good representation in the Tour.

For the Giro I think is a complete wide open race. I have no idea who is going to win. Everybody thinks that Basso is going to pick up where he left off. But I don't think that after two years off you are going to have the same form as before. We'll see.
Click to expand...

Good point,Soler and Uran are the future of South American cycling.
Anyway,i think Mauricio should switch teams if he wants to ride the TDF in the coming years. I doubt Barloworld will get a wildcard for 2010 or 2011. Their best chance could be a ProTour licence,but that does not guarantee their place in the Tour either. Plus,ASO usually invites only 2 or 3 teams,and one of them,if not 2 must be french.
At the Giro,i don't know about you,but i think Scarponi will get a higher placing than Simoni in the overall,even if Gibo is the leader of the team.:D In the past,he used to be one of the strongest men in the third week of the Giro,but last year that 19th stage to Monte Pora threw him from 3rd overall to the bottom of the top 10.
And another thing,Scarponi will do way better than him in the 61km TT.
 
laurentiu46

laurentiu46

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Basso's preparations for the Giro seem to be on track after his 2nd place at Pampeago. Simoni also looks good,4th on the stage,23 secs behind Basso.
Jani Brajkovic new leader,Garzelli and Di Luca lost almost 1:50.
Good ride from Pietro Caucchioli,who should be a mountain man for Cunego.
And for me,the stage winner,Poland's Przemyslaw Niemiec is not such a big surprise. I mean ok,he beat Basso,but in the past he got some good results especially in the Route du Sud,winning tough mountain stages at Luchon Superbagneres and Port de Bales and finishing second at Cauterets and Plateau de Bonascre.
He's only 29,and maybe a better team than Miche Silvercross will set its sights on him.
 
M

Mellow Velo

Mar 11, 2009
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You weren't far wrong, calling Pozzovivo.;)

Amazing last 5kms. Sun all the way, out of the last tunnel....snow!

Basso was pretty impressive, riding everyone off his wheel, just like 2006.
Gibo was well up, best of the rest, favourite wise.
Kloden went out the back like a bag of cement, at about 4kms.
Disappointly, many of the last riders involved, all rode for Conti teams, so not involved in the bio passport scheme.

The reason I say that is because, in the final km, Niemiec took off like a rocket, sprinting to a 100 metre lead, in 200 metres. This, on a brute of a slope, where every one else really struggled.
 
laurentiu46

laurentiu46

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Yes,there is a question mark on these teams and their riders,but hey,Niemiec's gotta have some talent,you know.:rolleyes:
Let's say,if all Continental teams have suspicious riders,then he was the best of them.:p
And even if the PT teams have adhered to that passport,this doesn't mean that all their riders are clean.
Kloden doesn't like these steep climbs,and he was not in a great form either.
Diquigiovanni's Jackson Rodriguez was 7th,good result,and yes,they are involved in the biological passport.;)
But you never know with the south americans.

Btw,how about Fuji's invitation to the Giro? Juan Cobo is a good rider,capable of making the top 10. Sweden's former mountain biker Fredrik Kessiakoff also did good so far this season,he seems to be a good climber.
Anyway,RCS made a good choice by inviting Fuji instead of Ceramica Flaminia,who are still yelling that the italian national champ Simeoni is out of the Giro.
Maybe they wanted to avoid another Lance Armstrong-Filippo Simeoni ecounter on the italian roads.:rolleyes: Joking,of course.
 
mr. tibbs

mr. tibbs

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laurentiu46 said:
Yes,there is a question mark on these teams and their riders,but hey,Niemiec's gotta have some talent,you know.:rolleyes:
Let's say,if all Continental teams have suspicious riders,then he was the best of them.:p
And even if the PT teams have adhered to that passport,this doesn't mean that all their riders are clean.
Kloden doesn't like these steep climbs,and he was not in a great form either.
Diquigiovanni's Jackson Rodriguez was 7th,good result,and yes,they are involved in the biological passport.;)
But you never know with the south americans.

Btw,how about Fuji's invitation to the Giro? Juan Cobo is a good rider,capable of making the top 10. Sweden's former mountain biker Fredrik Kessiakoff also did good so far this season,he seems to be a good climber.
Anyway,RCS made a good choice by inviting Fuji instead of Ceramica Flaminia,who are still yelling that the italian national champ Simeoni is out of the Giro.
Maybe they wanted to avoid another Lance Armstrong-Filippo Simeoni ecounter on the italian roads.:rolleyes: Joking,of course.
Click to expand...

I'm a pretty shameless Kloden fan, but even I have to admit that he seems to have lost the drive to push himself on the climbs. He's still great in TTs, but I almost get the impression that he wins those on pure talent.

Maybe all the events over the past couples of years with the teams he's been part of are weighing him down. I dunno. He did do well as a domestique in last year's Giro--despite having a respiratory tract infection (or whatever it was), but domestiques don't have to climb nearly as well as the leaders...

I don't think he's got that mountain-climbing ambition anymore.
 
J

jonjungel

Apr 19, 2009
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laurentiu46 said:
Btw,how about Fuji's invitation to the Giro? Juan Cobo is a good rider,capable of making the top 10. Sweden's former mountain biker Fredrik Kessiakoff also did good so far this season,he seems to be a good climber.
Anyway,RCS made a good choice by inviting Fuji instead of Ceramica Flaminia,who are still yelling that the italian national champ Simeoni is out of the Giro.
Maybe they wanted to avoid another Lance Armstrong-Filippo Simeoni ecounter on the italian roads.:rolleyes: Joking,of course.
Click to expand...

With Ceramica out and Xacebo Galicia in, they're at least not showing any obvious signs of nationalism. Perhaps they think Ezequiel Mosquera can go well in GC.

I think the Fuji team is an interesting addition. If Cobo shows up with the form he had in the tour last year (assuming he was clean), he will do very well. I predict 5. or 6. place.:)
 
M

Mellow Velo

Mar 11, 2009
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Yes.....I suppose if organisations want to take the bio passport seriously, then there's no reason to exclude Fuji from the Giro.
No Tour for them, with Ricco and Piepoli counting against them, so they can't really argue.
A big field!

On the subject of both Kloden and those bio passports, the rumour mill has him as number 1 in those likely to be named by the UCI, come May 9th.
Personally, I can't see it happening. Don't think Pat McQuaid would want to tread on Lance and Johan's toes, under any circumstances.

Maybe, that's why had such a quick retractment, after their initial statement about "big names" to fall.
 
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