Giro d'Italia 2020, stage 19: Morbegno › Asti (258k)

[46&twoWheels]

If I was Vegni, tomorrow morning I would blind-mode ship them to Agnello and Izoard without notice: "surprise motherxxxxx"

 

[topcat]

RIP Giro
RIP Bag

 

[Red Rick]

If I was Vegni, tomorrow morning I would blind-mode ship them to Agnello and Izoard without notice: "surprise motherxxxxx"

Might be impossible

But I might tesll them they get 3 extra loops of Sestriere instead

 

[King Boonen]

judging from tweets etc. it sounds like there was enough of a split in the teams that, if they wanted to, RCS could have just said tough, you're racing the full stage. I think this means that the organisers and commissaires also felt that running the whole stage was too much. I'm fine with this decision.

 

[hrotha]

Sponsors pulling out ofver 100km cut to a stage is real spurious stuff

No, sponsors won't pull out over this.

However, it's not a good look to refuse to race in perfectly safe conditions when it's a miracle they're being able to race at all after much of the season was cancelled. They wanted to salvage the season. That means racing until late October in a condensed calendar. Which means bad weather.

If the stage was too dangerous to race due to covid, the same applies literally to the whole Giro.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

From what time was live coverage scheduled? Have TV companies paid for the rights of live broadcast of a lengthy commute?

 

[titan31]

Sponsors pulling out ofver 100km cut to a stage is real spurious stuff

Well, no, it's them potentially pulling out cos the headlines will be about riders protesting again (how often has it been this year even if some were legitimate). Any reporting on today's stage by mainstream media will likely lead on the riders protesting cos the stage is too long over the actual winner. It's not just today's stage, this is a longer term problem in the Peleton of riders protesting or doing what in effect looks like an unofficial strike. It's not like cycling is loaded with potential sponsors like NFL or soccer is.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Time to throw in Montoso and Pramartino early on tomorrow to punish the riders.

I get why the riders think that today's stage being so long is pointless, but it sets a dangerous precedent. You can't allow the inmates to run the asylum.

 

[hrotha]

I get why the riders think that today's stage being so long is pointless

This is IMO the underlying issue here - the pernicious idea that long stages are pointless. That the only thing that matters is what people see in the last hour of the race on TV. That endurance isn't a thing.

 

[Red Rick]

Time to throw in Montoso and Pramartino early on tomorrow to punish the riders.

I get why the riders think that today's stage being so long is pointless, but it sets a dangerous precedent. You can't allow the inmates to run the asylum.

Strada dell'Assieta road quality be damned?

 

[Mayomaniac]

This is IMO the underlying issue here - the pernicious idea that long stages are pointless. That the only thing that matters is what people see in the last hour of the race on TV. That endurance isn't a thing.

I mean, I can see why the riders would think that such a long sprint stage is pointless. Still, it's one thing if riders protest because it's actually dangerous, but just not wanting to ride a really long stage because it's cold and rainy is a bit of a joke.

 

[Bolder]

No, sponsors won't pull out over this.

However, it's not a good look to refuse to race in perfectly safe conditions when it's a miracle they're being able to race at all after much of the season was cancelled. They wanted to salvage the season. That means racing until late October in a condensed calendar. Which means bad weather.

If the stage was too dangerous to race due to covid, the same applies literally to the whole Giro.

Yeah, this is pretty lame. This stage has been on the books for long enough to lodge a protest months ago. Is the real reason bad weather? Or the long transfers? Or "we're tired and we don't want to race in the rain?" The first two are somewhat legit, but the last is not an excuse in my book. I'd be happy to trade my WFH desk for a space in the pro peloton today, weather/transfers be da**ed.

 

[solo80k]

Time to throw in Montoso and Pramartino early on tomorrow to punish the riders.

This is extremely good stage design.

 

[Red Rick]

I mean, I can see why the riders would think that such a long sprint stage is pointless. Still, it's one thing if riders protest because it's actually dangerous, but just not wanting to ride a really long stage because it's cold and rainy is a bit of a joke.

It's obviously a pointless stage and it's still a huge joke they're protesting over this. Naturally it's mostly teams with not much at stake anymore.

I could get behin it if all teams didn't wanna ride, but hey some teams might benefit from this being a long one so then it wouldn't happen.

 

[hrotha]

I mean, I can see why the riders would think that such a long sprint stage is pointless. Still, it's one thing if riders protest because it's actually dangerous, but just not wanting to ride a really long stage because it's cold and rainy is a bit of a joke.

But my point is that such a long sprint stage is not pointless. Long flat stages still have an impact on the riders' recovery and their ability to perform on subsequent days. It all adds up to the spectacle further down the road even if the payoff is not immediate (it's no coincidence that certain folks don't like ITTs either because they're "boring" even though they're essential to the overall spectacle).

 

[SafeBet]

Yeah, this is pretty lame. This stage has been on the books for long enough to lodge a protest months ago. Is the real reason bad weather? Or the long transfers? Or "we're tired and we don't want to race in the rain?"

I'm pretty sure no protest would have occured if it was sunny.

 

[Mayomaniac]

This is extremely good stage design.

It was posted on the Cicloweb forum, so I didn't come up with this one. Still, Montoso got repaved last year for the Giro and Pramartino is usually in good condition, so you could use those climbs early on, no problem.

 

[Billie]

It's ridiculous they take this decision if not every rider/team is behind it.

 

[SafeBet]

I do believe endurance and recovery are essential skills in this sport. And I do believe stages around 250 km still have a place in contemporary GTs.
But if the point is to really test these skills, a panflat 260 km stage at the end of the third week is not the way to go.

 

[gunara]

Did they plan this all along as soon as they saw the route "we're going to protest that one, but only on the race day"?
This sport is so weird sometimes.

 

[fuiers]

Did they start already? I have lawrence of arabia and Dr zhivago waiting to be launched on the dvd.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Just lunchbreak-bumped this thread without checking start time or any status.
The most clever thing Groupama-FDJ should do is to plant a domestique in a break. Otherwise their domestiques are gonna have a very, very looong looong day in front pg the peleton, since I bet no other sprinter teams wanna join a party for Demare.

 

[Red Rick]

I do believe endurance and recovery are essential skills in this sport. And I do believe stages around 250 km still have a place in contemporary GTs.
But if the point is to really test these skills, a panflat 260 km stage at the end of the third week is not the way to go.

When was the last 250km mountain stage anyway?

I think the real reason this stage happened was because it was the only reasonable bid for the stage start and they thought they could get away with one.

I also don't think it's outragous. It's normally just 6 hours at 150W for the riders, so not that tiring anyway.

 

[gunara]

Did they start already? I have lawrence of arabia and Dr zhivago waiting to be launched on the dvd.

Those two together are probably about 320 kilometers long.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Just lunchbreak-bumped this thread without checking start time or any status.

It shows

The most clever thing Groupama-FDJ should do is to plant a domestique in a break. Otherwise their domestiques are gonna have a very, very looong looong day in front pg the peleton, since I bet no other sprinter teams wanna join a party for Demare.