Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 4: Chiavari – La Spezia 150 kms

[JRanton]

Re:

18 VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen 1'04"
21 URAN URAN Rigoberto 1'04"
23 KONIG Leopold 1'04"
24 CUNEGO Damiano 1'22"
29 NIEMIEC Przemyslaw 2'56"
32 IZAGUIRRE Jon 4'22"
37 HESJEDAL Ryder 5'25"
42 KRUIJSWIJK Steven 8'27"
43 PELLIZOTTI Franco 8'27"
47 INTXAUSTI Benat 9'21"
51 ANTON Igor 13'15"
55 BETANCUR GOMEZ Carlos A. 13'15"
73 ZAKARIN Ilnur 17'23"

Movistar GC guys had a shocker today. Jesus Herrada also finished in the bus.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I'll have the same stomach virus as Aru please

 

[Jaunty Monty]

Re:

Just watched it now after work - what did I miss? Only watched the last 15km, so saw Uran dropped, Aru attacking, and Formolo winning the stage. Kelly was constantly screaming that it's one of the best days of cycling he's watched so what else happened? Did Contador/Porte/Aru get dropped at any stage? Any controversy?

Kelly isn't commentating as he's recovering from surgery (knee?). They said he would be back next week.
Matt Stephens was the co-commentator on Eurosport alongside Rob Hatch (thankfully no Kirby).

 

[barmaher]

Yeah Stephens laid it on a bit thick about how good the racing was. Let's hope for some more tomorrow.

 

[HelloDolly]

This was a good stage live because of the size & composition of the break and because we did not know what would happen..it was exciting...There are such a load of moaning minneys on here ...with 'this is not good, that is not good, they are rubbish, etc' ...and they know everything about everything

As for Contador I thought he did not look as smooth as Porte or Aru on final climb but I thought that was the plan ...peak in week 3 ????

 

[HelloDolly]

Re:

I'll have the same stomach virus as Aru please

Me too !!! Lose loads of weight but still be fit

 

[Red Rick]

I think Aru is more dangerous in the medium mountains and one climb stages anyway. He's quite explosive, but he kinda tends to break down in the huge mountain stages so far in his career.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

Aru vs. Contador to me. And Aru is going to get it. He's in super shape.

I've watched the last climb back and the images towards the top when Cataldo was pulling are quite revealing. Aru looked great but Contador was rocking and rolling and pulling faces. Interesting.

He's always pulling faces. I wouldn't read too much into it.

Is he now? There was a certain serenity to his riding in 2014 that seems conspicuously absent this year

Like you said though. No reason to worry. Probably.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Is he now? There was a certain serenity to his riding in 2014 that seems conspicuously absent this year

Like you said though. No reason to worry. Probably.

He can pull faces and attack and drop everyone minutes later. It does not mean anything. That he wasn't grimacing in that picture you posted just means he was cruising.

 

[Flamin]

Amazing stage. Big break away, non stop attacks, Astana destroying the peloton, grande Aru attacking with only Contador and Porte able to follow, a great winner with Formolo and to top things off, Clarke trying to convince everyone with a straight face that he was celebrating pink. Brilliant.

I absolutely love hilly stages in the Giro.

 

[Bushman]

Re:

I think Aru is more dangerous in the medium mountains and one climb stages anyway. He's quite explosive, but he kinda tends to break down in the huge mountain stages so far in his career.

Aru is a pure climber with a good engine, not an explosive climber like Rodriguez. I can't see why single mountain stages would favor him over Contador and Porte. If there is one rider who it will favor it's definately Porte.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I think Aru is more dangerous in the medium mountains and one climb stages anyway. He's quite explosive, but he kinda tends to break down in the huge mountain stages so far in his career.

Aru is a pure climber with a good engine, not an explosive climber like Rodriguez. I can't see why single mountain stages would favor him over Contador and Porte. If there is one rider who it will favor it's definately Porte.

Take a look at his best results and take a look where he struggled in the GT's last year. His best efforts in the Giro were Montecampione (one climb) and Monte Grappa (one climb). In the Vuelta he won a 2 stages, neither were particularly mountainious stages or hard finishes.

He does pack some punch however, if you look at his attacks in those stages, I think his explosiveness is just super underrated because he's barely competed in classics. He initiated the selection in Lombardia on a short punchy climb when where Contador got popped.

Climbing is his biggest asset, that doesn't however mean that he's favoured as the stages get more mountanious and brutal. Not yet, anyway

 

[Red Rick]

Don't know where to post this, but Lotto-Jumbo have exceeded their usual levels of retardation today. After Kruijswijk, who hasn't done anything of note since the 2011 Giro, lost 8 minutes today, they still want him to go for GC.

Imma apply for DS at team Lotto Jumbo,

 

[Tank Engine]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 4: Chiavari – La Spezia 150 km

Why did I watch the first three stages but when the race suddenly explodes I don't have the time to watch.

Tuesday is my busiest day of the week From the report, team tactics seemed really strange. Did Sky really pull Koenig pack? Will the Saxo guys calm down?

However, afte the Kreuziger group gained a large group, nearly all the top GC contenders finished together in the first group just behind Formolo. Obviously, the biggest loser of the biggest podium contenders is Uran. Game on

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

I think Aru is more dangerous in the medium mountains and one climb stages anyway. He's quite explosive, but he kinda tends to break down in the huge mountain stages so far in his career.

Aru is a pure climber with a good engine, not an explosive climber like Rodriguez. I can't see why single mountain stages would favor him over Contador and Porte. If there is one rider who it will favor it's definately Porte.

On a scale from super-explosive climbers like Valverde and Rodriguez to heavy engine climbers (like Uran, Nibali, Peraud), Aru is closer to the Spaniards. Obviously not as much specialized as those two since they are extreme examples. But he has a better "punch" than most climbers.

 

[infeXio]

Re: Re:

I think Aru is more dangerous in the medium mountains and one climb stages anyway. He's quite explosive, but he kinda tends to break down in the huge mountain stages so far in his career.

Aru is a pure climber with a good engine, not an explosive climber like Rodriguez. I can't see why single mountain stages would favor him over Contador and Porte. If there is one rider who it will favor it's definately Porte.

On a scale from super-explosive climbers like Valverde and Rodriguez to heavy engine climbers (like Uran, Nibali, Peraud), Aru is closer to the Spaniards. Obviously not as much specialized as those two since they are extreme examples. But he has a better "punch" than most climbers.

I wouldn't exactly call Nibaly "heavy engine" in the sense that he hardly has a punch. In regards to Aru, though; he does seem quite explosive, indeed.

 

[No_Balls]

Re: Re:

Aru vs. Contador to me. And Aru is going to get it. He's in super shape.

I've watched the last climb back and the images towards the top when Cataldo was pulling are quite revealing. Aru looked great but Contador was rocking and rolling and pulling faces. Interesting.

He's always pulling faces. I wouldn't read too much into it.

In all seriousness Aru looked a lot, a lot smoother than Contador today! Basically because normally, based on last years Giro & Vuelta, little angel doesn't look smooth while climbing at all: snarling, crampy rocking his shoulders in and out of the saddle, really exhausting himself and savor the pain!

Today he looked incredibly easy. Very soft upper body, smoothly dancing on the pedals. In fact he somehow looked like Rasmussen 07.

It's pure interpretation and speculation of course. We will get some more indication tomorrow. I expect him to win the stage and grab rosa by a few seconds. If he's really in that great shape, it will be a carnage after the itt! Probably really 2007 all over again!

Aru definitively looked like Rasmussen why it cant been a serious illness after Teide. Is he in a simular form as the dane perhaps?

 

[trevim]

So happy that killer-baby-face-Formolo aka Sevilla-reborn has won today! He seems a cool kid with the head in place; hopefully Villella learns a thing or two from today

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Really classy win by Formolo. Did a lot of work in the break and attacked more than once. If he'd done the obvious and waited for the climb he probably wouldn't have gained enough time to hold on and Clarke would have won which would have been enough for me to lose my lunch

 

[SafeBet]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 4: Chiavari – La Spezia 150 km

However, afte the Kreuziger group gained a large group, nearly all the top GC contenders finished together in the first group just behind Formolo.

I see no GC contender in that group apart from Contador, Aru and Porte.
That's quite a selection to me.

Beautiful win for Formolo. I knew it was coming, it was just a matter of time.

I have no idea what Tinkoff Saxo is doing, but this could be another case of Contador winning a GT in spite of his team and not thanks to it.

Don't know if you wanna call it epic or just good. It was a stage worth watching from the beginning to the end. Which is quite something in modern cycling. It occurs maybe once in a month, and I'm being generous. Amazing race design (and amazing stage analysis by Eshnar) and superb effort by the riders. This is why I watch cycling.

 

[Beacon Hill]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2015: Stage 4: Chiavari – La Spezia 150 km

Hopefully a green day ... Formolo, Battaglin or Pirazzi

Well that was fun

Put my money where my mouth was and got 66/1 on Formolo.

 

[GuyIncognito]

Favorite moment of the day: After celebrating, realizing he didn't win, putting his hands to his head and looking disgusted with himself....Simon Clarke attempts to convince the world that he totally knew he hadn't won.

Worst. Liar. Ever.

 

[movingtarget]

A great stage. Anyone who thinks that was not a great stage should go and watch another sport. Formolo showed what he is capable of and a really gutsy ride by Clarke to retain the Pink for GE. Once again it shows that short stages raced hard can be better than much longer stages. Chaves will try and keep the pink for GE but will have his work cut out but he has looked good so far and is a very good climber.

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

A great stage. Anyone who thinks that was not a great stage should go and watch another sport. Formolo showed what he is capable of and a really gutsy ride by Clarke to retain the Pink for GE. Once again it shows that short stages raced hard can be better than much longer stages. Chaves will try and keep the pink for GE but will have his work cut out but he has looked good so far and is a very good climber.

Good stage indeed, but it would have been even more epic if the Kreuziger group had lasted to the finish and Kreuziger had gained +3minutes. In the end the most surprising result of the day came from Uran losing 40 seconds and that's not a great surprise actually. At a point in the race it looked like the whole GC race could totally turn around due to Kreuzigers presence in the front group - that didn't happen. Still a memorable stage

 

[offbyone]

So is Orica evil or genius for never riding at the front of the race?