Giro Stage 2: Jesolo - Trieste

[BroDeal]

Discuss...

 

[Bala Verde]

How technical is the finish? Winding roads, lots of turns and narrow, or is it straight like a billiard cue and wide like J Lo's booty?

 

[Leopejo]

How technical is the finish? Winding roads, lots of turns and narrow, or is it straight like a billiard cue and wide like J Lo's booty?

There is an 11 km finishing circuit, with a 95 m climb 4 km from the finish line. This circuit is done three times (with the second occurrence of the climb being the Giro's first KOM).

According to Italian TV, it is NOT the same circuit than in the 2000 Italian National Championship (see my post in the Giro d'Italia thread). Then the same climb had double the elevation gain and the circuit was much more difficult. Today everybody is betting on a bunch sprint.

EDIT: according to Cassani, it's an easy finish. The climb is gentle. The descent is easy, with only one hairpin turn. Then 900 m of slight downhill, an easy turn to the left and a wide finishing straight.

 

[Bala Verde]

Ok, to make the sprint prediction more interesting...

My picks are Haddou and Haedo.

 

[53x11 in DC]

too much work from garmin - let columbia control it. maybe a bit of detente going on.

love the universal feed, particularly the captions "end of the bunch", "packed bunch", etc. i dunno, but i prefer arriere du peloton, kop van de westrijd, and gruppo compatto. I gues they have to dumb it down for us "U.S. Americans".

 

[BroDeal]

Ok, to make the sprint prediction more interesting...

My picks are Haddou and Haedo.

It looks like Garmin must have some confidence in Farrar, so I will pick him. It would be the perfect way for Garmin to stick it to Cav after yesterday.

 

[53x11 in DC]

It looks like Garmin must have some confidence in Farrar, so I will pick him. It would be the perfect way for Garmin to stick it to Cav after yesterday.

That would be nice. My heart says Farrar, my head says Cav.

 

[Bala Verde]

Davis seems to be interested too =)

and what is this, no one for pettachi?

 

[ingsve]

The swedish national jersey (Ljungblad) really is one of the most beautiful national jerseys. And so easy to pick out in the peloton.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Too dodgy for Petacchi, and he's a little long in the tooth. This is a classic Cav-type sprint with that little bend in the end. Farrar would need a bigger wind-up.

 

[Bala Verde]

Astana is trying to do some work for the sprinter teams to get some good will, and of course livestrong exposure. It is prob a good interval training for LA as well...

 

[Bala Verde]

The swedish national jersey (Ljungblad) really is one of the most beautiful national jerseys. And so easy to pick out in the peloton.

agreed!! Very nice jersey (whish they could win the Olympic medal in Hockey soon in Vancouver =)

 

[Greg WI]

Garmin is not from the US

Garmin is from the Cayman Islands. At least that is where they are registered, for tax purposes. And since their business is completely dependent on US military satellites, and those of us that paid to put them up there, it chaps my hide every time I see "Garmin" and "from the US" in the same sentence. To those of us that pay taxes in the US, we are paying more because Garmin pays less.
Sorry. April 15 is not that long ago.

 

[ingsve]

Someone might lose time on the GC today if they got caught in the crash.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Shame on me. Nice win, Alessandro! And this announcer is a bonehead.

 

[Bala Verde]

What an idiot comentator... Di luca in a bunch sprint?

Cav the Great got his a$$ kicked by the sly old fox =) I was already thinking that his experience might help outwit Cav's sprinting strenght. He jumped from his wheel, and then Cav was blocked by his own team mate, and could never follow Pettachi's accelartion.

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

Lovely sprint by Petacchi.

 

[palmerq]

It's good to see someone so happy to win too, it looks quite funny how happy he was, well done to him.

Ben swift 3rd that is good for him.

 

[Leopejo]

Petacchi:

"It's two days that I try to find how to beat Cavendish. And today I did it how I had planned. Yes, Cavendish is a very nice guy. I dedicate this to my son, whose first birthday is today".

 

[Parrot23]

Great stuff. Pettachi's a class act who's had his knocks. Great to see him win, and the knock Cav off his pedestal.

 

[elapid]

Shame on me. Nice win, Alessandro! And this announcer is a bonehead.

The difference between him and Phil? While it was pretty stupid to think that was DiLuca instead of Petacchi, he was basing his call from race radio which said he was DiLuca.

Regardless, good win for Petacchi.

 

[Parrot23]

Geez, I was thinking, Di Lucca's been working on this sprinting! A little confused; this announcer talks to much. That need someone else to take the load off him.

 

[BroDeal]

Geez, I was thinking, Di Lucca's been working on this sprinting! A little confused; this announcer talks to much. That need someone else to take the load off him.

Bring in Bob Roll.

 

[Parrot23]

LOL, Cav not too happy

 

[Jamsque]

Definitely a case of age and treachery overcoming youth and skill. Cav waited just a moment too long to jump, and Petacchi spotted it and pounced. If Cav had jumped first, he would have won it, and I think if the line had been about 50-100 m later, Cav would have won it. Very smart racing from Petacchi.

Nice to see Ben Swift getting a 3rd place too, he's really coming along nicely. I am already fantasizing about him leading out Cav on a GB squad next year...