Pre Giro d' Italia-thread!

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I just wanna setup my situatiton. I was on a sick leave last year and it was the second week of Tour. I got hooked and havent looked back ever since. Watched Vuelta for the first time last year and in a couple of weeks it will be the first Giro for me. I´ve always been a huge cycling fan. Followed Indurain and Pantani in the 90´s but so much time has passed. Now I have watched basically the hole season up to LBL. So easy to get along and get to know the main players and who you like to follow.

I have no idea about the stages and I think that´s only a good thing. Took a one week vacation from work just when the Giro hits the mountains.

As for the GC I just hope this isn´t gonna be easy street for Froome. The startlist is not confirmed yet but something is missing in my opinion. I have only seen a climpse of Dumoulin and he has not impressed me that much. I am aware of his TT skills but still. Who´s gonna support him?
Also the fact that Froome is participating both Giro and Tour is gonna change so much. So many GC riders are focusing so much on Tour this year. Looks like Movistar is not gonna send anyone from the trio to Giro. Big mistake. GC is looking more and more boring? I mean sure there are interesting riders there but high profile riders are lacking. But this is just my rookie look for the situation. As for me I have never been that much of an GC follower. I like mountains and riders like Landa, Bardet, Roglic and George Bennett. But lets hope that the first Giro is not gonna disappoint me.

Have fun.
I always find it really interesting how people look at a sport when they are only starting to watch a sport or like in your case haven't watched it for many years. Generally if last years tour hooked you, I'm sure you'll like this giro even more

Agree and agree! You will find Tour of Azerbaijan interesting if you liked the Tour last year. Seriously tho, Im sure we will see better racing - last Tour was close to rock bottom IMO, so you should be in for a good one.

 

[Koronin]

Re: Re:

Aren't Movistar sending any of their top GC riders? Neither Quintana, Valverde, Landa or Soler?

No, they are sending everybody and his friends to Le Tour!
Gonna be a comedy :lol:

Actually I'm thinking it's going to be a tragedy, however it may very well be a comedy as well. :lol:

 

[fuiers]

Re: Re:

I just wanna setup my situatiton. I was on a sick leave last year and it was the second week of Tour. I got hooked and havent looked back ever since. Watched Vuelta for the first time last year and in a couple of weeks it will be the first Giro for me. I´ve always been a huge cycling fan. Followed Indurain and Pantani in the 90´s but so much time has passed. Now I have watched basically the hole season up to LBL. So easy to get along and get to know the main players and who you like to follow.

I have no idea about the stages and I think that´s only a good thing. Took a one week vacation from work just when the Giro hits the mountains.

As for the GC I just hope this isn´t gonna be easy street for Froome. The startlist is not confirmed yet but something is missing in my opinion. I have only seen a climpse of Dumoulin and he has not impressed me that much. I am aware of his TT skills but still. Who´s gonna support him?
Also the fact that Froome is participating both Giro and Tour is gonna change so much. So many GC riders are focusing so much on Tour this year. Looks like Movistar is not gonna send anyone from the trio to Giro. Big mistake. GC is looking more and more boring? I mean sure there are interesting riders there but high profile riders are lacking. But this is just my rookie look for the situation. As for me I have never been that much of an GC follower. I like mountains and riders like Landa, Bardet, Roglic and George Bennett. But lets hope that the first Giro is not gonna disappoint me.

Have fun.
I always find it really interesting how people look at a sport when they are only starting to watch a sport or like in your case haven't watched it for many years. Generally if last years tour hooked you, I'm sure you'll like this giro even more

Agree and agree! You will find Tour of Azerbaijan interesting if you liked the Tour last year. Seriously tho, Im sure we will see better racing - last Tour was close to rock bottom IMO, so you should be in for a good one.

Thx for the warm welcome for the community. Ill try to watch every stage and because Im at work on the first 2 weeks I have to stay away from the social media. Dont wanna know anything about the current days events unless I have a day off.

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

Froome is a pretty big favorite in my opinion. Tommy D likely to take some time from him in the TT's, but not nearly as much as Froome will take in the MTF's. Froome is the best overall GT rider by some margin. He'll have to have a REALLY bad day to lose this race.

 

[Gigs_98]

So lets try to rundown the favorites then for the jerseys.

GC: Froome, Dumoulin, Pinot, Aru, Chavez
Points: Viviani, Wellens, Froome
Mountains: Sanchez, Pinot, Pozzovivo, Chavez, Villella, Yates??
Young rider: Lopez, Mohoric, Formolo, Mas??, Soler??

This is my rookie opinions. You guys might have something to add.

I actually think Lopez is more likely to win the gc than aru, Pinot and chaves. Many here will disagree with that but I think if Lopez manages to have the climbing shape from the 2nd week of last years vuelta for a whole race he is the favorite to win. That was mightily impressive. At the same time I think if everyone except him wins the young rider classification it would be a major upset. I also think you can pretty much guarantee mohoric will not win it. He just isn't a gc rider.
I guess you picked froome as one of the favorites for the points jersey because of his win in last years vuelta's points classification, but in the giro the points jersey is much more likely to got to a sprinter. I'd maybe also add a few young riders like mas or ciccone as candidates for the mountains jersey, but then again that competition is pretty much impossible to predict

 

[SafeBet]

Astana will set this race on fire 2015 style. Other teams should be prepared, cause it's gonna be a hard race to control.

I still have some doubts on MAL consistency over three weeks, but he can be the top climber on any given day, even on power climbs like Etna or Gran Sasso.

Formolo could surprise, his form is on the rise and he clearly benefitted from changing teams.

Dumoulin and Froome are obviously the favorites.

 

[dacooley]

i don't have a clue where immense hype around lopez comes from. each of his vuelta performances were mostly tactical wins as he was allowed to ride away from nibali and froome relatively easy because of not being a real gc threat. let's expect until he really destroy froome and dimoulin on a proper mtf to give him such a big credit. it's a really tough job with a modern powermeter climbing as someone already fairly noticed. not to mention, taking time in tts is far more reliable than doing the same on the climbs. we all realize who will dominate time trials, however if lopez and pino will manage to stop their aughority in the mountains is still a big questionmark.

for me personally, froome and dimoulin still remain way ahead of all other contenders.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

i don't have a clue where immense hype around lopez comes from. each of his vuelta performances were mostly tactical wins as he was allowed to ride away from nibali and froome relatively easy because of not being a real gc threat. let's expect until he really destroy froome and dimoulin on a proper mtf to give him such a big credit. it's a really tough job with a modern powermeter climbing as someone already fairly noticed. not to mention, taking time in tts is far more reliable than doing the same on the climbs. we all realize who will dominate time trials, however if lopez and pino will manage to stop their aughority in the mountains is still a big questionmark.

for me personally, froome and dimoulin still remain way ahead of all other contenders.

They weren't tactical. Froome tried to catch Lopez but couldn't and because he had failed to drop Nibali who had spent way more time in the wind he decided to ride for 2nd place.

On the Sierra Nevada, Lopez held a gap of 50s where Contador dropped and lost a minute, and where Nibali didn't even try to hold off the Sky train.

If Lopez rides like that for 3 weeks, and if Froome has a weaker team, the flood gates are open.

 

[GP Blanco]

Lotto-Jumbo's team:
George Bennett
Enrico Battaglin
Koen Bouwman
Jos van Emden
Robert Gesink
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Danny van Poppel
Gijs Van Hoecke

 

[dacooley]

Re: Re:

i don't have a clue where immense hype around lopez comes from. each of his vuelta performances were mostly tactical wins as he was allowed to ride away from nibali and froome relatively easy because of not being a real gc threat. let's expect until he really destroy froome and dimoulin on a proper mtf to give him such a big credit. it's a really tough job with a modern powermeter climbing as someone already fairly noticed. not to mention, taking time in tts is far more reliable than doing the same on the climbs. we all realize who will dominate time trials, however if lopez and pino will manage to stop their aughority in the mountains is still a big questionmark.

for me personally, froome and dimoulin still remain way ahead of all other contenders.

They weren't tactical. Froome tried to catch Lopez but couldn't and because he had failed to drop Nibali who had spent way more time in the wind he decided to ride for 2nd place.

On the Sierra Nevada, Lopez held a gap of 50s where Contador dropped and lost a minute, and where Nibali didn't even try to hold off the Sky train.

If Lopez rides like that for 3 weeks, and if Froome has a weaker team, the flood gates are open.

nobody argues with the fact that lopez was stronger on a couple of key stages. though, i don't think we have any gt where climber #1 is ready to dominate any mountain stage, which is basically required from lopez to win the giro.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

i don't have a clue where immense hype around lopez comes from. each of his vuelta performances were mostly tactical wins as he was allowed to ride away from nibali and froome relatively easy because of not being a real gc threat. let's expect until he really destroy froome and dimoulin on a proper mtf to give him such a big credit. it's a really tough job with a modern powermeter climbing as someone already fairly noticed. not to mention, taking time in tts is far more reliable than doing the same on the climbs. we all realize who will dominate time trials, however if lopez and pino will manage to stop their aughority in the mountains is still a big questionmark.

for me personally, froome and dimoulin still remain way ahead of all other contenders.

I agree that froome and dumoulin are the favorites but behind them it's Lopez for me. You shouldn't forget that this hype isn't coming out of nowhere. The guy was already hyped years ago, won the tour de Suisse aged 22 and still was only 23 last year. We probably still haven't seen what he is capable of and what we have seen already was really impressive. Yeah he wasn't as marked as Nibali but still managing to be the first gc rider over the line in three consecutive mtf's, winning two of them is outstanding.
I agree there is a chance he turns out to not being capable of riding constantly over 3 weeks but the difference between him and for example Pinot is that we already know pinot's top level and we know that it's most certainly not enough to beat froome or dumoulin (if both are in good shape). Lopez' top level might be higher than the one of the two. If we are arguing who is more likely to podium I tend to agree that Pinot is the more likely candidate but if we are talking about the win, Lopez is my 3rd pick.

 

[May0maniac]

Re:

Astana will set this race on fire 2015 style. Other teams should be prepared, cause it's gonna be a hard race to control.

I still have some doubts on MAL consistency over three weeks, but he can be the top climber on any given day, even on power climbs like Etna or Gran Sasso.

Formolo could surprise, his form is on the rise and he clearly benefitted from changing teams.

Dumoulin and Froome are obviously the favorites.

The thing wuth Lopez is that it was his first gt, we haven't seen a young rider who rides fo gc doing so well in his first gt in a long time, I think he deserves the hype.

 

[Krokro]

Re:

Lotto-Jumbo's team:
George Bennett
Enrico Battaglin
Koen Bouwman
Jos van Emden
Robert Gesink
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Danny van Poppel
Gijs Van Hoecke

Van Emden for the prologue win? I guess it's a realistic prediction. Just don't know his form. He's been pretty anonymous this season so far.

Edit: not a prologue, but 10km is still relatively short and good for his abilities.

 

[yaco]

Sprinters at the Giro is thin - Looks Viviani and S.Bennett will fight out most of the sprints.

 

[GP Blanco]

Re: Re:

Lotto-Jumbo's team:
George Bennett
Enrico Battaglin
Koen Bouwman
Jos van Emden
Robert Gesink
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Danny van Poppel
Gijs Van Hoecke

Van Emden for the prologue win? I guess it's a realistic prediction. Just don't know his form. He's been pretty anonymous this season so far.

Edit: not a prologue, but 10km is still relatively short and good for his abilities.

Dennis is here as well so Van Emden will most likely finish second.

 

[Krokro]

Yeah I mixed it and thought it was a prologue. 4km would be ideal for him.

Anyway, Dennis (though he might not be a factor later on), Froome and Dumo are going to gain some time already. Nothing big but it could force climbers to go on the attack earlier. It's the only advantage I see GC-wise.

 

[Nirvana]

Re:

Sprinters at the Giro is thin - Looks Viviani and S.Bennett will fight out most of the sprints.

Mareczko could be a contender in totally flat stages, last year in the two stages where he was able to sprint he finished just behind Gaviria. Anyway is Quick Step to lose since they come with a full sprint train.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Great that Bennett is riding, I actually thought he was riding the Tour. Much higher chances of doing something in the Giro for the likes of him and Gesink, but I think he will try a rather anonymous top-10 anyways honestly. But good to have a little more depth.

Van Poppel can probably also mix it up in the sprints. Somewhat decent team.

 

[Chrispol]

Re: Re:

i don't have a clue where immense hype around lopez comes from. each of his vuelta performances were mostly tactical wins as he was allowed to ride away from nibali and froome relatively easy because of not being a real gc threat. let's expect until he really destroy froome and dimoulin on a proper mtf to give him such a big credit. it's a really tough job with a modern powermeter climbing as someone already fairly noticed. not to mention, taking time in tts is far more reliable than doing the same on the climbs. we all realize who will dominate time trials, however if lopez and pino will manage to stop their aughority in the mountains is still a big questionmark.

for me personally, froome and dimoulin still remain way ahead of all other contenders.

I agree that froome and dumoulin are the favorites but behind them it's Lopez for me. You shouldn't forget that this hype isn't coming out of nowhere. The guy was already hyped years ago, won the tour de Suisse aged 22 and still was only 23 last year. We probably still haven't seen what he is capable of and what we have seen already was really impressive. Yeah he wasn't as marked as Nibali but still managing to be the first gc rider over the line in three consecutive mtf's, winning two of them is outstanding.
I agree there is a chance he turns out to not being capable of riding constantly over 3 weeks but the difference between him and for example Pinot is that we already know pinot's top level and we know that it's most certainly not enough to beat froome or dumoulin (if both are in good shape). Lopez' top level might be higher than the one of the two. If we are arguing who is more likely to podium I tend to agree that Pinot is the more likely candidate but if we are talking about the win, Lopez is my 3rd pick.

Actually he said that he beat some records during the prep stage before Trentino. He could be better than last year. If he avoid bad days (wich is the most complicated thing for him I think), I see him challenge the top spot.

For sure since his 2012 breakthrough he may not have lived up to expectations, but he steadily improve year by year and I think he is a legitimate contender, more than Lopez at the moment, who is very talented, but still has a lot of flaws.

 

[wheresmybrakes]

I'm not so sure that Froome or TD will win this race, starting to think along the lines of Pinot if he can up his TTing. Astana will just go bonkers I feel with winning stages and maybe just about squeezing onto the podium. As an outside gamble, maybe Poels can stay up close to GC and if Froome bonks, then he is on hand to bully them all in the 3rd week. One thing for sure, Contador junior will not win this bike race.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re: Re:

Lotto-Jumbo's team:
George Bennett
Enrico Battaglin
Koen Bouwman
Jos van Emden
Robert Gesink
Bert-Jan Lindeman
Danny van Poppel
Gijs Van Hoecke

Van Emden for the prologue win? I guess it's a realistic prediction. Just don't know his form. He's been pretty anonymous this season so far.

Edit: not a prologue, but 10km is still relatively short and good for his abilities.

Van Emden is a domestique in every race except for ITT's. Ofcourse it seems anonymous.

However, he was 2nd in the Tirreno ITT and 4th in Abu Dhabi. So he seems to be in good shape this season again.

 

[HelloDolly]

I'm not so sure that Froome or TD will win this race, starting to think along the lines of Pinot if he can up his TTing. Astana will just go bonkers I feel with winning stages and maybe just about squeezing onto the podium. As an outside gamble, maybe Poels can stay up close to GC and if Froome bonks, then he is on hand to bully them all in the 3rd week. One thing for sure, Contador junior will not win this bike race.

I agre with this analysis....Pino is the potential winner for me if Froome is off key (which he may be) or something happens like sickness, etc

Pinot can climb and has improved his TT
I also think Astana will win alot of stages but not GC
Chaves though is the real mystery....has not been good all year but he can get to form fast and without racing and MS are sending their A team so they must be confident of a win eps to switch Kreuz ...A win is what they are after and nothing less will do
Chaves was over weight (for him) at start of season so he may have kept his powder dry and trained late as had a hard 2017
Could be the real dark horse

 

[Tonton]

I can't believe that I beat AlexandreB to this...

AG2R: Alexandre Geniez (FRA), François Bidard (FRA), Mikaël Chérel (FRA), Nico Denz (ALL), Hubert Dupont (FRA), Quentin Jaurégui (FRA), Matteo Montaguti (ITA), Clément Venturini (FRA).

GROUPAMA-FDJ: Thibaut Pinot (FRA), William Bonnet (FRA), Matthieu Ladagnous (FRA), Steve Morabito (SUI), Georg Preidler (AUT), Sébastien Reichenbach (SUI), Anthony Roux (FRA), Jérémy Roy (FRA)

 

[Valv.Piti]

Might as well give that spot for another team than Ag2R without Pozzo!

 

[Tonton]

Re:

Might as well give that spot for another team than Ag2R without Pozzo!

Yeah, it's AG2R-Light.

Fr FDJ, I was expecting Mollard to be in the lineup. He climbs reasonably well and his bike set up is identical to Pinot's.