2023 Giro D'Italia

[largebus]

Berwick shouted out that he "wouldn't do shit" so he did **** all to win the stage

 

[eth-dog]

Should be our first real GC hit out tonight. Expecting Roglic to flex his muscles and get pink tonight.

 

[largebus]

So the stage has been reduced to an uphill sprint à la Sestrières 1996.

 

[eth-dog]

What sort of time gap will it be for this? Halfa?

 

[eth-dog]

Great win by Rubio. Played them masterfully.

Pinot now in the Azzura.

 

[eth-dog]

Tonight seems tailor made for Bling. He's about 100 points behind Milan for the Ciclamino Jersey, and there are only really two more days that suit Milan (stages 19 and 21). You'd be tempted to chase points, especially since he's no guarantee to stay inside the time limit for a few of these days

 

[largebus]

What a boring GC race so far.

Happy retirement to the Manx Midget Mark Cavendish.

 

[eth-dog]

What a boring GC race so far.

Happy retirement to the Manx Midget Mark Cavendish.

Roglic knows he has Thomas beat I reckon. He'll attack probably Thursday

 

[yaco55]

Worst stage from BEX so far. Needed a Postlberger or Hepburn in the break with Bling to do what Skuijns did.

Also really bad from Bling in that he missed both splits.

Ideally you should have two riders in the break, however they are Hamstrung with the withdrawal of Scotson - This means they have to be selective in who they have in the break - They also should have selected Grmay, instead of Stewart - Grmay can sniff a breakaway and help others, while Hepburn could have done Stewart's role of leading out Bling.

 

[yaco55]

The race is boring because of the stage design - The Giro needs a more balanced route which sets out the GC throughout the three weeks, instead of backloading the route and going for monster stages which result in conservative racing for the first two weeks - The saddest thing is Italy has the best terrain for a good course design.

 

[largebus]

 

[eth-dog]

Lance is a moron. Period

 

[eth-dog]

Strong break. Not sure if the Astana riders can stay away.

 

[largebus]

Lance is a moron. Period

So is Vaughters, but not for the reasons Lance stated.

Pinot is emblematic of why the French have gone decades without winning a Grand Tour. Has some talent but goes full sook mode when things don't go his way, like he did on Sunday.

 

[eth-dog]

So is Vaughters, but not for the reasons Lance stated.

Pinot is emblematic of why the French have gone decades without winning a Grand Tour. Has some talent but goes full sook mode when things don't go his way, like he did on Sunday.

Vaughters is harmless. I don't like him but overall he's harmless.

I have a love/hate relationship with Pinot. He's so aggressive but God he can whinge. Gaudu is gonna be their best chance in a while. If he targets the Giro next year he might get lucky and not have Roglic, Evenepoel or Geoghegan Hart in it.

 

[largebus]

And just like that Rog gets dropped. No idea why people thought he was the strongest after time trials

 

[largebus]

Fantastic ride by Dunbar. G will be hard to stop now

 

[99 Problems]

Thomas in a great position. Think Almeida will fancy putting him in difficulty on stage 18 or 19, and he’ll need to before the TT. Roglic didn’t look great but still in the fight if today was just a bad day. Will be an interesting couple of stages tactically.

 

[eth-dog]

And just like that Rog gets dropped. No idea why people thought he was the strongest after time trials

Because he looked the strongest over the mountains?

Good work from Thomas. I'm still on Roglic winning, Dunbar looks good for a top 4 finish.

 

[Orange Agent]

It was only 30seconds but given Jumbo paced most of the day it's a bit of a disaster. It's lucky he had Kuss left to salvage it a bit. Thomas is racing very smart and Zana has been a great pick up for Jayco.

 

[eth-dog]

Why is there a flat stage this late in the piece?

 

[largebus]

Because he looked the strongest over the mountains?

Good work from Thomas. I'm still on Roglic winning, Dunbar looks good for a top 4 finish.

If he was so strong he would've attacked on one of the earlier mountain stages. His only other attack he distanced Remco but failed to gap Thomas, who never looked in any particular duress.

Why is there a flat stage this late in the piece?

I get they have 2 tough days after this + the mountain TT but they could've put a hill or two near the finish to keep people awake.

 

[Orange Agent]

As much as I want to see Cav go out with a win here, I think the last 2ks is too technical. A lot of corners means he will need be near the front from a long way to go.

 

[eth-dog]

As much as I want to see Cav go out with a win here, I think the last 2ks is too technical. A lot of corners means he will need be near the front from a long way to go.

Yeah, it looks like an Ackermann or Gaviria finish IMO.

 

[Orange Agent]

Milan with a proper lead out train is scary. He must be putting out Kittel watts.