- Mar 29, 2016
- 6,974
- 2
- 9,485
- Aug 5, 2009
- 15,733
- 8,116
- 28,180
- May 11, 2013
- 13,995
- 5,289
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Tour de France, brings back very sad memories from last year. After seeing him in this Giro, another podium in TdF would have been possible, no doubt.
I am starting to think last year's crash and the very long way to recovery, though he undertook the percutaneous vertebroplasty surgery might have something to do with this. It was a risky procedure in the long run, requiring a slightly different position on the bike, which needs regular work from expert chiropractor Gianluca Caretta. In 2017 on Civiglio when he went after Pinot it was a devastating acceleration, he went like a moto past Pozzo, even his take-off on the hard part of Poggio last year was impressive. I think that the accident, age too, took that bit of extra out of him. Against very strong younger climbers while they are still fresh in a stage, it's hard.
At some point during predictions here I said he'll win this Giro but in an unspectacular way, he was close. This doesn't mean he didn't do some beautiful things, attacked and instigated most of San Carlo until Carapaz ran away with the Giro, ripped the race apart on Civiglio (with shades of Krashweak when Roglic almost flew over the barriers on the descent trying to follow), attacked at almost the beginning of Mortirolo doing the climb faster than Contador 2015 and again attacked on the descent of Croce D'Aune finishing off Roglic but unable to do anything against the Movistar duo.
I am starting to think last year's crash and the very long way to recovery, though he undertook the percutaneous vertebroplasty surgery might have something to do with this. It was a risky procedure in the long run, requiring a slightly different position on the bike, which needs regular work from expert chiropractor Gianluca Caretta. In 2017 on Civiglio when he went after Pinot it was a devastating acceleration, he went like a moto past Pozzo, even his take-off on the hard part of Poggio last year was impressive. I think that the accident, age too, took that bit of extra out of him. Against very strong younger climbers while they are still fresh in a stage, it's hard.
At some point during predictions here I said he'll win this Giro but in an unspectacular way, he was close. This doesn't mean he didn't do some beautiful things, attacked and instigated most of San Carlo until Carapaz ran away with the Giro, ripped the race apart on Civiglio (with shades of Krashweak when Roglic almost flew over the barriers on the descent trying to follow), attacked at almost the beginning of Mortirolo doing the climb faster than Contador 2015 and again attacked on the descent of Croce D'Aune finishing off Roglic but unable to do anything against the Movistar duo.
- Mar 13, 2015
- 7,658
- 3,422
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I feel on long climbs there was not much diference between Carapaz , Landa & Nibali but Carapaz had the speed up hill
However what Nibali brings to GTs is that feeling that he will do the unexpected ...With INEOS and Movistar being so strong we need more Nibali's in cycling
However what Nibali brings to GTs is that feeling that he will do the unexpected ...With INEOS and Movistar being so strong we need more Nibali's in cycling
- Mar 13, 2015
- 7,658
- 3,422
- 23,180
In fact I would go to say that the best climber in the Giro was probably Lopez, followed by Landa then Carapaz/Nibali
The best climber doesn't always win nor the best TTer/climber
If Carapaz was in the lead from early on and didn't have Landa ?
Or if Carapaz had already won a GT and was a marked man and chasing a result ?
All these things make a difference
Will be very disappointing for Nibali though esp in the days and weeks to come...so close and probably not many chances left
The best climber doesn't always win nor the best TTer/climber
If Carapaz was in the lead from early on and didn't have Landa ?
Or if Carapaz had already won a GT and was a marked man and chasing a result ?
All these things make a difference
Will be very disappointing for Nibali though esp in the days and weeks to come...so close and probably not many chances left
- May 11, 2013
- 13,995
- 5,289
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Re:
It was always that the team wanted him to go. Today Nibali said he'll most likely go stage hunting and maybe polka dot jersey.
Robert5091 said:
It was always that the team wanted him to go. Today Nibali said he'll most likely go stage hunting and maybe polka dot jersey.
- Jul 28, 2015
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Re: Re:
Anyway if Nibali will go for the GC could be interesting to see considering that he's one for the "fourth week", in 2017 he was stronger a month after the Vuelta than in the Vuelta.
Considering also helpers and sprinters I think will be something like 30 riders doubling up.movingtarget said:
Anyway if Nibali will go for the GC could be interesting to see considering that he's one for the "fourth week", in 2017 he was stronger a month after the Vuelta than in the Vuelta.
- May 11, 2013
- 13,995
- 5,289
- 28,180
So, beat Roglic in a TT, 11th GT podium tied with Froome, 1 more away from Bernard Hinault, Eddie Merckx and Felice Gimondi, 2 more from all time record Anquetil and an advice for future GT contenders who want to actually win something:
It doesn't matter if you're young or old, you need one top 10 placement in one GT before and ride the same Grand Tour as Nibali and your chances to win said GT are already up a notch.
It doesn't matter if you're young or old, you need one top 10 placement in one GT before and ride the same Grand Tour as Nibali and your chances to win said GT are already up a notch.
- May 27, 2016
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- 0
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Do you think it is possible that since Roglic an Domulin were both in the Giro, and since there was lots of TT and less hard mountain stages, Nibali had a preparation more focused on TT?
He was good in TTs but seemed to miss something in mountain stages compared to other GTs.
Or is nibs just declining?
He was good in TTs but seemed to miss something in mountain stages compared to other GTs.
Or is nibs just declining?
- May 11, 2013
- 13,995
- 5,289
- 28,180
Re:
None. When he is in proper shape he's doing very good TTs in Grand Tours. This was his best performance in a GT taken as a whole since 2014, he just happened to stumble across a surprise, a very strong climber surrounded by the best team in the race.
dfromdub said:
None. When he is in proper shape he's doing very good TTs in Grand Tours. This was his best performance in a GT taken as a whole since 2014, he just happened to stumble across a surprise, a very strong climber surrounded by the best team in the race.
- Feb 18, 2015
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Yeah good result and all but it just feels like this was it. That was his big chance to win one last gt and he couldn't use it. I might be wrong but honestly, no way he gets anywhere near the tour win this year and he won't stop aging. Moreover the guys he had to defeat this time are likely the easiest opponents he'll face in a gt for the rest of his career.
About gifting carapaz all that time. Back when carapaz attacked everyone and his mother claimed he should focus on Roglic and so everyone, including Nibali, was wrong. Sure he still made a mistake but that was such a hard call to make that I don't know if I want to blaim him for his choice. Moreover looking at how strong movistar was this could have ended in a much more painful defeat had he started the third week in pink. Funnily the guy who might have lost the giro when Nibali didn't close the gap to carapaz might not have been him but landa
About gifting carapaz all that time. Back when carapaz attacked everyone and his mother claimed he should focus on Roglic and so everyone, including Nibali, was wrong. Sure he still made a mistake but that was such a hard call to make that I don't know if I want to blaim him for his choice. Moreover looking at how strong movistar was this could have ended in a much more painful defeat had he started the third week in pink. Funnily the guy who might have lost the giro when Nibali didn't close the gap to carapaz might not have been him but landa
- Feb 20, 2012
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The problem at stage 14 was that they already handed Carapaz a lot of time on stage 13. Obviously watch Roglic on the San Carlo but afterwards you're basically never getting dropped, so when Roglic just does not pull at all either I think it's a clear indication he's afraid of getting dropped, which in turn is a sign to start riding yourself.Gigs_98 said:
Re:
They weren't that easy. Who was missing? Froome/Thomas but that's it, everyone else who is a big GC rider turned up and crashed or were beaten. If it were 2016 I'd add quintana, and maybe the french duo to the list? But seriously, reigning vuelta winner, former giro winner and reigning giro and tour runner up, man who has dominated every one week race for the past twelve months, landa, Lopez, perennial top ten contenders like mollema majka zakarin and then the guy who came 4th last year, carapaz. It was an excellent field, but like any race in this changeover between generations it gets called 'easy'
Dumoulin would've finished around where caruso was i reckon, in keeping with the 2017 result when the tt was much longer and pan flatRed Rick said:
Gigs_98 said:
They weren't that easy. Who was missing? Froome/Thomas but that's it, everyone else who is a big GC rider turned up and crashed or were beaten. If it were 2016 I'd add quintana, and maybe the french duo to the list? But seriously, reigning vuelta winner, former giro winner and reigning giro and tour runner up, man who has dominated every one week race for the past twelve months, landa, Lopez, perennial top ten contenders like mollema majka zakarin and then the guy who came 4th last year, carapaz. It was an excellent field, but like any race in this changeover between generations it gets called 'easy'
- May 11, 2013
- 13,995
- 5,289
- 28,180
The part where this was maybe his last chance to win a GT I agree but the fact they were easy opponents I don't. It doesn't matter that he got beaten by a guy named Carapaz who comes from a country where the president's name is Lenin. High level, proper watts on the climbs and all. Maybe with Dumoulin in the race he could've even won it.
- May 17, 2013
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This.Gigs_98 said:
Except that I'm less on the fence than you are. This may have been Nibali's last chance to winning a GT: yes it was a hard call, yes he didn't have a Sky machine to reel every attack in, but his post-race comments indicated that he knew he was playing a game of chicken with Roglic and knew what was at stake.
What could have been...
But I suppose, you win some, you lose some.
- Jun 22, 2010
- 5,017
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Perhaps Nibali should have focused on himself rather than what Roglic did or didn't do. He's been in this game long enough to know that. The podium means a lot more to Roglic than it does Nibali, plus he's got two stage wins to Nibali's 0, yes, I know they were TT, but still. Roglic had a crash where he got pain in his chest, has battled
sickness since stage 14, had virtually no support (even his DS and support staff hardly helped)...he's had to fend for himself for the entirety of the Giro and he still came away with a podium. This is his only his fourth GT start, second when he's gone for the GC and first where he was a legitimate threat for the top spot. Nibali should have marked Carapaz a lot more. True, there's hindsight and you can't control every attack that comes from a GC threat, but when he and his team saw that Roglic's team is weak and Roglic would have to do the pulling by himself basically, he (Nibali) should have called for his team to organize and work, perhaps with another team or two not named Movistar. Not sure that holding a grudge on Roglic was necessary, certainly not the entire Giro. He was the one that started all the talking after the stages and complaining, and then to not shake Roglic's hand at the podium is poor. Needs to show more class.
sickness since stage 14, had virtually no support (even his DS and support staff hardly helped)...he's had to fend for himself for the entirety of the Giro and he still came away with a podium. This is his only his fourth GT start, second when he's gone for the GC and first where he was a legitimate threat for the top spot. Nibali should have marked Carapaz a lot more. True, there's hindsight and you can't control every attack that comes from a GC threat, but when he and his team saw that Roglic's team is weak and Roglic would have to do the pulling by himself basically, he (Nibali) should have called for his team to organize and work, perhaps with another team or two not named Movistar. Not sure that holding a grudge on Roglic was necessary, certainly not the entire Giro. He was the one that started all the talking after the stages and complaining, and then to not shake Roglic's hand at the podium is poor. Needs to show more class.
- Feb 18, 2015
- 13,816
- 9,798
- 28,180
Re: Re:
I think it's time to admit that as hyped as this giro field was, it frankly didn't deliver. Nibali was the fifth biggest favorite before Bernal's injury, but two of the higher ranked guys didn't finish or even start the race, and the other two were nowhere near as strong as anticipated. What we were left with was an average at best giro field in terms of top end talent.
To go through those names one by one, Yates can win as many vueltas as he wants, in this shape he is not a contender for a gt win so his former achievements mean nothing in terms of how good the field was. The same counts for Roglic and his pre race hype. It simply turned out he wasn't as good as expected. The reigning Giro and Tour runner up didn't even finish the first week so he simply has no place in a discussion about how hard it was to win this race. No idea who you mean with former giro winner, other than Nibali, so I guess props to Nibali for not finishing behind himself? Then you have guys like Majka, Zakarin and Mollema who might add depth to the field but again weren't real contenders for the win anyway, so I don't see how they are part of the discussion and what we are left with are Landa, Carapaz and Lopez. Lopez was what he has been since 2017, good but nothing more, not really someone who you expect to win many gt's and landa and Carapaz are very good climbers with a relatively weak TT. I guess they are relatively strong rivals but really not exactly the hardest main rivals one can imagine.Brullnux said:
I think it's time to admit that as hyped as this giro field was, it frankly didn't deliver. Nibali was the fifth biggest favorite before Bernal's injury, but two of the higher ranked guys didn't finish or even start the race, and the other two were nowhere near as strong as anticipated. What we were left with was an average at best giro field in terms of top end talent.
- Nov 12, 2010
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As i remarked earlier, the only takeaway for him from this Giro is frustration at what could have been. He had the form & and the team to win it. He has already won 4 GTs, so one more podium isn't going to make a lot of difference.
- May 17, 2013
- 7,558
- 2,414
- 20,680
Doumoulin must have enjoyed how this Giro ended...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nibali-annoyed-by-dumoulins-cocky-criticism-of-tactics/#disqus_thread
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nibali-annoyed-by-dumoulins-cocky-criticism-of-tactics/#disqus_thread
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