It’s Grand Tour Season! Giro d’Italia thread

I mean he’s beaten him at the last 2 TdF, that’s a fairly decent and also fairly broad scenario!

Pog is still young, very young for grand tour winning.  If he is clean he could well be Mercx second coming.  I find it rather off putting, he is so far ahead. I hope tdf isn’t as one sided!

Doesn’t strike me as very broad. Although I agree Pog has come up short against Vin in the last 2 TdFs his overall performance across all races is far more impressive.

I can’t see ‘G’ being in La Tour, unless it’s as a  lieutenant to Egan Bernal .

Pog is still young, very young for grand tour winning

Not massively so; Fignon and Bernal won the Tour at 22, Hianault at 23 – as was Fignon for his second win. Coppi won the giro at 20. With the possible exception of Bernal, Pog has a much easier racing schedule than all of them. He’s not another Mercx because of the sheer amount of races Mercx would win every year, Pog is much more focused (as are most pros now).

Tom-BFree Member
I mean he’s beaten him at the last 2 TdF, that’s a fairly decent and also fairly broad scenario!

Yeah, I suppose if there’s one you come good at it doesn’t get much better than that. But it seems like JV has to focus his entire season on that to pull it off.

Giro d’Italia Stage 16 Preview

Today’s stage preview. Still the will-they-won’t-they use (most of) Stelvio and the Umbrail Pass descent into Switzerland, there’s talk that it might be done in team cars if the weather is too bad or could be cut altogether with the race just sticking to the lower roads around it before the final two climbs.

I can’t see ‘G’ being in La Tour,

Eiffel?

that it might be done in team cars

What does that mean? That the riders all jump in a car and get a lift over? 😳

Maybe they could make it part of the race. Keep the clock running as they dismount and load the bikes onto the cars. Fastest DS behind the wheel makes the time.

(For the avoidance of doubt, I am actually kidding)

Teams unanimously vote to remove Umbrail Pass due to extreme weather. They’ll be getting a lift over to the other side.

They’ll be getting a lift over to the other side.

There’s a tunnel from Livigno through the mountain and into Switzerland. Turn right then it climbs and descends a bit before bringing you to the bottom of the Umbrail Pass. I’m not sure the team coaches would get through it but for everything else, it’s an option.

I’ve been through it a couple of times; you have to wait at a pickup point for a minibus with a trailer, bike gets loaded onto the trailer and you get driven through. Not allowed to cycle through it. Cool experience though and you cross a massive dam on the Italy side to get to the tunnel.

There’s a tunnel from Livigno through the mountain and into Switzerland.

I had thought about that one or possibly diverting over the Gavia (might not be much better though – if at all).

It all sounds “well um, you see, quite diffur cult”.

stand off at the moment. Giro organisers RCS saying “you can ride neutralised to prato dello stelvio”, riders saying “nope, we aren’t riding over there”

problem seems to be that if the race does not ride out of Livigno, then RCS HAVE to include it on next year’s race

will it be like last year where they start, jump in the bus, then start again?

Kind of, it looks like they will ride out then use cars to go through the tunnel

I suppose that might mean turning round some busses as I’d assume at least a few are on their way…..

Saying a neutralised start and a proper start at 1pm

Absolutely guarantee that pogs on the bus just now plotting how to somehow turn this into a chance to take more time

not sure buses will fit through the tunnel

plus the weather looks horrible, I’m sure they will not exactly be disappointed

I can’t see ‘G’ being in La Tour, unless it’s as a lieutenant to Egan Bernal .

They go with Thomas/Pidcock/Bernal as not-really-saying-who-the-leader-is and/or wait-and-see-what-happens strategy

Doesn’t strike me as very broad. Although I agree Pog has come up short against Vin in the last 2 TdFs his overall performance across all races is far more impressive.

There was a reason for that, first time no team support, second time injury. This time UAE is stronger and the injury is the other way around. It means its going to be interesting that is for sure.

chaos 🙂

Pog didn’t look like he was at max effort on Sunday yet won at a canter, that stage apparently had more climbing than any other stage across the three grand tours yet he put 3 minutes into his nearest rivals and went past Quintana like he wasn’t moving.

The gap between Pog and the rest is huge and is putting me off from watching the rest of the Giro.

How can someone be so far ahead physically without some sort of assistance? If not by drugs then maybe a hidden motor?

Currently loading bikes onto cars and riders into cars / buses, start moved to Spondinig at 13:00 UK time. RCS have admitted that weather is too horrible to ride even a neutralised start

Start pushed back again, due to roll out at 13:15 with the flag drop at 13:30 – but rumours are riders still considering not riding
https://x.com/SportsOrla/status/1792881196658999739

They really need to just swap the Vuelta and Giro around.

This is nothing new for northern Italy in May – hell, Livigno is hosting the Winter Olympics in a couple of years time!
On the other hand, Spain at this time of year is nice, not too insanely hot like it often is in August when the Vuelta is held.

Vuelta now, then Tour, the finish with the Giro when the northern Italian mountains are not under 3m of snow.

Also, this wasn’t exactly unforeseeable so the current situation right now is a farce. They had ample time for Plan B and maybe Plans C & D as well but no-one seems to have considered that.

Video from Umbrail Pass taken this morning

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7OV3ntMFqQ/?igsh=MWc2a21kenprdW9ieA==

Looks like riders are getting ready to roll and the weather forecast is that things will improve, so fingers crossed we do actually see some racing. There’s still rumours that the riders will strike and refuse to race to make it clear to RCS that their safety needs to be respected

Yay, they’re rolling out now and they’re already jostling to be at the front for the flag drop

Lol – frigo out front.  Isn’t that “fridge” in French ?

M. Frigo (Israel Premier tech) is in shorts. He’s one tough guy at the front.

Lol – frigo out front.  Isn’t that “fridge” in French ?

In Spanish raher than French – Frigorifico -> frigo

How can someone be so far ahead physically without some sort of assistance?

There are outliers. Always have been, always will be.

God that looks properly grim!
Poor Adam Blythe out in the moto.

Pogacar already down to SS jersey, everyone else still wrapped up in full waterproofs.

How the hell they’re riding gloveless in these conditions is beyond me. I’d be in full on chunky winter waterproof ones!

aaaaaand off he goes again!

Yeah sorry I’m done with this. Pog looks easily to be a cycling up yet another mountain sitting up on the bike whilst others are bent over  grimacing in pain.  I’m trying really hard to believe in normality, but it’s too much now.

I really wanted Alaphilippe to hold on to that. 🙁

I’m trying really hard to believe in normality, but it’s too much now.

It’s more that he’s just being insufferably smug about it. It is honestly the equivalent of a chess grandmaster playing a bunch of kids and getting really excited about every win.

frigo out front. Isn’t that “fridge” in French ?

It is in Italian.

Pog is a great rider but does anyone else get deja vu from the Lance Armstrong days?

Some of the strongest riders in that group are bent over and he steams past looking fresh in comparison…….hate to say it but I smell a rat.