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

[Kwibus]

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.

Almost epic. Racing the entire 150km and riders scattered all over the road and all of this on the 4th!!! Stage of an GT. That's the craziest part.

 

[coimbrawu]

Davide Formolo, a rider who can't win any sprint, use the only way to earn his first pro win yesterday in such epic stage! Chapeau!
And the last victory for him is just two years ago in Giro Ciclistico Pesche Nettarine di Romagna. Hope he can keep the way he rides. Always attack and try to win the race, very exciting rider!

Still wait for the 1st pro win for Davide Villella and Matej Mohoric, who comes to Cannondale in the same year.

 

[phil-i-am]

Astana destroyed a bunch yesterday. Those who weren't in a break:

1. ARU, Fabio (ASTANA) 3:48:21
2. CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF - SAXO) + s.t.
3. PORTE, Richie (SKY)
4. GENIEZ, Alexandre (FDJ) + 42"
5. CARUSO, Damiano (BMC RACING)
6. VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO SOUDAL)
7. TROFIMOV, Yury (KATUSHA)
8. URAN URAN, Rigoberto (ETIXX - QUICK STEP)
9. LANDA MEANA, Mikel (ASTANA)
10. KONIG, Leopold (SKY)
11. CUNEGO, Damiano (NIPPO - VINI FANTINI) + 1'00"
12. NIEVE ITURALDE, Mikel (SKY) + 2'02"
13. TIRALONGO, Paolo (ASTANA)
14. ROSA, Diego (ASTANA) + 2'24"
15. NIEMIEC, Przemyslaw (LAMPRE - MERIDA) + 2'34"
16. FERNANDEZ, Ruben (MOVISTAR) + 4'00"
17. IZAGUIRRE INSAUSTI, Jon (MOVISTAR)
18. ROGERS, Michael (TINKOFF - SAXO)
19. HESJEDAL, Ryder (CANNONDALE - GARMIN) + 5'03"
20. KANGERT, Tanel (ASTANA)
21. KRUIJSWIJK, Steven (LOTTO NL - JUMBO) + 8'05"
22. INTXAUSTI ELORRIAGA, Benat (MOVISTAR) + 8'59"
23. GILBERT, Philippe (BMC RACING) + 12'53"
24. CARDOSO, Andre Fernando S. Martins (CANNONDALE - GARMIN)
25. PIRAZZI, Stefano (BARDIANI CSF)

 

[gregrowlerson]

Yep, incredible time gaps; the sort you'd expect to see in the dolomites.

Not epic like La toussierre/Morzine '06 epic, but still an epic stage.

 

[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.

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.

"Engines" are are hardy and inexhaustibles, but doesn't have that giant "punch" (Froome, sometimes Porte), the super-explosiveness in the final couple of K's (Purito, Moreno), fast mountain sprint (Valverde) or the multiple kicks (Quintana, Contador, Pinot). Nibali is an Engine.

Uran is an Engine with a decent sprint. Which isn't the same as having punch, kick or explosiveness.

 

[Mongolian Torque]

First salvos today...early days but who's going to out-bluff who?...

 

[ILovecycling]

What a STAGE!!! I watched it whole on demand and it was worth it!Great stage,action for more than 100km you can not see every day.Congrats to Formolo,amazing, also Clarcke amazing effort for Rosa.
Of courrse its a pity that Chaves,Atapuma or Kreuziger didnt gain 2 or 3 minutes for rest of the race.
Still epic