Stage 19: Friday, May 25: Treviso-Alpe di Pampeago. 198km

[DenisMenchov]

Evans was set up to win it from the beginning. He had a couple of stage wins and some top fives in the first two weeks. Evans also stayed within contention and could rely on the TT to win. Alot of guys can't do that. Evans wouldn't have won without the TT.

Sastre was in yellow from stages 17 to 21, so no.

Stage 17 was the last stage in the mountains that year, and I am talking about Evans in the TT which was on the last day.

 

[rzombie1988]

Stage 17 was the last stage in the mountains that year, and I am talking about Evans in the TT which was on the last day.

No it wasn't. Stage 17 was the last day in the alps but Stage 18 was mostly mountainous with a 3, 2 and a 4, but no MTF. It was just as hard if not more hard than the first day in the Alps.

I'm not talking about TT's. Read my post.

 

[DenisMenchov]

This is a hilly stage, but mountains no.

 

[rzombie1988]

This is a hilly stage, but mountains no.

More mountainous than the first day in the mountains.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

That's why I said the Giro last year wasn't anything extraordinary, but the fact is Contador was there and that racing did happen. This Giro doesn't even come close. And if we compare it to the 2010 Giro you can only weep.

No, they're not trying their best to win. They're all racing conservatively and hoping the other guys will collapse all by themselves. Basso and Scarponi needed to take serious time on Hesjedal - how was that going to happen in 3 km?

Giro 2010 was only any good because of the break that got away. If that hadn't happened, we would have watched Nibali and Basso owning it up easily. In 2011 Contador was there, a superior rider who showed he was indeed superior.

Basso and Scarponi are doing their best to win. How are they going to take serious time on Hesjedal you ask? Simple answer, they won't. Because they can't. Of course they might prove me wrong tomorrow. But both are just passed their peak. Racing conservatively is what Basso and Scarponi have done for their whole career and will continue doing until they retire. I'm not sure why you are expecting/hoping for anything else.

This Giro would have been exciting with different riders.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Ryder pulling one for the clean big guys. This is fanstastic. Too long the sport has been betrayed. What a victory for rider.

 

[rzombie1988]

Basso and Scarp had a chance to take time and they didn't. They couldn't even break it up in parts. Instead, they are going to rely on tommorow to be a hail mary day like everyone else and in turn they will end up in the same place. It's over already for them.

I loved last year's Giro. It's one of my top 5 favorite tours. Say what you will, but everyone here spent more time watching the mountain stages than they would have with the sprinters taking strolls through Italy for 3 hours a day. It didn't even matter that Contador owned it because atleast we were guranteed attacks and effort.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

Ryder pulling one for the clean big guys. This is fanstastic. Too long the sport has been betrayed. What a victory for rider.

yea i wonder how he got the climbing legs

 

[Sylvester]

The tempo is set high enough the everyone but maybe one or two guys are miserable. So miserable 10th place is *just* hanging on. There is no attack reserve that doesn't bite the rider back 2x the next day.

Let's imagine tempo doesn't crush 10th place mentally and physically. if 10th place on GC roared off, top-5 will just sit on his wheel waiting for him to crack early. Which he will. There's an unavoidable reason he's 10th. After 10th cracked he goes to 20th or worse because he's simply not up to the task.

What was the gap at the bottom of the last climb? What was the gap at the finish line? That's called methodically catching a breakaway.

Get back to me when you win a mountain top finish at the Giro from 30 kms out.

1. Your first point has been adressed by hrotha and DenisMenchov. It's utter nonsense. Cataldo was "not up to the task" today, yet he attacked. Tomorrow he won't necessarily drop to "20th or worse".

2. Kreuziger won, thus he was not caught. His attack was successful as he WON THE STAGE. I can't believe you're trying to tell me Kreuziger's attack was pointless.

3. You're right. I can't win a Giro MTF stage from 30 kms out, so no professional bike rider can do it. Thank you for pointing this out in such a gentle way.

 

[Bavarianrider]

Ryder the heaviest winner since Indurain?!
Guess so

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

On the first ascent of Pampeago or on Lavazè, other than the top contenders:

* Nieve could have tried something
* Gadret could have tried something
* Henao could have tried something
* De Gendt could have tried something
* Cunego could have tried something

That's what actually made this stage so boring. No one trying to go with Kreuziger and Cataldo. Now these guys finish in 8th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th place on the stage and they are quietly sitting in 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th and 13th place overall. Pointless, really.

What exactly should De Gendt have tried? A guy without any specific preparation, who wasn't going to ride for GC originally and had too many race days to be optimally prepared. His first GT he actually is trying to do a good GC, just because the opportunity presented itself along the way. A guy who's forte is ITT and who is not a natural climber. When the final ITT gives him the prospect of a top 6 classification. Why risk that given the circumstances? He didn't start as a contender and along the way "hoped" to finish somewhere in the top 20.

Also, he ****s his pants downhill.

As for the others (also De Gendt) i doubt any of them were really up to it. Cataldo tried and he finished behind the lot of them.

 

[deValtos]

It's not true that long-distance attacks are doomed to fail on a course like this. The parcours is perfect to blow up all domestiques, and when it's one on one with everybody at their limits, why would the one who went first necessarily lose?

I think you're missing the point that its a unique situation here in this race with 5 or 6 riders so closely matched in climbing ability where the gaps are so small (1"36). What you are asking for in this situation is a suicide attack. I see about a 0.1% chance of a longrange attack by Basso/Scarponi/Rodriguez actually working in this particular Giro. I don't see why any rider would take that chance in any stage other than the last mountain stage (i.e to stelvio). It is suicide.

The riders(Basso,Scaproni,Pozzo,Hesjedal,Uran&Scarponi) don't see why it's sensible to take that chance (if they did they would have done it). The DS's & the team management don't see why it's sensible to take that chance (or else we would've seen it). For some strange reason though a few people on this forum think its sensible to take that chance ! (Well the veiled reason being you guys want to see attacking racing...)

 

[Gloin22]

What exactly should De Gendt have tried? A guy without any specific preparation, who wasn't going to ride for GC originally and had too many race days to be optimally prepared. His first GT he actually is trying to do a good GC, just because the opportunity presented itself along the way. A guy who's forte is ITT and who is not a natural climber. When the final ITT gives him the prospect of a top 6 classification. Why risk that given the circumstances? He didn't start as a contender and along the way "hoped" to finish somewhere in the top 20.

Also, he ****s his pants downhill.

As for the others (also De Gendt) i doubt any of them were really up to it. Cataldo tried and he finished behind the lot of them.

Too many race days ? He didn't ride that much at all. After Paris Nice he only rode Romandie and this.

 

[DenisMenchov]

I think you're missing the point that its a unique situation here in this race with 5 or 6 riders so closely matched in climbing ability where the gaps are so small (1"36). What you are asking for in this situation is a suicide attack. I see about a 0.1% chance of a longrange attack by Basso/Scarponi/Rodriguez actually working in this particular Giro. I don't see why any rider would take that chance in any stage other than the last mountain stage (i.e to stelvio). It is suicide.

The riders(Basso,Scaproni,Pozzo,Hesjedal,Uran&Scarponi) don't see why it's sensible to take that chance (if they did they would have done it). The DS's & the team management don't see why it's sensible to take that chance (or else we would've seen it). For some strange reason though a few people on this forum think its sensible to take that chance ! (Well the veiled reason being you guys want to see attacking racing...)

Why doesn't Basso up the pace and see who can stay with him instead of hitting the front with 3km to go? If he stays with one guy or two they can work together and distance the other 3, then try it next day and so on...

 

[The Hitch]

Hejsdal incredible.
the biggest gt breakout performance since god.knows when, better even than froome. i know he did some great performances in le tour but to ride riders like basso purito scarponi off his wheel like that on such a brutal stage, wow

 

[DenisMenchov]

Hejsdal incredible.
the biggest gt breakout performance since god.knows when, better even than froome. i know he did some great performances in le tour but to ride riders like basso purito scarponi off his wheel like that on such a brutal stage, wow

Contador 2007?

 

[search]

Too many race days ? He didn't ride that much at all. After Paris Nice he only rode Romandie and this.

yeah, he only did

- Tour Down Under
- Volta ao Algarve
- Paris - Nice
- Volta a Catalunya
- Vuelta al Pais Vasco
- Tour de Romandie

+ a couple of one day races

clearly, he should have done Tour of Qatar additionally, there still was some space in february...

 

[burning]

Contador 2007?

Ulrich was good as well

 

[ElleSquared]

Anybody have a link to some extended highlights of today's stage or, even better, the stage in full?? (a girl can dream, can't she? )??

Every highlight clip on steephill and cyclingfans is either too brief, or georestricted (I'm in Canada.)

Help! I'm so upset that I had to miss today's stage. Ryder is my guy, and I desperately want to see him tearing up the Pampageo!

 

[staubsauger]

eurosport has got a rebroadcast in about half an hour. but that won't be an option in canda would it?

 

[jens_attacks]

Anybody have a link to some extended highlights of today's stage or, even better, the stage in full?? (a girl can dream, can't she? )??

Every highlight clip on steephill and cyclingfans is either too brief, or georestricted (I'm in Canada.)

Help! I'm so upset that I had to miss today's stage. Ryder is my guy, and I desperately want to see him tearing up the Pampageo!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GG9NpdLvkZg

almost 2 hours but the problem is the language,russian

 

[Wigwan]

Anybody have a link to some extended highlights of today's stage or, even better, the stage in full?? (a girl can dream, can't she? )??

Every highlight clip on steephill and cyclingfans is either too brief, or georestricted (I'm in Canada.)

Help! I'm so upset that I had to miss today's stage. Ryder is my guy, and I desperately want to see him tearing up the Pampageo!

If your in the English Canada, Sportsnet rebroadcast it at 3 AM Eastern Time, but if your from Quebec, RDS2 rebroadcast it at 7 PM Eastern Time

 

[ElleSquared]

If your in the English Canada, Sportsnet rebroadcast it at 3 AM Eastern Time, but if your from Quebec, RDS2 rebroadcast it at 7 PM Eastern Time

I would absolutely stay up for this......if I had a TV

Thanks for the suggestion, though!

Looks like I may be spending the evening immersing myself in Russian.


Thanks, guys.

 

[MrRoboto]

1. Take away Contador and the Giro last year was pretty boring. Everyone knew there was a huge chance Contador was going to get banned and his results would be removed. So everyone knew finishing second would be enough to get the win a couple months later. Yet there was hardly any racing behind Contador giving away stages left and right. The Giro is better than the 2011 edition if you pretend Contador wasn't there.

Still much more racing than this year. We had one stage with more attacks last year than we had through this whole Giro.

 

[staubsauger]

Still much more racing than this year. We had one stage with more attacks last year than we had through this whole Giro.

gadret, kruijswijk and rujano attacked several times in last years giro. igor anton and nibali also did. no way that giro would've been boring without contador.

as i said before. if tommorow won't happen anything exciting even the toc have been more thrilling because of it's mount baldy stage than this whole giro.

shame on aquarone!