Giro d'Italia 2013 - Final Thoughts

[nesocip]

Well, it wasnt a very good edition of the Giro, to be honest. Great first half, and then 2nd half completely ****ed up by Mother Nature and Nibali's complete dominance. Although I'm a big fan of Zomegnan, and I was pretty ****ed off when he got shafted, you got to feel for Acquarone. He put together a decent route, and then saw it all go down in an avalanche. I hope this will make a further case against backloading GTS.

A couple of points from this Giro that i think had most impact on next few years in cycling:

1. Nibali's dominant display. After his display here in the Giro where he utterly destroyed everyone you got to look forward to see how he does against Alberto and Froome in the future. As things stand now, we could be in for a fantastic Tour in '14. Well, usually something goes wrong, and probably 1 out of 3 (or 4 if Schleck finds his legs ever again) will be injured/suspended/not that good any more. However, unless something dramatic happens in the Tour, Nibali should be considered a top favorite for the Tour.

2. The Colombians are back! Well, they have been back for a couple of years now, but 2nd in the Giro by Uran, and fantastic display by Betancur really puts them back on top of the cycling world. I have always been a huge fan of Colombian cyclists (although Ryo's disgusting fanboyism spoiled it a bit for me), and it is so nice to see so many Colombians in top 10s of mountain stages at GTs. Also, we finally had a true Colombian team in a GT. Although they obviously came badly prepared (someone should suffer the consequences for that, Corti probably) they showed they deserved the invitation solely on their stage 20 performance.

3. Wiggins' mental weakness. To me, it seemed his head was in the Tour since the start. Somehow it felt he didnt even want to be at the Giro. However, he hurt his future career by showing his mental weakness, more then showing his descending weakness, in my opinion. I doubt he will win another GT in his career.

4. Cadel's strong showing. People say "Scarponi is too old, Sanchez is too old" but Cuddles is older than both. He won the Tour at the age Scarponi was in this Giro, for example. Although i was never a fan of Evans, im happy to see hes showing signs that he still might have a say in some GTs. By far his strongest showing since his Tour win, especially given the support BMC provided to him. Lotto all over again.

5. Cavendish and OPQS. Too fat at the start, as he usually is, Cav showed he made a right choice joining Lefevre. His team can be as good as HTC train. Although his top rivals, Sagan and Greipel, werent there he still showed heart and dominance. We might have a very good battle for Green at the Tour.

6. Euskaltel. I know this has no real impact on cycling, but i got to reflect on my favorite team. Not good, all in all. After 2 surprisingly strong years in the Giro, this year was almost a complete failure. Samu's weaknesses (rest day legs, short stages and flat ITTs) are getting more pronounced with his age. I hope he gets his **** together and goes in a heroic bid for Vuelta win later in the season. Chances are slim, depending on the field, but still better then they have been in this Giro. Urtasun, one of only 3 guys in this team that had any chance of winning a GT stage crashed out on stage one, and Egoi Martinez, who looked very strong, was on a short leash. I wont even comment on "international" signings. They were there to fill the roster anyways. They should splash the cash on Benat next year. Too bad he doesnt want to ride there.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I think Nibali has ridden very well, but I'd want to see him against better competition before thinking he's really moved on to the absolute top level - I've seen worse riders win in more dominant fashion against better competition (such as last year's tour...)

Also, I'd say the last few days suggest Cadel is very lucky that a weak field and a neutered parcours have given him a final GT podium in his career.

 

[Roderick]

For me it was a little disappointing the RAI focussed so much on Nibali and his contenders and not so much on the amazing battle for another Giro top-20 by Cisse De Greef.
I know Nibali is Italian and the pink jersey is quite important, but that battle for top-20 was a real nailbiter, such an epic battle

 

[Buffalo Soldier]

I expect Cav to have a really good train in the Tour, but still not sure about the last guy. From the moment it starts to get hectic, you can't count on Steegmans anymore.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I actually think it was a pretty decent race. It wasn't magnificient or epic, but it was very entertaining. Of course it's a shame that some of the stages most eagerly anticipated were ruined but I doubt they would surpass some of the stages from week one in entertainment value anyway.

 

[janraaskalt]

For me it was a little disappointing the RAI focussed so much on Nibali and his contenders and not so much on the amazing battle for another Giro top-20 by Cisse De Greef.
I know Nibali is Italian and the pink jersey is quite important, but that battle for top-20 was a real nailbiter, such an epic battle

This is a joke, right?

 

[The Principal Sheep]

For me it was a little disappointing the RAI focussed so much on Nibali and his contenders and not so much on the amazing battle for another Giro top-20 by Cisse De Greef.
I know Nibali is Italian and the pink jersey is quite important, but that battle for top-20 was a real nailbiter, such an epic battle

This.

I was shouting at the tv for better information to be given on the final climb, Nibali had the title wrapped up, Uran had taken Cadel and Betancur had delivered the hurt on Majka but what about Francis vs Francis!

Epic stuff, hat's off to Mourey but can't help but feel badly for De Greef who put in one the most complete performances of the Giro to try and reach that top-20.

Edit: I'm acting like this is all over, De Greef is nearly a minute behind but I would be doing him a disservice to count him out yet.

 

[movingtarget]

I think Nibali has ridden very well, but I'd want to see him against better competition before thinking he's really moved on to the absolute top level - I've seen worse riders win in more dominant fashion against better competition (such as last year's tour...)

Also, I'd say the last few days suggest Cadel is very lucky that a weak field and a neutered parcours have given him a final GT podium in his career.

I don't agree. Nibali has definitely improved. He showed signs in last year's Tour where he was the only one to show any fight against Sky and he has stepped it up this year. Next year's Tour will prove it. He will push Sky much harder next time. I think the top 6 riders in the Giro all did well for different reasons considering their age and experience. As for Evans it seems many on here think he is always lucky when he gets a result and he is a just a loser when he doesn't. Quite strange for a guy who has 37 pro race wins as well as 5 grand tour podiums, one world road title and has podiumed all three GTs. Completed all of the 13 grand tours he has entered etc. Even if it is his last podium, his record and versatility speaks for itself.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It will be interesting to discover how posterity treats the 2013 Giro. Will the stage cancellations and the amendments needed to hotly-anticipated stages lead to people forgetting about the good racing we did get? Or will the pictures of the riders coming through the snow on Galibier and Tre Cime become iconic, and lead people to forget about the abortions that had to be performed on the route just to get a race going in the first place?

The first half of this Giro was excellent, far better than I could have anticipated. The Paolini stage looked made for a puncheur, a breakaway or a more durable sprinter like a Ventoso or a Degenkolb, but attacks coming in from the likes of Hesjedal truly raised alarm bells. Seems strange to think now, but at the time we viewed that as a sign he was absolutely on it, when in retrospect it was perhaps the last desperate attempts to make gains before his form fell away so he'd have something to defend. The weather played a big part even in the more exciting parts of the race, with the rainy descents. Wiggins, despite the massive hype campaign, looked from early on like his heart wasn't truly in it; once he'd lost his nerve on the descents the writing was on the wall. This left Nibali in a fairly secure spot (sure, his response in the last couple of stages to criticisms about his not having 'done enough' to win the Giro would have been decisive anyway), especially bearing in mind that the guy who finished 2nd sacrificed a minute on an intermediate stage to help Wiggins down a descent, the aging Scarponi could only just beat his own domestique (though it's nice to see Niemiec off the leash and performing in bad weather in Italian mountains just like he did at Miche) and the defending champion pulled out.

Euskaltel will be gutted, but then Samu is a guy who slowly builds into form, he doesn't have the base level of an Evans or a Valverde. Evans did well, although never looked like winning; he probably benefited greatly from the stage 19 cancellation as it was clear from Polsa and to a lesser extent on Tre Cime that his form was running out at the end of the race. A bit like Santambrogio, the guy who was meant to be his right hand man in 2010 before being pulled out for Clinic stuff of course.

The most interesting battle has been the young rider's classification; both Betancur and Majka have been prominent at the business end of the race, and with Betancur being so active, Majka has had to make moves in order to keep the fight alive and it's been very entertaining. Second prize goes to the points classification, which Mark Cavendish should win today, barring a crash, and as nobody should want that, it is very hard to see him not taking it back on the final day to take the win. Congrats to him for sticking it out over some tough stuff. Again, the stage 19 cancellation helps him, as the likes of Nibali, Evans and Betancur would likely have scored decent points there (as well as the time limit potentially becoming an issue for him of course), but that's not to denigrate his achievement, because a race like stage 13 showed that Cavendish is far from the one trick pony he's sometimes accused of being. Even if stages 1 & 21 were the most obvious garbage stages with free points available. I think it was good to see him taking the intermediates, showing he was serious about this, but less keen on him shouting at Andriato for competing with him, when Andriato leads the TV Sprints competition so was after points for that - it may not pay a jersey but has a financial incentive and so he's within his rights to go for those points. The mountains jersey battle was ok in the first week with Visconti accumulating points, but once Pirazzi got control it was clear that he wasn't going to lose it. Stefano, I love you but please, for christ's sake, grow a brain. The amount of attacks he was putting in on groups in order to get the mountains points was pretty funny, but when he was attacking groups he hadn't been working in he was clearly riling some other riders (Weening...), but more so where he was riding with people who clearly had no interest in the mountains points (people with no relevance to the GPM in the middle of week 3) and attacking them way before the summit rather than, you know, riding with them then popping out to collect the points shortly before the summit, like Visconti had been doing in week 1. The GC battle, well we've touched on that.

The winners of the race would have to be Nibali, obviously, and his domestique corps; Movistar, who won 4 stages mostly through tactical awareness and, with Intxausti's win, a great emotional triumph, and Visconti in particular who won a typical Visconti victory on one day, and a very atypical one on Galibier as well; Rigoberto Urán, who proved his chops as a leader, finishing on the podium despite having earlier been sacrificed to Wiggins' cause; and Katyusha, whose anonymous second half of the race doesn't take away from a very impressive first half of the race with Paolini and Belkov; and Ramunas Navardauskas, who came of age not just with a stage win but with a number of impressive placements too. Those who lost out would be, naturally, Wiggins and Hesjedal, 2012 GT winners who went out rather with a whimper instead of a bang; Domenico Pozzovivo, whose favourite playgrounds were nullified by the weather and who seemed pretty much anonymous and usurped by his younger Colombian teammate; Euskaltel, who were unable to greatly impact the race either through breakaways or through the old warhorse Samuel Sánchez, who is unfortunately past his best but still the team's main source of hope for impact on a race; Danilo di Luca, because he's Danilo di Luca; and Michele Acquarone, who to all intents and purposes put out a pretty good Giro route. Not a flawless one or anything, but a pretty good one; and has been forced to scramble repeatedly to get any action whatsoever, and receives criticism from both fans and riders whichever option he takes. I anticipate a lower-altitude 2014 Giro that barely goes above 2000m, with maybe a Cima Coppi somewhere like Giau.

 

[The Hitch]

This thread could do with the triannual "on a scale of 1-10, how did you rate the (insert gt name) (insert year)) poll.

 

[IndianCyclist]

The route was pretty good. The weather made it epic. It started as a good race between 2 teams and 2 riders. Upto the ITT it was good then it all fell apart as the contenders dropped away. The race has to be between at least 2 contenders upto the last stage to be interesting. Just look at last year's Vuelta, the best ever with a good 3 way battle. But still a good Giro w.r.t the general classification and the stage winners.
Winners- All stage winners and general classification upto 10th
Losers- IMHO biggest one is Wiggins.

 

[The Hitch]

This giro can only be disapointing really because the 3 big stages didn't happen.

There were quite a lot of good climbers quite a way down in the gc - Samu, Pellizoti, Pozzo, Duarte, Atapuma, Henao, maybe some of the Vini lot, who would have been able to try stage wins and kom points maybe from far out. As it is, a lot of those guys arent gonna get another chance this season.

 

[greenedge]

I thought it was a good giro, but not great. Nibali was a deserving winner.
It was a pity Wiggins and Hesjedal went bad, but oh well.
Nice to see Uran on the attack/ fill on his desire to top 3 a podium this year at a GT.

Great rides by some climbing domestiques on Astana.
Nice riding by Cav and Movistar who animated the stage hunting.
Congrats to Pirazzi too.

 

[cineteq]

My unbiased comments

- Nibali has the heart of a champion. He's shown how much, mentally and physically, he has improved. Chapeau!
- Evans'podium place is really amazing. He did it more with knowledge/smarts than physically. Big respect!
- Movistar team is one of the best when it come to tactics: 4 wins
- Betancur was a nice surprise. He's GT ready!
- Wiggins is nothing without a train and flat ITT stages
- Uran is good, but I don't think he'll ever win a GT. Henao will
- Gesink's performance was too disappointing
- Loved the balanced parcours, despite the cancellation of stages. Can't blame weather, it's life.

Edit: it's an 8 for me.

 

[Parrulo]

Poll added.

I gave it a 7. The first week was fantastic, the best first week in a GT in a long time, but the cancellation of the most anticipated stages, even tho there is no one to blame as we can't control the weather, left me very disappointed.

The best rider won, which is good, and we still saw some quality racing, but not getting this last 2 epic mountain stages was a huge blow for me

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

A 2 for the effort.

Unfortunately the race has been beheaded because of the weather.

 

[Afrank]

It was a good Giro I think. First week was great, the classic-like parcours provided us with some great racing. Then the level of excitement declined as we got further into it. Obviously the absence of mountains stages due to weather negatively effected the race quite a bit. The weather is the biggest downside to the Giro as it effectively ruined the final week. Would have also been nice to see a little more competition in the overall battle (although I am very happy that Nibali won it). The battle for white was also very good, and a highlight of the Giro due to the way in which it came down to the final stage. I also enjoyed the TT's, and the way Nibali showed how much he had improved at them. Especially the dominant display by him in the mountain TT.

So overall in terms of excitment, not a great Giro, but still a good one. Plenty of attacking and trying to break away in multiple stages throughout. GC battle and mountains a disappointment, but good to see Nibali come out to play and attack in the mountains we did have. I give it a 6.

 

[airstream]

A very depressing edition. The most depressive one. If the things so like they do with the Giro, soon I'll like only the Tour. Though, probably, that's already the case.

 

[Miburo]

i gave it a 3, maybe i should have given it a 4.

Oh well rather boring giro.

 

[whittashau]

Out of curiosity, how would the reduced amount of mountains in this Giro compare now to the Tour? I get the feeling it'd actually still be quite similar.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Gave it a 6.

Upside: many stages offered lots of race action and drama. White jersey battle. Strong GC winner. The (T)TTs.

Basement stuff: Hesjedal and Wiggins leaving early left GC battle muddy. Soft sprinter field. Lack of risk taking by some GC contenders. Astana as a team too strong. The cancellation of mountain stages.

 

[LaFlorecita]

4/10. The first week was nice but the rest was boring.

 

[whittashau]

A very depressing edition. The most depressive one. If the things so like they do with the Giro, soon I'll like only the Tour. Though, probably, that's already the case.

What? How could any cycling fan only like the Tour? That's like a star wars fan only liking The Empire Strikes Back

 

[airstream]

What? How could any cycling fan only like the Tour? That's like a star wars fan only liking The Empire Strikes Back

it's normal to follow all the races and like only le tour i guess

 

[Hugo87]

Gave it a 6.

Upside: many stages offered lots of race action and drama. White jersey battle. Strong GC winner. The (T)TTs.

Basement stuff: Hesjedal and Wiggins leaving early left GC battle muddy. Soft sprinter field. Lack of risk taking by some GC contenders. Astana as a team too strong. The cancellation of mountain stages.

Exactly my opinion and rating.