Teams & Riders Vincenzo Nibali discussion thread

[Singer01]

While I hate cycling fans who act like douchebag with an icy scorn, the bloke in that photo is about 3-6 inches further out than necessary. Nibali had the whole road to use in that one.
Can anyone explain why people might be aiming to peak on 3rd week? Looking at the rest of the route it seems rather pointless. Week 2 was clearly where it's all at.

 

[Leinster]

Because if you’re strong in week 3 when all others are getting tired, you can put time into them that they won’t have time to get back.

Because Simon Yates.

Because stage 19 to Laruns will be a brute.

Because time gaps in TTs.

Because peaking in week 4 will only win the Classica San Sebastián.

 

[Rollthedice]

Re:

While I hate cycling fans who act like ***** with an icy scorn, the bloke in that photo is about 3-6 inches further out than necessary. Nibali had the whole road to use in that one.
Can anyone explain why people might be aiming to peak on 3rd week? Looking at the rest of the route it seems rather pointless. Week 2 was clearly where it's all at.

This is good. How about riding in the middle of the road when there's a left turn and you are followed by a bunch of angry sprinters? As for the third week, there's that abomination of junior length stage where everything can happen, there are two hard 200km plus stages with finish in descent and a 31 km hard parcours ITT. Apparently some pros consider there's enough there to gain or loose significant time especially because some will be tired.

 

[Climbing]

This was a better place when it wasn't full of trolls and angry ignorant people.
It's become awful, I've got like a bazillion users in ignore... why don't they watch football?

ASO and organizers in general need to really step up, with spectators eliminating riders (or trying to, like that idiot trying to punch Froome) too many motorcycle and too little security...

Nibali looked super strong as well, with probably Dumo and Froomey fading in the 3rd week with the Giro in the legs had a real possibility of getting the 2nd Tour.
When it's an endurance test he really is the best, let's hope he recovers to win the Worlds, that would nicely complete his palmares.

Though I think Thomas will win the whole thing in the end.

 

[Singer01]

Re: Re:

While I hate cycling fans who act like ***** with an icy scorn, the bloke in that photo is about 3-6 inches further out than necessary. Nibali had the whole road to use in that one.
Can anyone explain why people might be aiming to peak on 3rd week? Looking at the rest of the route it seems rather pointless. Week 2 was clearly where it's all at.

This is good. How about riding in the middle of the road when there's a left turn and you are followed by a bunch of angry sprinters?

How about just riding far enough away from the barrier that is someone leans out you won't hit them? I'm not suggesting following the white lines down the *** middle of the road. There have been enough incidents at barriers for riders to use some caution. The bloke in the photo wasn't doing anything too egregious.

 

[rick james]

Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

Why?

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

It’s not pathetic, but I can’t see Bahrain winning the case.

That being said I hope security is ramped up in the future, you won’t ever be able to completely eradicate it, but at least take a few more precautionary measures. I quite like the way the Spanish police deal with people along the road that go OTT.

 

[Valv.Piti]

This must be an even worse feeling for Nibali fans than I had when Valv abandoned last year. Im sad and Im not one of his fans, I can't imagine how the hardcore fans must feel.

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

Why?

what could ASO do about it?

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

It’s not pathetic, but I can’t see Bahrain winning the case.

That being said I hope security is ramped up in the future, you won’t ever be able to completely eradicate it, but at least take a few more precautionary measures. I quite like the way the Spanish police deal with people along the road that go OTT.

so race organisers should be sued evetime we have a crash?

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re: Re:

Rumour has it that Team Bahrein-Merida wants to sue the ASO now

http://www.wielerflits.nl/nieuws/382753/bahrain-merida-wil-aso-aanklagen-na-val-nibali.html?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter

if true, that's pathetic

It’s not pathetic, but I can’t see Bahrain winning the case.

That being said I hope security is ramped up in the future, you won’t ever be able to completely eradicate it, but at least take a few more precautionary measures. I quite like the way the Spanish police deal with people along the road that go OTT.

so race organisers should be sued evetime we have a crash?

If they think it was due to something that may have been avoided, then yes. I think almost everyone knew there was a good chance of trouble up the Alpe, more security should have been in force.

 

[rick james]

no, everyone believed something was going to happen to Froome, it turns out it was Nibali and all hell must be moved because of it

 

[Pricey_sky]

Removed a couple of comments, post not poster please, folks.

 

[Rollthedice]

It doesn't matter to Nibali if Bahrain sues, if they win or loose, it's something that the team feels maybe entitled. It was a clear lack of security when everybody knew that something could go horribly wrong. Froome got lucky with that idiot. For Nibali the damage is done and nothing will bring him back, he didn't say a bad word, he accepted it as it is.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hmm...

“In the past we said: ‘Guys, stay up front to avoid the crashes.’ Now we say: 'Don’t stay behind Froome, it’s dangerous,'" Copeland explained.

Don't stay behind Froome? So... attack Froome?

 

[Gigs_98]

Re:

no, everyone believed something was going to happen to Froome, it turns out it was Nibali and all hell must be moved because of it

What? When froome crashed on the ventoux the organizers invented a rule so they can neutralize time gaps. Yeah there is a big discussion going on but implying this only happens because it was Nibali who crashed is nonsense

 

[rick james]

Re:

Hmm...

“In the past we said: ‘Guys, stay up front to avoid the crashes.’ Now we say: 'Don’t stay behind Froome, it’s dangerous,'" Copeland explained.

Don't stay behind Froome? So... attack Froome?

please pull the full quote so we get better context

“In the past we said: ‘Guys, stay up front to avoid the crashes.’ Now we say: 'Don’t stay behind Froome, it’s dangerous,'" Copeland explained.
“That’s a grotesque situation: ‘Don’t stay behind a rider because he’s being targeted’ but the truth is that he’s facing the risk of something happening every day. Chris told me that himself when we spoke recently. The other day on L’Alpe d’Huez Vincenzo was behind Froome after he’d attacked. Chris managed to avoid the motorbikes and everything. Vincenzo went down.”

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

no, everyone believed something was going to happen to Froome, it turns out it was Nibali and all hell must be moved because of it

What? When froome crashed on the ventoux the organizers invented a rule so they can neutralize time gaps. Yeah there is a big discussion going on but implying this only happens because it was Nibali who crashed is nonsense

but that wasn't because it was Froome, it was the yellow jersey would have changed but not because of racing, but because fans got involved...Stop thinking Froome is getting all the favours

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

no, everyone believed something was going to happen to Froome, it turns out it was Nibali and all hell must be moved because of it

What? When froome crashed on the ventoux the organizers invented a rule so they can neutralize time gaps. Yeah there is a big discussion going on but implying this only happens because it was Nibali who crashed is nonsense

but that wasn't because it was Froome, it was the yellow jersey would have changed but not because of racing, but because fans got involved...Stop thinking Froome is getting all the favours

Yellow jersey or not, that doesn't matter. Rules don't make a difference between the leader and everyone else. And anyway, I only brought this up as an example of Froome getting a favour because you were making it look as if "all hell must be moved" only when something happens to nibali

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

no, everyone believed something was going to happen to Froome, it turns out it was Nibali and all hell must be moved because of it

What? When froome crashed on the ventoux the organizers invented a rule so they can neutralize time gaps. Yeah there is a big discussion going on but implying this only happens because it was Nibali who crashed is nonsense

but that wasn't because it was Froome, it was the yellow jersey would have changed but not because of racing, but because fans got involved...Stop thinking Froome is getting all the favours

Yellow jersey or not, that doesn't matter. Rules don't make a difference between the leader and everyone else. And anyway, I only brought this up as an example of Froome getting a favour because you were making it look as if "all hell must be moved" only when something happens to nibali

well its true...

 

[Carols]

I was just looking at the picture above and noticed, I'm still not over this. He doesn't even look like he is on his limit. He looks so f***ing good. **** **** ****
This is probably a case of overmystifying the shape of a rider who crashed as it's always the case but although my head tells me this, my heart is still screaming how f*cking good he looked.

I said many times here, he was very good. The preparation was spot on with a focus on the third week. He had a real chance to win the whole damn thing. Courtesy of ammattipyöräily on twitter he climbed last 3.36 km in 8 min 41 sec at average speed of 23.22 Kph. VAM 1493 m/h and 5.7 W/kg. With broken vertebrae. On another note he was very humble and with a lot of dignity after. I don't remember any similar situation in the last decades when a contender with a real chance to win Le Tour is taken out by spectators. Here is a video with Prudhomme waiting for him at the hotel than night when he got back from the hospital in Grenoble, still wearing his race kit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhARSmHImx0

That made an old woman tear up.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

This must be an even worse feeling for Nibali fans than I had when Valv abandoned last year. Im sad and Im not one of his fans, I can't imagine how the hardcore fans must feel.

Definitely different although not sure worse. With Valv we were originally worried his career was over, with Nibali he'll be back. However Nibali had a shot at winning the Tour this year and who knows how he'll be when he comes back. So different. I do like Nibali, but I really feel for his fans. This has to be hard.

 

[sir fly]

It's good he'll be able to ride the World's.
A route like that doesn't appear every year.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Selective memories from Bahrain Merida - They've forgotten Sagan in Flanders when a scarf sitting over the barrier tangled up with his bike - Certain that an Italian rider was brought down by a camera in the final of a stage two or three years ago.

So what? Only shows this already should have happened years ago.

Because sometimes accidents happen no matter what precautions are taken - How do you stop the Sagan crach at Flanders ?

In Flanders people were behind the barriers. On Alpe they were on the road IN FRONT of the barriers in a high risk area which is not representative for a proper organization. Nibali himself dodged in the last second a guy with a phone in MSR while going 60 km/h to the line. Same thing that idiot, he was behind the barrier, nothing to do with the organizers.

That's the thrust of my post in relation to Copeland saying security is perfect at the Giro - Barriers reduce crashes but they are not infallible - Unless you ban people carrying cameras/phones/sweaters/rugs/banners etc.