Giro stage 16 **SPOILER**

ugo.santalucia

Tomorrow the Giro ends in my home town, after a short but tough climb to Andrate... 500 metres ascent in just over 5 Km... that was the very first climb I did on a road bike when I was 15. It's till tough now, with a couple of hairpins at 12-14%! The descent is less steep but quite technical, lots of bends, Nibali's stuff... hope they have resurfaced it, as last time I went there in March it was a mess

TheBigBean

A lot of people are picking Cav for this in PTP. He could be 15 mins behind after the cat 1. I suspect it will be a breakaway and essentially another rest day.

goonz

That looks one hell of a descent! Average speeds 60kph?

Cav could be dropped but may be able to get back in time for the sprint? Doubt he will win today

mididoctors

goonz wrote:

That looks one hell of a descent! Average speeds 60kph?

Cav could be dropped but may be able to get back in time for the sprint? Doubt he will win today

I doubt anyone will

ugo.santalucia

Don't think Cavendish can stay with the best up Andrate, it is quite steep... and as you say there will be a breakaway for sure, it is the perfect day. If Nibali was behind, he could have a go, but given he is at the front, don't think anyone will move for the GC... unless Evans fancies himself a better descender than anybody else

goonz

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Don't think Cavendish can stay with the best up Andrate, it is quite steep... and as you say there will be a breakaway for sure, it is the perfect day. If Nibali was behind, he could have a go, but given he is at the front, don't think anyone will move for the GC... unless Evans fancies himself a better descender than anybody else

So another snoozefest as I doubt any GC will attack?

ugo.santalucia

goonz wrote:

That looks one hell of a descent! Average speeds 60kph?

Cav could be dropped but may be able to get back in time for the sprint? Doubt he will win today

It's not steep, constant 6-7%, but with lots of bends and hairpins, very technical... they will go down 70-80 Kmh

ugo.santalucia

goonz wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Don't think Cavendish can stay with the best up Andrate, it is quite steep... and as you say there will be a breakaway for sure, it is the perfect day. If Nibali was behind, he could have a go, but given he is at the front, don't think anyone will move for the GC... unless Evans fancies himself a better descender than anybody else

So another snoozefest as I doubt any GC will attack?

There is room to attack, but it has to be a hell of an attack... there are two hairpins where it goes to 12-14%, that's where one can attack, then it gets a bit easier before getting into the village at the top... few cobbles and then flat out downhill... anyone who fancies a go, needs to be a good descender

joelsim

Surely at some point someone has to attack Nibali. No-one remembers who came second. Come on Cuddles, Uran or someone at least!!

ugo.santalucia

This is the final climb they do tomorrow, they only go to the end of the blue section... as you can see there is a fairly tough 4 Km in it where the road hardly goes under 10%... I have done it many times and always found it very hard... it is a bit like the Portet d' Aspet in the Pyrenees or 1/3 of the Mortirolo if you prefer

lucan2

Where can I find live coverage of the stage (in English) online? Rai has football on and cricfree.tv is showing tennis :-(

ugo.santalucia

Lucan2 wrote:

Where can I find live coverage of the stage (in English) online? Rai has football on and cricfree.tv is showing tennis :-(

Today is rest, the stage is tomorrow.... go to steephill they have all the streaming

lucan2

:oops: That would explain it

Le Commentateur

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is the final climb they do tomorrow, they only go to the end of the blue section... as you can see there is a fairly tough 4 Km in it where the road hardly goes under 10%... I have done it many times and always found it very hard... it is a bit like the Portet d' Aspet in the Pyrenees or 1/3 of the Mortirolo if you prefer

The section to be raced looks to average a little bit steeper than l'Aple d'Huez.

ugo.santalucia

Le Commentateur wrote:

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is the final climb they do tomorrow, they only go to the end of the blue section... as you can see there is a fairly tough 4 Km in it where the road hardly goes under 10%... I have done it many times and always found it very hard... it is a bit like the Portet d' Aspet in the Pyrenees or 1/3 of the Mortirolo if you prefer

The section to be raced looks to average a little bit steeper than l'Aple d'Huez.

Yes, it is definitively steeper than the Alpe d'Huez, but only half the length, so if the teams are strong, it is difficult to get away... that said, the road is narrow at points and if crowded, it will be difficult for a team to control.

I know the locals and they are too lazy to go out and watch the race, so I don't expect tens of thousands of people at the side of the road, but you never know... times are tough and road races are free to watch

Mad_Malx

ugo.santalucia wrote:

.... go to steephill they have all the streaming

I've given up on the dodgy feeds - Poor quality, unstable and popups. Official legit Rai stream is much better, with you guys commenting alongside. I'm even picking up a bit of Italian. Did panic yesterday when they switched to horseracing in the last 15k though.

Le Commentateur

RAI also seem good for archived stages. I spending this rest day afternoon watching their 4 hours coverage of yesterday's Galibier stage (yes, it was a bit sportive-like, almost expected to see a huge feed stop of pastries and chopped fruit at the top of Col du Mont-Cenis, but made for a nice ambient soundtrack).

Vino'sGhost

ugo.santalucia wrote:

This is the final climb they do tomorrow, they only go to the end of the blue section... as you can see there is a fairly tough 4 Km in it where the road hardly goes under 10%... I have done it many times and always found it very hard... it is a bit like the Portet d' Aspet in the Pyrenees or 1/3 of the Mortirolo if you prefer

Really? thats quite a sneaky tough one. May watch after all. a chance for a classics powerhouse perhaps?

Vino'sGhost

Le Commentateur wrote:

RAI also seem good for archived stages. I spending this rest day afternoon watching their 4 hour's coverage of yesterday's Galibier stage (yes, it was a bit sportive-like, almost expected to see a huge feed stop of pastries and chopped fruit at the top of Col du Mont-Cenis, but made for a nice ambient soundtrack).

haha it was a bit sportive to look at but the winner was on a massive performance day and looked it too. Im doing the wessex sportive at the weekend: im hoping for better weather or im going to do a wiggo

blazing_saddles

Vino'sGhost wrote:

Le Commentateur wrote:

RAI also seem good for archived stages. I spending this rest day afternoon watching their 4 hour's coverage of yesterday's Galibier stage (yes, it was a bit sportive-like, almost expected to see a huge feed stop of pastries and chopped fruit at the top of Col du Mont-Cenis, but made for a nice ambient soundtrack).

haha it was a bit sportive to look at but the winner was on a massive performance day and looked it too. Im doing the wessex sportive at the weekend: im hoping for better weather or im going to do a wiggo

Time to do a wiggo, then:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2013/05/ ... eek_287973

Le Commentateur

Frankly, if it's bad now, what's it going to be like on Friday when they ascend the Stelvio?

jerry3571

Recent photo of the top of the Stelvio.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.phpfbid=609587479051436&set=a.602371599773024.1073741828.565714580105393&type=1&ref=nf

inkyfingers

Strong break of 16 up the road, think that'll go all the way.

frenchfighter

I love these finishes.

daniellloyd1 As @robhayles1 has mentioned, REALLY hard final today, not sure why climb is only 3rd Cat, descent going to be just as decisive. #giro

Bole, Herrada, Kelderman, Ludvigsson, Sella, Serpa, Sutherland, Verdugo, Capecchi Weening, Meier, Navardauskas, Pate, Pirazzi, Rabottini, Rodriguez

dish_dash

geez... how many times has Rodriguez been in the breakaway this giro...

And damn, I should have realised before my PTP pick, Cav turns 28 today. Extra motivation to get over that climb and win?

inkyfingers

dish_dash wrote:

geez... how many times has Rodriguez been in the breakaway this giro...

And damn, I should have realised before my PTP pick, Cav turns 28 today. Extra motivation to get over that climb and win?

Even if they bring the break back I can't see Cav getting over that climb and winning the stage, not when guys like Di Luca will be trying to get away. QS may be happy to see a big break hoover up all the points on the road and on the line. Tomorrow looks much more like a Cavendish day.

goonz

Did the stage begin early today?

dish_dash

true true... inky... though another win would be a nice birthday present... he might just have to wait until the day after...

inkyfingers

Di Luca and 3 others have now joined the break. 20 guys up the road now, day off for the peloton.

frenchfighter

Interestingly Atapuma and Caruso have joined. Di Luca and Chalapud have joined also. Break advantage has gone down though.

danlikesbikes

dish_dash wrote:

geez... how many times has Rodriguez been in the breakaway this giro...

And damn, I should have realised before my PTP pick, Cav turns 28 today. Extra motivation to get over that climb and win?

Birthday boy with his cake at the start today