zelticgar Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 Found replays online of the last 20km's for all the stages so I am now up to date on the Giro Felt bad for Conti on the hairpin turn at the end of stage 8. Tough way to end the day!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted May 14, 2017 Share Posted May 14, 2017 That motorbike almost ruined an epic mountain stage. Quintana looked superb but not writing nibali off just yet also really impressed with dumoulin, mollema and pinot. Would have been really interesting to see what the sky guys and also yates could have done without the moron on the moto causing an accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 It's a partial beheading of the Giro with Thomas out of contention, same for Yates really, and Landa gone. Kelderman was also in excellent form and was the main help for Dumoulin, he will be missed. Thomas and Yates in particular have seen their Giro ruined because of this. They can still do top 10 I suppose but much more is no longer realistic. I think Thomas was in great shape for this Giro and was one of my favorites. I was very impressed with Dumoulin. Excellent climb from him, really showed he can play with the big boys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 13 hours ago, lmanion said: That motorbike almost ruined an epic mountain stage. Quintana looked superb but not writing nibali off just yet also really impressed with dumoulin, mollema and pinot. Would have been really interesting to see what the sky guys and also yates could have done without the moron on the moto causing an accident. That was crazy. At that point the race had started so I am not sure what they could have done to change it. I thought the Giro was lucky the official standing in the road a couple of stages ago did not get himself or other riders killed. They dodged a disaster that time but no such luck on this stage. Good battle up the mountain with the remaining contenders. Got excited for Pinot when he did his initial attack and initially I thought Nibali might be stronger because he was staying in saddle. Quintana is just too good on the hills right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 I don't know why sky even bother with the giro, bad luck every year without fail. I hope T Dumoulin takes 2-3 mins out of Quintana to make it interesting. And Nibali looked better than I expected as he normally finishes strong and takes a while to get going. Winner one of the above 3 or Pinot, can't see anyone else getting close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 3 hours ago, BigFatCoward said: I don't know why sky even bother with the giro, bad luck every year without fail. I hope T Dumoulin takes 2-3 mins out of Quintana to make it interesting. And Nibali looked better than I expected as he normally finishes strong and takes a while to get going. Winner one of the above 3 or Pinot, can't see anyone else getting close. He will definitely lose some time tomorrow but it is pretty clear that he will win on the mountains. Weird things happen after rest days. It would be great to see Q falter on the time trails and let Dumoulin and Pinot overtake him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 Well that shakes things up a bit. So many scenarios now. Do sky help Dumoulin to tire Quintana out for the tour? Does Nibali just follow Quintana and rely on the final time trial? Do sky think G has a real podium shot? Should TJ ever be in a grand tour contenders conversation again? Is Pinot a total choker. Can't wait to find out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Thankfully it gets interesting this year. I watched the first two stages of the Tour of California last night. Tom Skunjins had an absolutely horrific crash on an ascent of stage 2. It was almost compounded by his staggering attempt to get back on the bike as riders were ascending past him. One of the worst crashes I have seen. Guy did manage to get on the bike for a little while but Cannondale pulled him off the course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Incredible performance by Dumoulin. Just incredible the burst of power that this guy emits even over long distances. Will he hold up under the intense pressure that is 100% certain to follow? I hope so.. I expect Kruijswijk and Thomas will be able to jump some places in the final week as well. Kruijswijk unfortunately isn't as good as he was last year but is notably always stronger in week 3. We can expect a lot from Nibali as well, and Pinot, Zakarin as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 So what happened in the tt yesterday im in aus so fell asleep as the main guys were starting out. On TJ i honestly dont think he can climb with guys like quintana or pinot even, hes barely in my 3rd tier of climbers atm and his tt ability cant save hime against the likes of thomas or dumoulin. Would be interesting to see who bmc could get behind at the grand tours in the future especially if porte fails to impress at the tour this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 4 hours ago, lmanion said: So what happened in the tt yesterday im in aus so fell asleep as the main guys were starting out. On TJ i honestly dont think he can climb with guys like quintana or pinot even, hes barely in my 3rd tier of climbers atm and his tt ability cant save hime against the likes of thomas or dumoulin. Would be interesting to see who bmc could get behind at the grand tours in the future especially if porte fails to impress at the tour this year. Porte won't fail to impress. I expect him to be froomes main challenger. Looks amazing so far this year. Lands is out of contract though if they need another gc rider. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 5 hours ago, lmanion said: So what happened in the tt yesterday im in aus so fell asleep as the main guys were starting out. On TJ i honestly dont think he can climb with guys like quintana or pinot even, hes barely in my 3rd tier of climbers atm and his tt ability cant save hime against the likes of thomas or dumoulin. Would be interesting to see who bmc could get behind at the grand tours in the future especially if porte fails to impress at the tour this year. Van Garderen is not now nor ever was he close enough as a climber to even compete in a grand tour. He's never among my top 10 favorites in the GC's I predict. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 2 hours ago, Calibandar said: Van Garderen is not now nor ever was he close enough as a climber to even compete in a grand tour. He's never among my top 10 favorites in the GC's I predict. Agreed, I've been following cycling for the last few years and I can't recall him ever being someone who took risks or attacked on climbs. Even in the years when he was among the Top 10 in GC in the TDF he was not much of a factor. It might be good for his career to step away from the pressure of GC contender. Free him up to go after some stage wins on a Grand Tour. It could revitalize his career a little. He must be feeling a loss of confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 17, 2017 Author Share Posted May 17, 2017 He was good for one year, the year he dropped out when 3rd in the tour and ran Froome really close in a week long race just before the tour (cant remember which one it was now). Other than that agreed, he should change his aims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 He had a top 5 finish at the tour when there were basically no contenders left in the race i think same as when he pulled out but whenever there are serious climbers about he just 'has a bad day' but the media is constantly hyping him up. After yesterdays effort there is surely no way anyone thinks of him as a gc rider anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 12 hours ago, lmanion said: He had a top 5 finish at the tour when there were basically no contenders left in the race i think same as when he pulled out but whenever there are serious climbers about he just 'has a bad day' but the media is constantly hyping him up. After yesterdays effort there is surely no way anyone thinks of him as a gc rider anymore. Not having an American GC contender is not allowed. Until someone else comes along TVG is the great American hope! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 Nothing happening until this Saturday, probably just watch the last 10km. Even then the mtf7 on Saturday is nothing special, and at the end of a pretty flat stage. Tuesday and Thursday are the days Tom D has to get through to win it all. Hoping g can rest up the next few days and give it a proper try next week to make the top 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zelticgar Posted May 18, 2017 Share Posted May 18, 2017 Tour of California has been pretty entertaining this week. If you have a chance, it is worth viewing. Yesterdays stage was pretty exciting at the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 18, 2017 Author Share Posted May 18, 2017 todays stage to Mt Baldy should be good as well, not a huge climb, but big enough to make gaps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 19, 2017 Author Share Posted May 19, 2017 Thomas out, which means the sky train will be (even more) ridiculous at the tour, and also lets Landa off the leash for the last week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.