Of the sprinters, who is planning to pull out before the last week? I.e. who is a proper contender for the points jersey?
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Hey, look who's backThe Chicken said:MAL will win this bicycle race.
Nibali will be nowhere; he is finished as a GT rider.
Jagartrott said:Of the sprinters, who is planning to pull out before the last week? I.e. who is a proper contender for the points jersey?
Jagartrott said:Of the sprinters, who is planning to pull out before the last week? I.e. who is a proper contender for the points jersey?
Gigs_98 said:Hey, look who's backThe Chicken said:MAL will win this bicycle race.
Nibali will be nowhere; he is finished as a GT rider.
if PCS is right about him doing all three Grand Tours this year, then this looks unlikely to happen, no matter what he thinks about it himself.Lexman said:Jagartrott said:Of the sprinters, who is planning to pull out before the last week? I.e. who is a proper contender for the points jersey?
Vivian said this :
"ride the Giro with the tricolour jersey adds to my motivation to win as much as last year even though the competition looks harder between the sprinters. Since the race ends in my native town of Verona, I for sure want to complete the race and I’d like to take the Cyclamen jersey to the final podium like last year. That’s what keeps a sprinter motivated till the last day."
Gigs_98 is that you?Dazed and Confused said:It will be almost impossible for Roglic to establish a solid advantage in the first part of this crappy backloaded Giro.
I fear for falling as sleep and somehow miss the action at the end.
Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
Did Yates finish the Vuelta that strongly though? Of course he didn't completely crack but look at his competition. There were very little strong gc riders at that race, some guys like Valverde or Quintana who looked like real dangers for Yates earlier in the race faded badly and on the final mountain stage Enric Mas and MAL were even able to drop Yates. No way he is winning this giro if his shape in the last week isn't better than that.gregrowlerson said:Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
I agree with this. Zoncolan is as hard as it gets on a sole climb, but the Mortirolo after Gavia is another beast entirely. Maybe Yates rode out the Vuelta strongly because the Vuelta is significantly easier? Whether that is true or not, what happened last year will ensure some extra anticipated excitement for stage 20 this year if it is Yates is in Pink; for even if he is strong, others might be encouraged to race early rather than wait.
This also begs another question.Gigs_98 said:Did Yates finish the Vuelta that strongly though? Of course he didn't completely crack but look at his competition. There were very little strong gc riders at that race, some guys like Valverde or Quintana who looked like real dangers for Yates earlier in the race faded badly and on the final mountain stage Enric Mas and MAL were even able to drop Yates. No way he is winning this giro if his shape in the last week isn't better than that.gregrowlerson said:Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
I agree with this. Zoncolan is as hard as it gets on a sole climb, but the Mortirolo after Gavia is another beast entirely. Maybe Yates rode out the Vuelta strongly because the Vuelta is significantly easier? Whether that is true or not, what happened last year will ensure some extra anticipated excitement for stage 20 this year if it is Yates is in Pink; for even if he is strong, others might be encouraged to race early rather than wait.
Yeah, because everything that happened prior to stage 19 was basically nullified by one climb. Carapaz was 9th before the Finestre happened behind Pello Bilbao and Rohan f*cking Dennis. Him getting fourth at the end doesn't tell you anything about how strong the field was.Red Rick said:This also begs another question.Gigs_98 said:Did Yates finish the Vuelta that strongly though? Of course he didn't completely crack but look at his competition. There were very little strong gc riders at that race, some guys like Valverde or Quintana who looked like real dangers for Yates earlier in the race faded badly and on the final mountain stage Enric Mas and MAL were even able to drop Yates. No way he is winning this giro if his shape in the last week isn't better than that.gregrowlerson said:Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
I agree with this. Zoncolan is as hard as it gets on a sole climb, but the Mortirolo after Gavia is another beast entirely. Maybe Yates rode out the Vuelta strongly because the Vuelta is significantly easier? Whether that is true or not, what happened last year will ensure some extra anticipated excitement for stage 20 this year if it is Yates is in Pink; for even if he is strong, others might be encouraged to race early rather than wait.
How does the Giro field stack up to last year? Dumoulin was consistent but didn't have his great climbing days like in 2017. Froome was bad until the last weak. MAL never impressed. Pinot was decent but not special. Carapaz got 4th lol.
Red Rick said:This also begs another question.Gigs_98 said:Did Yates finish the Vuelta that strongly though? Of course he didn't completely crack but look at his competition. There were very little strong gc riders at that race, some guys like Valverde or Quintana who looked like real dangers for Yates earlier in the race faded badly and on the final mountain stage Enric Mas and MAL were even able to drop Yates. No way he is winning this giro if his shape in the last week isn't better than that.gregrowlerson said:Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
I agree with this. Zoncolan is as hard as it gets on a sole climb, but the Mortirolo after Gavia is another beast entirely. Maybe Yates rode out the Vuelta strongly because the Vuelta is significantly easier? Whether that is true or not, what happened last year will ensure some extra anticipated excitement for stage 20 this year if it is Yates is in Pink; for even if he is strong, others might be encouraged to race early rather than wait.
How does the Giro field stack up to last year? Dumoulin was consistent but didn't have his great climbing days like in 2017. Froome was bad until the last weak. MAL never impressed. Pinot was decent but not special. Carapaz got 4th lol.
I was not implying Froome didn't have excuses. And yeah this doesn't spell too great for those who want to double up in Francemovingtarget said:Red Rick said:This also begs another question.Gigs_98 said:Did Yates finish the Vuelta that strongly though? Of course he didn't completely crack but look at his competition. There were very little strong gc riders at that race, some guys like Valverde or Quintana who looked like real dangers for Yates earlier in the race faded badly and on the final mountain stage Enric Mas and MAL were even able to drop Yates. No way he is winning this giro if his shape in the last week isn't better than that.gregrowlerson said:Gigs_98 said:The thing about yates is, I'm unsure about is how he copes with the really long and brutal mountain stages that are raced for more than a few kilometers. He has always been an extremely punchy rider but will he still be among the best on the mortirolo if racing has already started on the gavia? Last year most of his impressive efforts were attacks close to the end of an uphill finish. He was also good on zoncolan where attacks started a bit earlier but not as dominant as on the other stages and on stage 15 he attacked a bit further away from the finish but on a short and steep climb that also really suited his characteristics.
If he has last years shape again and if he is as good on the hard mountain stages as he was on the easier ones last season it's honestly hard to see anyone beating him.
I agree with this. Zoncolan is as hard as it gets on a sole climb, but the Mortirolo after Gavia is another beast entirely. Maybe Yates rode out the Vuelta strongly because the Vuelta is significantly easier? Whether that is true or not, what happened last year will ensure some extra anticipated excitement for stage 20 this year if it is Yates is in Pink; for even if he is strong, others might be encouraged to race early rather than wait.
How does the Giro field stack up to last year? Dumoulin was consistent but didn't have his great climbing days like in 2017. Froome was bad until the last weak. MAL never impressed. Pinot was decent but not special. Carapaz got 4th lol.
Froome fell on the same hip twice so I suppose he had some excuses plus he was also doing consecutive grand tours and his training was probably aimed at a strong third week and hoping to hold that form in the Tour. Even so after a hard Giro he certainly felt it in the Tour and Thomas had the best GT form of his career
Well no offence but you seem to chronically overrate climbers versus real allround specialists in a GT.Tonton said:Roglic has twice as many votes as Yates 44-22...it seems to me that it should be the other way around. Unless Roglic proves to be the new Rominger, I suppose...again, Il Giro may end up being, once again, the most entertaining of all GTs.
Blanco said:It will be between Yates, Lopez and Landa, and Landa will win...