Giro d'Italia 2020, stage 8: Giovinazzo - Vieste, 200 km

[Leinster]

Is it just me or are people under estimating the difficulty of the Mur? The mur de huy is 1.3km at 9.3% this is 1km at 9.3%. With 10kms of mainly false flat after the climb I think a puncheur can make a play for it. Demure will be in the mix only if the climb is soft-pedaled.

Nobody attacks and makes it to the finish off the 2nd-last time up Huy.

If a team is willing to commit to making the day hard from the Sant Angelo on, they could make some gaps appear, and snap the elastic on the final climb. But there is no Alaphilippe or Hirschi in this race right now, or a Sunweb-from-the-Tour team who are committed to leveraging a guy off the front.

If it comes down to the break (which is likely, because nobody in their right mind will work with FDJ right now), the climb will decide the race, but if the peloton come to the foot together, then the climb isn't long enough for one rider to put enough of a gap into the bunch to stay away.

 

[Jagartrott]

Is it just me or are people under estimating the difficulty of the Mur? The mur de huy is 1.3km at 9.3% this is 1km at 9.3%. With 10kms of mainly false flat after the climb I think a puncheur can make a play for it. Demure will be in the mix only if the climb is soft-pedaled.

The problem is, any team pushing hard there, has to make sure they still have enough riders to also ride the next 10 km flat out. This will only work if more than one team commits.

 

[Keram]

Fdj doesnt need to pull they have three wins already. I am not sure Bora want to pull for Sagan anymore. If they dont get help from other team they wont pull. It is hard to keep together anyway.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

They can eat donkey d1ck with a route like that for the weekend

I wonder why you thought of that exact thing?

 

[Laplaz]

Maybe UAE will go for the stage with Ulissi.

Yeah, that's the only chance I see

 

[tobydawq]

I wonder why you thought of that exact thing?

A nice alliterative... thing.

 

[Amazinmets87]

Nobody attacks and makes it to the finish off the 2nd-last time up Huy.

If a team is willing to commit to making the day hard from the Sant Angelo on, they could make some gaps appear, and snap the elastic on the final climb. But there is no Alaphilippe or Hirschi in this race right now, or a Sunweb-from-the-Tour team who are committed to leveraging a guy off the front.

If it comes down to the break (which is likely, because nobody in their right mind will work with FDJ right now), the climb will decide the race, but if the peloton come to the foot together, then the climb isn't long enough for one rider to put enough of a gap into the bunch to stay away.

I agree no one staying away if they hit the base of the climb together. You can shatter the peloton and have the favorites go mano-a-mano the last 10KMs. If there's a sprint train at the culmination of this stage it will be a serious disappointment.

 

[topcat]

I for one would like a detailed profile of the entire 2nd half of the stage. It looks like hilly classics terrain

Nobody else wants detail
We want to be surprised

 

[Velolover2]

In theory, it's the kind of hill that Fuglsang loves to go full gas on. Just not with a 90-something peloton.

 

[Forever The Best]

Nice design, should be a nice battle for the stage. Ulissi vs Sagan vs Matthews? Can Demare hang on?

 

[Tonton]

Is it just me or are people under estimating the difficulty of the Mur? The mur de huy is 1.3km at 9.3% this is 1km at 9.3%. With 10kms of mainly false flat after the climb I think a puncheur can make a play for it. Demure will be in the mix only if the climb is soft-pedaled.

Demure de Huy ?

 

[Tonton]

Pretty sure it's a delicacy somewhere.

In Holland....great source of ketones.

 

[Anderis]

So we have a categorised climb named Guardiola... will there be climbs like Mourinho or Klopp on the future stages?

 

[klintE]

Riding harder than softpedaling on the main climb should do what it ganna do.
Sagan's rocket fired just one second later than in previous attempt (mirror stage 4) should do the job.

Edit: just been tested for alcohol. Me, not Sagan, of course.

 

[SHAD0W93]

In theory, it's the kind of hill that Fuglsang loves to go full gas on. Just not with a 90-something peloton.

He'll be too busy looking at Nibali's trophy case to attack.

 

[movingtarget]

Sagan will win when no one is expecting it..............if the break gets a good lead they might stay away, not many teams willing to work hard like Bora on these stages.

 

[DanielSong39]

Demare can't possibly win this one, can he?
Give him some credit for climbing well enough to contest the sprint. If he's climbing even with Sagan then out-sprinting him to the line there's nothing you can do.

 

[Oliver]

another sprint? Let’s hope not. Otherwise another Demare win...

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

In Holland....great source of ketones.

Indeed. From what I've heard, when served they're called donkeytones

 

[F_Cance]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1314823396157513729

View: https://twitter.com/MitcheltonSCOTT/status/1314823396157513729

 

[tobydawq]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1314823396157513729

View: https://twitter.com/MitcheltonSCOTT/status/1314823396157513729

Uh oh.

 

[claude cat]

***

 

[F_Cance]

don't understand why the team is allowed to continue.

 

[RedheadDane]

don't understand why the team is allowed to continue.

Even if the Giro had had the two strikes - within a week - and you're out rule, they'd still have been allowed to continue.

But I suppose that explains why he wasn't at his best.

 

[claude cat]

"All other riders and staff have returned negative results and have been cleared to continue the race' says Mitchelton-Scott "