Giro Stage 11 *spoiler*

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Comments

  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,689
    How did the split occur? Was it a few groups going off the front before merging or did the peloton get split by a crash / crosswind etc.? If the latter is this karma for Astana from when they stretched the cracks (ooh er) last week?

    Who fell from Sky this time :shock:
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    from cycling news. If the stage stopped right now, here is the new GC:

    1 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 00:00:00
    2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 00:01:56
    3 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 00:01:59
    4 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 00:02:52
    5 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 00:04:08
    6 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 00:05:30
    7 Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 00:05:35
    8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 5:48
    9 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 00:07:33
    10 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 00:08:28
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    And adding to the voices of FF dissenters - Sky have come in for a load of grief here (and nice to see Mr Barry falling off to keep their near impeccable record going), but if they have 4/5 in a break that puts 10min + on the main group in a tour stage, that is a bloody good effort...
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Tennis has finished. The good-looking one won. She ain't no Ana Ivanovic though.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Pross good question - the main issue for me is how could Astana and to a lesser extent Liquigas and BMC got worked over. How ridiculous to let a break that size go. Unless both groups were going flat out and the 56 riders were faster.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    This is interesting, because the chasing maglia rosa group is actually smaller in number than the front group.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,264
    Gazzaputt wrote:
    :lol: Good to see the weather is better here in blighty then out there for once.

    Are there 5 Sky riders in the break?

    Four. Wiggins, Barry, Cummings and Possoni
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    edited May 2010
    I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can see what FF is getting at. Normally all the GC riders are protected by their teams (except for Evans! :roll: ) and are then split on TTs and in the mountains based on their own merits. It seems a shame that some riders will miss out based on team errors even if they are the best all-round rider in the race. I appreciate it's a team sport and tactical nous comes into it, but it still seems a little undeserved for the likes of Porte.
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • calvjones
    calvjones Posts: 3,850
    17'35
    :shock:
    ___________________

    Strava is not Zen.
  • Doobz
    Doobz Posts: 2,800
    afx237vi wrote:
    Tennis has finished. The good-looking one won. She ain't no Ana Ivanovic though.


    the one that lost was a gobby little biznatch..
    cartoon.jpg
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,824
    I'm having Ardennes paté on toast for dinner, and had a thought. Maybe it's revenge for Evans and Vinokourov "eating up" the races in Belgium in April?

    I'll get my coat
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    mroli wrote:
    And adding to the voices of FF dissenters - Sky have come in for a load of grief here (and nice to see Mr Barry falling off to keep their near impeccable record going), but if they have 4/5 in a break that puts 10min + on the main group in a tour stage, that is a bloody good effort...

    By this, I understand that you think the gap is all due to Sky's wonderful work........
    Contador is the Greatest
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Yes, that's exactly what I said. Don't be so obtuse.
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    AidanR wrote:
    I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can see what FF is getting at. Normally all the GC riders are protected by their teams (except for Evans! :roll: ) and are then split on TTs and in the mountains based on their own merits. It seems a shame that some riders will miss out based on team errors even if they are the bet all-round rider in the race. I appreciate it's a team sport and tactical nous comes into it, but it still seems a little undeserved for the likes of Porte.

    Why underserved for Porte? He's been placed high in the GC the whole Giro.

    He has every right to be in the group, with 2 team mates too.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,689
    AidanR wrote:
    I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can see what FF is getting at. Normally all the GC riders are protected by their teams (except for Evans! :roll: ) and are then split on TTs and in the mountains based on their own merits. It seems a shame that some riders will miss out based on team errors even if they are the bet all-round rider in the race. I appreciate it's a team sport and tactical nous comes into it, but it still seems a little undeserved for the likes of Porte.

    Yes, but in many cases they rely on the teams to ensure the win so it cuts both ways.

    Another question - at what size does a bunch being bigger stop being an advantage (and possibly a hinderance)? I suspect 56 riders are just as quick as the 100+ that missed the split as not everyone pulls their turn and they can get through tighter towns etc. more easily.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    edited May 2010
    Are there really any genuine long-term threats in this break though?

    Sastre would be back in the game but Wiggins will find a way to mess it up.

    As FF mentioned - Richie Porte presents an interesting possibility. Anyone else?
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,264
    Pokerface wrote:
    Are there really any genuine long-term threats in this break though?

    Sastre, certainly, for one
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Pokerface wrote:
    Are there really any genuine long-term threats in this break though?

    Arroyo, Sastre, Tondo, even Wiggo.
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    Pokerface wrote:
    Are there really any genuine long-term threats in this break though?

    Provide they get it back to about 10 mins, then I don't think so. It has made it an exciting day's racing.

    Plus BMC and Astana have both had abandonments (Evans now has just 4 team mates).

    I question Sastre. If he can find some form he might do okay in third week.

    So, I reckon Vino and Evans have made their campaign a lot more difficult, and in the end may just have lost their chance of winning a GT.
  • AidanR
    AidanR Posts: 1,142
    SpaceJunk wrote:
    AidanR wrote:
    I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can see what FF is getting at. Normally all the GC riders are protected by their teams (except for Evans! :roll: ) and are then split on TTs and in the mountains based on their own merits. It seems a shame that some riders will miss out based on team errors even if they are the bet all-round rider in the race. I appreciate it's a team sport and tactical nous comes into it, but it still seems a little undeserved for the likes of Porte.

    Why underserved for Porte? He's been placed high in the GC the whole Giro.

    He has every right to be in the group, with 2 team mates too.

    I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be in the group. My point is I'd like to see the best (clean :!:) rider in pink at the end of the 3 weeks, and it'd be a shame if the likes of Evans lost out because of this break. Especially considering he and his team are ill. I know it's all part of racing, but still...
    Bike lover and part-time cyclist.
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    Arroyo is an interesting one for me. Regularly top 10 or thereabouts in the Vuelta and Giro... despite always working for someone else. Tough customer to shake in the mountains.
  • csp
    csp Posts: 777
    calvjones wrote:
    17'35
    :shock:

    That's group 3
  • Kléber
    Kléber Posts: 6,842
    edited May 2010
    afx237vi wrote:
    Pokerface wrote:
    Are there really any genuine long-term threats in this break though?

    Arroyo, Sastre, Tondo, even Wiggo.
    Don't ignore Duran Arroyo, Efimkin, Agnoli or Kiserlovski either.
    If I had to pick, it'd be Tondo.
  • Pokerface
    Pokerface Posts: 7,960
    So one sloppy day of racing really could mess up the whole Giro and give us a very unexpected winner. I'm off to make a bet..... 8)
  • iainf72
    iainf72 Posts: 15,784
    Remember, after tomorrow there is only 1 flattish day before the end of the race. So I agree with SpaceJunk, if they get it down to 10 minutes or less, which it looks like they might then it'll be interesting.
    Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Pokerface wrote:
    So one sloppy day of racing really could mess up the whole Giro and give us a very unexpected winner. I'm off to make a bet..... 8)

    Haha, good point - there could be some cheap punts out there if the bookies are not clued up on what is happening at the moment in the stage.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • mroli
    mroli Posts: 3,622
    Cervelo/Caisse and Sky may have ridden their guys back into "contention" though, which is a long way away from where they were at the start of the stage....
    http://www.georgesfoundation.org
    http://100hillsforgeorge.blogspot.com/
    http://www.12on12in12.blogspot.co.uk/
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,824
    SpaceJunk wrote:
    from cycling news. If the stage stopped right now, here is the new GC:

    1 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Saxo Bank 00:00:00
    2 David Arroyo Duran (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 00:01:56
    3 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Liquigas-Doimo 00:01:59
    4 Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Liquigas-Doimo 00:02:52
    5 Xavier Tondo Volpini (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 00:04:08
    6 Alexander Efimkin (Rus) AG2R La Mondiale 00:05:30
    7 Laurent Didier (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 00:05:35
    8 Linus Gerdemann (Ger) Team Milram 5:48
    9 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Cervelo Test Team 00:07:33
    10 Bradley Wiggins (GBr) Sky Professional Cycling Team 00:08:28

    From those ten there's only Wiggins, Sastre and Arroyo proven over three weeks, so I'd say they're the main long term threats
  • afx237vi
    afx237vi Posts: 12,630
    12'50" now.
  • SpaceJunk
    SpaceJunk Posts: 1,157
    AidanR wrote:
    SpaceJunk wrote:
    AidanR wrote:
    I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I can see what FF is getting at. Normally all the GC riders are protected by their teams (except for Evans! :roll: ) and are then split on TTs and in the mountains based on their own merits. It seems a shame that some riders will miss out based on team errors even if they are the bet all-round rider in the race. I appreciate it's a team sport and tactical nous comes into it, but it still seems a little undeserved for the likes of Porte.

    Why underserved for Porte? He's been placed high in the GC the whole Giro.

    He has every right to be in the group, with 2 team mates too.

    I'm not saying he doesn't deserve to be in the group. My point is I'd like to see the best (clean :!:) rider in pink at the end of the 3 weeks, and it'd be a shame if the likes of Evans lost out because of this break. Especially considering he and his team are ill. I know it's all part of racing, but still...

    Hey, I'm an Evans fan, he's a great rider. But if he choses to ride for a team that isn't strong enough (they have lost 4 riders thus far), then he can expect consequences for making that choice.

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