Giro Di Lombardia - 16th October

[thehog]

Who, what?

ok maybe his girlfriend?

 

[Arnout]

Are you talking about George Clooney? I didn't see either him or his girlfriend

Only saw the RAI presenter. She was beautiful.

 

[thehog]

Are you talking about George Clooney? I didn't see either him or his girlfriend

Only saw the RAI presenter. She was beautiful.

Yeah George. He lives in Como. Speaks crappola Italian and hangs out on his boat.

Did you get to museum? How was the food and wine? or are you sitting in a bar now with a bunch of drunk Dutchies!?!

 

[Arnout]

Yeah George. He lives in Como. Speaks crappola Italian and hangs out on his boat.

Did you get to museum? How was the food and wine? or are you sitting in a bar now with a bunch of drunk Dutchies!?!

No, I am home again (live in Milan for the moment) as we were freezing and tired after the day.

So didn't bother with any cultural activities (apart from eating of course, which is Italy's prime cultural activity) either

 

[thehog]

No, I am home again (live in Milan for the moment) as we were freezing and tired after the day.

So didn't bother with any cultural activities (apart from eating of course, which is Italy's prime cultural activity) either

Dolce far niente!

Lucky you. You live so close to all the beautiful places. I hear bad weather all over Italy.

Food! Love food! Glorious food!

 

[thehog]

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/cycling/article539978.ece

This article from 2005 about Gilbert. Well worth a read.

 

[Je ne sais quoi]

I had to miss the race, awesome commentary guys, much appreciated. I would have loved to see those wet leaf-covered descents up close. What they need is one of those google earth photography cars among the support vehicles so we can "ride" the route semi-live.

Or better yet, web cams mounted on the top 20 or 30 ranked riders, with the feed activated on several of them. They're starting to do that in a lot of other sports (eg sailing, bobsled etc) so it's not that far-fetched!

Can you imagine a camera mounted on Denni's or Igor's or Frank's bikes on some of these descents??!! It would be riveting and terrifying! (haha just kidding guys, maximum respect )

 

[Benotti69]

ok maybe his girlfriend?

George does not do girlfriends......

i bet he was watching all the nice muscular men in tight shorts

 

[Arnout]

Dolce far niente!

Lucky you. You live so close to all the beautiful places. I hear bad weather all over Italy.

Food! Love food! Glorious food!

Don't be too jealous as I expect this kind of weather for the next three months

But yeah, Italy is nice La dolce vita, although I have to study.

 

[thehog]

George does not do girlfriends......

i bet he was watching all the nice muscular men in tight shorts

Apparently George has settled for a local Italian showgirl - Elisabetta Canalis.

She scrubs up ok.

 

[Kwibus]

Read a lot of 'dissapointed' comments. I don't really agree. Sure it was sure that Gilbert was going to win with 30k to go and ofcourse that took away a lot of the excitement, but the weather conditions and the incredible tough course can't in anyway provide a dissapointing ride.
The fact only 34 riders finished means that it was an extreme hard day so thumbs up for all the riders that managed to finish.

p.s. scarponis chaingate didn't affect the result at all. He was losing Gilberts wheel just before his gear chance went wrong. Gilbert was gonna drop him anyways.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Not sure how close the battle between Fuglsang and Nibali for 4th place was: they were awarded the time, but I don't know whether they raced or sprinted for the place.

That positioning though determined the team victory in the UCI world Rankings. They'll be published on Monday, but if my calculations on wikipedia arecorrect, then Saxo have won it by nine points: if those placings were reversed, Liquigas would have taken it by 11 (both teams having overtaken Astana today).

 

[Arnout]

Not sure how close the battle between Fuglsang and Nibali for 4th place was: they were awarded the time, but I don't know whether they raced or sprinted for the place.

That positioning though determined the team victory in the UCI world Rankings. They'll be published on Monday, but if my calculations on wikipedia arecorrect, then Saxo have won it by nine points: if those placings were reversed, Liquigas would have taken it by 11 (both teams having overtaken Astana today).

They sprinted for the place.

By the way, how come Intxausti is 9th on the CQ result page? I didn't see him finishing

Probably little mistake, I saw some Euskaltels riding back to their bus just while Barredo finished. They did well by the way, also for the UCI World Ranking, they needed to consolidate that 17th place as you'll never know how important it will be next year.

 

[Steel4Ever]

(if this topic has already been broached, please disregard)

From the cyclingnews.com report:

Gilbert admitted he heard Nibali crash and accelerated to make sure the Italian did not get back up to him.

"I didn’t see him crash but I heard it. I thought it was him because I didn’t see him and then Lastras told me.
I went hard so that he couldn't get back up to us. But that's all part of racing."

OMG!!!

HOW UNETHICAL!!! HOW IMMORAL!!!



Obviously Gilly didn't watch any 2010 Tour...or maybe he just decided there are too many sissy babies in the sport and attacked like a true hardman of yore would have. Can't control yer bike, tough luck, Nibs! Good on ya, Gilly!

 

[The Hitch]

So after a bit of discussion on this thread, are we to conclude that the reason Samu, Nibali, Nieve etc didnt catch Gilbert and Scarponi is that Gilbert and Scarponi were riding such an insanely high pace that even with slipstream, the 6 chasers didnt have a chance.

 

[Arnout]

So after a bit of discussion on this thread, are we to conclude that the reason Samu, Nibali, Nieve etc didnt catch Gilbert and Scarponi is that Gilbert and Scarponi were riding such an insanely high pace that even with slipstream, the 6 chasers didnt have a chance.

That's basically correct.

 

[The Hitch]

That's basically correct.

But then Gilbert was on his own for some period of time as well, against 6 chasers, while in Liege Bastogne Liege, he was on his own for a few minutes against just Vino and Kolobnev and he cracked.

 

[hrotha]

But then Gilbert was on his own for some period of time as well, against 6 chasers, while in Liege Bastogne Liege, he was on his own for a few minutes against just Vino and Kolobnev and he cracked.

I'd say Urán, Samu and possibly Nieve were pretty much dead. Nibali, Lastras and Fuglsang were good but they wouldn't have an overwhelming advantage in numbers, strength or determination. I'm a bit puzzled that Scarponi cooperated, knowing full well he couldn't win one-on-one.

 

[Winterfold]

Hitch if only 2 out of 6 are prepared, or able, to work then it's 2 against 2 and if the front 2 are out of sight they have the upper hand.

They were not going to be caught.

 

[The Hitch]

Hitch if only 2 out of 6 are prepared, or able, to work then it's 2 against 2 and if the front 2 are out of sight they have the upper hand.

They were not going to be caught.

I guess. Im just surprised that Gilbert didnt get more tired or didnt lose more time when he was on his own. I know its Gilbert but still.

 

[insideout leadout]

Scarponi's first priority was a podium spot. And for the win I think he's still better off alone with Gilbert than in a bigger group, he didn't have the legs to drop him on the climb but he was given the opportunity.

 

[hrotha]

I guess. Im just surprised that Gilbert didnt get more tired or didnt lose more time when he was on his own. I know its Gilbert but still.

Remember, he was racing with his heart.

 

[insideout leadout]

Isn't Gilbert getting more muscular? I thought he looked like a beast today compared to the slim figure of Scarponi.

 

[Luis Ocaña]

Isn't Gilbert getting more muscular? I thought he looked like a beast today compared to the slim figure of Scarponi.

For as long as I know Gilbert, he has always had impressive thighs..

 

[Arnout]

But then Gilbert was on his own for some period of time as well, against 6 chasers, while in Liege Bastogne Liege, he was on his own for a few minutes against just Vino and Kolobnev and he cracked.

Well, that's cycling.

You know, I know you're one of the guys that thinks all cyclists are dopers. Fine with me, we live in a free world.

But in a normal world, cycling is not maths. Cycling is not when one guy rides away, there are three others who will catch him without pain. Because they're superhuman. Because they all have internal engines. Cycling is about suffering. And I know they suffered all. I saw them, looked into their eyes. Exhausted, wasted, without anything left. I didn't saw unused engines because of some slipstream. I saw a bunch of worn-out riders, after a long season, a season with pressure from all directions. I saw them after a long and demanding race.

Most of all, I saw humans. Competing on a level you probably and I certainly will never reach. But that doesn't mean they're inexhaustible. I didn't see 6>2. I saw one rider being better than some others.

Isn't that exactly what cycling is supposed to be?