2024 Giro D'Italia

[eth-dog]

So the break likely to take this. I have Caruso winning it personally.

 

[eth-dog]

So tonight is the official halfway stage. As good a time for a jersey review as any.

GC: Tadej has it, but a minute separates second from fourth. The fight for top 10 will be interesting too, and with only 5 minutes separating 5th and 17th I can see a lot of movement in there.

Points: It's most likely Milan but I can see Groves chasing him down if he gets a couple of stage wins and gets in a break or two.

KOM: It's Tadej. Geschke can win it if he's in stages 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 but I still doubt it.

Youf: The only interesting battle for me. Uijtedbroeks is cracking so I'd expect Tiberi and Zana to try to break him on stage 15 to climb ahead.

 

[Vader]

So tonight is the official halfway stage. As good a time for a jersey review as any.

GC: Tadej has it, but a minute separates second from fourth. The fight for top 10 will be interesting too, and with only 5 minutes separating 5th and 17th I can see a lot of movement in there.

Points: It's most likely Milan but I can see Groves chasing him down if he gets a couple of stage wins and gets in a break or two.

KOM: It's Tadej. Geschke can win it if he's in stages 15, 16, 17, 19 and 20 but I still doubt it.

Youf: The only interesting battle for me. Uijtedbroeks is cracking so I'd expect Tiberi and Zana to try to break him on stage 15 to climb ahead.

I'd add Merlier to the Points candidates, but otherwise I think you're on the money.

 

[eth-dog]

I'd add Merlier to the Points candidates, but otherwise I think you're on the money.

Merlier isn't really chasing points. He isn't competing in intermediate sprints at all and probably too far back to win it but he'll probably still podium.

 

[Vader]

Merlier isn't really chasing points. He isn't competing in intermediate sprints at all and probably too far back to win it but he'll probably still podium.

It's a pitty that Kooij had to pull the plug.

 

[eth-dog]

It's a pitty that Kooij had to pull the plug.

He would have been up there.

 

[Vader]

It looks like the GC riders have decided to have the middle week of the Giro off. Last night was a boring truce, other than Bahrain pushing a bit towards the end, to prevent Zana from threatening Tiberi.

• Tonight it's a flat stage, with a Cat 3 climb early, but no elevations above 39m in the last 100km.
• Tomorrow there are 4x Cat 4 climbs. Ironically, the first sprint stage comes at the stage's highest point (260m altitude), and it's not even a categorised climb.
• Friday is another flat stage, with no categorised climbs, and a peak altitude of 39m - the last 100km is all below 20m altitude.
• Saturday is a flat ITT.
• The GC riders don't have any work to do, at least in terms of climbing, until next Sunday, which is a real mountain stage (with 2x Cat 1 climbs in the last 25km).

I think I'll follow the GC riders' advice, and take the week off too. I'll settle for watching the morning highlights shows, rather than staying up until 1am, to watch the sprint trains do their business.

 

[eth-dog]

It looks like the GC riders have decided to have the middle week of the Giro off. Last night was a boring truce, other than Bahrain pushing a bit towards the end, to prevent Zana from threatening Tiberi.

• Tonight it's a flat stage, with a Cat 3 climb early, but no elevations above 39m in the last 100km.
• Tomorrow there are 4x Cat 4 climbs. Ironically, the first sprint stage comes at the stage's highest point (260m altitude), and it's not even a categorised climb.
• Friday is another flat stage, with no categorised climbs, and a peak altitude of 39m - the last 100km is all below 20m altitude.
• Saturday is a flat ITT.
• The GC riders don't have any work to do, at least in terms of climbing, until next Sunday, which is a real mountain stage (with 2x Cat 1 climbs in the last 25km).

I think I'll follow the GC riders' advice, and take the week off too. I'll settle for watching the morning highlights shows, rather than staying up until 1am, to watch the sprint trains do their business.

I mean they have ****ed up before in this Giro.

 

[Orange Agent]

Ewan couldn't have had the team do anymore for him than last night and he still losses the wheel and finishes nowhere.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

Great race and win by Alaphilippe last night in Stage 12. Hardly made a mistake the last 60kms or so that I saw after he Maestri had broken away from that big pack of 30 or 40 riders.

I reckon he will try and repeat these sort of tactics in Paris in the Olympic road race. Well I'm assuming he gets selected as part of the French team. Would be a bloody surprise if a dual road race world champ doesn't get selected. He said the Giro and the Olympics were his big motivations for 2024.

Mathieu van der Poel will try and stop him. few days ago he announced he wont ride the mountain bike event and will concentrate on the road race.

 

[eth-dog]

Tonight is a Dainese stage. No categorised climbs.

 

[Orange Agent]

Insane performance here from Pogi.

 

[99 Problems]

He’s just different gravy. Genuinely looked like he was still riding on the flat compared to the others.

Has done more than enough to just cruise the final week now. Bring on the Tour and some proper competition

 

[eth-dog]

He's winning by 10+ minutes.

White the only contest from here. Arensmen, Tiberi and Zana

 

[Orange Agent]

He's winning by 10+ minutes.

White the only contest from here. Arensmen, Tiberi and Zana

I think they relax from now and prepare for the Tour, which is against everything that he has ever done in races. But he has said previously he wants to achieve everything in this sport and this year has opened up for him for triple crown or even more.

 

[eth-dog]

I think they relax from now and prepare for the Tour, which is against everything that he has ever done in races. But he has said previously he wants to achieve everything in this sport and this year has opened up for him for triple crown or even more.

I agree but I reckon he'll attack anyway haha

 

[Vader]

I agree but I reckon he'll attack anyway haha

That's the beauty of the Pog. He's always looking to attack & win, hates sitting the wheels and finishing with the group.

Last week I put the over/under at 10 minutes. With the 3rd week loaded with climbing, I'm thinking I may have significantly underestimated his winning margin. Right now, it would take a miracle for anyone to finish within 15 minutes of him, and 20 minutes is not outside the realms of possibility.

 

[Dees]

I reckon he shifts to defensive riding now. He was defensive most of week 2 but think he really wanted the queen stage.

 

[Vader]

I reckon he shifts to defensive riding now. He was defensive most of week 2 but think he really wanted the queen stage.

I'm not sure riding defensively is in Pog's psychological makeup.

 

[Dees]

I'm not sure riding defensively is in Pog's psychological makeup.

He did in 2021 Tour final week, and did on Prati De Tivo here. Just he's got such a good sprint that he'll still clean stages (if UAE chase them down) even when riding defensively.

 

[99 Problems]

Yeah think he went into the TT and last night with a plan to secure the race. The next week I see him just following before a very late attack or sprint if the stage is on the line.

If he holds the form he showed last night Jonas is gonna need to be in good shape to beat him in France.

 

[Vader]

Yeah think he went into the TT and last night with a plan to secure the race. The next week I see him just following before a very late attack or sprint if the stage is on the line.

If he holds the form he showed last night Jonas is gonna need to be in good shape to beat him in France.

It's going to be a very interesting Tour.

Jonas will be underdone, potentially not having raced since crashing in the Tour of the Basque Country. At the other end of the spectrum, Pog will be overdone, having put 3400 km into his legs during the Giro.

Nobody has won the Giro/Tour double since Pantani, way back in 1998, when he was riding high on rocket fuel. Since then, many have tried - and many have failed. It's an incredibly difficult feat to achieve. Having said that, if anyone can do it, then Pog would be that rider.

 

[Vader]

There's one amazing story coming out of Stage 15 - and it has nothing to do with the GC contenders.

Jenthe Biermans (Arkea) messed up one of the bends, while descending the Mortirolo. He ended up 25-30m down a ravine. With help from Alpecin & Intermarche staff, he was able to climb back up to the road, re-mount, and returned to the race. He ended up finishing the stage 130th, of 150 finishers, 13 minutes ahead of the last placed finisher.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...enthe-biermans-crashes-25-meters-down-ravine/

I remember Peter Sagan doing something similar, though he didn't go as far down the ravine. Hopefully Jenthe is not too badly beaten up, and will be able to resume racing tonight.

It's amazing how cycling throws up these remarkable stories, every now and then. I can't help but remember Jonny Hoogerland, who was hit by a TV car in the 2011 Tour, and who flew through the air into a barbed wire fence. He too was able to re-mount, and eventually finished that year's Tour. Hoogerland's experience resulted in these T-shirts being produced:

 

[eth-dog]

There's one amazing story coming out of Stage 15 - and it has nothing to do with the GC contenders.

Jenthe Biermans (Arkea) messed up one of the bends, while descending the Mortirolo. He ended up 25-30m down a ravine. With help from Alpecin & Intermarche staff, he was able to climb back up to the road, re-mount, and returned to the race. He ended up finishing the stage 130th, of 150 finishers, 13 minutes ahead of the last placed finisher.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...enthe-biermans-crashes-25-meters-down-ravine/

I remember Peter Sagan doing something similar, though he didn't go as far down the ravine. Hopefully Jenthe is not too badly beaten up, and will be able to resume racing tonight.

It's amazing how cycling throws up these remarkable stories, every now and then. I can't help but remember Jonny Hoogerland, who was hit by a TV car in the 2011 Tour, and who flew through the air into a barbed wire fence. He too was able to re-mount, and eventually finished that year's Tour. Hoogerland's experience resulted in these T-shirts being produced:

Johnny won the KOM one year too iirc?

 

[Vader]

Johnny won the KOM one year too iirc?

Nah... he finished 9th. He claimed the polka-dot jersey at the end of the stage where he went into the barbed wire, but wasn't able to hold it all the way to Paris. He led the KotM competition after stages 9-11, but Sammy Sanchez was the eventual winner.