Stage 16: Ponte Di Legno-Val Martello/Martelltal (139 km)

[Zam_Olyas]

http://www.velo-club.net/article.php?sid=77811&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter ...more meeting to be held tonight.

 

[kingjr]

Time the riders at the top of Stelvio, neutralize the descent totally, and release the riders at the bottom with the gaps of the top.

That's what I thought they would do after I first heard the descent would be neutralized.

No but you were not allowed to pass the moto when the flag was up

Do we know the riders in question were told that?

 

[Cimber]

Derksauer‏@derksauer·43 mins
#UCI refuses to hear #OPQS complaints despite clear evidence yday's stage influenced by incompetent race directors at #giroditalia2014

 

[Cimber]

That's what I thought they would do after I first heard the descent would be neutralized.


Do we know the riders in question were told that?

No, we dont know if Unzue passed the information on to Quintana etc. But what we do know is that the information was passed on to the ones who took it easy (Keldeman, Majka, Uran etc). Hence, no matter what its quite unfair, and its RCS's fault.

 

[kingjr]

No, we dont know if Unzue passed the information on to Quintana etc. But what we do know is that the information was passed on to the ones who took it easy (Keldeman, Majka, Uran etc). Hence, no matter what its quite unfair, and its RCS's fault.

Exactly, atm it seems RCS' fault. Or the DS. Not the riders.

 

[Flamin]

I'm glad Quintana showed he was much much better on the final climb anyway, because if the gap at the finish would have been more or less the same than the one he got on the descent, this stage would go down as an utter joke.

Now it's just a great climbing performance from Quintana being kind of overshadowed by the controversy. Kind of, because everyone who saw the race knows Quintana would have put on one hell of a show on Val Martello, even without the neutralization.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Let's be fair though. They had 20 flat km to bring back Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal. It was quiete a big group. It could have easily done had they pushed. Instead, they decided to soft pedal.

 

[Carols]

Couldn't watch stage until now and beIN has gone from 67 km to a commercial break only to return with 9 km til the finish!!! WTF!!!???

That is how they fit 4.5 hours of coverage into 2 hours. They chop it up very badly. Record the live show and watch it later In the live show they took a commercial break with 3km to go LOL!!! I had the No Commercial stream running also so just watched that during commercials. beIN coverage has been poor but it sure beats pirated streams

 

[Cimber]

UCI‏@UCI_cycling·6 mins
STATEMENT 1/3 - Re #Giro, concerned about security, organisers took initiative to place motos in front of each group on #Stelvio descent...

UCI‏@UCI_cycling·6 mins
STATEMENT 2/3 - ... This should have been approved by commissaires + coordinated and communicated to the teams more efficiently...

UCI‏@UCI_cycling·4 mins
STATEMENT 3/3 - ... but security is of course the primary concern for all race organisers and for the UCI. #cycling @giroditalia

 

[jsem94]

Just read up on the 40 pages or so I've missed since last night. What a giant mess. Organizers should take ALL the blame, disgraceful.

 

[TomasC]

No but you were not allowed to pass the moto when the flag was up

So why were they not penalized if they broke the rules?

 

[icefire]

https://twitter.com/jeredgruber/status/471345615645835264/photo/1

red flag..........

They put the red flag onboard the moto to signal danger the same way they do on traffic islands, roundabouts or dangerous turns. Whay did you expect RCS to do? Put a man on every switchback and ask him to stand still until the last rider passed by?

 

[Cimber]

Exactly, atm it seems RCS' fault. Or the DS. Not the riders.

Agree, but the consequence for the result remains catastrophic either way.

 

[Cimber]

They put the red flag onboard the moto to signal danger the same way they do on traffic islands, roundabouts or dangerous turns. Whay did you expect RCS to do? Put a man on every switchback and ask him to wait till the last rider passed by?

On the Race Radio they clearly stated that the flag meant more than that.

 

[Red Rick]

It's reasonable, and do it before the ITT. I think everybody would agree, in hindsight, Quintana would've taken at least 2 minutes on everybody else on that final climb.

This is such bull****, if Quintana is in the MR group at the start of the climb to Val Martello he either doesn't attack untill the last 10k (or later) and probably gains less or he rides the same mtt up the climb where Hesjedal and Rolland lost 10s and 1m respectively. It's hard to believe all the other GC guy's would lose more than that

 

[Cimber]

So why were they not penalized if they broke the rules?

Ask RCS - they are the ones who screwed it all up in the first place.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Let's be fair though. They had 20 flat km to bring back Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal. It was quiete a big group. It could have easily done had they pushed. Instead, they decided to soft pedal.

Yep that was surprising. You've got the race favourite 2 minutes up the road, a serious but not insurmountable problem, and yet there seemed to be very little urgency to chase. It needed all the GC contenders to be riding together on the front, not just a couple of doms who would have been tired from the previous climbs. Instead the mood of the chase seemed to go from disbelief to embarrassment to resignation to sulking

 

[Red Rick]

Firing Vegni is a great idea, not because of what happened yesterday, but because it gives a possibiltiy for Zomegnan to become the bos of RCS again

 

[Eshnar]

Firing Vegni is a great idea, not because of what happened yesterday, but because it gives a possibiltiy for Zomegnan to become the bos of RCS again

why should he want that.

 

[pastronef]

why the want to take 55 seconds from Quintana? I mean, why 55?

he had 55 seconds after the descent?

 

[Red Rick]

why should he want that.

I dunno, but he's the guy that makes all those awesome parcours
There was a reason for the Zomegnan approves meme in the race design thread

 

[Mellow Velo]

Theoretically, they could slap Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal with a 55 second
penalty for overtaking the red flag bike, which by all accounts, they did.
Not really an admission of guilt that the descent was neutralised by the officials, (because it wasn't) but still an infringement of the instructions given out over race radio.

If that's what it takes for this to all go away.........

 

[The Hitch]

Let's be fair though. They had 20 flat km to bring back Quintana, Rolland and Hesjedal. It was quiete a big group. It could have easily done had they pushed. Instead, they decided to soft pedal.

Cos it was just Quintana Rolland and Hejsedal in that group? The 3 of them, riding into the wind, sharing the workload on that flat? No one else?

 

[Bavarianrider]

If Quintana Hesjedal and Roland passed the motorbike unde rred flags really there 's no othe rway than disqualifying them. Every cyclist knows you are not allowed to pass cars or motorbikes when a red flag is up. No matter what race, not matter the conditions.

 

[Cimber]

why the want to take 55 seconds from Quintana? I mean, why 55?

he had 55 seconds after the descent?

Yeah its a very weird number to come up with imo