Surprise Gt winner in last 20 years

[Epicycle]

Yeah Savodelli's first Giro win was a surprise just because that's the year Simoni and Garzelli were booted from the race. Paolo put in one big attack to distance the rest basically coming out of nowhere to win.

In 1999 Julich was seen as the big US threat going into the race but once Armstrong won the prologue the focus shifted to him and Julich crashed out.

 

[The Hitch]

Err, come again? Perreiro did get a HUGE gap for free. It was because Phonak couldn't close the gap and the other teams refused to help due to them being arrogant and thus unpopular (this was said by Boogerd after the stage).

No. He lost 30 minutes on purpose on 1 stage so that he would be allowed in breaks in future stages. The next stage he went in the break and got half an hour back. This gave him a 1 minute lead going into the alps. This is no big advantage.

 

[hrotha]

Guys. His name's "Pereiro". "Perreiro" makes me think of reggaeton.

 

[Nick C.]

No. He lost 30 minutes on purpose on 1 stage so that he would be allowed in breaks in future stages. The next stage he went in the break and got half an hour back. This gave him a 1 minute lead going into the alps. This is no big advantage.

Did he bail "on purpose" or was he having a crappy day and figured screw it I'm gonna lose time so why knock myself out. Its kinda a semantics question I know but I seem to remember he was being dropped or struggling early on that first major day in the Pyrenees.

 

[hrotha]

Did he bail "on purpose" or was he having a crappy day and figured screw it I'm gonna lose time so why knock myself out. Its kinda a semantics question I know but I seem to remember he was being dropped or struggling early on that first major day in the Pyrenees.

I do seem to remember he was rather disappointed with how that stage went, yes.

 

[Nick C.]

I don't think that he lost 27 minutes on his own like people, not necessarily here, implied, but that once he saw he wasn't going to hang he "cut his losses" and as posted above figured he would stage hunt.

 

[The Hitch]

I don't think that he lost 27 minutes on his own like people, not necessarily here, implied, but that once he saw he wasn't going to hang he "cut his losses" and as posted above figured he would stage hunt.

either way. He loses 27 minutes one day. Gets back 29 the next. 27 - 29 = -2 minutes give or take the precise seconds. 2 minutes is a pretty small number to give to a potential top tenner. Its doesnt rank highly on the list of worst possible scenarios which gives ds's nightmares. It is nothing compared to the 5 + minutes Sastre got in Laquilla or others before.

 

[Squares]

either way. He loses 27 minutes one day. Gets back 29 the next. 27 - 29 = -2 minutes give or take the precise seconds. 2 minutes is a pretty small number to give to a potential top tenner. Its doesnt rank highly on the list of worst possible scenarios which gives ds's nightmares. It is nothing compared to the 5 + minutes Sastre got in Laquilla or others before.

I have often wondered how many times Kloden has had the thought, "I would be a Tour Champion if I had only asked my team to ride on stage 13."

After all, had they jumped in and helped Rabo, and if Davitamon (for Cadel) had helped at all, AK would have made up the final 32 second deficit to Periero easily.

 

[The Hitch]

I have often wondered how many times Kloden has had the thought, "I would be a Tour Champion if I had only asked my team to ride on stage 13."

After all, had they jumped in and helped Rabo, and if Davitamon (for Cadel) had helped at all, AK would have made up the final 32 second deficit to Periero easily.

I dont know.
Why would they tire themselves out to stop a breakaway which seemed harmless. In sports of strategy you have to take risks. It was not worth it to tire themselves out chasing a break while others rest. Also with Flandis in the mix it all seemed unclear. Without Landis, you would have had a situation of T Mobile, doing everything in their power to break Pereiro. I think they could have succeeded. But with Landis in there, they were probably more looking at him. Even if his name got taken out of the results he was still present in body at the actual race.

 

[icefire]

Just a couple of new mentions:

Vuelta 1991: Melcior Mauri

Vuelta 1995: Laurent Jalabert

Both riders were a joke as GT contenders

 

[El Pistolero]

Just a couple of new mentions:

Vuelta 1991: Melcior Mauri

Vuelta 1995: Laurent Jalabert

Both riders were a joke as GT contenders

You've got to be kidding. Jalabert dominated the Vuelta in the 90s together with Zulle.

Their team pretty much controlled the Vuelta in the 90s from the beginning till the end.

 

[hrotha]

You've got to be kidding. Jalabert dominated the Vuelta in the 90s together with Zulle.

Their team pretty much controlled the Vuelta in the 90s from the beginning till the end.

Not exactly. Up to 1994, Jalabert was a sprinter who climbed relatively well, but still a sprinter none the less. In the 1994 Vuelta, everyone was dismayed when he won in the Lagos de Covadonga. In 1995 he was everywhere all year round and in July he was 4th in the Tour, so his Vuelta victory wasn't really a surprise by then.

 

[roundabout]

I always thought that Jalabert was more than a sprinter, but i agree that winning the Vuelta in a fashion that he did was a bit ridiculous and i say that as a fan.

 

[El Pistolero]

Not exactly. Up to 1994, Jalabert was a sprinter who climbed relatively well, but still a sprinter none the less. In the 1994 Vuelta, everyone was dismayed when he won in the Lagos de Covadonga. In 1995 he was everywhere all year round and in July he was 4th in the Tour, so his Vuelta victory wasn't really a surprise by then.

I actually meant the latter half of the 90s. Zulle and Jalabert pretty much dominated in those years.

His 1995 season is probably one of the most impressive ones in recent time.

He started as a sprinter, but changed his riding style to become an all rounder after he had an accident during the Tour(?). He was already an all-rounder during that Vuelta one. That win was everything except a joke.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Cunego stands out as the most surprising when it happened.

Thanks Hitch for clarifying Periero's breaks and time losses and gains during 2006. I've had to make the same arguments as you have many times in the past. Oscar had been 10th in the previous Tour, and Lance, Jan, Ivan, were all gone, and Valverde dropped, so logically it wasn't a HUGE surprised he was contending. Nothing like the way Cunego came almost from nowhere to win the Giro.

 

[hrotha]

I actually meant the latter half of the 90s. Zulle and Jalabert pretty much dominated in those years.

His 1995 season is probably one of the most impressive ones in recent time.

He started as a sprinter, but changed his riding style to become an all rounder after he had an accident during the Tour(?). He was already an all-rounder during that Vuelta one. That win was everything except a joke.

I see, I took icefire's comment to mean Jalabert wasn't a GT contender before that Vuelta, which is off by just a couple of months. I didn't take it as an assessment of Jalabert's GT potential after 1995.

His crash happened in the 1994 Tour so he sort of gave up bunch sprints pretty much at the same time he became an all-rounder, during the 1995 season.

 

[ultimobici]

Floyd failed, only after taking a **** load of dope did he succeed to overtake Pereiro again. Yes, Landis probably doped continuously, but he took way more then usual when he did that magical stage.

They should have at least tried to reel in the break away group after they were informed they had more then 15-20 minutes. Phonak wasn't the only team that had a shot at the GC back then. If anything the other teams could annoy Landis by making sure he still had the yellow.

I am sure Landis was doped, no question in my mind on that.

BUT, his recovery on that "epic" stage was not due totally to doping. When I watched it on TV, the thing that stuck in my mind was the inactivity of the peleton and Caisse & Telekom arguing about who should chase. I think that that had a bigger effect than the dope.

 

[pmcg76]

Eric Caritoux 84 Vuelta

Marco Giovanetti 90 Vuelta

Melchor Mauir 91 Vuelta

Evgeni Berzin 94 Giro

Lance Armstrong 99 Tour

 

[ultimobici]

Just a couple of new mentions:

Vuelta 1991: Melcior Mauri

Vuelta 1995: Laurent Jalabert

Both riders were a joke as GT contenders

The 91 Vuelta was still in its old place in the calendar, April. As a result it was a very different race.

95 was more surprising in that Jalabert won all 3 classifications, ONCE won the team classification and placed 3 in the top 5! Saiz was a genius!

 

[William H]

BUT, his recovery on that "epic" stage was not due totally to doping. When I watched it on TV, the thing that stuck in my mind was the inactivity of the peleton and Caisse & Telekom arguing about who should chase. I think that that had a bigger effect than the dope.

There was some hesitation, but that was because they would have assumed that Landis would fade on the final climb. In normal circumstances, they would have been correct.

 

[icefire]

I see, I took icefire's comment to mean Jalabert wasn't a GT contender before that Vuelta, which is off by just a couple of months. I didn't take it as an assessment of Jalabert's GT potential after 1995.

His crash happened in the 1994 Tour so he sort of gave up bunch sprints pretty much at the same time he became an all-rounder, during the 1995 season.

His solo breakaways in the Tour stage to Mende and in the Vuelta stage through the mountains of Avila with the bunch led by Mapei unable to chase were as ridiculous as his 1994 win in Lagos de Covadonga.

He deserves the award for being the first rider in modern times to change his riding style and become a GT contender after a life-threatening event.

 

[movingtarget]

You do know that Lance took 4th place in the 1998 Vuelta, right?

To me, that fact, focusing on being a GT rider, and then targeting the Tour as his next GT made it less of a surprise, especially without the 1996, 1997, and 1998 winners of the Tour being present for the 1999 race.

I have to admit, I forgot about the Vuelta result and the Vuelta is often forgettable. Even taking into consideration that result and the non appearance of the previous three TDF winners, Armstrong achieved something that was not even on the horizon previously. We know now why Riis won the TDF, Heras and his Vuelta results and a cartload of surprise Giro winners. Some caught, some not but strangely their grand tour form has never been the same since. I still think a reformed doper's team is a good idea. Vino as team manager ?

 

[Merckx index]

Has anyone mentioned DiLuca in the 07 Giro? That was a pretty big surprise, he was thought to be only a one-day rider who could not climb well enough to contend in GTs. To be fair, that perception changed a little in 05, when he contended for the podium, narrowly missing it at the end. That finish I would say was a major surprise in a GT, and made his win two years later a little less surprising. But many people still thought that was a fluke, and that DD couldn't win a GT.

 

[La Pandera]

I'm going with Marco Giovannetti in 1990. For an Italian to win the Vuelta was fairly rare, him being only the 4th. Also with such names as Delgado, Indurain, Julian Gorospe, Anselmo Fuerte and his own teammate, Alvaro Pino
all at the start, no one would've anticipated Giovannetti coming out the winner after 3 weeks. To his credit he did have a top ten finish at the Giro on his record.

 

[zapata]

Has anyone mentioned DiLuca in the 07 Giro? That was a pretty big surprise, he was thought to be only a one-day rider who could not climb well enough to contend in GTs. To be fair, that perception changed a little in 05, when he contended for the podium, narrowly missing it at the end. That finish I would say was a major surprise in a GT, and made his win two years later a little less surprising. But many people still thought that was a fluke, and that DD couldn't win a GT.

I was pretty surprised by that, personally. I remember giancarlo ferretti saying in a race preview (either procycling magazine or cycle sport) that "di luca is du luca. He's not someone that can win the giro". The magazine obviously disagreed, picking him as one of five favourites. I myself had him categorized as a one day-rider that could maybe do alright, but never win a GT. Same category as valverde, ricco and LL sanchez. Didn't think piti would ever win the vuelta either..