Giro Stage 1 "Spoiler".

blazing_saddles

Were off!
Team Columbia get the Centanary Giro underway.....

afx237vi

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Were off!
Team Columbia get the Centanary Giro underway.....

I'm watching some ASBOs-in-waiting playing football :twisted:

afx237vi

OOH, "Inside Team Columbia" now with Uncle Bob. Hope Iain is watching.

afx237vi

Holy god almighty, what the HELL are Columbia riding? People reckoned Armstrong's bike was ugly?!

DaveyL

From cyclngnews.com commentary

"My computer is not the only thing extra I packed in my suitcase for the three week journey," said Ivan Basso (Liquigas). "There is always a photo of my family, which will accompany me for these weeks. Certainly I can see photos on my computer, but to have a printed photo is a lot better than anything else. The other thing that I always bring is a pillow for sleeping, you never know what you are going to find at the hotels."

"The most important thing is to have a lot of enthusiasm for this Giro, which I have because I have been waiting for it for a long time."

Wonder if there was some extra stuff he packed in 2006 that he doesn't have this year...

afx237vi

He had that photo with him when he did his extra-terrestrial performance in '06. Maybe it's code for something.

FCE2007

ooooh Cav in Pink?

iainf72

GET IN!

I hate Columbia but pwning Garmin pleases me!

afx237vi

Garmin 6" slower than Columbia. Disappointing season, that was. See you next year boys.

Jeff Jones

I think Cav has succeeded in annoying Garmin ;-)

gavintc

Are we going to have Cavendish in pink?

donrhummy

Kind of knew this would happen but for Simoni's team to lose him ONE MINUTE PLUS in just 20 KM is ridiculously bad. The reason he lost in 2007 was because his team got destroyed in the Team TT. He lost over 2.5 minutes that year and finished 3:15 by the end. It would have made a HUGE difference during the race if he'd been only 45 seconds down in the mountains instead of 2.5 minutes.

His team had two problems this year. Obviously, #1 is that they're not one of thee top teams (especially missing Rebellin) but more importantly, during the TT today, they were not staying together. They constantly had 1 guy off the front, wasting his effort. Yes, he'd have had to slow down for everyone to be with hiim but the time is not the first guy across, it's the 5th.

Kléber

Jeff Jones wrote:

I think Cav has succeeded in annoying Garmin ;-)

Not half! Especially since Cav crossed the line first and could possibly take the pink jersey.

cougie

Interesting results so far ! Who was the poor sod caught by Katusha then ? What happened there ? A flat or three ?

teagar

This stage is confirming how utterly dull I find Team Time Trials.


*yawn*

donrhummy

teagar wrote:

This stage is confirming how utterly dull I find Team Time Trials.


*yawn*

Really? I enjoy it. It's exciting every time a team approaches a time check.

Kléber

TTs are always a bit dull but this will set the story for some of the race. Can Columbia hold off Astana to put Cav in pink or will Armstrong win the day? It's very close...

Jeff Jones

Cav will be in pink

gavintc

Jeff Jones wrote:

Cav will be in pink

Good news - excellent for Cav and for cycling in Britain. We are starting to become a racing cycling nation again - outstanding.

afx237vi

teagar wrote:

This stage is confirming how utterly dull I find Team Time Trials.


*yawn*

Dunno how they decided the order of the teams, but it didn't help that Columbia and Garmin were off so early. After that, it was very boring.

afx237vi

Jeff Jones wrote:

Cav will be in pink

Until Tuesday, at least.

donrhummy

afx237vi wrote:

teagar wrote:

This stage is confirming how utterly dull I find Team Time Trials.


*yawn*

Dunno how they decided the order of the teams, but it didn't help that Columbia and Garmin were off so early. After that, it was very boring.

Isn't it: Last year's winner is last and everyone else is random? I thought that was how they usually do it.

afx237vi

MAAAARK CAVENDEEEEESH-AH!

WTF is the RAI TV director doing? I haven't seen one gondola yet, and now they're showing us a bunch of porta-cabins. Nice.

iainf72

I love the Focus adverts. They're so amazingly German.

"Focus. Bikes made in Germany"

iainf72

And another thing. The girls holding the bikes at the start of the TT.

Anonymous

Freakin' awesome!:D
Let's see if it gets a mention on the british news... :roll:

blazing_saddles

NapoleonD wrote:

Let's see if it gets a mention on the british news... :roll:

Only after, as Sean Kelly would say: "and Lance Armstrong was first of the turds to cross the line, so narrowly missed pink."

mercsport

If Cav's in pink then it'll be a mercy to see him in a decent looking shirt other than Columbia's rotten kit .

Joy !

Frank the tank

Well done Cav, I too hope he gets some coverage in our press tomorrow, but I'm not holding my breath.

dave_1

I see LA's coach Charmichael saying he has recent training data which suggest LA will surprise a few people..didn't manage to get streaming tv pics due to buffering out here, but how did he look? Is it mind games again?

blazing_saddles

Dave_1 wrote:

I see LA's coach Charmichael saying he has recent training data which suggest LA will surprise a few people..didn't manage to get streaming tv pics due to buffering out here, but how did he look? Is it mind games again?

In a word: BIG.
Sat on the back a lot. Came to the front more, later on and pinched first over the line, just in case.
Nice.

I find it worrying, when Charmichael speaks in such terms. How, when he's been training hurt?
Millar, back from a similar injury, admittedly out for longer, looked even more ordinary than usual.