Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 9: Pesco Sannita–Gran Sasso 225 km

[Velolover2]

Hoping for Pozzovivo. The stage suits him.

Like Quintana, he has this "shuttlecock" style with multiple kicks. While being more explosive than Quintana, Pozzo is not powerful enough to hold it for a long period of time compared to his Colombian rival.

 

[Salvarani]

I think most of them waiting on next weekend to make a big effort and to give it a real go if they have the legs. They all pretty much within 2 minutes right now and thats nothing going into the Zoncolan stage. Because people getting dropped on that climb and will loose minutes. GC will look a lot more separated after that stage.

Unless someone makes the stage today super-hard... Im expecting something like the stage to Etna. Someone might be able to gain a few seconds, but it will probably be a smaller group and everybody pretty much there and still in contention.

 

[Robert5091]

If someone/a team goes for it on the first climb (the middle section is tough), it could really blow things apart. Whatever happens Froome will suffer. Especially as the forecast is for wet cold conditions.

 

[glassmoon]

I expect nothing.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Re: Re:

But Otto Skorzeny still holds the records on the Campo Imperatore ascent.

Post of the day .

using gliders not bikes though:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gran_Sasso_raid
Mussolini was being imprisoned at Campo Imperatore Hotel, a ski resort at Campo Imperatore in Italy's Gran Sasso massif, high in the Apennine Mountains. On 12 September 1943, Skorzeny's 26 SS troopers joined the team of 82 Fallschirmjäger to rescue Mussolini in a high-risk glider mission. The commandos landed their dozen DFS 230 gliders on the mountain

 

[staubsauger]

Re: Re:

Pantani didn't even care whether someone was on his wheel and willing to cooperate. He just kept accelerating over and over again. The way he dropped first Riis, then Virenque, then Ullrich on Alpe d'Huez in 1997 was even more impressive than this display.

It took a real man to drop Ullrich in 1997 like that. Holy crap, he was strong, but Pantani basically did to Ullrich what he had done to the rest of the field on Arcalis, just Ullrich actually was even more impressive IMO!

Don't forget that Pantani lost 3 minutes the very next day.

I think he had a little cough already on the Alpe d'Huez stage.

 

[hammerthaim]

13.5km @ 6.5% is hard. Strong team/s could do a lot of damage here. I don't expect attacks to go along the false flat after that if there are 2-3 teammates for 2-3 leaders though. Everyone will be tired for that ramp at the end where we could see 20-30sec gaps.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

13.5km @ 6.5% is hard. Strong team/s could do a lot of damage here. I don't expect attacks to go along the false flat after that if there are 2-3 teammates for 2-3 leaders though. Everyone will be tired for that ramp at the end where we could see 20-30sec gaps.

20-30 seconds sounds too small to me.

Yates earned 26 seconds on a kilometre and a half which were almost flat after an easier day, climb and at lower altitude.

Those last 5 kilometres will produce big differences, I think.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 9: Pesco Sannita–Gran Sasso 225

Well, if this race had a decent amount of TT kilometres, the climbers would attack and we would see some good last 40km. Now, we all know what will happen. Absolut boredom until the very last kilometres. The climbers know that the two Monster mountain stages are more than enough to erase those abial 34TTkilometres. So no wonder they don't bothe rwasting enegery before that.

 

[jflemaire]

I would be happy with even limited action. I found this Giro as boring as your typical Tour and it's about time something happens.

 

[rghysens]

Re: Re:

Pantani didn't even care whether someone was on his wheel and willing to cooperate. He just kept accelerating over and over again. The way he dropped first Riis, then Virenque, then Ullrich on Alpe d'Huez in 1997 was even more impressive than this display.

It took a real man to drop Ullrich in 1997 like that. Holy crap, he was strong, but Pantani basically did to Ullrich what he had done to the rest of the field on Arcalis, just Ullrich actually was even more impressive IMO!

Don't forget that Pantani lost 3 minutes the very next day.

I think he had a little cough already on the Alpe d'Huez stage.

A cough that miraculously disappeared the day after, when he won with more than one minute in Morzine.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I would be happy with even limited action. I found this Giro as boring as your typical Tour and it's about time something happens.

I think it has been decent enough given the opportunities the riders have had so far. There will always be a relatively low ceiling for how good the race can be when stages aren't more inspiring than they have been so far, but its early and the two MTFs have been better than expected (I havent watched the flat stages, but obviously nothing of relevance has happened there).

 

[WheelofGear]

Most likely scenario: Chaves to attack with 4 km forcing the strongest riders other than the Scott duo (Pinot, Pozzo and Bennett) to chase. Yates to do the same trick he did on Etna with 1.5 km or 1 km to go.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re: Giro d'Italia 2018 stage 9: Pesco Sannita–Gran Sasso 225

What we might be forgetting is that this is the first real stage finishing at 2000+m. So that could have some interesting effects on some of the favorites in the final 3km

 

[observer]

Hopefully it's a good race tonight. Going through my dad's home town in Popoli so I'll be watching the whole thing. Beautiful countryside.

 

[Robert5091]

100 km of up and down before 1st climb, then 124 km up to 2,000 m - sweaty.

If Mitchelton-Scott can get Nieve or Kreuziger up the road it'll be interesting. Will Astana finally get their act together? Rest day tomorrow.

 

[DFA123]

Re:

I would be happy with even limited action. I found this Giro as boring as your typical Tour and it's about time something happens.

I think there are definite parallels with the Tour last year, but don't think it will stay that way. Too many teams feel they are in with a chance of a podium or top 5 overall if they just hang around in contention, so over half the field are riding exclusively for GC, and doing so by just try to steal a few seconds here and there. Which makes most stages a bit dull. But the risk-reward for really trying to animate the race right now just isn't good for most teams. Especially because everyone knows there are really tough stages still to come, where minutes will be won and lost.

Which is what should be the big difference between this Giro from the Tour; several of the stages in the last ten days are really selective. It's difficult to imagine that there won't be decisive time gaps on Zoncolan or Finestre stage. On the other hand, I do think the race is lacking a Contador, Landa or Quintana type rider who will act as the catalyst for blowing the race up on those climbs. Lopez is probably the best bet. Hopefully this won't be the year when we see a 30 man group cresting Finestre together.

 

[Poursuivant]

Will MS want the stage, or breakaway ftw?

 

[Laplaz]

Ciccone will win this from a break.

 

[Angliru]

Re:

Pantani didn't even care whether someone was on his wheel and willing to cooperate. He just kept accelerating over and over again. The way he dropped first Riis, then Virenque, then Ullrich on Alpe d'Huez in 1997 was even more impressive than this display.

He did at one point motion for Gotti to pull through which he did eventually but it appears Pantani wasn't content with the pace of Gotti's pull and just left him.

 

[DNP-Old]

Brambilla, Visconti, Andreetta, Debusschere, Masnada, Carthy, Boaro, Turrin, Ballerini, Berhane , Benedetti, Wellens, Belkov, Cherel y Didier

 

[Red Rick]

Boring break

 

[Salvarani]

Re:

Boring break

What would be a "fun" break?

 

[Robert5091]

Pozzovivo with 2 team mates up the road ...

 

[Pantani_lives]

Brambilla, Visconti and Wellens seem to be the most interesting. All three have a team mate with them. Debusschere isn't participating in the sprints, but now he's in the break in a mountain stage. I suppose he will work for Wellens.