Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 5: Agrigento – Santa Ninfa 153 km

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Mientjes in the lead with 200m to go, until he discovers there is no more wheel to follow so he eases off to get the wheel of the winner, which will be Woods

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Mientjes in the lead with 200m to go, until he discovers there is no more wheel to follow so he eases off to get the wheel of the winner, which will be Woods

Highly unlikely that Meintjens will find himself in the lead at any point of this bike race...

 

[Robert5091]

This and stage 11 are my stages to watch. Short & lumpy - Astana or another team going nuts could really blow things apart. Maybe too early in the race but ...

 

[The Barb]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 5: Agrigento – Santa Ninfa 153

A good stage with many possibilities:

GC teams could make it super hard to take more time off Froome while he is struggling / recovering. This would be super cool but seems unlikely: 10%.

A breakaway that doesn’t threaten the pink jersey or the GC contenders generally is allowed to go and no one fancies their chances enough to chase. There are 106 riders more than 4 minutes down on GC. By far the most likely possibility: 60%.

It comes back together late and an attack on the incline with 2km to go is successful: 20%.

Bora drives hard, viewing this as the best chance for Sam Bennett to get a win, given how remarkably well he is going on short climbs. They may think Viviani will be dropped but Bennett can get up the last hill close enough to the leaders to be brought back in the last kilometre, in which case he would obviously win the sprint. This is not likely but not as crazy as it might sound: 10%.

Overall, I think the stage win is pretty much a lottery but I will be having a few dollars on Sam Bennett at 30-1.

 

[DanielSong39]

One glance at the route says breakaway, otherwise it goes to a puncheur.

 

[Jspear]

If I’m smart enough to know that Froome needs to be dropped again, then I think the team managers are. I could see a copy of today.

 

[Koronin]

It's possible a break wins this stage. Otherwise I can see either Wellens winning again or Woods winning this one.

 

[Samamba]

I expect Wellens to go for la maglia rosa with an attack on that steeper part with 2-1.5k to go.
I don't think he will be able to hold on to the finish though so my pick for the day is Battaglin, who should be the fastest in the end.
If Wellens waits for a sprint he does stand a chance (remember him almost beating Demare in P-N), but I wouldn't see him as the favorite.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Mientjes in the lead with 200m to go, until he discovers there is no more wheel to follow so he eases off to get the wheel of the winner, which will be Woods

Highly unlikely that Meintjens will find himself in the lead at any point of this bike race...

Even in the feed zone he prefers the back...........

 

[Escarabajo]

Ulissi for the win!

 

[Tonton]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 5: Agrigento – Santa Ninfa 153

The real or perceived weakness of Froome could be the doom for a BOD victory. There's enough in the end to put one more nail in his coffin...death by a thousand of cuts. Minimal gaps as I read, but these add up, Dumoulin was immune today, will be tomorrow...so far he's having a dream of a Giro.

I feel better in this one for Pinot to get something. Today was a bit too much of a finish and his placement was bad entering the final kilometer. Dennis will keep pink. Stybar could be dangerous.

 

[Velolover2]

I've always through that Battaglin was similar to Colbrelli and Trentin but he can survive much harder finishes and is probably much closer to Alaphilippe, Ulissi, Vuillermoz..

Or am I wrong? Maybe he is the bridge between those two types of riders.

 

[Velolover2]

I think Dennis and Pinot have a better chance than Yates/Woods this time.

In a uphill sprint, Yates/Woods are much better than Pinot/Dennis.

But in a flat sprint, the later (and larger) ones have the upper hand.

 

[SHAD0W93]

I hope Kreuziger attacks and is ble to stay away because he has Yates and Chavez behind him. It will be pretty bad for Froome if he loses more time again.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Anyone know why Pedersen and Eg lost 16 minutes?

Unless they were in a crash, I see that as a sign Trek is already now gearing up, for breakaways and stage wins..... rather than thinking Brambi can hack it in the GC.

 

[Kazistuta]

Re:

Anyone know why Pedersen and Eg lost 16 minutes?

Unless they were in a crash, I see that as a sign Trek is already now gearing up, for breakaways and stage wins..... rather than thinking Brambi can hack it in the GC.

According to Cyclingnews' ticker Mads P spent a lot of energy trying to keep Brambilla close to the peloton after his mechanical.

And for the record both agendas (Brambillas GC and Treks stage ambitions) are pleased with them losing time yesterday. Most likely Eg is preserving energy to be able to help Brambilla a bit on Etna.

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.giroditalia.it/eng/stage/stage-5-2018/

In the second part of the route, the roadway is narrowed and very worn out at points.

Mechanicals/punctures ... GC guys keep a teammate close!

 

[Blanco]

Re:

It's possible a break wins this stage. Otherwise I can see either Wellens winning again or Woods winning this one.

It's false flat in the last km, I can't see Woods winning that. Either late attacker (Luisle, Wellens) or fast finisher (Battaglin, Ulissi) will take this.

 

[SafeBet]

Hopefully UAE smells Froome's blood and attacks in the last 30 km.
Otherwise I feel this could go to the break.

 

[EroicaStradeBianche]

Re:

Hopefully UAE smells Froome's blood and attacks in the last 30 km.
Otherwise I feel this could go to the break.

Yes or Astana. A stage between 2 demanding days, classification is already long, bmc to keep the jersey and the break arrive with 1 minute = everyone's happy

 

[42x16ss]

Re:

Hopefully UAE smells Froome's blood and attacks in the last 30 km.
Otherwise I feel this could go to the break.

Mitchelton also look hungry early, Haig hadn’t turned a pedal in anger until yesterday and Yates and Chaves look ready to rumble.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

I've always through that Battaglin was similar to Colbrelli and Trentin but he can survive much harder finishes and is probably much closer to Alaphilippe, Ulissi, Vuillermoz..

Or am I wrong? Maybe he is the bridge between those two types of riders.

Battaglin can't handle the hard classics like LBL though. Or even FW. So he's more in between. A bit more hilly rider than Trentin and Colbrelli (but slower) and a less good on repetitive hills as Alaphilippe, Ulissi and Vuillermoz, but fast if it's only a few hills (like GT stages).

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re:

I expect Wellens to go for la maglia rosa with an attack on that steeper part with 2-1.5k to go.
I don't think he will be able to hold on to the finish though so my pick for the day is Battaglin, who should be the fastest in the end.
If Wellens waits for a sprint he does stand a chance (remember him almost beating Demare in P-N), but I wouldn't see him as the favorite.

Today's finish probably isn't as difficult as the one in Paris-Nice (it's almost flat). Even though Wellens is fast in an uphill sprint, I really don't see him holding a candle against Battaglin, Ulissi or any of the sprinters (if they survive) in a sprint that's not uphill. The only way Wellens can win is if he's let go on the steep part.

Konrad ftw

 

[Der Effe]

Wellens positioned himself better yesterday but Battaglin looked like the strongest of them all. I hope the latter wins, it's been a while for him.

 

[Nirvana]

Stybar will attack on the last bump before the last km and they'll see him on the podium like at the 2015 Tour and 2016 Tirreno stages which he won.