Off season. We need some Giro 2011 discussion.

[Michielveedeebee]

I'll be rooting for The Pope

 

[jens_attacks]

In my mind Kreuziger has a snowball's chance in hell to win the giro. If he does win by some freak accident I will ban myself for a month, that sure I am of that

you're not alone.i predicted since a few months on the internet that roman will fail miserably on the second week and tiralongo will become astana's leader.that's even worse if he will win it.

 

[taiwan]

you're not alone.i predicted since a few months on the internet that roman will fail miserably on the second week and tiralongo will become astana's leader.that's even worse if he will win it.

Nice for Tiralongo to get his chance, but his palmares aren't outstanding (I realise he's been a domestique). I don't see Kreuziger collapsing so badly that Tiralongo's a better option. Kreuziger for the top ten at worst.

 

[Jan the Man]

Notice I didn't say that Kreuziger will win just he's in a group of 10 favourites. If I had to put money on where he will finish I would guess somwhere like 4 - 6th. He cannot climb with the best but I cannot see him having a massive jour sans.

His team will be strong for the TTT and he is pretty good at TTs in particular mountain TTs.

So while he will struggle on the steep pitches of stages 13 - 15 he will have a chance to make time on the pure climbers like Anton, Rujano, Sella, Pozzovivo and Ricco elsewhere.

 

[Captain_Cavman]

Menchov ftw without winning a stage.

 

[Havetts]

I dont know how strong Menchov is on the extremely steep gradients, but I'd say he's really one of the major favourites.

 

[The Hitch]

you're not alone.i predicted since a few months on the internet that roman will fail miserably on the second week and tiralongo will become astana's leader.that's even worse if he will win it.

If you are right about Tiralongo, that would be one amazing cq buy for you Arnout and ACF

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

If you are right about Tiralongo, that would be one amazing cq buy for you Arnout and ACF

Tiralongo is pretty good. I remember watching him really slug it out for his high place at the vuelta in 09'.

He wont be a contendor tho, possible top ten maybe. Anywhere between 5-10 is a chance imo. But I suspect kreuziger will be good enough for that also, and thus tiralongo will probably be a domestique again.

---

my podium pick (undecided order)
1,2,3- menchov, ricco + anton
4- scarponi

 

[The Hitch]

Tiralongo is pretty good. I remember watching him really slug it out for his high place at the vuelta in 09'.

He wont be a contendor tho, possible top ten maybe. Anywhere between 5-10 is a chance imo. But I suspect kreuziger will be good enough for that also, and thus tiralongo will probably be a domestique again.

---

my podium pick (undecided order)
1,2,3- menchov, ricco + anton
4- scarponi

I know how good Tiralongo is. Im just surprised so few of us picked him.

1 he lost out in 2009 because of a crash and it was quite a memorable one at that.
2Hes at a team with few leaders.

Seems like a perfect buy. The idea just never came to me at the time i guess.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Anton
menchov
Nibali

With Tiralongo, I think a top 10 is definetly possible and that in itself makes him a good buy for CQ

 

[whittashau]

I personally think Nibali with another year under his belt will be even better on the climbs. He has steadily improved with each year so I think he'll at least give the elite climbers a very good run for their money. I just wonder if Liquigas will be as good in the high mountains as they've been in recent years. I get the feeling that Szmyd will skip the giro and do the tour with Basso, which will leave Nibali with very young, albeit, talented mountain domestiques

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

I know how good Tiralongo is. Im just surprised so few of us picked him.

1 he lost out in 2009 because of a crash and it was quite a memorable one at that.
2Hes at a team with few leaders.

Seems like a perfect buy. The idea just never came to me at the time i guess.

more likely then not he will still be a domestique at the giro tho.
Then a high place is unlikely.

Maybe if he skips the tour, and does the vuelta he might get some more freedom, but i don't think he'll get much in the giro.

regarding the CQ game, I honestly do rate the guy, but i feel his role within the team will not translate into a lot of CQ points.

 

[roundabout]

I would say that Masciarelli if given a chance is quite likely to finish above Tiralongo on GC

 

[leadville]

Menchov ftw without winning a stage.

This.
As much as i hate to say it, i think that is a very likely scenario.

And of course, you can count on Nibali.

Nibali, Menchov or Menschov, Nibali would be my bet.

 

[The Hitch]

This.
As much as i hate to say it, i think that is a very likely scenario.

And of course, you can count on Nibali.

Nibali, Menchov or Menschov, Nibali would be my bet.

Where is Nibali going to get his time from?

Last year his time on Evans and Scarponi came all from the ttt. Without the ttt he wouldnt have even been close to them.

Liqui is not going to be as strong this time, while Scarponis team is going to be stronger.

Rujano will be weak and maybe Ricco in the ttt but the ttt is only 22k compared to 32 k last year.

Hell get a bit from the 2 itts but is that really going to be enough to hold off the losses on the steep stuff? We saw Anton own him on that up to crash in Vuelta last year and i think Ricco will too.

 

[taiwan]

Having finally looked at the parcours, I take the view that it's a climber's race, and should be forgiving of pure climbers who're weaker in the TT. There are 6+ significant MTFs and a mountain time trial.



It doesn't really favour Nibali or Menchov in terms of their characteristics-they'd be better off with more flat TT miles. For the overall: Scarponi, Ricco, Anton, Rodriguez if he's there.

 

[theyoungest]

Menchov ftw without winning a stage.

He'll be the nr. 1 favourite for the time trial.

 

[paperbackwriter]

I personally think Nibali with another year under his belt will be even better on the climbs. He has steadily improved with each year so I think he'll at least give the elite climbers a very good run for their money. I just wonder if Liquigas will be as good in the high mountains as they've been in recent years. I get the feeling that Szmyd will skip the giro and do the tour with Basso, which will leave Nibali with very young, albeit, talented mountain domestiques

Szmyd mentioned on his blog and in a recent interview that he'll do Catalunya, Trentino, Romandie, Giro, Tour and Poland (though of course he added that the Tour, not Giro, will be his main focus).

 

[jaylew]

Nibali will be even stronger this year, imo. Two GT podiums under his belt, more confidence, and he's actually planning on racing the Giro this year instead of being thrown in it at the last minute due to Pelli's problems. He's also reaching that "sweet spot" in terms of age when a lot of GT guys really begin to improve.

I thought his performance last year was remarkable considering he was working for Basso and was in no way trying to peak for the Giro.

I'm also not yet convinced he's bad at the steep stuff.

 

[La Pandera]

Kreuziger should be on the list, he is a little bit underestimated, while for example Nibali is overrated. If you consider the rest of the discussing riders, then Kreuziger surely must be there. He's not number one to win, but he can make it.

I'm not sure how one can overrated Nibali considering he's made constant progression in his Tour finishes (up to 8th I believe as of 2009) and in 2010 made the podium at the Giro and won the Vuelta. Kreuziger in the meantime seems to have hit a wall in his progression. Where in 2009 he won I believe Tour de Romandie and finished top ten in the Tour, in 2010 he had no significant wins other than a stage and the overall at the Giro di Sardegna and finished in the same position in the Tour (9th) as the previous year. Now granted we could attribute some of his lack of results to the battle within the team for riding as leader in important races and his being the only one of his competition that isn't Italian, thus his exit to Astana. I think he will figure in the gc in the Giro though because he is a quality rider and sometimes all that is needed to motivate a rider is a change of scenary (teams).

 

[La Pandera]

Silly me. Never heard that nickname before.

Can anyone tell me how or why Igor Anton's nickname is "Fuji"?

 

[taiwan]

"Nicknamed Fuji because that was the type of bike he first started to race and ride on - aged nine..." say Cycling Weekly.http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/345736/igor-anton-rider-profile.html

 

[La Pandera]

"Nicknamed Fuji because that was the type of bike he first started to race and ride on - aged nine..." say Cycling Weekly.http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest/345736/igor-anton-rider-profile.html

Thanks! I'd never heard him referred to as "Fuji" before.

 

[zapata]

I vote for Nibali because i hope so, but I'm not so sure. Would be nice if anton or rujano could do it, since they're in my CQ-team, but i doubt it. Very hard to pick a favourite at this point.

 

[Ryaguas]

Carlos Sastre ftw, he will comeback strongly from a disastrous 2010. Anyone but ricco, PLEASE!

STFU or Il Cobra will be under your bed tonite and you won't like it... hahaha

henao is probably the best colombian of this generation, so i am disappointed that he decided to stay one year more in orgullo

I think is a good decision... He needs to develop a bit more, He's already great and is a rly exciting rider to see but 1 year more in Colombia will be good for him in Cafe de Colombia they are teaching and preparing him really well, so when He hit Europe He will be already formed... I want to see him in Movistar, Unzue would be a great teacher for him, also Movistar with tons of business in Colombia and Venezuela needs an image for his PR and Henao fits perfectly tho =D

But who will be there is Ricco, and he sure as hell wont just sit around smiling at Nibali.

There is no love between those guys... Riccó will go for Nibali's yugular if he can =D Can't wait to see Riccó dropping Nibali big time

Winning Giro would demonstrate he has become a better climber

He has to win it first =D

now , ricco, going with sassi is trying to change his image.

To change his image but not his riding style... Riccó is hungry and He's still mad for the 2008 Giro... Riccó is going for all... no prisioners!

One of the dopers probably.

You can't win the giro only on water

STFU and go to the clinic with that topic!

Anyway...

My pic for this Giro is simple

1. Riccó (No question about it)
2. Purito (Di Luca, Losada and Moreno as domestiques )
3. Rujano (Hell yeah... He's back)
4. Scarponi
5. Soler (I want him to do great in Il Giro!)

I dont take Igor cuz Igor de Galdeano has said that Euskaltel is going for stages but IDK... maybe is an strategy to dont put pressure on Igor but If Igor arrives to the 3rd week in a good position be sure that He is going for the GC... Is not his 1st Giro cuz He rode Il Giro as neoPro just 1 week... and is a good move from Galdeano to dont target Il Giro, Igor needs more experience and needs to finish a GT first... this without doubts will be a good experience for him looking to La Vuelta...

ah Purito is passing Le Tour!!!! GREAT!!!! Giro and Vuelta are more suited to him!!! Le Tour is not all the cycling!!! AWESOME desicion Purito!!!