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The Crostis Descent

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Ferminal

Jul 3, 2009
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Tornadin

Apr 21, 2010
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I think it's really dangerous and even with precautions will still be more dangerous than most other descents.
Monday we learned that you can never get rid of all risk but you can at least avoid the biggest and most unnecessary of them...

The Crostis descent falls in that category imho.

Road Racing is still a fascinating sport even without kamikaze descents!
 
spalco

spalco

Feb 1, 2011
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I think the chance that anything bad happens on the Crostis is minimal, but even minimal is too much after what happened to Weylandt. Imo they should take it out as a gesture to the riders' safety and to avoid any further damage to come to the sport of cycling. Just imagine the headlines if someone did get hurt badly on that descent...
 
Bavarianrider

Bavarianrider

Apr 7, 2011
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The road itself is not dangerous, it's the riders who go down at very high speeds who make it dangerous. They are all grown up men and can decide themselves how fast they want to go there.
And as you saw on Monday, even on a perfect road, horrible things can happen.
 
hrotha

hrotha

Jun 10, 2010
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Honestly, I have no idea. All I've seen is that picture they have in that article, which is tilted, and not actually much of a descent at all, but a false flat. I have no idea what the descent as a whole looks like, and 99,9% of the people commenting on the suitability or lack thereof of the Crostis descent have no idea either. I think it's good that they're looking at it again with a renewed understanding of how inherently dangerous the sport is, but I won't go beyond that until I have more info.
 
Astana1

Astana1

Aug 16, 2009
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I suspect that if the riders don't like it then they will all agree to neutralize it in some way.
 
1

18-Valve. (pithy)

May 4, 2011
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hrotha said:
Honestly, I have no idea. All I've seen is that picture they have in that article, which is tilted, and not actually much of a descent at all, but a false flat. I have no idea what the descent as a whole looks like, and 99,9% of the people commenting on the suitability or lack thereof of the Crostis descent have no idea either. I think it's good that they're looking at it again with a renewed understanding of how inherently dangerous the sport is, but I won't go beyond that until I have more info.
Click to expand...

Very well said.
 
Hugo Koblet

Hugo Koblet

May 9, 2010
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I agree with hrotha. I don't really think many of us - my selv included - are in a position to really judge how dangerous the descent is.

However, if they are looking into making it safer, there's probably a chance that it indeed is dangerous. The thing is, though, that the Giro organization is professional enough that they won't put anyone's safety in risk - especially after what happened.
I'm sure that all the riders are in a state of fear now which works both ways: they might get nervous but they might also take it easy. I put my faith in the Giro organization taking all these things into account.

No_Balls said:
Well, judge for yourselves.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7UDyOKa3fUk

Seriously, from 5:39 and onwards, it is not even a road.
Click to expand...

Well for one, are you sure that's the road they are descending? Doesn't look like it to be honest. Also they might have improves the road since then.
 
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No_Balls

Jul 30, 2009
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Hugo Koblet said:
Well for one, are you sure that's the road they are descending? Doesn't look like it to be honest. Also they might have improves the road since then.
Click to expand...

The clip is uploaded 2009 (don´t know when recorded though) so i don´t think that much improvement has been made, although it´s just speculations from my part. And given the description of the climb and some briefly judgments of it (some pics+Contadors training sessions) i think it is safe to hold for granted that what we see is pretty much what we get.

Ferminal said:
The side he climbed in the video is the side they will be descending in the Giro. Also keep in mind any upgrades they have made since the video.
Click to expand...

Ok, thanks. It is hard to know what kind of upgrades been made but from the short footages of Contadors training sessions at this peculiar climb the road hasn´t been broader, that´s for sure.
 
auscyclefan94

auscyclefan94

Jun 16, 2009
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Ride it the way the course is. There are many descents of climbs used every year that are dangerous in this race. If Wouter didn't pass away then such precautions wouldn't be taken. Trust that the officials know what they are doing and they will make the right descision
 
theswordsman

theswordsman

Feb 14, 2010
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I've posted this slideshow of Contador's recon of the stage before. I look at photo 6, and realize that it's on the ascent, and it's a curve that actually has a bit of guard rail (that wouldn't do much for a bike). But Contador spoke of precipices, and I think it gives a pretty good idea of those. The guy has won five grand tours, and done other stage races with serious climbs, like Paris-Nice and the Dauphine, in inclement weather. For him to come out and say that he hopes it will snow so they don't have to ride it, or that maybe he'll have someone give him a mountain bike before the descent, or that even in the relative safety of a car, his hair still stood on end, is saying something. I don't think that Zomegnan sending some guys to check out the unpaved section is a bad thing. I think it was the Vuelta a few years ago where a rider went straight off the side, and his bike just kept sliding down. But he had a soft landing there. This looks to me like the Blue Ridge Parkway where there's a huge drop straight down if you go off the road. And remember, Contador and the others who did recon still showed up for the race, so it's not like they're cowards.

http://www.hln.be/hln/nl/7988/sport...rkent-vreselijke-Monte-Crostis-uit-Giro.dhtml

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias
-ficha.asp?id=38757
 
benpounder

benpounder

Mar 10, 2009
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Ferminal said:
The side he climbed in the video is the side they will be descending in the Giro.
Click to expand...
Are you sure? The video shows the cyclist going through Tualis on the way up, same as the stage profile shows.
 
VeloCity

VeloCity

Sep 10, 2009
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Hugo Koblet said:
the Giro organization is professional enough that they won't put anyone's safety in risk -
Click to expand...
The same Giro organization that riders protested against re: safety conditions in the '09 race? Where DiLuca read a statement on behalf of the riders that said "We did not believe the route was very safe for our health"?
 
S

Sasquatch

Sep 16, 2009
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VeloCity said:
The same Giro organization that riders protested against re: safety conditions in the '09 race? Where DiLuca read a statement on behalf of the riders that said "We did not believe the route was very safe for our health"?
Click to expand...

Yeah well take no notice of that.

Di Luca's actions over the years haven't been good to his health. He should be the last one reading out a statement like that.
 
Race Radio

Race Radio

Aug 13, 2009
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Weylandt's crashed on the easy part of the descent, which is often the case. Riders concentrate on the technical parts but it is often when they are not paying attention that something happens.

regardless, this descent would be a challenge with a bunch, in the rain, with the race on the line
 
VeloCity

VeloCity

Sep 10, 2009
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Sasquatch said:
Yeah well take no notice of that.

Di Luca's actions over the years haven't been good to his health. He should be the last one reading out a statement like that.
Click to expand...
He was the leader of the Giro at the time, so natural that he would be the one to read it. Anyway, the statement was not his personally.

But all of that is beside the point - if the riders themselves don't think the organizers have their safety in mind, I think there might be a problem.
 
Autobus

Autobus

Aug 19, 2010
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This blog has an embedded video of Contador's recon.

http://italiancyclingjournal.blogspot.com/2011/04/contador-on-monte-crostis-descent.html

Not being an Italian or Spanish speaker I can't say what either the narrator or Contador are saying. Any help from the forum?

It seems the salient facts about the descent are that the road is narrow, of questionalble surface, and has in places a steep long drop off. Is it too dangerous? I think that's for the riders to decide and act on.
 
UpTheRoad

UpTheRoad

Jul 27, 2009
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VeloCity said:
He was the leader of the Giro at the time, so natural that he would be the one to read it. Anyway, the statement was not his personally.

But all of that is beside the point - if the riders themselves don't think the organizers have their safety in mind, I think there might be a problem.
Click to expand...

I think the person leading the protest was a certain Lance Armstrong (thanks Sherwen). I believe that he wanted to ride leisurely around Italy for a few weeks and have the tifosi bask in his aura.
 
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Greenflame

Jun 1, 2010
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Nibali led todays ascent while 'not taking any risks'.. Imagine he'd attack during this descent and and did take some risks, go all-out. How much would he gain on Contador? Perhaps take Scarponi with him, I'd like to see Contador try to catch up to that duo on the Zoncolan.

I know, I know, not supposed to hope for anyone taking any risks during any descend now.. But still, if Nibali wants to take the lead anywhere, why not there?
 
D

Delicato

May 15, 2009
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Greenflame said:
Nibali led todays ascent while 'not taking any risks'.. Imagine he'd attack during this descent and and did take some risks, go all-out. How much would he gain on Contador? Perhaps take Scarponi with him, I'd like to see Contador try to catch up to that duo on the Zoncolan.

I know, I know, not supposed to hope for anyone taking any risks during any descend now.. But still, if Nibali wants to take the lead anywhere, why not there?
Click to expand...

Reasonable scenario. Though methinks that Nibs will be dropped on Crostis, so he will actually try to catch up with Contador's group on descent, not to make a gap between himself and AC.
 
Parrulo

Parrulo

Aug 5, 2010
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Delicato said:
Reasonable scenario. Though methinks that Nibs will be dropped on Crostis, so he will actually try to catch up with Contador's group on descent, not to make a gap between himself and AC.
Click to expand...

well after today's stage nibali said he didn't want to take any risks even tho the way he lead the peloton on the sterrato descent was out of this world amazing (may be overdoing it a bit but still . . .)

i wouldn't be surprised to see him attack after the first and riskier part of the crostis descent
 
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