Oh i do like being right 😉

In other non surprising news…..water wet,sky blue,Ton miserable.

After looking stronger at the Vuelta than he was at the Tour it was always on the cards. Giro a bogey race for Sky though. And the tried and tested program of Tour build up races will need a big re-think.

Quite surprised he’s willing to go up against Dumoulin. A grand tour is never easy I’m sure, but he potentially has some very serious competition who can match him on his best terrain.

Credit where credit’s due though. It would be a pretty epic achievement.

Interesting. Giro could be the best attended tour next year. That would mess up the hype machine around the tdf in this country. Or is he going to try the double?

Won’t be watching that race next year then!

Good to see him mixing it up a bit, however I’m disappointed he wouldn’t swerve it on principle over Israel.

Do we already know that Dumoulin is racing the Giro then?

Or is he going to try the double?

He’ll absolutely be defending his yellow jersey at the TdF.

Good to see him mixing it up a bit, however I’m disappointed he wouldn’t swerve it on principle over Israel.

Not sure i’d be putting money on this actually happening given the sh*t storm it seems to be generating.

But then we have a team sponsored by Bharain. Races in Dubai and China. I don’t see this as being any worse.

Oh crap, why spoil the Giro with Sky roadblocks and boring bully boy tactics..

Thanks Froomy, stick to the Tour.

Domoulin apparently had another “shorts” moment when RAI asked him about racing Froome at the Giro and pretty much ruled himself out.

Domoulin apparently had another “shorts” moment when RAI asked him about racing Froome at the Giro and pretty much ruled himself out.

Really? I’ve not been keeping up with the news for the past week or so. Thinking about the Tour, maybe?

IvanDobski – Member
Domoulin apparently had another “shorts” moment when RAI asked him about racing Froome at the Giro and pretty much ruled himself

Maybe Domoulin wasn’t keen to race a drugged up cheat riding his ebike around Italy ?

Meh that’s the Giro ruined by Sky then.

I was thinking similarly and even went and found the page where we were predicting it 8)

http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/2017-road-world-champs-thread/page/3

He knows his cycling history – I’m sure he’d like to win 4 GTs in a row, something only Mercx has done before (as predicted on that page).

I think you’ll find the two million euros he’s being paid to ride had something to do with his decision.

Good for him, be interesting to see who sky line up with now most of the super domestiqes have moved on to be team leaders elsewhere. Also a bunch of them leaving the giro and attacking hard in the tour could be interesting

But then we have a team sponsored by Bharain. Races in Dubai and China. I don’t see this as being any worse.

I take your point about those countries and have strong feelings about them myself, but the mechanisms by which those things have happened are rather different, as are the aims behind staging races there.

It would have been much easier for the Giro organisers to just turn down those blood-soaked shekels.

Israel is threatening to pull out over RCS’ use of the term “West Jerusalem” to describe the stage.

Now if only they’d pull out of East Jerusalem too there wouldn’t be a problem.

Are Sky really any worse than any other team with a GC contender who are organised enough to control a race?

Great to see, I suspect that in the back of Froome’s mind he’ll be fancying all 3, though a lot will depend on his performance in The Tour. I bet G is a tad annoyed, he’ll have had his on the Giro this year I’d guess.

It’ll be interesting to see if Sky use G as a super domestique for the Giro then have him as a back up in case Froome struggles with the Tour.
It’s definitely a shame for him though as I’d imagine G was gearing himself up for an attempt at one of the big 3 this year.

A bit of interesting reading for Froome…

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/a-history-of-giro-tour-double-failures/
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/sky-and-the-giro-ditalia-the-highs-and-lows-since-2010/

This too…

Commentary: The hubris of Chris Froome’s Giro d’Italia bid

I think it’s an awesum move from a true athlete. To hold all three at once is a massive achievement. If he wins five in a row he will be a legend.
I love watching Grand Tours and I struggle to see how this hasn’t made all of next year’s racing more interesting.

I also think its great that he will try to hold all three at the same time

Better this than just targeting the TdF each year and not GAS about anything else
I do agree it will harm his Tour attempt but that just makes it a the more exciting

That cyclingtips piece is a right load of condescending shit.

I don’t have much fondness for Froome, but I’d put my money on him doing the double.

And I’ve got more respect for him for trying it.

I agree with the cycling news piece, yes it’s condescending shit but he’s going to win the giro and then face an extremely motivated tour field who will work against him when he is already tired.

Can’t help but feel for me I’d want to focus on getting 5 this year, then go for the giro next year.

For us, it’ll be great. Will make the tour all that more exciting to watch.

He or one of his domestiques will crash on some icy / snowy descent, raise his arm, neutralise the stage and ruin the whole damn thing.

I agree with the cycling news piece, yes it’s condescending shit but he’s going to win the giro and then face an extremely motivated tour field who will work against him when he is already tired.

Maybe, but they still have to ride faster than him, and do it consistently. You can win by finishing in the pelaton even if your rivals are up the road, as long as they have more bad days where they lose 10 minutes than good ones where they gain seconds.

No one ever seems to have the legs to drop sky and then keep up with them the next day.

Yeah, I think his team will win it for him ultimately.

For us, it’ll be great. Will make the tour all that more exciting to watch.

Totally agree with this. I assume he’s gonna go into the Giro undercooked and save a bit for the Tour.

No one ever seems to have the legs to drop sky and then keep up with them the next day.

Funny that with a team built up of GT contenders masquerading as Super Domestiques and mostly happy to play that part for the money.

No one ever seems to have the legs to drop sky and then keep up with them the next day.

its rare but froome was isolated a few times in the TDF the reality is he just has the best legs of the GQ riders and he is also supported by the best team so he is usually protected.

That is why he is most likely to win.

Yeah, I think his team will win it for him ultimately.

Funny that with a team built up of GT contenders masquerading as Super Domestiques and mostly happy to play that part for the money.

I’m always a bit puzzled by this as the suggestion seems to be that this is something that’s come about with Sky. It’s a team sport. Always has been, always will be.

Success means bigger sponsors, bigger budget, better riders, leads to more success, repeat. No different to any other big team in recent times.

I’m always a bit puzzled by this as the suggestion seems to be that this is something that’s come about with Sky. It’s a team sport. Always has been, always will be.

Not suggesting that at all. Froome’s clearly the best GC rider by some margin and he’s got the best support by a similar margin.

It is what it is.

great news. just what Froome needed to do to raise his appeal.
this thread reads very much like the cyclingnews comments sections, we just need some Mediterraneans wading in now to pour on some real vitriol.

Why is Froome less likely to win the Giro followd by the tour compared to the tour followed by the vuelta as this year? Both have a month recovery between them. I wouldnt be surprised if he had it in his mind as soon as he won the vuelta. Prep right and he can build into the tour and potentially win the giro while doing it.

edit. aside from the relative strengths of the fields that is. I’m talking physiologically, I cant see why he’d be more tired coming into the tour than he was coming into the vuelta this year.

Why is Froome less likely to win the Giro followd by the tour compared to the tour followed by the vuelta as this year?

One reason may be timing and planning. Froome has had a few goes now at Tour and Vuelta double and he’s only cracked it once (though should really have been 2 if it wasn’t for that one calamitous stage). He has a well mapped out season that gets him in the right shape for both. He now has to shift all that. Everything starts earlier, preparatory races will be different. Will it all work like it did this year?

And it’s the Giro. You not only need to have great legs, a great team, great form, great planning to win two GT. You also have to be lucky, and luck seems to play a bigger part in the Giro than the other two GT.

Experience counts for a lot too. He’s only ridden the Giro twice, last time back in 2010. No idea how he did but wikipedia says DSQ, missed a time cut probably?

And he’s a year older.

Why is Froome less likely to win the Giro followd by the tour compared to the tour followed by the vuelta as this year?

Conventional wisdom says that the Tour is in a different league regarding daily speed and that there is a threat of losing time every single day. Also all the top teams put their A teams into the tour so the depth of competition is greater. If the likes of Doumoulin & Quintana sit out the Giro, they will be fresher. Very few serious GC riders would chose to sit out the Tour to be fresher for the Vuelta.
This year’s Vuelta bucked the trend of the past as every day seemed to be flat out on very steep roads that could and did cost major time losses, the Tour, however, was a bit of a snooze fest.

Has anyone held all three Grand Tour jerseys at the same time? It seems to me that if not then to be the first is a much bigger deal than joining some other riders in a group of 5 times tour winners. Being first to something can never be beaten or even equalled,

Seems he can’t really win. Doesn’t do Giro and he’s just too focused on the Giro and will never be one of the greats. Does the Giro and he’s ruining it with his hubris (I also thought that CyclingTips article was clickbait bullshit) and his team.

My guess is that if the giro doesn’t throw up a freezing day or two he has a good shout of winning it. The problem is it seems that Nibali and Quintana will be focusing on the Tour and it’s entirely possible that Dumoulin will do too now. This could mean that unless the extra week of rest that next year’s tour has before the start allows him to recover enough, he’s going to be facing pretty tough opposition who are rested.

Then again, I wouldn’t bet against him leaving the giro if he has a few bad days in order to refocus on the tour.

Next question… who will be the leader for Sky at the Vuelta now?