Who will win the Giro 2018?

[Squire]

I have a feeling that neither Frumi nor Dumi will win. I voted Lopez, but I'm not sure about that either. We might have an unspectacular Aru win. I believe Pozzovivo will be good, and Pinot solid.

 

[May0maniac]

Just imagine a Pozzovivo win, that would be a reason to party hard and to get really drunk, I'm talking about highschool party drunk.
On a more serious note, my top picks are Superman Lopez and Chaves.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I have a feeling that neither Frumi nor Dumi will win. I voted Lopez, but I'm not sure about that either. We might have an unspectacular Aru win. I believe Pozzovivo will be good, and Pinot solid.

Wouldn't be surprised by that either, 2015 Vuelta-style. Not at all convinced by Froomey and Dumoulin - in general, I think the top tier GC talent is pretty poor at the moment. No peak Froome, no peak Contador, a pretty unspectacular Quintana, Dumoulin who still haven't proved enough, an ageing Nibali etc. The field of potential GT winners is pretty big tho, partly because of that

 

[Pantani_lives]

Re: Re:

I have a feeling that neither Frumi nor Dumi will win. I voted Lopez, but I'm not sure about that either. We might have an unspectacular Aru win. I believe Pozzovivo will be good, and Pinot solid.

Wouldn't be surprised by that either, 2015 Vuelta-style. Not at all convinced by Froomey and Dumoulin - in general, I think the top tier GC talent is pretty poor at the moment. No peak Froome, no peak Contador, a pretty unspectacular Quintana, Dumoulin who still haven't proved enough, an ageing Nibali etc. The field of potential GT winners is pretty big tho, partly because of that

I think Aru is destined to win at least one Giro, the next Italian winner after Nibali. I just don't know if it will happen this year with this strong field of opponents. The course should suit him however.

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

I have a feeling that neither Frumi nor Dumi will win. I voted Lopez, but I'm not sure about that either. We might have an unspectacular Aru win. I believe Pozzovivo will be good, and Pinot solid.

Wouldn't be surprised by that either, 2015 Vuelta-style. Not at all convinced by Froomey and Dumoulin - in general, I think the top tier GC talent is pretty poor at the moment. No peak Froome, no peak Contador, a pretty unspectacular Quintana, Dumoulin who still haven't proved enough, an ageing Nibali etc. The field of potential GT winners is pretty big tho, partly because of that

I think Dumoulin has more than proven himself. In fact, he's more proven than anyone but Froome in terms of recent results in this field.

 

[Koronin]

Well I voted for Pinot because that's my heart making that pick. My head, well it has no idea what to make of this GC field at the moment. Froome appears to have started his decline. Dumoulin has had some issues at times this season. I like Chaves, but he was hurt last year and truthfully don't know where he's at right now. Lopez has a very strong team supporting him however can he actually close the deal. I have some question marks on Aru as well.

 

[Tonton]

Wow!

I don't want to jinx it, say who I voted for . The ITT can produce insurmountable gaps, mostly because in this day and age, climbers watch each other and may chase each other by fear of losing a placing. I'm afraid that the riders not called Froome or Dumoulin will fight among themselves and not dream big. Last year's TdF showed that Froome could be beat, yet aside from the AG2R tease/joke of an attack, nothing happened. I'm sorry for Landa...

A lot of love for Tibopino here, it makes me feel good. Last year he put himself back on the GT map, his Alps performance was quite impressive: he was the boss, dominated Froome.

Without a final day ITT, different game from Dumourain. But what he showed last year was impressive. I feel that he will be that...Dumourain.

My blood pressure is going through the roof, between realistic expectations and a dream. If that dream comes true, don't pinch me or shake me...I'll be in heaven. And make it true to my bet...ride in a pink dancing outfit in downtown Richmond.

 

[markene2]

Thibaut Pinot will win this bike race

 

[Sciocco]

Voted for Dumoulin but hoping for Chaves. MAL and Pozzovivo would be cool too.

If only...

Contador.

 

[hazaran]

Re: Re:

All things considered and knowing that both the time trials are rolling-ish and thus in favor of Tom, I think it's fair to say Superman will lose around 2:30 to Trento and might already be looking at a loss of 0:40 - 0:45 seconds this Friday.

And that is just the time trials. We have since learned that he is readily dropped on any steep descent and half the time has trouble even staying in a reduced group on the flat. Absolutely hopeless, even with the climbing centric GTs he won't ever win one.

 

[skippo12]

I really think Dumoulin will win this if he is as good as last year. He will gain time on every other contender in the time trial and if he is in front of Froome after the stage he can simply follow the Sky train to the finish on the remaining stages. We basically only know Sky defending a lead with their usual approach...would be interesting to see them trying their luck with early attacks or other suprising moves.

 

[Summoned]

Froome. The last two GT's he participated in he won without looking unduly bothered, apart from a momentary lapse on Los Machucos. His later performance on Angliru established he was the strongest rider in the race in my estimation. Plus, I think his team is being underrated and will be sufficient to keep him from having to do too much on his own. And, finally, experience in winning GT's goes a long way, giving Sky another edge.

The only reason I would argue against Froome is based purely on Sky's history in the Giro, which is actually kind of due to revert to the mean at this point, and would be more of an argument for Froome winning, looked at as reasonably as it is possible with an extended run of bad luck.

Think Pinot and Lopez round out the podium. Expectations for Dumoulin seem to be weighing on him, and also on Aru, if in a slightly different way. Chaves to look good again, and Pozzovivo to have his usual mix of several stages where he looks great, and a couple where he disappears.

 

[Jspear]

Froome or Dumoulin should, but they’ll loose too much time in the mountains. Tibo Pinot will win without winning a single stage. He’ll do well everywhere, always be there or there about, and win.

 

[jaylew]

Heart: Chaves
Head: Temporary win for Froome before it's stripped along with the Vuelta

Honestly, I don't know what to think of this Giro. The field seems really weak to me and I'm not as excited about it as I should be for a GT but I'll certainly watch.

Froome racing is a disappointment.
I don't believe in Dumo though the parcours certainly seems to favor him.
Absolutely no idea what to expect from Chaves. Same with Lopez to a lesser degree.
Yates will likely finish 4th-10th like the Yates bros usually do. Same for Pozzo.
Pinot seems the surest bet - he will almost certainly finish somewhere between 2nd and 5th.
So f**ing stupid that Movistar doesn't have one of their big guns here.
I don't expect the sprints to be competitive - Viviani should win them all.
Aru? Hmm...

 

[42x16ss]

Head: Dumoulin
Heart: Chaves, then Lopez
Bold Prediction: Ben O’Connor to continue his rise and embarrass Meintjies

 

[Robert5091]

Either Froome or Tommy D - Froome might well suffer if the weather's bad in Italy after 30 C in Israel. Who of the two has the better climbing legs might well decide it. Hope climbers like Lopez, Pozzo and Chaves plus Pinot and Aru can do well, but they're fighting for a podium spot I think.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I have a feeling that neither Frumi nor Dumi will win. I voted Lopez, but I'm not sure about that either. We might have an unspectacular Aru win. I believe Pozzovivo will be good, and Pinot solid.

Wouldn't be surprised by that either, 2015 Vuelta-style. Not at all convinced by Froomey and Dumoulin - in general, I think the top tier GC talent is pretty poor at the moment. No peak Froome, no peak Contador, a pretty unspectacular Quintana, Dumoulin who still haven't proved enough, an ageing Nibali etc. The field of potential GT winners is pretty big tho, partly because of that

I think Dumoulin has more than proven himself. In fact, he's more proven than anyone but Froome in terms of recent results in this field.

Nah, I would want to see him ride like that again before I believe thats his level, at least on the multi mountain stages where he did very well last year.

 

[silvergrenade]

My head says Froome will have difficulty this year winning, but hey, the heart: Christopher Froome will win this bike race.
Go Vroom Vroom across Israel and Italy.

 

[silvergrenade]

Re:

Froome probably. Looks in fine form and is just a bit stronger than Dumoulin in the mountains and closer in TT than last year Nibali/Quintana were

Didn't expect that from you Dekker_tifosi.
I think Big Tom is second to none one on one on any climb.
I also think Big Tom is way ahead of his rivals in TT.
Plus he's won it before, unlike Froome. :razz:

 

[wheresmybrakes]

I'm gonna go with, 1. Pinot 2. Poels 3. Aru.

If Froome is struggling early on, they need to keep Poels up there on GC and not bust a gut dragging Froome around for the sake of getting him round, scuppering his own chances. Poels I think will have a good last week when it matters. TD hasn't shown me much to suggest he will do anything apart from win the TT's. Aru will have most the country behind him giving him that extra shove up the steep bits and Pinot has been in good form recently to suggest he will get better as the race goes on. Like a said in an earlier thread, just hope his TT'ing doesn't let him down. If he is up there on GC, I think he will give it that little bit extra to take a strangle hold of the big gold trophy at the end. Think if Pinot is winning going into the last day, half of France will invade Italy!

 

[LaFlorecita]

Who could have thought Pinot would be right up there with Dumo and Froome in the poll? a lot of confidence here or perhaps collectively we know more than the bookies...

 

[El Pistolero]

Pinot is too early in shape, rookie mistake. Froome will be a couple of levels better as in Trentino. He's prqctically unbeatable in his first GT of the season and he's the only rider in twenty years to win back-to-back GTs.

He's still a *** donkey though.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Who could have thought Pinot would be right up there with Dumo and Froome in the poll? a lot of confidence here or perhaps collectively we know more than the bookies...

Because he has more fans than the others?...

 

[Vesica]

I have still difficulties to see that Dumoulin is a GT contender. For me he's a allrounder with great a great TT and good climbing abilities. I guess i still don't realize he won the Giro last year. Even after a year it's unbelievable.

Froome, i don't know. Never rode the Giro before. Not a team around him as normally in the Tour (on which he very much depends).

I have the feeling that is can be a very weird Giro. Heart says Chavez.

 

[Netserk]

Froome has ridden the Giro before. Last time he was disqualified for holding on to a moto(?). But of course, unlike with Nibali that isn't constantly mentioned...