Del Toro today:
(image taken from https://escapecollective.com/call-an-ambulance-but-not-for-isaac-del-toro/)
What a great couple days of racing. Does seem like Carapaz has the best legs going uphill (or maybe Pellizzari who is now off the leash). Must have hurt losing time to Del Toro today but with two big mountain stages still to come, I reckon he's more than capable of taking pink.
On TP, I would love for him to be competitive either in GC or stage hunting. I shouted myself hoarse from the sidelines when he won MTB World Champs at Glentress. But it's not happening here. Which is a shame. Surely it can't be practice for the Vuelta though - all it takes is one crash to write off a tilt at a grand tour. I can't believe he'd be going into one just for practice.
On TP, I would love for him to be competitive either in GC or stage hunting. I shouted myself hoarse from the sidelines when he won MTB World Champs at Glentress. But it's not happening here.
I dunno, he's up to 13th.
Badly timed attack from him but Q36.5 were working like troopers on the approach to the final climb. He led in the group containing Bernal so not a shabby performance by any means.
Turns out Isaac del Toro can descend like an absolute demon as well.
Badly timed attack from him
Don't really agree he was struggling up the previous climb so knew he wouldn't be able to attack up the next so he might as well go on the flat and hope that none of the hitters would chase, which was worth a try imo
Yes someone please explain TP. Adam Blythe in commentary said rumor its practice for the Vuelta 🤔
Indeed that's what I heard. His downhill skills are amazing, but as Sean said he needs to learn to not attack when it's not wise to do so. (usually I don't listen to Sean as I find his commentary skills are below par).
Looks like a day for the break rather than a GC day, but given how things have gone in this race, who knows?
I'll pick... WvA.
Yes someone please explain TP. Adam Blythe in commentary said rumor its practice for the Vuelta
My take was that seeing how his body reacts to 3 weeks in GC with a view to a try at Vuelta is what he's doing, rather than sit up, lise 20mins and enable him to go for stages easier!
Yes someone please explain TP. Adam Blythe in commentary said rumor its practice for the Vuelta
My take was that seeing how his body reacts to 3 weeks in GC with a view to a try at Vuelta is what he's doing, rather than sit up, lise 20mins and enable him to go for stages easier!
That's what I understood also - previously he was only riding grands tours for stages but as he's finding out, racing for GC means always being alert, not getting caught on the wrong side of a gap etc. He's said himself he can't just decide he's had enough of this and give up
“Normally I’d have a bad day and give up” Tom Pidcock admits “concentrating for three weeks” and riding for GC is “hardest thing I’ve done”, as British star aims for Giro d’Italia top 10 in Rome
https://bsky.app/profile/roadcc.bsky.social/post/3lqa4kyd65c2j
Whether he can become a GC contender is another question
What I understood from the Pidcock chat was that he intended to try to stay as high as possible on GC to get used to the idea prior to taking on the Vuelta.
Yes well I hope it works out for him
Just the small matter of 5000m climbing today should be a good one
Double post
Double post
That would have made it 10,000m of climbing.
I have no idea what'll happen today. I'd like Carapaz or Yates to win the overall rather than IDT - nothing against him but I'm rooting for the older riders.
Second screen all set up for the afternoon.
Today is either going to be one of those "stages for the ages" type thing, absolute chaos, the GC changing dramatically...
Or it's going to be a day that promises a lot but delivers very little.
It's an impressive set of hills anyway!
irritatingly we're away until Sun night so i've got to try and miss all the racing results.
I'd be happy to see IDT win as he's not yet won a GT while both Carapaz and Yates have one each - but I'd be equally happy to see anyone in the top 10 win, it's nice that it isn't Pogacar.
Well, a day of promise that delivers little.
Still, tomorrow looks fun. I did a ride from Bardonecchia that went to Finestre then Sestriere a few years ago. The Finestre climb was one of the top 3 hardest I've done because you couldn't stand up without the back wheel slipping so there was no respite from a seated, slow cadence grind.
In the absence of TNT Sports, I followed bits of it on the CyclingNews live text feed and I'm watching the highlights on Quest now.
Not ridden in that area - been to Bormio and Lake Como but not this far to the NW of Italy.
Yes it turned out to be too difficult for anything very exciting to happen. However, it does look like it's a carapaz Vs del Toro race for certain now.
Let's see tomorrow
The tdf should take notes from this giro route. Or then again maybe just ban Pog from taking part 😀
Yes it turned out to be too difficult for anything very exciting to happen.
Often the way sadly. A massive stage (the day before the final massive stage) and it gets touted as the stage to end all stages but is a bit of a damp squib as everyone is hanging on for grim death and saving themselves for tomorrow.
Carapaz was brilliant. Nicely timed. It's still all to play for, there could easily be a massive implosion and a shake-up on GC.
Note to those able to watch (VPN and connecting to Australia is working well for me, slightly more faff than TNT but significantly cheaper). It's an early start today and a forecast finish of 1515 UK time. 1315 for Finestre.
As ever, excellent preview on https://inrng.com/2025/05/giro-stage-20-sestriere-preview/
Getting interesting!
Getting interesting!
Just this second started following the live feed on CyclingNews (too tight to pay for TNT). And yes, it certainly is! Looks a fantastic stage, can't wait for the highlights!
Oh, it's been brilliant. Come on Mr Yates!
Yates' time for the Fenestre 59m my time on the 1st day of the Turin Nice Rally, 4 hours 30. Albeit loaded with bikepacking gear. It wws one of my longest days in the saddle, 157km and 5,000m of ascent.
Madness how they can contrive to throw it away…but I guess you can see how it starts, marked each out of contention
Yates' time for the Fenestre 59m my time on the 1st day of the Turin Nice Rally, 4 hours 30. Albeit loaded with bikepacking gear. It wws one of my longest days in the saddle, 157km and 5,000m of ascent.
A few years ago I did the Swiss side of the Stelvio Pass up to the Swiss / Italian border post - turn left there and it's a couple of km to the summit, turn right and it's descent into Bormio.
My time on the pass from the start of the climb to the border post was 90 mins riding but plus a bit of stoppage time while I lay in a cold mountain stream and also necked about 3 gels.
The KOM on the climb was set at the end of a 220km day at the Giro which had done a couple of big mountains, then Stelvio from the Bormio side to the summit, descended the far side, looped around into Switzerland and then come back up the Swiss side to finish at the border. 42 minutes. 😳
Madness how they can contrive to throw it away…but I guess you can see how it starts, marked each out of contention
That's a rare moment of tactical WTAF'ery from UAE there.
If Toro had gone through when Carapaz was slowing then maybe they’d have formed a decent alliance and limited the damage…or maybe it was all too late by then anyway so we’ll just shrug shoulders and shake heads at each other…
Yeah, easy for us to say IDT should have worked but we just don't know if he had the legs.
Let's just appreciate a brave, immense ride from Simon Yates.
Yates took his chance well, Visma may have expected P1 & 2 to hesitate but he still had to get a decent gap in take advantage.
And perfect having WvA around to help…
HOLY HECK WHAT JUST HAPPENED.
I definitely hadn't written Yates off but did not expect that. Tactics between del Toro and Carapaz were odd but I suspect they were both pretty cooked and Carapaz would have jumped del Toro if he pulled, and he comes out a winner regardless.
World’s least gracious interview from Adam Yates 😂😂😂
Carapaz was brilliant. Nicely timed. It's still all to play for, there could easily be a massive implosion and a shake-up on GC
Not sure that's quite what Crazy Legs was thinking.....
I reckon EF and UAE failed in their primary task - DO NOT ALLOW WOUT 10 MINUTES UP THE ROAD.
I reckon EF and UAE failed in their primary task - DO NOT ALLOW WOUT 10 MINUTES UP THE ROAD.
Letting WvA go 10 mins up the road isn't a problem if you're assuming the GC battle will be playing out behind and given that they'd put time into Yates yesterday, my guess is that they just assumed the three of them would mark each other all the way while, a long way up front, the breakaway could go for the win.
The surprise is that they didn't try to go with him but maybe everyone was on the limit or maybe they just assumed he'd sit there 15" up the road going nowhere.. And when you've got 2 guys like that so close on time, neither really wants to jeopardise their own position to the benefit of their rival.
I'm wondering at what point the double realisation of "oh shit, he's a minute plus up the road" and "oh shit, WvA is up there too just waiting to tow him along" hit them.
Cracking stage, the highlights show was good.
Had to watch the highlights, so I'm guessing I missed loads, but it looked like Visma played a blinder. Incredible race from Yates. Lets carapaz and del Toro beat each other up all week then BANG see you later. Wva surely earning his pay too.
Best grand tour for a while this one
I had the radio on earlier and heard "In cycling, Britain's Adam Yates has virtually guaranteed..." before i managed to turn it off. I thought at the time "well either Adam's had a stellar day out as a domestique and guaranteed the win for IDT, or Simon's had a spectacular day and someone at the BBC has made a booboo. Was a cracking highlights programme, they've really upped their game on that front
This has been a superb race, especially for the spectators.
It did look as though Carapaz was totally spent when IDT whizzed over the line at the end.
So pleased for S. Yates also Max Poole has been on top form.
5 Brits in the top 20!
1st: Simon Yates
11th: Max Poole
12th: Adam Yates
16th: Tom Pidcock
19th: James Knox
Best grand tour for a while this one
Controversial view... Possibly because Pogacar wasn't riding?!
I mean, he's phenomenal, an incredible talent and I have a huge amount of respect for his achievements. But when he's in a Grand Tour, it's kind of like a Premier League player has turned up to the weekly 5-a-side and is running rings around everyone.
Nice interview there with IDT, he seems like a really sound guy.
Has Froome anything yet? Congratulations? I couldn’t be more pleased you did that? That sort of thing.
Controversial view... Possibly because Pogacar wasn't riding?!
No I think you’re right. Right to the end 3 riders had the chance to win. Even Gee - nicest guy in the peloton - had a slim chance. And then there were other stories like the return of WVA, and the success of Mads Pedersen.
