Giro Stage 14 *Spoiler*

greasedscotsman

frenchfighter wrote:

Woah, Basso could at least roll in after Evans and Scarponi given he had a free ride, even if there are a few bonus seconds.

Why? This is a bike race, it's about winning, right? There are time bonuses avaliable so why shouldn't he go for them. If Scarponi and Evans aren't happy with him sitting on, then it's up to them to attack him.

blazing_saddles

Arroyo
Porte @ 39"
Tondo @ 2'-12"
Kiserlovski @ 2'-35"
Gerdemann @ 3'-52"
Sastre @ 5'-27"
Wiggins @ 6'-32"
Nibali ' 6'-51"

mididoctors

it was a good thing that the favs lost that time on stage 11.. it means they have to attack early in the stages and put on a show rather than ride tempo in a big group looking at each other for 3 weeks..

good race

dave_1

emadden wrote:

SpaceJunk wrote:

emadden wrote:

I said it before, and i'll say it again... the design of Evan's shorts makes him look a bit tubby

They do, but I think it's only on TV though. Saw him a few times in them earlier this year, obviously when he would have been heavier, and his legs don't appear chubby in his shorts.

They just don't translate well to TV? Or maybe it's his positioning on the bike??

I agree, he clearly is in supreme shape, but the shorts design combined with the white jersey doesnt work well... and the TV probably exacerbates it... Hope he gets back in pink... the black shorts look better

I love seeing the rainbow jersey at the front..watching RAI tv and see Fignon on the panel being interviewed. Looks well but his voice has become hoarse

emadden

I agree with Kelly with respect to Nibs, "the descenting was excellent"

mididoctors

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Arroyo
Porte @ 39"
Tondo @ 2'-12"
Kiserlovski @ 2'-35"
Gerdemann @ 3'-52"
Sastre @ 5'-27"
Wiggins @ 6'-32"
Nibali ' 6'-51"

tondo and arroyo were disappointing but it shows what the presure of racing for the top GC is all about

old skool

loved it

more please

blazing_saddles

frenchfighter wrote:

Woah, Basso could at least roll in after Evans and Scarponi given he had a free ride, even if there are a few bonus seconds.

I can't make up my mind as to whether you are completely clueless or just trying to get a rise out of folks.

iainf72

Blazing Saddles wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

Woah, Basso could at least roll in after Evans and Scarponi given he had a free ride, even if there are a few bonus seconds.

I can't make up my mind as to whether you are completely clueless or just trying to get a rise out of folks.

Word

Anyone who wouldn't go for 2nd would be a moron,

And Basso deserved it, he did the damage on the climb.

greasedscotsman

What a smashing stage. Didn't expect to see anything like that. But think we will see something similar tomorrow with the same riders to the forefront. I would expect to see Basso be a bit stronger as he sat on for the last part of today's stage whereas Nibali obviously worked right up to the line. Scarponi looks dangerous, but think Evans is fading. And is Sastre getting stronger? Wouldn't like to pick an overall winner. All good stuff

dave_1

iainf72 wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

frenchfighter wrote:

Woah, Basso could at least roll in after Evans and Scarponi given he had a free ride, even if there are a few bonus seconds.

I can't make up my mind as to whether you are completely clueless or just trying to get a rise out of folks.

Word

Anyone who wouldn't go for 2nd would be a moron,

And Basso deserved it, he did the damage on the climb.

Basso was well within his rights to go for second place. To not go for it would be a schoolboy error. FF, check the team tactics textbook. This is bike racing you know.

donrhummy

Fantastic stage. Good for Sastre that he's still minutes ahead of vino/evans but arroyo has quite a lead right now. Doubt he'll be at top at the end but it is possible. Sastre's in a really good position with the mountains hitting them multiple times in the next week.

donrhummy

Whoah I just read ff's comment. Were you watching? Basso worked hard on the mountain.

Bakunin

Basso made the stage.

TheStone

Are Liquigas going for Nibali, or was that his stage before a week of supporting Basso?

Both look capable of winning this. Been a great tour so far and this final week could be
something special.

William H

TheStone wrote:

Are Liquigas going for Nibali, or was that his stage before a week of supporting Basso?

Both look capable of winning this. Been a great tour so far and this final week could be
something special.

Basso attacks going up, Nibali attacks going down, I'd have thought

Cumulonimbus

Garzelli finished today at 18.50!!! :shock:

(er, thats behind the leader, not the time he finished)

Is there a reason for this? Did he realise he couldnt keep up with the GC guys and so decided to take it easy and get in the break tomorrow?

afx237vi

It's cos I picked him for PTP.

luckao

Garzelli went to pieces on the climb. I can't remember exactly when. It must 50k or more out. Doubt it was anything to do with tactics.

greeny12

Bit of a TdF style phoney war with such a long descent and flat bit after the summit today, but nowhere to hide for the likes of Arroyo, Porte, Gerdemann et al tomorrow!

Still think Arroyo is nailed on to win, and it'll prove the strongest guy doesn't always take the overall, because he's miles behind the Nibs, Basso, Scarponi and Evans quintet really.

Lucky boy.

frenchfighter

How ironic and predicatble that you pick on me when it was actually mentioned by someone else in more forceful terms before me.

Good job I can ignore any comments I choose very easily.

And no I didn't see the entire stage I was out on a long ride. I'll watch the highlights and will look forward to seeing Basso attacking. If he initiated and did damage then credit to him. I know he is 'within his rights' and 'it makes sense' for him to go for a couple of extra seconds, I just think it would have been a nice gesture if he hadn't. If you haven't already gathered, I care much more about the way things are won or attempted then actually winning.

iainf72

FF - When you see the work he did on the mountain, I think you'll agree he earned it.

I think the last 5-6km of the climb were an indication of what the race will look like. No mad attacks, just a wearing down process.

Tomorrow I think Liquigas will turn it on before the final climb just to make people work. As for who they're riding for, still both I reckon but favouring Basso. It was an ideal stage for Nibs today though.

blazing_saddles

afx237vi wrote:

It's cos I picked him for PTP.

Me too, on my other little forum.
It's not as if we didn't know that Nibali was the best descender in the pack.
Dumber than a bag of spanners. :oops:

I'll be repeating the performance, tomorrow, having gone for............Sastre.
I haven't a clue who will survive the mighty Z, but it looked today, as if it might be Basso, rather than Cuddles.

Oh and as for the back tracking above. It matters not if Basso worked or not, the tactic was legitmate and sensible.

mididoctors

Bakunin wrote:

Basso made the stage.

LIQ in general did but Basso did a very good ride there

trying to work out where sastre got dropped was it on the steep stuff or the median grade

iainf72

greasedscotsman wrote:

So, should Nibali have waited for Basso last Saturday?

Do you mean after Basso waited for Nibali?

greasedscotsman

iainf72 wrote:

greasedscotsman wrote:

So, should Nibali have waited for Basso last Saturday?

Do you mean after Basso waited for Nibali?

Actually, I think all this attacking is a bit un-sporting. I think it should be treated more like a CTC club run. Ride at the pace of the slowest man, maybe a cafe stop halfway round and of course compulsary mudguards to keep those jerseys clean on the strada bianche. I think it's more important that everyone has a nice time rather than all this silly racing. It's not big and it's certainly not clever

pomtarr

On a side note, does anyone know Italian and if so what does "W IL GIRO" mean? All over the place today on the hillsides and banners etc. Google translate isn't much help.... Obviously it means "[something beginning with W] the Giro", but what?

greasedscotsman

pomtarr wrote:

On a side note, does anyone know Italian and if so what does "W IL GIRO" mean? All over the place today on the hillsides and banners etc. Google translate isn't much help.... Obviously it means "[something beginning with W] the Giro", but what?

Is it the Italian equivalent of Dirk Hofman Motorhomes?

Bernardus

pomtarr wrote:

On a side note, does anyone know Italian and if so what does "W IL GIRO" mean? All over the place today on the hillsides and banners etc. Google translate isn't much help.... Obviously it means "[something beginning with W] the Giro", but what?

I used Google, but it directed me back to bikeradar:

redddraggon wrote:

(Oct 3, 2008)
So, how is Wilier Triestina pronounced, and what do the words mean? Both names were born out of Italian patriotism following the World Wars. Wilier is an acronym pronounced Vee’-lee-air. Italians use ‘W’ as an abbreviation for the word “Viva”, which means “Long live”. For example, Italian cycling fans will often hold up signs at the Giro that read “W l’Italia”, “W il Giro” or show their support of a specific rider with signs like “W Ballan” or “W Cunego”. The patriotic phrase, “W l’Italia liberata e redenta” (Long live Italy, liberated and redeemed) gave birth to Wilier.Triestina is pronounced Tree-es-tee’-na, and is the Italian equivalent of our English word triestine

disquieting_museeuws

Bernardus wrote:

pomtarr wrote:

On a side note, does anyone know Italian and if so what does "W IL GIRO" mean? All over the place today on the hillsides and banners etc. Google translate isn't much help.... Obviously it means "[something beginning with W] the Giro", but what?

I used Google, but it directed me back to bikeradar:

redddraggon wrote:

(Oct 3, 2008)
So, how is Wilier Triestina pronounced, and what do the words mean? Both names were born out of Italian patriotism following the World Wars. Wilier is an acronym pronounced Vee’-lee-air. Italians use ‘W’ as an abbreviation for the word “Viva”, which means “Long live”. For example, Italian cycling fans will often hold up signs at the Giro that read “W l’Italia”, “W il Giro” or show their support of a specific rider with signs like “W Ballan” or “W Cunego”. The patriotic phrase, “W l’Italia liberata e redenta” (Long live Italy, liberated and redeemed) gave birth to Wilier.Triestina is pronounced Tree-es-tee’-na, and is the Italian equivalent of our English word triestine

I think the idea is you can make the letters for 'VIVA' from the W, like a monogram.

pomtarr

Bernardus wrote:

I used Google, but it directed me back to bikeradar:

That is, like, well postmodern.

redddraggon wrote:

(Oct 3, 2008)
So, how is Wilier Triestina pronounced, and what do the words mean? Both names were born out of Italian patriotism following the World Wars. Wilier is an acronym pronounced Vee’-lee-air. Italians use ‘W’ as an abbreviation for the word “Viva”, which means “Long live”. For example, Italian cycling fans will often hold up signs at the Giro that read “W l’Italia”, “W il Giro” or show their support of a specific rider with signs like “W Ballan” or “W Cunego”. The patriotic phrase, “W l’Italia liberata e redenta” (Long live Italy, liberated and redeemed) gave birth to Wilier.Triestina is pronounced Tree-es-tee’-na, and is the Italian equivalent of our English word triestine

Interesting. So Wilier Triestina means "long live Trieste/people from Trieste/things from Trieste" then.

None of which had much to do with today's stage, but hey... Take note, Dirk Hofmann.