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
@ChrisO
LOLZ. It'll duck my VSP but I am now a Tom Done-a-poo-lin fan. What a guy. And so handsome.
Quintana isn't winning any fans. Mohali needs to explain to him what panache is...
@wiscot
most of my descending experience is from working as a bike messenger in San Francisco on a fixed gear. believe it or not, i used a 48x16, or even a 52x16, and no brakes, of course. not quite the same thing as Alpine descending, but still fun.
@ChrisO
Gold.
@chuckp
It's a 2011 - before they made it look "sporty." Does what it needs to do and I can get any bike in the back by popping the seats down and removing the bike's front wheel.
Also, not much of a temptation for car thieves!
So, I didn't think Doumolin has it in him 3 weeks ago. But I think it would be phenomenal if he won. Of course, my VSP would be over. But it would still be cool. I'm pulling for him.
Too little, too late. Looks like Tom will take it, barring any bizarre goings on tomorrow. He's got some giant balls.
Well done to Landa for the stage win. Good stuff. Also happy to see Yates back into to top ten and in the white jersey. Both did well to adjust goals and keep their heads in the game.
@Erik
Depends what happens tomorrow. If he loses even more time tomorrow and has a minute or more deficit going into the TT in Milan, it will be tough for him to get the time back. He actually now has more than just Quintana to worry about. If either Nibali or Pinot can put enough time on him tomorrow, they may be able to leapfrog Quintana in the TT and Dumoulin might not be able to make up the difference. So unlike TdF, which is a Skybot yawnfest, the Giro is once again a fun and interesting race until the very end.
And even though I'm not a big Sky fan, chapeau today to Landa for a well deserved win ... especially after getting pipped twice in previous stages. Plus appropriate for him to win a climbing stage wearing KoM jersey.
Top six within 90 seconds going into the last two days. I don't think Dumoulin was being snarky when he told Q and N to watch out: Pinot, Zakarin or even Pozzovivo could sneak onto the podium. This is anyone's Giro.
For now, I will enjoy my temporarily fabulous VSP: 4 of 5, with 1,2,4 ITRO.
@John Irvine
Yes indeed. If Q wants to win overall, he's going to need more than 38 seconds going into the TT. The whole podium is up for grabs.