Giro d'Italia Stage 15: Conegliano - Gardeccia-Val di Fassa 229km

[Moose McKnuckles]

Contador said he took in 7000 calories on the bike today. There's no way he gets a hunger knock again, the way Saxo Bank is looking after him.

For a moment, I thought I saw Contador tell Rujano, "Get in my belly."

Maybe I was wrong.

 

[max_powers]

with 10K to go, It appeared the Garzelli had a 5km lead over the Contador group!
Yet AC was within 10sec of him at the Finish. with Scarponi just a few more secs back.

World Class Racing indeed.

 

[luckyboy]

Just watched the end of the stage again. Nice to see Gadret still wearing a black armband.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

i can eat 20 energy gels without throwing up

I can eat 20 and a frozen turkey

 

[Barrus]

The best thing about Mt Baldy were all the fans in costumes.

But Giro 15 had the 2 most famous fans in cycling.

Didi the devil at 50k to go.

Dirk Hoffman Motorhomes, 75m to go.

Quality beats quantity.

About the Devil, they made some funny comments about him on Sporza. About how he is getting older and can no longer run that far anymore, how everything just isn't like it used to be

 

[Archibald]

About the Devil, they made some funny comments about him on Sporza. About how he is getting older and can no longer run that far anymore, how everything just isn't like it used to be

there's a new reality tv show to find the his replacement - "The Devil's Apprentice"

 

[screaming fist]

Just watched the end of the stage again. Nice to see Gadret still wearing a black armband.

I noticed it too. His attitude can't be that bad after all as he really seems to care.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

with 10K to go, It appeared the Garzelli had a 5km lead over the Contador group!
Yet AC was within 10sec of him at the Finish. with Scarponi just a few more secs back.

World Class Racing indeed.

The deceptive effect of measuring a gap in distance rather than time.

At 10km to go everyone was doing over 40kmph, in the final 5 it was more like 10kmph, so whilst he slowed up badly, it's not as stark as your figures make it look.

 

[L'arriviste]

The best thing about Mt Baldy were all the fans in costumes.

But Giro 15 had the 2 most famous fans in cycling.

Didi the devil at 50k to go.

Dirk Hoffman Motorhomes, 75m to go.

Quality beats quantity.

They didn't have the "Luc" guy though. Expect he'll turn up at the Tour.

 

[King Of The Wolds]

I going to against the general trend and say it was only the 2nd best day's cycling of the year so far, behind RVV.

Picky, I know, but the stage yesterday suffered from a few things:-

1. From miles out, it was always going to be either Nieve or Garzelli FTW (and became clear it was going to be Nieve, as soon as Garzelli started struggling, a good while from the finish).

2. Contador was always in control of the GC situation and that was clear throughout, even when Nibali was descending as he did and when Scarponi looked good on the final climb.

3. Survival, rather than attack, was the general watchword.

That all said, in terms of the epic scale of it all - wow.

 

[Dedelou]

Scarponi is gaining back some time now

must be good to be scarponi.. When your leg don't work , you get the fans to push you uphill a little bit.. and there .. who cares about how steep the slope

 

[Barrus]

must be good to be scarponi.. When your leg don't work , you get the fans to push you uphill a little bit.. and there .. who cares about how steep the slope

It happens to almost all the riders, not only Scarponi

 

[King Of The Wolds]

It happens to almost all the riders, not only Scarponi

Does it? I've only seen Nibali and Scarponi so far. Certainly no non-Italians.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Scarponi might have had some pushes. It's nowhere near the car-hanging Nibali on the Fedaia

 

[YoRUsh]

It happens to almost all the riders, not only Scarponi

Cadel tweeted a couple of days ago his memory of last year with tifosi shouting to eachother: "dont push him, hes a foreigner!"

 

[Kwibus]

It happens to almost all the riders, not only Scarponi

The italians sure do get more pushes though . Evans indeed tweeted "Don't push him, he's a foreigner" when he watched how Scarponi got a push during yesterdays stage. He was talking about his 2010 Giro.

I don't think the few pushes Scarponi got made him close the gap to Contador though. That's very unlikely, maybe 2 seconds...

 

[MrRoboto]

I would think those random pushes now and then just gets you out of the rythm?


I do agree, this was a great stage. Only thing missing was having Contador left behind in real trouble in the last climb.

 

[lancaster]

Scarponi might have had some pushes. It's nowhere near the car-hanging Nibali on the Fedaia

i find seeing a rider take a sticky bottle almost ok, as long as it's not ridiculous, but yesterday i saw nibali take 1 only to immediately and deliberately throw it and reach for another. these should pick up time penalties, which would stop (the gc hopes at least) riders from doing this.

 

[El Pistolero]

i find seeing a rider take a sticky bottle almost ok, as long as it's not ridiculous, but yesterday i saw nibali take 1 only to immediately and deliberately throw it and reach for another. these should pick up time penalties, which would stop (the gc hopes at least) riders from doing this.

In the mean time Liquigas is leading the fair play classification.

Just hope Nibali doesn't get second this year JUST IN CASE.

 

[Kwibus]

Beautiful pics from the stage

http://www.steephill.tv/2011/giro-d-italia/photos/stage-15/

Always great photos on steephill.tv

 

[Kwibus]

Wrong thread, but while I'm at it.. stage 14 pic

 

[Dedelou]

The italians sure do get more pushes though . Evans indeed tweeted "Don't push him, he's a foreigner" when he watched how Scarponi got a push during yesterdays stage. He was talking about his 2010 Giro.

I don't think the few pushes Scarponi got made him close the gap to Contador though. That's very unlikely, maybe 2 seconds...

have you ever been pushed on a mountain climb? one or two done the right way and you are a new man for a good half a mile.. you get 10 or 12 and you can catch up to a break.. i swear,,

 

[offbyone]

First of all, yesterday's stage might have been the most amazing single stage in a grand tour i have ever seen. Rarely do you see the favorites alone for that long. All the favorites alone for not 1 but 2 significant climbs without their teams. And the roads were simply out of this world beautiful and unique. The giro organizers really did a great job on the course this year. It seems that the stages are less about the finishing towns and more about the roads themselves.

That being said, am I the only one that seems to see two definitions of isolated. For most riders it means their team isn't present. For contador, it seems to mean if his team and no other spanish riders are present. If these guys really want to break contador, they need to stop helping him so much and force him to do all the work. It might be a risky move, but there seems to be no other way. Contador is just so unbelievably better than everyone right now. It seems the Giro is just a stroll in the park for him. Every day he has great legs. He never has a bad day much less a day he can't attack big time.

 

[Barrus]

First of all, yesterday's stage might have been the most amazing single stage in a grand tour i have ever seen. Rarely do you see the favorites alone for that long. All the favorites alone for not 1 but 2 significant climbs without their teams. And the roads were simply out of this world beautiful and unique. The giro organizers really did a great job on the course this year. It seems that the stages are less about the finishing towns and more about the roads themselves.

That being said, am I the only one that seems to see two definitions of isolated. For most riders it means their team isn't present. For contador, it seems to mean if his team and no other spanish riders are present. If these guys really want to break contador, they need to stop helping him so much and force him to do all the work. It might be a risky move, but there seems to be no other way. Contador is just so unbelievably better than everyone right now. It seems the Giro is just a stroll in the park for him. Every day he has great legs. He never has a bad day much less a day he can't attack big time.

Well, no Spanish or Venezualan riders
But really, if the guys from Movistar would not have ridden for Contie when Nibali was away we might have had a slightly different outzome with a more tired Contador, since he would have probably needed to do at least some of the work

 

[Kwibus]

have you ever been pushed on a mountain climb? one or two done the right way and you are a new man for a good half a mile.. you get 10 or 12 and you can catch up to a break.. i swear,,

No I haven't had a push on a mountain climb. I've only every climb a 'mountain' in my life. I just can't imagine it giving that much advantage.
I haven't experienced it so I guess I should believe you