Giro Rest day 1 - Round up

[Ferminal]

On flat courses? I expect him to do very well on the uphill ITT (it plays to his advantages), but IMO he's going to get smoked in Milan.

He was reasonable in the final ITT of 2005, but that included a climb in the first half. Not really sure how he goes since then!

Probably loses 2 minutes to Contador over 32km of flat ITT?

 

[Mellow Velo]

He was reasonable in the final ITT of 2005, but that included a climb in the first half. Not really sure how he goes since then!

Probably loses 2 minutes to Contador over 32km of flat ITT?

Contador>Savoldelli>Rujano.
I'd say 2 minutes is a fair guestimate, if both remain in form.

Stage 16 should be an interesting clock watch.

 

[theswordsman]

We've still got the stages coming up that Contador looked at in advance. When asked for a favorite, he said he'd like to win the Monte Crostis / Zoncolan stage. After listening to people second-guess him after the Tour de France last year, I'd love to see him add Zoncolan and the uphill Time Trial to the two nice finishes he's done already.

I don't see the race getting boring at all, though. In the 2008 Giro, there were stage wins from breaks with big time gaps - they were just different guys every day.By stage After stage 12, the sprinters will either be gone or irrelevant, so the guys who would normally protect them have a chance to try for breaks. The points and KOM competitions should be entertaining.

Nibali mentioned saving energy after both stages where Contador attacked, but he spent ages in the RAI Sport studio after Etna. In contrast, the day before, when Contador finished second, the Spanish press rushed to him, he answered a couple of quick questions, then pushed through telling him he had to go rest.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

I miss those good old bunch sprints.

so do I Mountain stages are good fun with loads of attacks but a bunch sprint once in a while is jolly good fun

 

[Publicus]

What I like most about AC, he keeps his feet firmly on the ground. He knows what's coming:

No, rivals remain the same. There are some who have been lost some time, but I don’t know if it's because a bad day or because they aren’t in good shape, like Menchov and Joaquín Rodríguez, who haven’t a brilliant day yesterday, but it will be really hard. Everyone is going to attack, to attack from afar, they will send riders ahead and will be very difficult. I'm ready for everything.

 

[Ryaguas]

Wonder if Contador will blow after the rest days like Cadel does.

Last year's Tour had a tough day after the rest day and Alberto was outstanding... I dont think that would be a problem...

What I like most about AC, he keeps his feet firmly on the ground. He knows what's coming

He is so freaking humble... always thanking the team the sponsor and saying how important They are... always downplaying his chances and putting the ball in the other teams...

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

On flat courses? I expect him to do very well on the uphill ITT (it plays to his advantages), but IMO he's going to get smoked in Milan.

giro 2005 timetrials

the first on halfway, after which rujano had to change his bike 3x and lost a lot of time:

24 km
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 29.59
2 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 0.08
3 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 0.10
4 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 0.18
5 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 0.26
6 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.31
7 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 0.33
8 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 0.39
9 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.41
10 Jose' Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.43
11 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears 0.48
12 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 0.49
13 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.54
14 Wladimir Belli (Ita) Domina Vacanze 0.59
15 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 1.00
16 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi 1.05
17 Jan Hruska (Cze) Liberty Seguros-Wurth Team 1.08
18 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.13
19 Marco Fertonani (Ita) Domina Vacanze
20 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.17

2nd timetrial

1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 26.03
2 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Illes Balears 0.26
3 David Zabriskie (USA) Team CSC 0.30
4 Dario David Cioni (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
5 Serguei Gonchar (Ukr) Domina Vacanze 0.35
6 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Discovery Channel-Pro Cycling Team 0.44
7 Jose' Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.53
8 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.55
9 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Lampre-Caffita 0.58
10 Marzio Bruseghin (Ita) Fassa Bortolo 0.59
11 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick.Step 1.05
12 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Rabobank 1.15
13 Markus Fothen (Ger) Gerolsteiner 1.26
14 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Liquigas-Bianchi
15 Daniel Atienza Urendez (Spa) Cofidis-Le Credit Par Telephone 1.31
16 Michael Blaudzun (Den) Team CSC 1.32
17 Pietro Caucchioli (Ita) Credit Agricole
18 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) Phonak Hearing Systems 1.35
19 Frank Schleck (Lux) Team CSC 1.36
20 Marco Pinotti (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.40

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

He was reasonable in the final ITT of 2005, but that included a climb in the first half. Not really sure how he goes since then!

Probably loses 2 minutes to Contador over 32km of flat ITT?

2 minutes I expect also, maybe a little les,s is hard to say. rujano recuperates excellent and could do top 15 or maybe even top ten in final itt in my book.

 

[Publicus]

giro 2005 timetrials

the first on halfway, after which rujano had to change his bike 3x and lost a lot of time:

24 km
1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 29.59
[snip]
9 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.41
10 Jose' Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.43

2nd timetrial

1 Ivan Basso (Ita) Team CSC 26.03
[snip]
7 Jose' Rujano Guillen (Ven) Selle Italia-Colombia 0.53
8 Juan Manuel Garate (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.55

I hear you. But I'm asking how he does on flat courses. Here's the profile for the first and second time trials in 2005 (neither of which is flat):

He was down 43" after the first half which was VERY favorable to his skill set.

Again, you point to the portion of the ITT which was favorable to him. He had lost almost a minute at the halfway point (53") and went on to lose another 1'06" over the latter half.

Can you point to any flat courses that he's done well (not necessarily win)? And here's the profile for Milan:

 

[Sylvester]

How on earth did Atienza make the top 15 at the halfway point of a time trial

All of you who complain about the bike handling skills of Euskaltel riders should by the way search for some more info about Atienza. When he was in his prime, every rider in the peloton was told to stay out of his way because he would fall just about everywhere, often taking other riders with him. A true kamikaze.

 

[lancaster]

i like the spectacle of a bunch sprint but don't like the "extra rest day stages".

big fan of the fact we've had hard bunch sprint days peta, vento, gatto have all won bunch sprint days, but all maintained the excitement. ie who'd still be there?, would someone get away? (yes gatto). plenty more like this would keep me happier on the "flat days"

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

here is a flat one from langkawi 2005.

1 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Navigators Insurance 24.42.76 (49.29 km/h)
2 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 0.04.82
3 Jose Rujano (Ven) Colombia Selle Italia 0.15.25
4 Tiaan Kannemeyer (RSA) Barloworld 0.20.94
5 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 0.24.19
6 Marlon Perez Arango (Col) Colombia Selle Italia 0.27.36
7 Bogdan Bondariew (Ukr) Action 0.36.54
8 David Plaza Romero (Spa) Barloworld 0.37.81
9 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 0.41.97
10 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel 0.43.50


this one was from murcia 2007, this one had a hill in the end though. he hasn't done too many itt's in europe. in south america he rode them well

1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 32.57 (42.428 km/h)
2 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.31
3 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Relax-Gam 0.35
4 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari 0.52
5 Inigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC 1.04
6 José Rujano (Ven) Unibet.com 1.07
7 Koldo Gil (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Acqua Sapone-C.Mokambo 1.09
9 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 1.10
10 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 1.11
11 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua Sapone-C.Mokambo 1.17
12 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 1.23
13 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
14 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.27
15 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.29
16 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital 1.30
17 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.37
18 David Bernabeu (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari 1.42
19 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Astana
20 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Unibet.com 1.45

 

[hfer07]

So far-Il Giro has been entertaining-obviously setting apart that tragic day-
I'd say rather surprising to see Contador leading it so early-but overall each stage has brought excitement and the usual attacks & surprises that are inherent to the race.
the Second week is where we'll see those massive shocks (hopefully)

 

[lucybears]

You have to have enough blood going to the brain at that alltitude to take on that descent, which from the pictures seems as hard as the climb itself.

Descent of the Monte Crostis video
http://www.cyclingfever.com/video.html?detp=view&video_idd=Mzg4OA==

 

[hfer07]

Descent of the Monte Crostis video
http://www.cyclingfever.com/video.html?detp=view&video_idd=Mzg4OA==

damn- that's scary- how wide is that road? 5 mts(16 feet)?

 

[Wergeland]

Highpoints: OmegaPharma-Lotto! Great Giro so far!

Le Mevel. Always loved him. And it's easy to cheer for french riders as the chances of them doping are slim.

 

[the vagabond]

Cyclingnews reporting has certainly gone downhill, even as their obnoxious advertising has increased. OK, I know, we don't pay for it and are lucky to have it, I recognize that. But they couldn't come up with a single color story on the Giro off-day? Am I imagining things that the breadth of reporting is declining?

 

[lucybears]

Cyclingnews reporting has certainly gone downhill, even as their obnoxious advertising has increased. OK, I know, we don't pay for it and are lucky to have it, I recognize that. But they couldn't come up with a single color story on the Giro off-day? Am I imagining things that the breadth of reporting is declining?

Cyclingnews lost a lot of their key staff after the 'new, better version' was introduced

 

[Angliru]

I think that all we can say for the moment is that there might be two teams next year. Still though, big contrast from last year, Matt Lloyd notwithstanding. Bakelants' response to losing the "next big thing at Lotto" title yesterday was commendable.

Geox. Cheula pulled for a few km yesterday and that was pretty much it. Team status doesn't help but they've just been invisible all year and, it's still early yet, but I don't see much change coming their way.

Disappointed that it's a rest day. I'd forgotten that.

I wouldn't say that they've been invisible not with Duarte's aggressive riding eventually leading to an actual win (I can't recall where) and a 2nd place on stage 5. Now Menchov and especially Sastre, they have been virtually invisible.

 

[Angliru]

Agree about everything except Scarponi. I don´t think he had a usually bad day yesterday, he tried to go with Contador and that was his mistake.

Agreed. I'd add that I'd rate Scarponi as the 3rd strongest in the race considering that even after his failed attempt to react to Contador's move, he didn't lose even more time. If anything it was painful learning experience for him. He'll bounce back. Nibali and Kreuziger also held their ground with Kreuziger really finally showing a bit of the promise from past years.

 

[Angliru]

If Rujano keeps climbing like this he can catch Nibali. 5 minutes is nothing when stage 13, 14 and 15 come up.

Though like I said, Rujano is unpredictable and I'm more afraid of him losing time on the other stages that aren't mountain stages lol.

I don't know why you people think Contador will make this boring? Would you rather have no attacks at all except the one from Nibali in the last km... Wooh, interesting...

Rujano can be what Beloki was for Armstrong.

For me, Contador in top form is never boring.

 

[hoolaparara]

I've been wondering if Menchov has been doing the whole come in underdone because of a hard second half of the race. Contador is too good though to get away with that.

 

[Angliru]

contador has never won a gt with minutes lead and it won't happen this year either.

Didn't he beat Andy in 2009 by at least 4 minutes? How soon we forget.

Edit: A day late as usual.

 

[movingtarget]

here is a flat one from langkawi 2005.

1 Nathan O'Neill (Aus) Navigators Insurance 24.42.76 (49.29 km/h)
2 Ryan Cox (RSA) Barloworld 0.04.82
3 Jose Rujano (Ven) Colombia Selle Italia 0.15.25
4 Tiaan Kannemeyer (RSA) Barloworld 0.20.94
5 Michael Barry (Can) Discovery Channel 0.24.19
6 Marlon Perez Arango (Col) Colombia Selle Italia 0.27.36
7 Bogdan Bondariew (Ukr) Action 0.36.54
8 David Plaza Romero (Spa) Barloworld 0.37.81
9 Tom Danielson (USA) Discovery Channel 0.41.97
10 Fumiyuki Beppu (Jpn) Discovery Channel 0.43.50


this one was from murcia 2007, this one had a hill in the end though. he hasn't done too many itt's in europe. in south america he rode them well

1 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 32.57 (42.428 km/h)
2 José Angel Gomez (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir 0.31
3 Angel Vicioso (Spa) Relax-Gam 0.35
4 Manuel Lloret (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari 0.52
5 Inigo Cuesta (Spa) Team CSC 1.04
6 José Rujano (Ven) Unibet.com 1.07
7 Koldo Gil (Spa) Saunier Duval-Prodir
8 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Acqua Sapone-C.Mokambo 1.09
9 Jens Voigt (Ger) Team CSC 1.10
10 Gustav Erik Larsson (Swe) Unibet.com 1.11
11 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua Sapone-C.Mokambo 1.17
12 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank 1.23
13 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Fondital
14 Igor Anton (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1.27
15 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Saunier Duval-Prodir 1.29
16 Sylvester Szmyd (Pol) Lampre-Fondital 1.30
17 Vladimir Karpets (Rus) Caisse d'Epargne 1.37
18 David Bernabeu (Spa) Fuerteventura-Canari 1.42
19 Paolo Savoldelli (Ita) Astana
20 Victor Hugo Peña (Col) Unibet.com 1.45

Well Rujano should do a good ride in the hilly time trial but as other's have stated, hard to see him getting remotely close to Contador and Co in the flat one. I am kind of surprised that Contador wanted the Pink jersey so early. His team does not look that strong on paper but with all the climbing in the last week, his team will only be able to do so much for him anyway. He was obviously feeling good on Etna and like most great riders, decided to test the waters. I wonder if Menchov will pick up in the final week ? He is good at playing the invisible man until it matters but I was surprised how much time he lost on Etna. Not surprised about Sastre. He simply is not the rider he was three years ago but he did have a great record in grand tours ; very consistent until 2010.