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!
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View Comments
@RobSandy
@RobSandy
I DO hope frank cleared the penalties for those who put their picks in before the first rest day (which were the first official picks, due to the setup error) for which the picking machine said they were 2nd rest day swaps, as he said he had/would. So, these actual 2nd rest day picks should be penalised for what they are.
@RobSandy
'Doing a Movistar' might take off, though.
@stooge
I'm not sure whether 'Doing a Movistar' means to take a fair advantage. Or to take an unfair advantage...
I'm not making any more swaps because I'm not convinced my first lot of picks will stand anyway!
@RobSandy
The beauty lies in the ambiguity.
Yeah, who knows how this race will go VSP wise. I suspect it would be a fairly easy fix - to clear the penalties from before the 1st rest day deadline and count swaps as normal from then on - but as the setup and subsequent 'fix' both went awry, I'm not filled with confidence. I reckon Frank will sort it when he gets a chance. Having managed to Delgado one race and have my picks vanish for mens and femmes on another, I'm picking for shits and giggles at this point anyway. Hope the scoring works out for those still in the running.
@stooge
After yesterday I'm pretty happy with my picks. Got Quintana, Pinot and Dumoulin in my top 4. I've also got G and I'm keeping him in out of respect!
It would have been really interesting seeing how he got on vs Dumoulin, Nibali, Mollema eta. What a total shitter.
Landa out, Dumoulin in
VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):
VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):
Orica-Scott sports director Matt White has slammed Movistar's decision to continue driving at the front of the peloton when several major GC riders, including the Australian squad's Adam Yates, were caught up in a major crash on stage 9 of the Giro d'Italia.
Source: Cycling News
I really think the police moto incident was unfortunate. I am also all for unwritten rules that discourage attacking a race leader when a mechanical or natural break occur. However, I am a bit flummoxed as to what exactly Mr. White is upset about here. With time trials still ahead Movistar had to put time into rivals today. Easing off may have well put the entire GC at risk for them.
I am not a Movistar fan nor detractor- I respect them as a great team. I thought they should have raced ahead last year when Froome abused the power of the leader's jersey by asking for a natural break when his team crashed. Cancellara, who was the sheriff, declared no racing and Movistar complied, although reluctantly. Personally, I would not have blamed them for racing ahead when CF clearly took advantage of his standing in the peloton.
The situation on Mt. Ventoux last July was similar and I don't recall his rider waiting for the guy in Yellow. That was of course rectified by judges but I don't blame Adam Yates for continuing to ride.
Despite whether it was sporting or not, these moto/car crashes with riders have to stop. I respect the job that the Police do for the races but WTF? If he had to pull over, there was ample room off the tarmac to stop and wait for other riders who needed police presence. Instead he produced the latest Wile E. Coyote moment in cycling.
@Rick
It's a tricky one for sure. Had it been Jungels who was on the ground, then a case can be made for a "race leader down" truce. But it wasn't Jungels. It was Quintana's rivals. This opens up a big debate about when to attack and when not to attack. Are all the GC contenders supposed to get to a mid point in a decisive stage and have a wee confab, asking "ok, is everyone doing fine, feeling ok? Lots of food and water? Shall we start racing?" It's a very tough call on when to hang back because a rival is in difficulty whether self-imposed (bad legs) or by a 2nd party (puncture/mechanical) or a 3rd party (moto). At some point, someone is going to be in difficulty for some reason. It was super shitty luck for Thomas, but that's racing I suppose.
Not to self promote, but see my article from a while back on Knut Knudsen and his experiences in the Giro when bad luck (cough, cough) comes calling.
VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):
VSP PICKS (2nd Rest Day Swaps):