Velominati Super Prestige: Giro D’Italia 2013
Twiggo is dreaming of a Giro-Tour double. He has sent out mixed messages about his Tour ambitions. Will he use the Giro as the ultimate Tour preparation or will be burn all his matches in May and hope he can find another pack for July? He has abandoned his successful 2012 Tour run-up strategy of winning every stage race he entered the previous spring. Now it’s the seclusion of Mount Doom of Tenerife, his coach and his watt meter his only competition. Team Sky is supporting Wig with a very strong squad, including superman, Kanstantsin Siutsou and with Cav no longer a teammate, it’s all the knights of the round table for Sir Twig.
Will the curse of the god-awful Astana kit continue to haunt non-Kazahk riders? Can Vincenzo’s Italian mojo overpower its powerful pale blue and yellow aura? Roman Kreuziger was finally able to win a big race once he shed that kit and pulled on one of Bjarne’s Saxo jerseys. Maybe it was more Bjarne and less jersey that made the difference.
Ryder gets no respect as the defending champion. His little dance at the end of Liége-Bastogne-Liége showed he is fit and ready for a fight. He can time trial, he can climb. Personally I have to back the local boy. And I always hate the overpowered, overwhelming favorite (read Team Sky here) in any race, unless that racer is Fabian Cancellara. No one can say Fabs has won a race this year surrounded with a team as strong as Sky’s. The Shack is just the Shack or a shack. Once Cancellara leaves for the Swiss “I AM” team, it’s lights out in the shack. Frandy, don’t forget to turn out ’em out when you leave.
If Cavendish wins the first day’s sprinter’s stage he will be in pink. He may be out of it after stage two, a team time trial.
But this is the Giro: crazy, unexpected, beautiful things can happen. The spinning wheels of fortuna are less predictable in Italy as they are in France in July. The betting window is now open. The complete start list is not yet available, an incomplete one is here and shall be updated soon. So sleep on your picks, wait for all the teams to make it official, unless you want to go with the obvious all Sky podium. The race begins Saturday so don’t Delgado away a Grand Tour opportunity.
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@cantona
geez. We’re such bitches on the interwebs.
The weather has been total shit. It’s a bit rich to be calling Wiggs out for being soft, especially considering he would have won the TT if he hadn’t flatted.
@strathlubnaig
Again, FFS. Wiggins would have likely I won’t Trentino if his shit E-lectonic shifting hadn’t stopped working.
Of course we had to tip shit on him because he “wasn’t being cool” throwing his expensive bike about.
Getting heartily sick of the bitchiness and negativity.
@mouse
I don’t think it’s just that Mouse. There is some scepticism about just how bad it really was and that some people are using it as the excuse for Wiggin’s poor showing.
Yes he would have won the TT, but before that stage everyone was saying he should be putting 2 or 3 minutes into the other GC contenders. Even without the flat he would have been pushing it to gain 40 seconds on Nibali.
I’m generally pro-Sky but I don’t think they would be beyond a bit of spin if they thought it helped their cause. What sounds better:
“Sorry Chris, Brad was shit at the Giro but we’re going to give him another go at the Tour, so you have to share the leadership.”
or
“Come on Froomey, we know the plan was for Brad to do the Giro and you the Tour, but we can’t do anything about chest infections can we ?”
@mouse
Didn’t Wiggo call himself soft? I’m assuming that’s what he meant when he said he’d been descending like a bit of a girl…
In other news Sestriere’s been stripped from today’s stage due to the poor conditions at the summit & on the descent. Valley road instead so they’re only doing the final climb.
http://c-cycling.blogspot.cz/2013/05/giro-ditalia-stage-14-preview-favorites.html
@strathlubnaig
Maybe this man has access to such equipment
@strathlubnaig
Love it. Just waiting for the “my rivals must have hacked my wireless shifting” excuse from someone now.
@frank
Too fast fore vowels.
What streams are you guys using? Are they all 80% ads like this Eurosport one?
@xyxax
I stay away from getting that skinny these days. The extra couple Kg’s keeps me healthier, and to be totally honest, I don’t race nearly as much as I did when I was in my 20’s (when I had delusions of going to Europe and chasing a pro contract).
Fo me now, it’s more about staying in decent shape, having fun, and teaching the noob’s on my team how to race. ‘Sides, Mrs. Scaler is less likely to “give it up” when I’m looking like a Schleck.
And now the Galibier is confirmed removed from tomorrows stage….dUran dUran is running out of vertical meters to pull time back from Nibali and Evans…
“AFP are confirming, via French officials that the Galibier and the Col du Mont Cenis have been withdrawn from tomorrow’ stage. RCS are scrambling to come up with a new route”
@eightzero
Evie’s got some good shit to say. If only more riders had her background, things would get done!
*runs and hides*
@ChrisO
Here is where it is on CW. FFS, everyone can have a poor spell, a cough, a cold, peak too early etc, but making up excuses like that is just mad.
No Giro TV coverage today due to weather, and Col du Galibier removed from the course. Apparently weather is so bad that the TV helicopters can’t fly.
@G’rilla
It is too bad there is not even MC camera views either. Almost too late now, 12km to go and the break is nearly 5′ in front.
@strathlubnaig
I think the MCs still have to relay the footage up to an aeroplane or ‘copter, so if they cant get off the ground, no live coverage.
Is Contador doing the Tour? I want to see him against Froome on form.
Apparently the fireworks have started as Sky has sent Henao up the road on the Jafferau. The RAI sport feed shows a light snow falling at the finish line.
Santambroggio takes the win with Nibali on his wheel!
Uran lost another 25 secs, Evans somewhere around 45. Gesink has yet to finish.
I think Cuddles has lost some time there, Gesink will drop out the GC a fair bit too looks like.
Watching that finish, it looked like Nibbles gave Santambrogio the nod to go for the stage.
@strathlubnaig
Really hard to believe with the time bonuses and all but maybe he did. Hopefully not another Panani/COTHO Ventoux bit.
Cuddles came in at 33″ down with & with the 12″ bonification for Nibbles as well the gap is out to 1:26″ by my calculations, Gesink came in around 3 minutes down with the rest of the Blanco squad.
@Mikael Liddy
I think that they are saying Gesink was over four minutes down.
@Buck Rogers
Definitely a nod from il Squalo at the last corner letting Santa know he wouldn’t contest the sprint
@ped
Cool. I love the honour and protocol in cycling. I will need to watch that.
Despite the weather and several riders losing time, there was not much change to the GC; Gesink dropped out of contention and Scarples fell further back as well, but the only big change to the overall is that Santambrogio took Gesink’s spot in fourth.
Gesink is done as is my VSP.
Down to 2 of the top 5 and neither in the right place….including my 5 pt penalty for swapping Evans in on the 1st rest day my calculations have me at a whopping 1 point. My only hope was that somebody could pull a miracle and drop Nibbles and Cuddles back down to 2nd and 3rd respectively, but Vincenzo made sure that was a pipe dream today – good for him.
Seems like there was some great racing up the final climb, wish we could have seen it.
@frank
My math is confirmed….
holy Merckx! Im in the top 5!
@Buck Rogers
No, I do believe he let Santa know he could take it, perhaps a little ‘money in the bank’ for some later favours ?
@strathlubnaig
Gazzetta describes Nibali as the Padrone – ” Santambrogio won with the “blessing” of the pink jersey, who decided not to sprint, contenting himself with earning precious seconds.”
The time bonus also puts Santa just 1s behind duranduran
Whether its His Nibs, Get off my dog or Simon le Bon, I think we can be happy that the title looks to be going towards a true all-rounder who can ride all roads in all seasons.
I’m missing Ryder, not so much Twiggo and still waiting for Cobo to hook up with MotoMan but otherwise happy. Pancho Sanchez remains my dark horse to podium somehow.
So according to Cyclingnews the stage today is going to finish at the Pantani monument on the Galibier. Should be a stage to send the Tifosi into Paroxysms if an Italian rider wins.
Apparently the Giro is the Arenberg Forest of the VSP…you can’t win the VSP here but you can most certainly lose it. My picks of Wiggins, Hesjdal and Gesink ended up being the equivalent of two punctures and a broken chain.
Whaaa? Rai Sport just switched to horse racing with 10km to go. Not even an actual race, just people waiting around.
@G’rilla
Did the race end? eurosprt is showing another bike race.
Never mind. I dozed off for a bit. must have been longer than I thought.
No change to the GC today. Here’s hoping the racing kicks up a bit again; that was an awfully large group to finish together on such a big climb.
@VeloVita
I’m feeling slightly better about Delgadoing my way off the Giro VSP. I think I would be at 1 point for having His Nibs in the top 5.
@RedRanger
Eurosport showed the finish. They then moved over to the tour of Norway.
Passo dello Stelvio, courtesy of BRR
@DerHoggz
Awesome! What year was that?
@Dan_R
Looks like 1965, when, I think, it was also the final stage??
to swap in cuddles or not, that is the question. He has a good lead on Uran, but I’m not convinced he’s invincible. Risk 10 to gain 5? Mmm…
Gesink is a perpetual disappointment. If the man isn’t falling off his his bike he’s cracking on some climb or time trialling poorly.
@Brett I don’t think Pozzato and his room full of smokeys is working for you. You’re gonna need a fuckload of retirements to move up the board.
@Dan_R From what I can tell it looks like nineteen-fifty-V
Can somebody open the voting, please?
Fucken brilliant coverage here
http://www.steephill.tv/players/720/rai/?title=Last+7+Km+of+Stage+15&dashboard=giro-d-italia&id=d143c73f-aef5-4f28-96c4-e474c42ebfb6&yr=2013
This is what is so special about what we do, the finish is immense , the snow , the Galibier , the solo victory, the attacks inside the final three km’s , from the top three , covered by everyone in the top five , punch counter punch, how you doin? Oh yeah? Punch counter , stalemate , the young guns allowed up the road to fight out the minor places , the relief and exhaustion shown at the line and immediately after , and the joy , the absolute joy from team mates , DS’s , there is a great scene at the end as Visconti is waiting in doping control, head in hands trying to grasp his achievement , in walks Nibali who glances over and gives a nod to the young man.