it was kind of telegraphed pretty early that jumbo/others had no interest in lighting it up, happily letting Swift and Sivakov get back in.
So, Thomas or Roglic overall? I can't see anyone else?
can see this gc procession continuing to stage 20 saturday next, Roglic or G not really the types to go from a long way out... Primoz "usually" grabs his seconds on bonus's and sprints from 500 metres on hill op finishes. Though saying that I'm sure illness, weather related mishap still has a part to play
scud
Full Member
Felt for Pinot there, gave that everything..
Had to start doubting after he attacked . . . er. . . many times within the first 1.5km of a 13 climb
can see this gc procession continuing to stage 20 saturday next
I reckon stage 19 might be tasty. Adam Blyth pointed out on GCN today that G has beaten Roglic in both TTs so far and suggested he would therefore beat him in the stage 20 TT. Hmm... not so sure, it's a different beast.
Loved seeing Pascal Ackermann wearing binbag pants in the neutral start.
Also quite like how pissed off Pinot looked on the podium getting the blue jersey. He's quite the open book that chap.
snooze fest @ the tour de wales :/
Another crappy weather day today. Can't see the pink jersey group bringing back the breakaway.
When will the GC guys show up?
Is there a stage that they are targeting or is it just a war of attrition?
kicking off in the break
cracking finish!
Denz not far from having considerable egg on his chops!!!
not sure how the tifosi will take to G tossing the maglia rosa away like piece of old washing when he didn't actually win it with fasto.
Thought I'd look to see how much Ineos Grenadiers rain jacket was.
https://store.ineosgrenadiers.com/collections/bioracer
They don't sell it! But it's pretty much all they've worn this Giro. 🤔
I've just checked Bioracer's website, and they sell this.
http://velotik.com/product/bioracer-aero-rain-jacket/
Gimptastic! I don't think Ineos Grenadiers are using this one. 😆
not sure how the tifosi will take to G tossing the maglia rosa away
Yeah, could be interesting. Can't imagine they didn't run virtually every perceivable scenario before deciding to go easy though, so we'll see in a week if it pays off.
Was impressed with this yesterday:
https://twitter.com/eurosport/status/1659909104800858112
Will there be attacks on the final climb today?
Italy is back to looking beautiful again today. No rain 👌
Will there be attacks on the final climb today?
not from the gc contendesr at the moment 🙁
ffs michael matthews on the front of the gc group :/
The lad from Halesowen is going well!
I think what stages like today's tell us is that there is far more interest in Grand Tours than just the GC. There's always a race within a race.
Agree @slowoldman - there's been some great racing for the stages this week. I think if every GT was as constantly exciting as last year's Tour I'd be an emotional husk at the end of the year.
Still, fingers crossed for some GC action next week.
Well, managed to pick the right day to watch live. Who would have thought sunburn would be my biggest issue.
Bruce jnr managed to catch Stefano Oldni's water bottle so he was very happy because he didn't realise you could get 'swag' from a bike race🙂
Back to work tomorrow...
Rumours that Cav will announce plans for retirement at a news conference on today's rest day.
The lad from Halesowen is going well!
Kingswinford 😉
Does anyone else wonder if the GC folk are saving as much as possible for that last ITT?
I'm going to miss the entire rest of the Giro. ☹️
In the office tomorrow and Wednesday then off to Essex where I'm working on the RideLondon Women's race so that's Friday - Sunday with zero access to a TV.
I’m going to miss the entire rest of the Giro
It's time for Mystic Meg (suitably in pink) to predict that Roglič will have a crash, this week.
Does anyone else wonder if the GC folk are saving as much as possible for that last ITT?
it does seem to casting a large shadow over the gc contenders. It's an interesting one for Roglic, he'll have bad memories of the debacle of the similar penultimate ITT @ le tour. Does he think he blew due to burning too many matches on previous stages or did he just cock it up ?
Kingswinford
Which bit of Ireland is that in?
I was up visiting my mum at the weekend and saw that Healy has a decent time up the Brick Track around the back of Walton Hill when I was looking over my ride...not the KOM mind but a fair chunk quicker than me!
Thomas is going well but can he stay with Roglic on the finish of climbs? If Rog starts hoovering up bonus seconds Thomas is in the shit.
Does anyone else wonder if the GC folk are saving as much as possible for that last ITT?
I think they're saving themselves for the final week full stop, it is pretty brutal with 4 mountain top finishes, plus i think the weather has neutralised the GC battle quite a bit, with many opting to play safe and just get through the stage safely in the rain and cold.
Which bit of Ireland is that in?
Not far from where that Irish ex-pro Dan Martin comes from.
Interested to know whether the final week is likely to be altered much due to snow on the passes and extreme weather protocol.
Week 2 has had some good stage action, week 3 needs to deliver on the GC battle for this Giro not to be remembered as a bit of a stinker (much of which has been due to Covid, crashes, weather to be fair)
Week 2 has had some good stage action, week 3 needs to deliver on the GC battle for this Giro not to be remembered as a bit of a stinker (much of which has been due to Covid, crashes, weather to be fair)
Week 2 wasn't bad but I think this year's Giro will definitely be remembered as a "what could have been..."
There was the potential for a great battle for the overall with RE, PR, GT and TGH with maybe a few "lesser" contenders but now it'll be a surprise if GT or PR don't win.
Mountain day
Sprint day (maybe one for Cav at last?!)
Two big mountain days
ITT
I'm relying on this thread to keep me updated - hopefully I might get a chance to catch some highlights at some point.
Even Inrng doesn't really know how to call today's stage... 🤷🏻♂️
https://inrng.com/2023/05/giro-stage-16-preview-monte-bondone/
I'd call that 'lumpy'.
Sprint stage fo sho
52kph average for the first hour. Big group (20) off the front. Looks like they have 3mins 30 or so
Swift in the break, not sure what that's about
And Ben Healy who has brought much interest to the Giro so far.
Does he think he blew due to burning too many matches
It was a mental thing if you ask me, which will make it all the more interesting, especially if he is in pink by a short margin.
back to the tour de wales 🙁
looks like Jumbo mean business pulling on the peloton
Got the commentary on in the background and I must say I'm enjoying the enthusiasm of Jens Voigt.
Ineos have a couple of folk in the break up front - I wonder what they have planned.
Ineos have a couple of folk in the break up front – I wonder what they have planned
My bet is to help on defence if/when Rog goes for it rather than a do or die attack from G
Sivakov has climbed off, injuries from his crash a few days ago
