Giro d'Italia 2017 STAGE 21: Monza – Milano 29.3 km ITT

[Armchair cyclist]

Good to give podium time to winner's team

 

[Põhja Konn]

Closer than expected but a very well deserved victory for Dumoulin in the end. Also congratulations to all Dutch fans on this board, the wait is finally over.

 

[TommyGun]

Re:

Good to give podium time to winner's team

Yes, very unusual. I guess it was not prepared (Prudhomme would not have any of this on the Champs ).

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Good to give podium time to winner's team

Yes, very unusual. I guess it was not prepared (Prudhomme would not have any of this on the Champs ).

It happened in earlier years as well

 

[Forever The Best]

Re:

Congrats TD!
I wanted Nibali to win but at least he won a stage and was competitive through the whole race.
Glad that Quintana lost after spending many opportunities. Pinot once again disappointing in a TT. Also Zaka did worse than I expected.
Very happy about Jungels getting the white jersey.

Was also very surprised by Dumoulin getting beaten in the stage!

 

[TommyGun]

Re: Re:

Good to give podium time to winner's team

Yes, very unusual. I guess it was not prepared (Prudhomme would not have any of this on the Champs ).

It happened in earlier years as well

ah oh, my bad then.

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

That smile on Quintana's face doesn't look like someone who's crushed he didn't win.

He is used to being 2nd in GTs I guess.

Probably at the start of the day he'd have been concerned about the podium. They were saying on the TV that the Movistar guys were looking pretty glum this morning as they checked the course, Nairo was feeling tired and the course was so un-suited to him. While he should by rights be absolutely gutted to have lost the maglia rosa on the final day, I honestly thought when he set off there was a possibility he'd be 5th by the time he rolled across the line. There was an outside chance, based on the form he'd shown this last week, that the Kamaz truck that is Zakarin would pull out a podium TT, but it seems he's exhausted from his efforts and that helped, plus Tibopino wasn't at his best. If those guys had pulled out their best TT form, just a slipped shift or overcooked corner (which we nearly got) could have deposited Nairo outside the podium, which would have been disastrous.

I think that he often gets stick he doesn't deserve for a negative mindset (although in the past he has relied too much on "one big gamble on one big stage" as a tactic and his pokerface means he doesn't come across as laying it all on the line, even if he's not attacking because he simply doesn't have the legs to) and he has been as aggressive as his legs have allowed for much of (albeit not all of) the race, but at the same time I think today it looked like they went in with the mindset that they expected to drop if others were at their best and were therefore pleased to protect 2nd.

Still, all of the top 4 won key stages, all of them in the mountains and the overall winner won a TT too for good measure. That's pretty good going in today's "save energy until the last, and let the break take it" péloton.

I agree. I didn't expect him to be faster than Pinot and Zakarin today but he managed to beat them so he can clearly be happy with himself. I think that he already knew that the first place was gone so it didn't come as a surprise to him either. He was never going to beat Dumoulin today eventhough I hoped that he manages to hold on to maglia rosa.

Also I mention, just in case, that my comment about him being used to 2nd places was a joke, not a complaint.

 

[Alexandre B.]

My main satisfaction: the winner is not from Astana, Sky or Movistar. For once.

 

[TomLPC]

Good to see the best climber in the race in the mountains Jersey, hope landani goes to the vuelta

 

[Orbit501]

Wow! What an ungracious interview from Unzue. Couldn't bring himself to congratulate Tom D at all. Movistar really do know how to win friends and influence people I see.

 

[jaylew]

So, just the one Italian stage win? Has that happened before?

 

[Irondan]

Another GT is finished, now I get to deal with that lost feeling I get for the next few mornings after they end.

Waking up to watching pro cycling races is one of my favorite things to do, it's always a bummer when there's not a race on in the morning.

 

[movingtarget]

Quintana and Nibali may have been beaten today, but at least they did better than when the Schleck's rode the TT in Grenoble and were humbled by Evans.

Schleck was so interested he didn't even ride the course beforehand.................

 

[Climbing]

Re:

So, just the one Italian stage win? Has that happened before?

Nope, 4 Italian wins was the lowest... until now.

 

[TomLPC]

Re:

Another GT is finished, now I get to deal with that lost feeling I get for the next few mornings after they end.

Waking up to watching pro cycling races is one of my favorite things to do, it's always a bummer when there's not a race on in the morning.

Froome vs old man berto on alpe dhuez next week

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Nairo actually beat both Zakarin and Pinot in the TT. He can't be disappointed at all in that ride.

But says a lot about the other two.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Congrats TD!
I wanted Nibali to win but at least he won a stage and was competitive through the whole race.
Glad that Quintana lost after spending many opportunities. Pinot once again disappointing in a TT. Also Zaka did worse than I expected.
Very happy about Jungels getting the white jersey.

Was also very surprised by Dumoulin getting beaten in the stage!

Not really not after the past few stages.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

My main satisfaction: the winner is not from Astana, Sky or Movistar. For once.

Sky will probably need an eclipse to win the Giro...........or the planets in alignment.

 

[rick james]

As just pointed out on Eurosport if he never needed to take a dump them big Tam would have embarrassed Nibal and Quintana at this Giro

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Another GT is finished, now I get to deal with that lost feeling I get for the next few mornings after they end.

Waking up to watching pro cycling races is one of my favorite things to do, it's always a bummer when there's not a race on in the morning.

Froome vs old man berto on alpe dhuez next week

Can't wait!

 

[aarononymous]

Landa looks happy to go to the Tour!

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Re:

Wow! What an ungracious interview from Unzue. Couldn't bring himself to congratulate Tom D at all. Movistar really do know how to win friends and influence people I see.

Separate the one interview from blaming the team for general practice. Abarcá have survived 38 seasons in the pro péloton, more than any other extant team. You simply can't do that if you irritate and anger the whole péloton, much as some fair play protocols which seem to be flexible depending on which team's riders are involved, both on the part of the fans and the péloton itself, and the PR campaigns of a few recent moneyed teams who like to paint themselves as the good guys (and by necessity teams like Movistar as the bad guys) might create debate. After all, I seem to remember some people complaining about collusion by third parties with Unzué's guys in many races - so while Sunweb may be a bit peeved with them for a while here, obviously sometimes they very much do know how to win friends and influence people.

 

[Aapjes]

Re:

He was minutes slower than Quintana and Nibali in getting on the podium.

What was the time gap? Will it count for GC?

 

[hfer07]

Re:

Landa looks happy to go to the Tour!

No he ain't, but what can he do about it?

I pray he goes to Bahrain

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Landa looks happy to go to the Tour!

No he ain't, but what can he do about it?

I pray he goes to Bahrain

To work for Nibali?