Velominati Super Prestige: Giro d’Italia 2016

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• Zakarin - out, Valv - in

  VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):

  1. landa
  2. nibali
  3. dumoulin
  4. Valverde
  5. kruijswijk

• Changed out the dutchmen.

  VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):

  1. Nibali
  2. Landa
  3. Valverde
  4. Zakarin
  5. Kruijswijk

• Dont like the idea of dropping V points here, but what the heck.....

  VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):

  1. Landa
  2. Tom Two Windmills
  3. Valverde
  4. Rafal Majka
  5. Nibbler

• @stooge

  @Barracuda

  @piwakawaka

  @Bespoke

  I also like the Giro much more the Le Tour

  Can’t quite put my finger on it but to me the Giro just seems raw, whereas Le Tour seems staged ( pun intended) from day one.

  I love the Giro, passionately. It was le Tour that initially won me, but it is the Giro that I look forward to the most. The Tour is grand, with the best riders from the best teams in attendance and all the pomp and ceremony that brings. La Vuelta is fun too, not least as a place to see the up and comers get a three week test. The Giro always seems to have great courses, more variable climes and weather, amazing climbs and descents, and stage planning often bordering on cruelty. Being early in the season, it’s hard to know who is in grand tour form. It’s got it all.

  Check out stage 10. They’ve just had an ITT and a rest, then we get to watch this roller-coaster, which is sure to mess with the best laid plans. Also check out 14. There’s a little climb and decent to begin, then around 70km of almost constant climbing(!), followed by another roller-coaster with some more climbing . That’ll be sweet viewing, but to top it off it’s followed by the stage 15 ITT – a roughly 10km climb at 8.3% average. Now that is nearing cruelty, given the previous stage.

  There’s a long, long way to go, and I fully expect some shake ups in the GC over the next week. Now I just need to find a way to stay awake to see the stage finishes at 2am each night…

  Long live the Giro!

  VSP PICKS (1st Rest Day Swaps):

  1. Mikel Landa
  2. Vincenzo Nibali
  3. Alejandro Valverde
  4. Rafal Majka
  5. Domenico Pozzovivo

  Yeah, I looked at the rest of the stage profiles. Crazy! Lots more racing and if you have a bad day on the wrong day, you're toast. With Kittel gone, Greipel must be looking good for a couple more stages so long as a break doesn't stay away. I'm thinking Andre could finish with five wins - and I'd be thrilled with that as he's a class act. (ps, I hate calling him "the Gorilla" as while I understand it being based on strength and physique, I find it kinda demeaning in a "he's big and strong but dumb" way. My opinion, FWIW. pps no swaps for me.

• Seriously impressive from Landa on the TT.....

  http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/mikel-landa-manages-stay-upright-despite-sliding-off-road-giro-ditalia-time-trial-video-225556?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social#Mo2XXm6brcBLfT7B.99

• Switched on TOC yesterday and this is the first image of the race on NBC SN

• @Teocalli

  can you imagine having to try & TT in those conditions? Might explain some of the poorer results people have been using to write off potential contenders. Even Roglic was pretty open about the fact that he got lucky with the weather.

  “I didn’t expect this,” said stage winner Roglic. “I just wanted to do my best. In the end I also had some luck with the weather.”

  http://cyclingtips.com/2016/05/roglic-takes-stage-nine-time-trial-brambilla-defends-giro-ditalia-race-lead/

• Balls.  Landa 3 mins down on the first climb.

• Aaaaaand landa is out way to destroy literally everyone's top picks.