Vincenzo Nibali won the Giro going downhill.
I spy with my little eye a certain Michele Scarponi, who sadly lost his life while out training near his home two weeks ago, in there amongst his teammates after his captain, Nibbles, won the race. I’m torn about a death like Michele’s – we subject ourselves to similar risks every time we climb aboard our bikes and we accept it as part and parcel of our craft. Yet, while every day members of our tribe lose their lives to their trade, it takes a high profile rider to remind us how real that risk is.
But onto lighter topics, Nibali won the Giro last year going downhill, and it happened on the one stage I managed to sleep through which is another way of saying I missed it. But I love waking up to a that WTF feeling only a reshuffled GS can give you.
The race starts Friday morning, which is sooner than I expected, so I’ll stop typing so you can start picking. Get them in by the time the clock goes to zero, and remember that our Grand Tour scoring rules are a little different than the smaller events. So jump on that start list and get prognosticating!
Good luck!
[vsp_results id=”104353″/]
I know as well as any of you that I've been checked out lately, kind…
Peter Sagan has undergone quite the transformation over the years; starting as a brash and…
The Women's road race has to be my favorite one-day road race after Paris-Roubaix and…
Holy fuckballs. I've never been this late ever on a VSP. I mean, I've missed…
This week we are currently in is the most boring week of the year. After…
I have memories of my life before Cycling, but as the years wear slowly on…
View Comments
@RobSandy
Oh, I don't know. I thought you first version was pretty good too. A bit of Dutch "mystique"!
@RobSandy
Calling Dr. Freud...........
@Rick
My secret is finally out. I have a vivid sexual fantasy about being naked with Bauke Mollema in the ocean.
Changing the subject somewhat...looks like G will be flying back up the GC today.
@RobSandy
Or maybe in a hot tub . . . but the hot tub is the Italian way. The Dutch, being hardy souls, likely prefer the North Sea.
It's on! Movistar and the other teams with climbers with hopes of GC glory are gonna have to go at Dumoulin pretty hard in the hills. They sure wouldn't want him to close behind going into that 2nd TT. What a ride...
Great to see Thomas put in such a good ride. Yates was good, too. He went better than I thought he would, even before the crash. Pozzovivo did well in the windy conditions, so I reckon Quintana's ride was sub par. Pinot doesn't look much chop - I think he was slower than Pozzovivo. Will we see van Garderen in another grand tour?
Oooohhh, I loves me a nice bit of time-trialling, and that was some sweet TTing by big Tom D. Don't the organizers know that a couple of meaty TTs is what really shakes up a race? Look at the state to Mt. Etna. Lots of hype for nothing. A TT creates gaps and gaps spur tactics.
Great ride by GT - that crash really fucked his chances I think. If not for that, he'd be second overall. Mind you, at this point, he is clearly on form and has nothing to lose so maybe we see GT getting a bit feisty and not just hanging with the main contenders. Nibbles wasn't spectacular, but he's a-lurking.
The second TT isn't as long (Boooo!) but Dumoulin could take a couple of minutes on Quintana there too. I think we have a race!
@wiscot
The second ITT also appears to be downhill. That should work to the climber's advantage.
@stooge
I doubt we ever see TJ vG as a leader in a Grand Tour again. He just can't seem to put it together after a promising start to his career.
@Rick
Yes, I doubt it too.
@stooge
Actually, Pinot was faster than Pozzovivo. He was slower than Adam Yates, though. Not a good day.
@Rick
You are correct sir! It's basically all downhill from the Monza racetrack, but Tom D is a big-ass powerhouse. A 55-11 should see him fly!