Giro d'Italia 2020, stage 18: Pinzolo - Laghi di Cancano 207 km

[richwallone]

That's tight for the top 3:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1319286074368090117

View: https://twitter.com/laflammerouge16/status/1319286074368090117?s=20

 

[Breezy1985]

He didn't dare to go all in from the foot of the final climb because Hindley was in his wheel

Well he still has 2 Sunwebs ahead of him so maybe he should have

 

[johnymax]

I feel like Hindley not trying to distance Geoghegan Hart is a monumentally stupid (non-)move.

You're the best climber today, but you do nothing with it except sprinting for no time gaps.

I don't think Hindley was stronger than Tao today. If he attacked and it backfired he coluld have lost the stage win and valuable seconds to play with in GC.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Test Hart
As someone else said, start/stop would be worse for Tao helping Kelderman in the process.

By sitting on Hart's wheel, Hindley forced him to either tire himself out doing all the work or sit up and let Kelderman claw back time. Both were good options for Sunweb. Winning the stage and limiting Kelderman's losses was a very good outcome considering the circumstances.

 

[richwallone]

Still think Tao or Hindley will win this Giro

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Stage

GC

 

[JosefK]

Everyone went deep deep deep. In the end, it looks like Sunweb played it right, with a great ride by Hindley, and a gutsy ride by Kelderman to hang on for pink. I think hypothermia might have got him with the jacket debacle. If the same positions are carried into the final TT, one would like Wilco's chances against Tao, although, as we have seen with time trials, a lot can happen.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Kelderman's still in the big picture. If the situation is the same at Sestriere I'm sure we'll see fireworks

He’s only there if Ineos doesn’t push hard on Sestriere. If they do Keldermann will not win.

 

[broppo]

Hart was riding that last climb at 80% and constantly was talking to Hindley, I mean what does he expect Hindley to do. Hart is definitely the loser of the day despite being maybe the strongest rider.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Neither of the two strongest guys maximised their chances of winning the Giro. Hindley should have been looking to jump Hart for time, not the stage. Hart should have put maximum time into Kelderman and not worried about Hindley or the stage. Inexperience at the sharp end in both cases.

Probably a worse decision by Hindley. If Kelderman dies he’s going to have difficulty beating Hart with an ITT to come.

 

[Anybody_but..]

Why even watch cycling if you don't actually like it?

I actually DO love cycling, and today's results, believe me.

 

[hrotha]

By sitting on Hart's wheel, Hindley forced him to either tire himself out doing all the work or sit up and let Kelderman claw back time. Both were good options for Sunweb. Winning the stage and limiting Kelderman's losses was a very good outcome considering the circumstances.

Yes, tire himself out so that he's more vulnerable to your inevitable late attack.

Remember Valverde on Fuente Dé?

 

[Mayomaniac]

2nd gt in a row that's gonna be decided in the final ITT?

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Bilbao is going to podium this Giro. Might as well win the whole race.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Think this is Hart's race to lose now, he should be able to take a bit of time on Kelderman on Sestriere, and is fresh enough to defend himself in the TT. We could also see someone do a Pinot given how hard today was.

 

[movingtarget]

Obviously Hindley didn't have to cooperate with Geoghegan Hart, but it was just stupid that he didn't attack him in the last 2-3 km or so. It would have been the best option for Sunweb and even for Kelderman.

Not if he was caught and was counter attacked. Think he rode to team instructions.

 

[Leinster]

Obviously Hindley didn't have to cooperate with Geoghegan Hart, but it was just stupid that he didn't attack him in the last 2-3 km or so. It would have been the best option for Sunweb and even for Kelderman.

Tao the better sprinter. They maximised Hindley's chances of beating him, which was probably the most time they could have hoped to get out of him.

Unless he was cooked, Hindley should have tried to drop hart, overall that would have led to a lesser speed by constantly changing rythm, thus helping kelderman. Also maybe hart would have dropped 30 sec.

Hart was changing his rhythm on the way up anyway to make it harder for Hindley to follow. Ineos are well aware of the threat Hindley poses, so they had to play a double game too.

If Sunweb had sent Hindley back to Wilco, as some here have suggested, Sunweb would now have 1 GC rider in contention. Instead they have 2. They have the strongest climbing squad (provided they don't let any Ineos lads up the road on Saturday). They can now isolate Hart on Sestrieres, and double-team him.

 

[Escarabajo]

Still can’t believe they dared putting the Gavia and Stelvio in the same stage in 2014 lol

And it was a rainy day!.

Every rider arrived dragging their feet!

 

[Krzysztof_O]

What a massacre! 6th rider over 4 minutes behind. As expected the monstrous Stelvio delivered. Somebody told Dennis that it's ITT WC today and he rode it without noticing "small" mountains around. What an engine, the guy should target GTs with such a form. I was surprised that Kelderman was dropped but time difference on Stelvio were growing really fast. What an incredible climb! Kelderman initially was limiting his losses but he looked to have a crisis on the flat part. I was angry that Hindley didn't want to cooperate with Hart and passed him at the end. Otherwise they could have cooked Kelderman today (but team orders prevailed).

BTW why don't Giro organizers use Stelvio east as penultimate climb more often? It's the best climb to make big time differences (with over 20 km at 8%+). Only Finestre is similarly good when it comes to delivering drama.

 

[hrotha]

Not if he was caught and was counter attacked. Think he rode to team instructions.

Counterattacked? Come on. Geoghegan Hart had been doing all the work and was losing ground to Bilbao. No counterattack was forthcoming.

You guys are so adverse to even the most minuscule risks.

 

[McEwen2006]

I just hope Kelderman doesn't win the Giro after yet another average showing. Let's go Tao and Hindley.

 

[Izzyeviel]

Great stage, last climb was a bit of a let down though

 

[movingtarget]

Counterattacked? Come on. Geoghegan Hart had been doing all the work and was losing ground to Bilbao. No counterattack was forthcoming.

You guys are so adverse to even the most minuscule risks.

He didn't do that much work, Dennis did the bulk of it.

 

[JosefK]

Bilbao is going to podium this Giro. Might as well win the whole race.

That would be awesome beyond amazing.