Giro d'Italia Stage 3: Amsterdam-Middelburg (209km)

[danjo007]

i couldnt care less about vino in pink. he doesnt desrve to be allowed back imo.

 

[powderpuff]

Strange start to the Giro...just my interpretations so far but does anybody else think that Bmc could be playing the Bluff card?I mean all riders except cadel were left behind in stage 3,maybe once the time gap was there, not bothering to chase thus saving energy required for the TTT?Could this be the masterstroke?Or is it just because Cadel has a week team?All in all a very exciting Giro so far bring on the Mountains..........

I don't believe they would have wanted to have left Cadel isolated but I agree with you in, when they realised they were not going to get back on it would be better to conserve energy for the TTT.

When Cadel was held up, did the peloton wait like the previous day ?? It is an unfortunate part of cycling but Sh&t happens. Sastre gave the excuse of not helping because he had a sore back, the excuses for the rest of the peloton not helping BMC to pull the split back would have been the same, BMC and Cadel aren't making excuses.

The main causes for riders(not just BMC) being caught up is bad luck and inexperience(bad positioning) as we have all stated, this is the first GT for a few of these BMC guys so I think you have to cut some slack here and they are worthy team-mates, they are just very green.

I think LeLangue made the right call. The TTT for BMC is going to be a slog as it is, no need to make it worse.

 

[taiwan]

Strange start to the Giro...just my interpretations so far but does anybody else think that Bmc could be playing the Bluff card?I mean all riders except cadel were left behind in stage 3,maybe once the time gap was there, not bothering to chase thus saving energy required for the TTT?Could this be the masterstroke?Or is it just because Cadel has a week team?All in all a very exciting Giro so far bring on the Mountains..........

Could be both: they're not that strong, so let them off duty today to keep them as fresh as possible for the TTT which is more important. Taking a bit of a chance, but Cadel was able to handle himself really well in isolation in that second group.

 

[The Sheep]

The crash was in the last 10k so they didn't wait for the people behind. It's not like they waited on Wiggins yesterday either.
Also Cervelo had riders chasing with Cadel just not Sastre himself, it's what a team is for.

 

[Eyjafjallajokull]

Always sad to see the GC decided by crashes and not performance.

 

[powderpuff]

The crash was in the last 10k so they didn't wait for the people behind. It's not like they waited on Wiggins yesterday either.
Also Cervelo had riders chasing with Cadel just not Sastre himself, it's what a team is for.

They did wait for Wiggins at the first crash he was involved in. Cervelo helped Cadel... gee must have missed that. It is part of cycling but it is just a cruel way to lose time.

 

[blaxland]

Could be both: they're not that strong, so let them off duty today to keep them as fresh as possible for the TTT which is more important. Taking a bit of a chance, but Cadel was able to handle himself really well in isolation in that second group.

I guess stage 4 will be the telling point?If BMC finish within 1 minute of Astana/Cervelo/Liqiugas then i will say job well done....."Cadel you can win this Giro"

 

[The Sheep]

They did wait for Wiggins at the first crash he was involved in. Cervelo helped Cadel... gee must have missed that. It is part of cycling but it is just a cruel way to lose time.

Yes 40k before the finish when there was nothing happening.

 

[cyclopeon]

Normally I am sorta lukewarm about the opening stages, but this was great viewing, and we certainly are hitting Italy with an almost perfect set-up for fireworks.

<and much more>

Glad they brought the Tour here too. Could keep me more awake than usual during the first days.

Add me to the many who enjoyed the excellence of the thoughts expressed in this post and your later one. Thank you sir.

 

[thehog]

i couldnt care less about vino in pink. he doesnt desrve to be allowed back imo.

I'm with you. There is no place for dopers in todays peloton.

 

[Kender]

it's going to be interesting watching the tractor pull in the mountains now at least.

cuddles will need to diesel some time back on vino. maybe as much as 2 mins or more after the TTT. i hope it's not going to be as bad as that though

 

[blaxland]

I'm with you. There is no place for dopers in todays peloton.

+1 agree...Thats gold 'thehog'....Keep up the good work....That just made my day.

 

[Night Rider]

“You didn't do anything at all, you rotten dumbass,” cycling news

Boo f n hoo ... he did more than you ya gorilla, he won the stage.

When your team does anything more than set up sprint trains on flat stages for you and that other prat Cavendish then come back and complain that other riders don't do anything.

Otherwise if other riders want to sit in and take advantage of your one dimensional racing then good luck to them.

 

[thehog]

Top post. This has been the beauty about the Giro. The organisers don't give a fark about riders smashing themselves up and sending them across roads that barely fit one bicycle let along 200. Classic stuff and have enjoyed every minute. Agree on someone else’s post. Its takes skill as a rider to ride on these roads. That’s why cyclists who hide away all year and try and come out a win a GT like this can't. It’s a pity the Tour has been so sanitised over the past few years to skip terrain like this. Great ride by Vino. Rode like a classics rider and took the chocolates.

Normally I am sorta lukewarm about the opening stages, but this was great viewing, and we certainly are hitting Italy with an almost perfect set-up for fireworks.

It's a shame some folk got really hurt on the road, but I totally disagree with the Eurosport commentators. To me the last two days highlighted what I really dislike in most stage races, that they are taking all risks out of racing by sticking to wide roads and perfect run-ins. Always felt they were neutering something that I think is part and parcel of a GT: endurance, trial, challenge.

Knowing that the end run ins are following the usual pattern, and cruising on great roads to it, it just breeds that calculated let's have an escape group dangling out there and then reel them comfortably in when it's "that time". A flat stage style that I hate, but have been forced to endure far far too often. Here, that really doesn't work as a race approach.

The only thing that would have worked, as pointed out, is to make the race on Dutch roads hard from the get-go, to make that big group smaller, and thus the road less risky. I know we have a long 3 weeks ahead of us. So what? Isn't it the point that no stage should be "comfortable, controllable and predictable? We got waaay to used to "the normal way" a 3 week GT rolls out. The last 2 days showed that that doesn't need to be the way. You don't even need tome bonuses to create interesting gaps artificially.

Everyone knew yard by yard where they would be racing. If they were so keen their main man really safe, teams were simply not deploying the right attack attitude: make the race a lot harder. They chose not to. And reaped the rewards for that attitude: Dutch lottery.

But why should only mountain stages run folk into the red in the last week and a bit?

It proved to me that the current crop of GT specialists, riders and directors, can learn a trick or two from the classic folk too: how to race here. We have started to specialize over the last decade and a bit. Well, please let that era come to end quickly if the stages can be this entertaining from the start.

As a group, they were bloody nervous, out of their comfort zone, and, ironically, too careful. And that was responsible for more crashes than anything the road threw at them.

And the main riders who actually have more all-round skills knew it. Even after yesterday's crash fest, the only thing I got from most interviews by the big names was that the nervousness was fingered more than the actual route taken.

So, to my delight, 2 great telly days. And we are having some great gaps, after the first 2 proper stages. And all we crossed was a pancake. Wow.

Glad they brought the Tour here too. Could keep me more awake than usual during the first days.

 

[cyclopeon]

When there's a crash in the pack, it's a lot about dumb luck. Sastre and Wiggins were extremely well positioned yesterday....and the guy in front of them crashed and who got through? The guys who were at the back in bad positions.

When it's about skill in navigating the wind, I love it as much as anything else in this sport

When it's about arbitrary crashing because someone else made a mistake, that's not what sport is about. Sport is about being the best and the smartest, not about who can roll the dice and get a high number.

Nice in theory. But in practice, a lot of top level sport is about taking a calculated risk, or a series of them; and if the risk comes off the reward is a good showing, and if it doesn't there are consequences reanging from minor to major. I don't see much difference between risking an early attack and bonking as a result, vs overcooking a corner and wiping out. I don't see much difference in losing time by not fighting to be in with the winning group of riders vs chosing to ride behind someone who falls over and takes you with him. Well, maybe that's a bit harsh but you get the idea.

I don't much like the GC of a GT being decided by crashes either, but it's racing not touring.

 

[Tom T.]

Boo f n hoo ... he did more than you ya gorilla, he won the stage.

When your team does anything more than set up sprint trains on flat stages for you and that other prat Cavendish then come back and complain that other riders don't do anything.

Otherwise if other riders want to sit in and take advantage of your one dimensional racing then good luck to them.

Greipel has to be the biggest jackass in the peloton. He had a perfect leadout and was in the right spot to take the win and he screwed the pooch big-time. He blew it like a rookie. And then he yells at Weylandts, who rode a beautiful sprint.

 

[BroDeal]

The four horsemen of the dopocalypse.

 

[cyclopeon]

Greipel has to be the biggest jackass in the peloton. He had a perfect leadout and was in the right spot to take the win and he screwed the pooch big-time. He blew it like a rookie. And then he yells at Weylandts, who rode a beautiful sprint.

This certainly doesn't help the arguement he was trying to make to become HTC's number 1 sprinter.

 

[BroDeal]

This certainly doesn't help the arguement he was trying to make to become HTC's number 1 sprinter.

Supposedly he was sick on Thursday or Friday. It is likely he is riding a notch or two below his usual level.

 

[taiwan]

This certainly doesn't help the arguement he was trying to make to become HTC's number 1 sprinter.

Been ill, form's off. The thing is that he was suggesting that Cav give up leadership when he doesn't have the form. Now he's in a similar situation.

 

[danjo007]

HTC need to get a supply of nappies and dummies for their sprinters these days!

 

[autologous]

i couldnt care less about vino in pink.

bullsh*t. If you truly couldn't care less you wouldn't have made the effort to compose your useless post. But, you obviously do care enough to voice your opinion.

I'm not really calling you a ***.

 

[jaylew]

I'm torn regarding the last couple of stages.

On the one hand the racing has been exciting when it probably wouldn't have been otherwise. Normally Giro sprint stages are dull as the peloton rides 'tranquilo' until they ramp it up for the sprint. It was almost like watching two semi-classics back-to-back.

On the other hand I don't really like to see GC guys losing huge chunks of time this early in the race as I want to see the race actually decided in the Mts and TTs. Fortunately, most of the top names are still within striking distance but we could have just as easily had Evans and Vino(or Sastre and Basso) in that Wiggins 4 minute group or even in the 8 minute group.

It will be interesting to see how the first few stages go in the Tour. It's probably good that the TdF GC guys have been able to see what's happened the last couple of days at the Giro(even without cobbles). I'll be looking forward to the first few stages more than usual but I really don't want to see Contador, Schleck, Menchov, or even Armstrong lose minutes on one of those stages due to a flat or crash.

 

[Nearly]

Ok, let me contribute something useful:

GC watch:


1 Alexandre Vinokourov (Kaz) Astana 10:07:18
2 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 0:00
3 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:01
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:05
5 Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Team HTC - Columbia 0:07
8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 0:12
9 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone 0:15
11 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:16
12 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Team Katusha 0:17
14 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 0:18
22 Graeme Brown (Aus) Rabobank 0:29
24 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:43
37 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 1:26
43 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 1:40
50 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 2:07
55 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 4:28
135 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Farnese Vini 9:24
145 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) COG 9:30
178 Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Team Katusha 12:42


...Anyway, should be a starting point for discussion of the TTT.

Post of the day! (an inexplicably underrated GC rider - I am sure he will wipe away any remaining deficit on the Zoncolan and clearly has Cadel's number already).

Nevertheless some seriously hard riding from Brownie thus far and showing the benefit of experience in these conditions.

 

[jaylew]

Post of the day! (an inexplicably underrated GC rider - I am sure he will wipe away any remaining deficit on the Zoncolan and clearly has Cadel's number already).

Nevertheless some seriously hard riding from Brownie thus far and showing the benefit of experience in these conditions.

Certainly not the only misplaced rider on that list.