masking_agent said:i just hope he doesn't turn out to be another Andy Hampsten
I think a big benefit today compared to the late 80's is that the Giro is much more well known, and well appreciated by racing fans in the US. And likely across the planet. If TVG won the Giro, and in a way that Hamsten won it (impossible), then there would be a huge celebration among cyclists in the US. Way beyond anything Andy saw in his day for that amazing and heroic win.
If you're comparing him to Andy's post-1986 Tours, then outside of the win on Alpe in '92, you may be correct. Andy himself was probably disappointed that he never got to the podium. Though in retrospect the courses (rather long ITT's those years) were unfriendly to his chances, and the EPO infestation into the peloton pushed him into a relatively early retirement at 32.