Giro d'Italia Giro D'Italia 2025 Stage 9: Gubbio – Siena (181km)

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So Vacek made it alone to the front alone but Ciccone group wouldn't have made it back to the front with Vacek (+ Konrad) helping?
If Vacek had pulled the group with Konrad from the start instead of going solo, they would have easily reeled back the front group when it was just Rivera and Bernal pushing. Then potentially after a regroup Vacek could have gone clear with other non GC riders, and they could have played also the Ciccone card for the the finish. That was the obvious way to play it.

I'll say it again:

Lidl's main objective is not GC for Ciccone, it's stage wins.

You may think Ciccone could have somehow made it to the front, if Vacek had dropped back earlier - and then ferried Ciccone all the way back to the front (a front Vacek couldn't stick with himself - I disagree.

MvdP or another mutant might have been able to do something like that, but Vacek is not a mutant - not yet at least.
 
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One would think that resting Moscon or Tratnik yesterday by having them ride grupetto instead of doing the donkey work would be common sense, but nope...
Loss of Hindley didn't help but Martinez is just an incredible disappointment and shouldn't have been selected imo. Considering this stage too, Adria would have been better to bring here than Moscon or Denz
 
Apr 9, 2025
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I'll say it again:

Lidl's main objective is not GC for Ciccone, it's stage wins.

You may think Ciccone could have somehow made it to the front, if Vacek had dropped back earlier - and then ferried Ciccone all the way back to the front (a front Vacek couldn't stick with himself - I disagree.

MvdP or another mutant might have been able to do something like that, but Vacek is not a mutant - not yet at least.
What I'm saying was that Vacek should have from the start never gone with Harper/solo to chase the front and kill his legs doing so, he should have worked with Konrad to pull back the front group, which would have been the best strategy both for the stage win and for GC. Instead of that it was a complete mess with Vacek chasing the front group alone and Konrad working at the same time in the Ciccone group.
 
Deserved how? Didn't put his nose in the wind once till last 300m, Del Toro dragged him for 15km's. I thought I'd be happy when he wins, after all misfortune he had, but I'm not. This is not the way the great riders win.
He had no reason to collaborate, though, since del Toro was racing into pink and van Aert has at least nominal GC threat teammates.

Besides, del Toro is negotiating from a position of weakness. Van Aert is the favourite in the sprint between the two, so del Toro couldn't really offer him anything in return to do a "you take stage I take pink" kind of deal either.
 
Deserved how? Didn't put his nose in the wind once till last 300m, Del Toro dragged him for 15km's. I thought I'd be happy when he wins, after all misfortune he had, but I'm not. This is not the way the great riders win.
So he should just piss on Yates' GC ambitions?

He couldn't have done anything else today, impossible to make everyone happy. Nice to see that ilmaestro didn't take this cheap shot, though.
 
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Del Toro didn't deserve the win tbh, attacked because of a crash then didn't even have the courage of his convictions and wheelsucked instead of driving the gap home to get a big GC lead.
Hard to paint Del Toro as anything other than a Chevy 350 workhorse!! Didn't do anything dastardly, disrespectful or underhanded, villain like, instead he stayed upright, out of trouble, cashed in on extensive training with Pogacar for Strade Bianche, knowing where to be.
Looking around and seeing Bernal, Wout as part of the group of 4 ,just took his pulls and group opened gap a little more. Instead of racing like a green second year pro, took a look at elites in the group and attacked them, a couple of times!!
When you are 21 and attack a rider of Van Aert quality and accomplishments, many of them off road it takes serious courage, not criticism or someone else's misfortune and miscalculations.
Del Toro, and Wout Van Aert rode lights out, full gas, take no prisoners!! Great result for both, completely deserved, nothing was gifted to either rider!!

Worth noting that Isaac Del Toro won the first race he entered as a pro, on his first day with UAE by rolling bold off the front.
Del Toro has 2 second place finishes in this Giro, He had 2 top 10 finishes in his first year, at his first grand tour, 2024 Vuelta!! Guy is on the rise from hard work, including today.
 
My take away from this stage:

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