Giro Stage 4: Padova to San Martino di Costrazza

[Leopejo]

He tried at 5k but the pace set by LPR and LIQ was too high. There is not much you can do. He tried again 1-2k before the end, but I think it wasn't steep enough to make a difference. On top of that in those last 1-2k you see the 'pure sprinters' developing such speeds, you can barely stay ahead.

On the other hand the chasers behind him stopped twice, first when Szmyd from Liquigas stopped working and Basso didn't feel like working for Pellizzotti, then when the Acqua e Sapone guy (one of the Masciarelli bros) couldn't help Garzelli more.

If Di Luca didn't take a chance so early, Soler would have won.

Cunego was ready for the sprint too, but unclipped his foot.

 

[Animal]

And if that universal announcer says one more thing about Armstrong in pink when it's clear he won't be, I think I might have to start muting =X

Isn't it georestricted?

Is there some kind of proxy you can go to to pull the feed into a browser here in the UK?

 

[Leopejo]

The climb today only averaged 5.5%, and it eased off towards the finish.

Cassani of Italian TV calculated a 26 km/h (16 mph) average speed on the final climb for the peloton.

 

[BroDeal]

Cunego was ready for the sprint too, but unclipped his foot.

That is good to know. He finished so far down in the sprint to the line on a stage that should have suited him that I thought his form might be off.

 

[Bala Verde]

Isn't it georestricted?

Is there some kind of proxy you can go to to pull the feed into a browser here in the UK?

good fast and reliable proxies are hard to find. In most cases they reduce the speed so much you won't be able to get the feed buffering/working correctly

 

[Mellow Velo]

Weak showing by the climbers. Weak. If they just coast in the bunch like that, vying for stage wins, they're handing the Giro to Basso, Leipheimer, et al.

+1

Desperately dull and predictable stage, as I'd feared.

They only have the last few Kms of tomorrow's climb to make an impact.
the middle section is 10kms at just 2% or so.
Then they have the 61km ITT to contend with.
Astana will take the Italians to the cleaners there and for the rest of the race, they'll be playing catch up.

Good brake fluid that LPR must be using.

 

[pmcg76]

Boring, boring, boring

Only guy who tried to attack was Soler, Armstrong is clearly not in top shape so you would think they would try to eliminate a potential contender as early as possible. Lance could ride back into shape and with the long TT, a definite contender if they ride tomorrow like they did today. Hopefully, there will be some attacking tomorrow. Please.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

The Killer strikes! What a great win for Danilo. The stage was tailor made for him, he was in good position all day, and attacked at just the precise moment. Plus great to see him win today, with his trying to help Abruzzo quake victims.

Stage went pretty close to what I expected. But too dull. Almost like a sprint stage, only with the GC men at the end. You could have slept until the last 10 minutes, and seen all you needed too. Like we've all been saying, just not enough climbs, and what's there, isn't steep enough.

Thanks for the clarification on Cunego. I wondered why he looked strong, but faded in the last 100m.

Ingsve must be ecstatic to see his boy in the Maglia Rosa.

 

[Bala Verde]

Boring, boring, boring

Only guy who tried to attack was Soler, Armstrong is clearly not in top shape so you would think they would try to eliminate a potential contender as early as possible. Lance could ride back into shape and with the long TT, a definite contender if they ride tomorrow like they did today. Hopefully, there will be some attacking tomorrow. Please.

I was expecting/hoping some GC contenders to go with Soler on his first try, and force a break in the peloton. Unfortunately the didn't. It could be that some are afraid of 'expending too much energy' early in the race, although it might be one of their few chances to gain time in the GC. It'll only work to the advantage of the TT GC contenders...

Too afraid to 'take off a jacket' as they would say in the Netherlands.

Perhaps tomorrow is a better stage to make a difference. The last 10k are 7-8% avg, and after having climbed 15k (must said, a large chunk only at 2%... =(

 

[Snake8]

Agree it was a little dull, but this is the 4th stage, none of the big guys is going to take a chance here and risk blowing up. Who really wants the maglia rosa right now anyway and have to defend it for three solid weeks?

I thought I saw Soler have some trouble with a pedal on his attack, seemed to throw him off just enough that he might have made the difference. Anyone else see that?

 

[53x11 in DC]

As I thought I saw before, when the speed goes up, the boss seems to break down. He was suffering on the first climb, what i saw from his face, and now he couldn't stay with the big guns until the end. If you are good, you don't let that happen. On top of that, with his spirit, he would not let that happen... he lost 6s

Great day for COL, Lovkvist takes MR. Good for him!

BV, did you really expect LA to be in contention? He's here for fitness after the accident. I was actually surprised to see him hang on this long. I was expecting a Milan-San Remo out of him on the final climb. To be in the Top 20 or so - I think he will be pleased.

Agreed on Lok - really looked strong today. Chased down Soler's first attack with panache and ease.

 

[jaylew]

The climb today only averaged 5.5%, and it eased off towards the finish. If Soler does the same kick tomorrow on the 8.6% average Alpe di Siusi I guarantee you he will fly away from the pack.

Did anyone see where the Garmins were in the finale? Did Danielson or Zabriskie manage to hang on to the group?

Brad Wiggins(??) was their top finisher. TD and DZ 10 and 20 minutes back.

 

[bastigon]

...

Lovkvist pulled back Soler once for his team leader and then followed the main contenders to take the GC lead. Is Lovkvist gonna ride for Rogers now or will he have a free role?

 

[53x11 in DC]

+1

Desperately dull and predictable stage, as I'd feared.

They only have the last few Kms of tomorrow's climb to make an impact.
the middle section is 10kms at just 2% or so.
Then they have the 61km ITT to contend with.
Astana will take the Italians to the cleaners there and for the rest of the race, they'll be playing catch up.

Good brake fluid that LPR must be using.

Ummmm.... what did we expect? This climb is easier than Sestrieres, and Sestrieres is no Mortirolo. Look at the Top 14:

1 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) LPR Brakes - Farnese Vini
2 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone - Caffe Mokambo
3 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Liquigas
4 Mauricio Soler (Col) Barloworld
5 Gilberto Simoni (Ita) Serramenti PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni Giocattoli
6 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana
7 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Team Columbia - Highroad
8 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas
9 Denis Menchov (Rus) Rabobank
10 David Arroyo (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
11 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Astana
12 Christopher Horner (USA) Astana
13 Tadej Valjavec (Slo) AG2R La Mondiale
14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C.

Which "climber" did we expect to animate this race on such a medium-grade ascent? Arroyo? Maybe. Pellizotti? Maybe, but as a "co-captain", he still has GC hopes should Basso fade.

With the Sellas, Piepolis and Riccos gone, the racing is more even-handed and strategic. I think with as many GC hopefuls in the final group, nobody wanted to burn a few matches for a 13-second advantage. I also believe that with 6 Astanas and several Liqui's, Columbias and Acqua's in that group, the purists were outnumbered.

Strategic does not necessarily mean boring.

 

[Bala Verde]

BV, did you really expect LA to be in contention? He's here for fitness after the accident. I was actually surprised to see him hang on this long. I was expecting a Milan-San Remo out of him on the final climb. To be in the Top 20 or so - I think he will be pleased.

Agreed on Lok - really looked strong today. Chased down Soler's first attack with panache and ease.

HA, no, but I have been indoctrinated by Universal's coverage Every move he makes is heralded with most lofty words.

I also wanted to make sure that everyone saw what I witnessed ...

 

[peloton]

I was sure LA would get dropped earlier, he looked pretty bad at the beginning of the last climb. Not bad at all.
Rock on Lance!

 

[53x11 in DC]

HA, no, but I have been indoctrinated by Universal's coverage Every move he makes is heralded with most lofty words.

I also wanted to make sure that everyone saw what I witnessed ...

You couldn't be more right. I AM an Armstrong fan and I couldn't stomach the commentary!! How could the guy go the whole stage without talking about Lok, Mick, Pelli, Popo, Horner, etc.....???

 

[Rechtschreibfehler]

I was sure LA would get dropped earlier, he looked pretty bad at the beginning of the last climb. Not bad at all.
Rock on Lance!

Well he woul've probably been dropped earlier if the climb would have been steep not only in the beginning.

 

[benpounder]

You couldn't be more right. I AM an Armstrong fan and I couldn't stomach the commentary!

Stunning how he entirely ignored Mick, Thomas, and Kanstantsin Siutsou, even when they were sitting on Pellozotti, Garzelli, Basso, or Di Luca's wheel. For goodness sake, Columbia riders were filling half the screen for the last 3km! Also, when you see Levi hugging Popo's wheel at the front, and Lance sucking Jani's wheel at the back, I think the focus isnt even on the right teammate.

 

[sprinter]

That Universal commentator does not appear to know who most of the riders are or his facts! I think that why he focuses on Armstrong or Basso all the time.

He kept on calling the one pace maker Garzelli when Garzelli was sitting 3 riders back. He also had to look up Soler's number when he first attacked to see who he was! And Soler crashed out of last years TDF and was not the KOM winner.

 

[53x11 in DC]

Stunning how he entirely ignored Mick, Thomas, and Kanstantsin Siutsou, even when they were sitting on Pellozotti, Garzelli, Basso, or Di Luca's wheel. For goodness sake, Columbia riders were filling half the screen for the last 3km! Also, when you see Levi hugging Popo's wheel at the front, and Lance sucking Jani's wheel at the back, I think the focus isnt even on the right teammate.

Well, the commentator's a Brit - what do you expect?? After all, they only care about Olympic track cycling!!

 

[Bala Verde]

Well, the commentator's a Brit - what do you expect?? After all, they only care about Olympic track cycling!!

and they don't keep KOM classifications on the track?

 

[Belokki]

only a 14 seccond gap? not bad at all!

Saw him ride today! He loocked stronger than I expected! When he has a bad daz he only loses seconds! Not a crushing defeat at all... Too bad for the collarbone though... but hes geting stronger by the day... cant wait for the Tour

 

[LugHugger]

who is this phantom brit embarassing our great cycling nation with his faux pas?????

 

[Mellow Velo]

I fairly sure the Universal commentator is registered, here.....
.....under the name of Beloki......sorry, my spelling mistake, I mean Belokki.

No, we got exactly what we expected. Can't have majorly hard stages in the first half of the first week of a GT.
Tom Danielson loses nearly 11 minutes, but that's about the sum of it.

LA will be out of the back far earlier, tomorrow, providing the real GC contenders actually try to go out and gain some time.