Stage 16 and Possible early Coverage

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Apr 3, 2009
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Nobody questioning Garzelli's sudden increase in performance, especially with the goals he set himself at the start of the Giro?
 
BroDeal said:
Smart, calm riding by Menchov.

Yeah, he was obviously just takin git easy, staying next to Di Luca. I can't believe how he finished! Every time they climb a mountain I think "Menchov's riding on fumes. That's it for him." And then they hit the finish and he pounces.

It's going to take something epic to get him out of pink, now, and I don't htink Di Luca can do it since Menchov keeps beating him at his own game (the mountain top sprints). Sastre is too far down and not that much stronger than Menchov in the climbs, and Basso ISN'T stronger than Menchov on the climbs.

What a great stage!
 
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Anonymous

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BroDeal said:
That depends on whether there is a camera there to record it. :D

hoooow. zing.. yuk yuk yuk... whir... zing.. buzz buzz...
about as smart as a whoopee cushion.
you're like a never ending fart joke.
am i really the only one that thinks this guy is a tiresome fool?
 
Mar 14, 2009
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Congrats for sastre , he deserved to win. and make nicest performance of the giro09
nice news for Seldraysers he is too young and good. He has a shine future.

Good work for Lance. But if Contador had been today i sure he spaced more than 3 minutes . to lance . We will see in the Tour
 
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Anonymous

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today, the only team that could have made a difference just didn't get it done.
i'll never know how that puncture really changed things but levi/astana are done.
it means little that lance was there pulling for him as they should have had one or two more at the base of the last climb to make a difference.
i'll only get partial satisfaction of seeing di luca lose a giro that could have only been slightly better for him if he'd have designed it himself.
 
Have to say Armstrong looked ominous, today.
Domestique for Contador? never an option.

Leipheimer? You can't make a silk purse out of an organic, top quality sow's ear.

Liquigas?
How can you have two men, at this stage of the Giro, hovering just off the podium, but within a couple of seconds of eachother?
Daft team set up, needs to be rectified now, in favour of Basso, but I fear it's already too late.

Sastre: becoming the main threat.
Dennis: closing in on his real season's goal.
DDL: Still strong, IMO, but running out of options.
 
What a disastrous day for Astana. Whatever strategy they had, backfired. And for all of Levi's talk about how he would just as soon finish 10th in Rome than 2nd, he showed zero aggression, and made zero attacks. I'm guessing their strategy, if you could call it that, was to send Popo up the road to get riders to chase, then exhaust everyone and have Levi ride them off his wheel. Something he's pretty much never done on his career on this big of a stage. The strategy also would have made more sense if he didn't ride simply like he was trying to win the stage. And it would have sent more fear had Astana sent Lance instead of Popo. And Lance's pull was at the exact wrong time, basically helping other riders put hurt into Levi, while chasing Popo down. WTF? The flat had almost nothing to do with Levi's faltering. He just doesn't have it, and whatever strategy they had, completely failed.

Also now looks like riding the Gila against a group of regionals, instead of racing Romandie against the pros, was a big mistake.

Mellow Velo said:
Have to say Armstrong looked ominous, today.
Domestique for Contador? never an option.

I agree with that. We knew all along the Tour would be his focus, and Astana his team. This just cemented that. Though I don't think he'll win the Tour, I don't think he has it in him to climb that long or fast. But the team will mostly be at his disposal. Contador will mostly be on his own.

jackhammer111 said:
am i really the only one that thinks this guy is a tiresome fool?

I didn't want to enter this fray, but since you asked, I think the answer to your question is "yes". You both need to let it go, move on, and just stick to the conversations at hand. Just MO.
 
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Anonymous

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jackhammer111 said:
am i really the only one that thinks this guy is a tiresome fool?

no, you are the only one who doesn't realize that you are.
 
mr. tibbs said:
Yeah, he was obviously just takin git easy, staying next to Di Luca. I can't believe how he finished! Every time they climb a mountain I think "Menchov's riding on fumes. That's it for him." And then they hit the finish and he pounces.

It's going to take something epic to get him out of pink, now, and I don't htink Di Luca can do it since Menchov keeps beating him at his own game (the mountain top sprints). Sastre is too far down and not that much stronger than Menchov in the climbs, and Basso ISN'T stronger than Menchov on the climbs.

What a great stage!
+1. Could not agree more.
 
Mar 12, 2009
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Clearly Menchov's to lose now, has Di Luca covered with the last TT up his sleeve and not sure Sastre or the Liquigas pair can put enough time into him in the mountains.

Wonderful Giro it has been so far, seems to be asking more question in regards to Tour De France form guides than answering....I like it!
 
Apr 11, 2009
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Mellow Velo said:
Have to say Armstrong looked ominous, today.
Domestique for Contador? never an option.

Agree with that. Strong last climb, taking doubts away. Good tempo, dancing on pedals. Different rider from Milan San Remo.

Contador must be wondering. But I think he'll do what he has to do, even if it means riding up the road away from Lance. :)

Looks like Levi came into Giro a bit overcooked; on the downslope from peak condition. It's one thing to have the legs and not attack, and another NOT to have the legs and not attack. Looks like he's doing what he can with the condition he's got.

On the other side, though, puzzling why he can ride great TT (just 20 secs. from Menchov) on hilly course, yet gets dropped on mountain top finishes.
 
Mar 18, 2009
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Parrot23 said:
On the other side, though, puzzling why he can ride great TT (just 20 secs. from Menchov) on hilly course, yet gets dropped on mountain top finishes.

In a time trial he can set his own pace, thus not having to do sudden leg-breaking accelerations at moments dictated by others, which he, most of anyone, reacts badly to.
 
The Liquigas DS said yesterday, he felt Leipheimer was on the verge of cracking.
These guys can obviously call it, when they see it.

LL has twittered, today was the hardest GT stage ever. So hot and with all that climbing under 1500 metres. No respite.

If the Tour is hard, Levi might have left his legs in baking Central Italy.
 
Apr 28, 2009
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If Leipheimer experienced a crack, I wonder what Løvkvist went through. It was probably inevitable, sooner or later he was going to lose 25 minutes on a stage :)
But he did last one week more than he has done before. I give him two more years, and then he might be a contender for a podium spot in one the three GT's.
 
kjetilraknerud said:
If Leipheimer experienced a crack, I wonder what Løvkvist went through. It was probably inevitable, sooner or later he was going to lose 25 minutes on a stage :)
But he did last one week more than he has done before. I give him two more years, and then he might be a contender for a podium spot in one the three GT's.

I think he did really well. He must of been riding just a tad over his current capabilities for the last week. This will serve him well in the future. As you say, he will be a force to be reckoned with in a couple of years.